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Cover: Steve Ditko

The Amazing Spider-Man #27

Name: The Amazing Spider-Man #27
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Aug 1965 · Marvel · 0.12 USD

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“Bring Back My Goblin to Me!”

★ 1st appearance — Barney Bushkin

About this Issue

The second half of the Lee–Ditko Crime-Master two-parter, this issue resolves one of the title's earliest dual-mystery arcs while pointedly refusing to resolve the bigger one. The Crime-Master dies at police gunpoint and is unmasked as Nick 'Lucky' Lewis — someone readers had never heard of — a deliberate storytelling choice that cast Spider-Man as an outsider to events rather than a detective, reinforcing his fundamentally reactive, working-class heroism. At the same moment, Ditko embeds a crucial visual breadcrumb: the final page shows the unmasked Green Goblin from behind, his silhouette bearing the distinctive corn-row hair pattern later confirmed as Norman Osborn's, making this issue part of the long-running identity mystery that would not be answered until the first non-Ditko issue, Amazing Spider-Man #39. It also introduces Barney Bushkin and the Daily Globe — the Daily Bugle's chief rival — into the Marvel Universe, a supporting institution that would endure for decades.

In "Bring Back My Goblin to Me!", Spider-Man finds himself trapped between two deadly foes: the sinister Green Goblin and the cunning Crime-Master. With danger closing in from all sides, the web-slinger must outthink his enemies before they expose his secret identity. Written by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, with art and inks by Ditko, and colored by Stan Goldberg, this classic 1965 issue features a cover by Ditko that captures the tension perfectly.

writer, artist, inker Steve Ditko · writer Stan Lee · colorist Stan Goldberg · letterer Artie Simek · cover Steve Ditko

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (VG) $76

CGC 9.8 · 3 in census $16,914*

CGC 9.6 · 17 in census $7,313

CGC 9.4 · 29 in census $3,706

CGC 9.2 · 52 in census $1,247

CGC 9.0 · 103 in census $954

CGC 8.5 · 144 in census $509

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CGC 8.0 · 206 in census $354

CGC 7.5 · 197 in census $325

CGC 7.0 · 217 in census $242

CGC 6.5 · 199 in census $205

CGC 6.0 · 170 in census $183

CGC 5.5 · 152 in census $141

CGC 5.0 · 178 in census $134

CGC 4.5 · 130 in census $119

CGC 4.0 · 132 in census $119

CGC 3.5 · 81 in census $95

CGC 3.0 · 58 in census $81

CGC 2.5 · 26 in census $54

CGC 2.0 · 9 in census $54*

CGC 1.5 · 5 in census $44*

CGC 1.0 · 2 in census $36*

CGC 0.5 · 13 in census $33*

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CGC 9.8 ▾ $69.99–$79.99 3 listings

CGC 9.8 · Variant $69.99 CGC 9.8 · Variant $69.99 CGC 9.8 · Variant $79.99

CGC 7.5 $580 1 listing

CGC 5 ▾ $135–$215 2 listings

CGC 5 $135 CGC 5 $215

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NM+ · Variant $8.75 NM+ · Virgin $15.99

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NM $4.24 NM · Variant $6.98 NM · Variant $7.99 NM · Variant $9.99 NM · Signed $30.5

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GD $69 GD $89

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Raw / ungraded ▾ $2.99–$490 26 listings

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History

Produced under the 'Marvel Method,' issue #27 credits Steve Ditko as plotter and Stan Lee as scripter, with lettering by Art Simek; it went on sale May 11, 1965 with an August 1965 cover date. By this point in their collaboration Lee and Ditko had largely stopped speaking directly, communicating instead through intermediaries — a breakdown that would culminate in Ditko's departure with issue #38. The exact cause of that split remains disputed: Lee publicly stated the two argued over whether the Green Goblin should be a known character, but Ditko later insisted he had always intended Norman Osborn for the role and that the real friction was rooted in broader professional and philosophical differences.

Trivia · 8 facts

Published May 11, 1965 (cover-dated August 1965); written by Stan Lee (script) and Steve Ditko (plot), with art and inking by Ditko and lettering by Art Simek.
Concludes the two-part Crime-Master/Green Goblin story begun in Amazing Spider-Man #26; the Crime-Master is shot by police and dies, making this the death issue of Nicholas Lewis Sr.
First appearance of Barney Bushkin, publisher of the Daily Globe — the Daily Bugle's chief competitor — who would become a recurring supporting character across multiple Spider-Man titles.
The Green Goblin's civilian identity is deliberately concealed on the final page (face in shadow), but the silhouette's distinctive hair pattern is an early visual clue Ditko later confirmed was intentional foreshadowing for Norman Osborn; the identity would not be confirmed until Amazing Spider-Man #39.
This is the last Lee–Ditko story featuring the Green Goblin; the Goblin would not appear again until Amazing Spider-Man #39 (the first issue drawn by John Romita Sr.), at which point his identity as Norman Osborn is finally revealed.
Crime-Master dies just as he is about to reveal the Green Goblin's secret identity — a deliberately melodramatic beat that the script itself acknowledges through a cop's self-aware dialogue.
Frederick Foswell, operating undercover as 'Patch,' is revealed to be a police informant rather than a criminal, clearing a suspect readers had suspected since issue #10.
The story has been reprinted extensively, including in Marvel Tales #22 (1969), the Essential Spider-Man Vol. 2 (1997), Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3 (multiple editions), the Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Vol. 1 (2007 and later editions), and the Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection #2 (2016).