The first appearance of Spider-Man also happened to be the last issue of "Amazing Fantasy." But Stan Lee’s boss, Marvel Comics publisher Martin Goodman, wasn’t crazy about the idea of a teenage hero with the powers of a spider. “Nobody cares what you put in the last issue because the book is dying anyway,” Lee says. “Just to get it out of my system, I put Spider-Man in the last issue and featured him on the cover.” The rest is history. “A couple of months later, the sales figures came in. Martin said, ‘You remember that Spider-Man character of yours we liked so much? Why don’t you give him a series?’ ”

The first appearance of Spider-Man also happened to be the last issue of "Amazing Fantasy." But Stan Lee’s boss, Marvel Comics publisher Martin Goodman, wasn’t crazy about the idea of a teenage hero with the powers of a spider. “Nobody cares what you put in the last issue because the book is dying anyway,” Lee says. “Just to get it out of my system, I put Spider-Man in the last issue and featured him on the cover.” The rest is history. “A couple of months later, the sales figures came in. Martin said, ‘You remember that Spider-Man character of yours we liked so much? Why don’t you give him a series?’ ”