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Cover: Steve Ditko

The Amazing Spider-Man #8

Name: The Amazing Spider-Man #8
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Jan 1964 · Marvel · 0.12 USD

📊 ~99,549 copies sold its debut month

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About this Issue

Amazing Spider-Man #8 (January 1964) is a double-barreled Silver Age showcase that introduced the Living Brain — an early Marvel attempt to dramatize the public's simultaneous fascination with and fear of computing technology — while also delivering one of the definitive early examples of the inter-title crossover that would become Marvel's signature storytelling device. The issue's backup story, 'Spider-Man Tackles the Torch!', cements the comedically competitive relationship between Peter Parker and Johnny Storm that would define both characters for decades, planting the seed of a 'vitriolic best buds' dynamic that later writers returned to repeatedly. As a single package, the issue captures the Lee-Ditko series at its most inventive in the A-feature and reveals, through the Kirby-penciled backup, the editorial creativity and occasional improvisation behind the early Marvel Method.

In The Amazing Spider-Man #8 (1964), Peter Parker faces a bizarre new threat when a stolen school computer awakens as the sentient, rampaging "Living Brain," forcing Spider-Man to confront a machine with a mind of its own. Written by Stan Lee and brought to life with sharp, surreal art by Steve Ditko—both on pencils and inks—this early classic blends sci-fi dread with the series’ signature teenage angst. The cover by Ditko captures the eerie, otherworldly menace of the Living Brain in stark, unforgettable detail.

Contains 2 stories

The Terrible Threat of the Living Brain!

17 pp · Superhero

Mr. PettyMr. Warren

When two technicians, Mr. Petty and Mr. Warren, attempt to steal a computer on display at Peter's school, their meddling awakens a terrifying force—The Living Brain—now unleashed and running amok. With the school in danger, Spider-Man must stop the rampaging machine before it's too late.

Spider-Man Tackles the Torch!

6 pp · Superhero

When Spider-Man accidentally crashes a party at Johnny Storm’s girlfriend’s apartment, his usual antics spark an unexpected brawl—first with the Human Torch, then quickly drawing in the rest of the Fantastic Four. It’s a chaotic clash of egos and powers, all kicked off by a misstep and a few well-placed web shots.

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (VG) $244

CGC 9.8 · 7 in census $30,740

CGC 9.6 · 16 in census $10,881

CGC 9.4 · 33 in census $5,416

CGC 9.2 · 46 in census $3,637

CGC 9.0 · 53 in census $2,415

CGC 8.5 · 103 in census $1,740

Show all 22 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 129 in census $1,293

CGC 7.5 · 133 in census $918

CGC 7.0 · 160 in census $787

CGC 6.5 · 167 in census $698

CGC 6.0 · 209 in census $563

CGC 5.5 · 192 in census $478

CGC 5.0 · 227 in census $420

CGC 4.5 · 283 in census $363

CGC 4.0 · 250 in census $306

CGC 3.5 · 213 in census $283

CGC 3.0 · 182 in census $268

CGC 2.5 · 124 in census $243

CGC 2.0 · 53 in census $174

CGC 1.5 · 26 in census $152

CGC 1.0 · 10 in census $152*

CGC 0.5 · 34 in census $152

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.8 ▾ $74.95–$84.95 2 listings

CGC 9.8 · Variant $74.95 CGC 9.8 · Variant $84.95

CGC 8.5 $2,250 1 listing CGC 8 $830 1 listing

CGC 4.5 ▾ $550–$589 2 listings

CGC 4.5 $549.99 CGC 4.5 $588.95

CGC 4 $545 1 listing CGC 3.5 $500 1 listing

CGC 3 ▾ $450–$465 3 listings

CGC 3 $450 CGC 3 $450 CGC 3 $465

CGC 1 $350 1 listing CGC $485 1 listing CBCS 1.5 $300 1 listing Raw — NM $3.99 1 listing

Raw — NM- ▾ $3.99–$10.98 2 listings

NM- $3.99 NM- · 1:25 variant $10.98

Raw — FN $714 1 listing Raw — GD $420 1 listing

Raw / ungraded ▾ $3.33–$504 11 listings

Raw / ungraded $3.33 Raw / ungraded $3.99 Raw / ungraded $4.49 Variant $4.84 Raw / ungraded $4.99 Raw / ungraded $4.99 Raw / ungraded $8.99 Raw / ungraded $85 Raw / ungraded $100 Raw / ungraded $158 Raw / ungraded $503.99

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History

Written by Stan Lee with Steve Ditko on art and inks for the lead story, the issue carries a January 1964 cover date and was released in October 1963. The backup story, 'Spider-Man Tackles the Torch!', is the rare case of Jack Kirby penciling interior pages on Amazing Spider-Man — with Ditko inking — making it one of only a handful of early ASM stories to feature that Kirby/Ditko pairing. Marvel editor-in-chief Tom Brevoort has speculated publicly that the Kirby-drawn backup may have been originally produced for a different venue — possibly Fantastic Four Annual #1 — and was redirected to ASM #8 as inventory fill, which also explains why Ditko's lead story runs shorter than typical. The cover itself was designed by Ditko, who always completed ASM covers last, and prominently highlights both the Living Brain and the Human Torch encounter, billing it as a 'Tribute-to-Teen-Agers' issue.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of the Living Brain, a massive robot created by the fictional International Computing Machines Corporation (I.C.M.), introduced as the world's most advanced problem-solving computer; written by Stan Lee and drawn by Steve Ditko.
The lead story, 'The Terrible Threat of the Living Brain!' (17 pages), is written by Stan Lee and illustrated and inked by Steve Ditko.
The backup story, 'Spider-Man Tackles the Torch!' (6 pages), is a rare instance of Jack Kirby penciling interior pages in the Amazing Spider-Man series, with Steve Ditko on inks and Stan Lee writing dialogue — one of only a handful of Kirby/Ditko collaborations on the title.
The issue marks the last time Peter Parker is depicted wearing his eyeglasses, which are broken by Flash Thompson; the implication going forward is that his spider-enhanced physiology corrected his vision.
The Living Brain's demonstration scene at Midtown High School carries an early meta-tension: the students ask the machine to deduce Spider-Man's secret identity, leaving a visibly nervous Peter Parker to feed it the data himself; the robot's answer comes back encoded in mathematical symbols that Peter conveniently 'loses.'
The backup crossover features all four members of the Fantastic Four — Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl, the Human Torch, and the Thing — alongside supporting character Dorrie Evans, the Human Torch's girlfriend, in her notable early appearance.
The issue has been reprinted widely, including in Marvel Tales #145 (1982), Spider-Man Classics #9 (December 1993), The Essential Spider-Man Vol. 1 (1996), the first Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man hardcover (1987/1998 editions), the Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus Vol. 1 (2007 and subsequent editions), the Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection Vol. 1: Great Power (2014), and The Marvel Comics Library: Spider-Man Vol. 1, 1962–1964 (Taschen, 2021).
The Living Brain was subsequently revived in Web of Spider-Man #35 (1988) and Peter Parker: Spider-Man #20 (2000), and was later reprogrammed as a laboratory assistant at Parker Industries during the Superior Spider-Man era, giving the obscure character unexpected longevity.