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Cover: Steve Ditko

The Amazing Spider-Man #30

Name: The Amazing Spider-Man #30
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Nov 1965 · Marvel · 0.12 USD

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“The Claws of the Cat!”

★ 1st appearance — Morlun★ 1st appearance — Joey Gastone

About this Issue

Amazing Spider-Man #30 is the opening chapter of what would become the celebrated Master Planner saga (issues #30–33), one of the most emotionally dense and narratively ambitious storylines in early Marvel history. While the Master Planner's gang appears only in the background here — their boss's identity not yet revealed — the issue plants the serialized seeds that bloom into the celebrated 'If This Be My Destiny…!' arc, a story Stan Lee himself later named among his all-time favorites. The issue also crystallizes Steve Ditko's gift for slow-burn, character-driven continuity: Betty Brant's announcement that Ned Leeds has proposed to her deals a quiet but lasting blow to Peter Parker's personal life, and Aunt May's concealed fainting spells quietly accelerate toward the illness that will drive the saga's emotional core. As one of the final issues before the Lee–Ditko partnership dissolved, it stands as a document of a creative collaboration straining under its own contradictions, yet still producing some of the most sophisticated serial storytelling in superhero comics to that point.

In "The Claws of the Cat!", Spider-Man takes on a high-stakes chase after a thousand-dollar reward from J. Jonah Jameson for capturing the elusive thief known as The Cat. Meanwhile, Peter Parker faces a personal dilemma when Betty tells him Ned has asked her to marry him. Written by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, with art and inks by Ditko and colors by Stan Goldberg, this 1965 classic features a cover by Ditko that captures the tension and flair of the issue.

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) $50

CGC 9.8 · 10 in census $9,210

CGC 9.6 · 22 in census $2,653

CGC 9.4 · 59 in census $1,480

CGC 9.2 · 90 in census $730

CGC 9.0 · 139 in census $579

CGC 8.5 · 163 in census $329

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CGC 8.0 · 179 in census $268

CGC 7.5 · 175 in census $216

CGC 7.0 · 175 in census $176

CGC 6.5 · 153 in census $147

CGC 6.0 · 171 in census $130

CGC 5.5 · 145 in census $106

CGC 5.0 · 151 in census $106

CGC 4.5 · 114 in census $93

CGC 4.0 · 107 in census $83

CGC 3.5 · 58 in census $78

CGC 3.0 · 46 in census $70

CGC 2.5 · 30 in census $43

CGC 2.0 · 10 in census $39*

CGC 1.5 · 4 in census $32*

CGC 1.0 · 2 in census $26*

CGC 0.5 · 3 in census $24*

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CGC 9.8 $52.99 1 listing CGC 7.5 $290 1 listing CGC 5 $145 1 listing CGC 4 $94.99 1 listing CGC 3.5 $99.99 1 listing Raw — NM $4.74 1 listing Raw — VF/NM $12.99 1 listing

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Raw / ungraded ▾ $3.99–$175 32 listings

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History

The issue was written under the 'Marvel Method,' with Steve Ditko credited as plotter and Stan Lee providing the dialogue — a division of labor that, by mid-1965, was breaking down badly. Because Ditko and Lee had largely stopped communicating directly, Lee scripted the Master Planner's henchmen as if they reported to the issue's featured villain, the Cat Burglar, rather than to the Master Planner; this continuity error was noted by confused readers at the time and was later acknowledged in print by editor Danny Fingeroth in the 1984 Marvel Tales #169 reprint, where he added an editorial note explaining the scripting mistake. The issue went on sale August 10, 1965, with a cover date of November 1965, and was lettered by Artie Simek.

Trivia · 8 facts

Title: 'The Claws of the Cat!' — written (dialogue) by Stan Lee, plotted and drawn by Steve Ditko, lettered by Artie Simek; on-sale date August 10, 1965, cover-dated November 1965.
First appearance of the Cat Burglar (unnamed in the story, sometimes called simply 'the Cat'), a low-tech second-story man who robs J. Jonah Jameson's apartment; he later resurfaced as the second Prowler in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #47–48 (October–November 1980), written by Roger Stern.
First appearance (voice/behind-the-scenes) of the Master Planner and his costumed gang, who are stealing scientific equipment; a scripting error caused Lee to write the henchmen's dialogue attributing their allegiance to the Cat Burglar rather than to the Master Planner — a mistake flagged by readers and formally corrected in editorial commentary in the 1984 reprint.
The Master Planner is later revealed to be Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius); his full identity is disclosed in Amazing Spider-Man #34, and he serves as the central villain of the 'If This Be My Destiny…!' arc in issues #31–33.
Betty Brant reveals to Peter that Ned Leeds has proposed marriage to her — a plot thread that permanently unravels the Peter–Betty romance and whose resolution is not shown until Amazing Spider-Man #43.
This issue marks the last appearance of Liz Allan during the Stan Lee era of the title; she does not return until Amazing Spider-Man #132.
Ditko's cover design is strikingly unconventional for the era: Spider-Man is rendered as a tiny figure dwarfed by a falling water tower and dramatic searchlights, with the villain tucked into an upper corner — a deliberate subversion of the period's typical hero-dominant cover compositions.
The issue has been reprinted multiple times: Marvel Tales #23 (November 1969) and Marvel Tales #169 (November 1984), as well as in Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3, Essential Spider-Man Vol. 2, The Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Vol. 1, the Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection Vol. 2, and Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 4 – The Master Planner (2023).