{"product_id":"marvel-tales-8-1967","title":"Marvel Tales #8 (1967)","description":"\u003ch4\u003e\u003cb\u003e1. The Story (or, Why Peter Parker Needs Therapy)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn this issue, we are treated to a reprint of \u003ci\u003eThe Amazing Spider-Man #13\u003c\/i\u003e, in which a young man named Peter Parker decides that dressing up in skin-tight red tights and crawling up brick buildings isn't quite stressful enough. Enter Mysterio—a villain whose primary criminal strategy involves placing an upside-down fishbowl over his head and convincing fully grown adults that he is a master of mental deception.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile Spider-Man spends thirty-two pages questioning his own sanity and seeking professional psychiatric help (a remarkably relatable plotline for a 1960s comic book), Mysterio commits low-level grand larceny while wearing velvet cape-like upholstery. You also get bonus reprint backup stories featuring Thor fighting a creature made entirely of carbon paper, the Human Torch arguing with his teenage peers, and The Wasp trying desperately to be taken seriously. It is a masterpiece of Silver Age melodrama.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cb\u003e2. Historical Significance\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBack in May of 1967, Marvel Comics stumbled upon a brilliant business model: why pay writers and artists to create \u003ci\u003enew\u003c\/i\u003e stories when you can simply reprint five-year-old issues, slap a shiny 25-cent cover price on the front, and charge neighborhood children double the standard price?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMarvel Tales #8\u003c\/i\u003e is a monument to corporate efficiency. It collects iconic stories from \u003ci\u003eAmazing Spider-Man #13\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eJourney into Mystery #96\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eStrange Tales #120\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eTales to Astonish #53\u003c\/i\u003e. It allows modern collectors to own foundational Silver Age keys—like Mysterio’s debut—without having to take out a second mortgage on their home or sacrifice a family member to afford an original 12-cent copy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cb\u003e3. Comprehensive Condition Report (Grade: GD 2.5 to GD\/VG 3.0)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet us be meticulously honest: if you are looking for a pristine, gem-mint specimen to encapsulate in a plastic slab so your heirs can fight over it at an estate auction, please keep scrolling. This book has \u003ci\u003elived\u003c\/i\u003e. It has survived six decades, several presidential administrations, and what appears to be a minor encounter with a damp kitchen counter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSpine \u0026amp; Edges:\u003c\/b\u003e The spine exhibits standard Silver Age existential fatigue—numerous color-breaking stress lines, surface rubbing, and minor splitting\/fraying along the bottom edge where the staples have grown tired of holding everything together.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFront Cover:\u003c\/b\u003e Light creasing, edge wear, and corner blunting. The colors remain surprisingly vibrant, though it carries the unmistakable patina of having been read on a school bus in 1968.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBack Cover:\u003c\/b\u003e Features an exquisite advertisement for Norman Rockwell’s Famous Artists School, accompanied by heavy foxing, accumulated surface dirt, and dark staining along the right margin. Norman is looking for people who like to draw; this comic is looking for someone who doesn't mind a little grime.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eInterior Pages:\u003c\/b\u003e Off-white to cream. Clean, fully intact, and blissfully free of missing coupons or crayon marks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cb\u003e4. About Grumpy Comics\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt \u003cb\u003eGrumpy Comics\u003c\/b\u003e, we do not write comic books. We certainly do not draw superheroes. What we do—with painstaking, obsessive precision—is hunt down thousands of vintage comic books, stare at them under uncomfortable fluorescent lighting, assign them harsh and ungenerous grades, and post them online for people who love paper as much as we do. We are purveyors of fine vintage nostalgia, served with a healthy side of cynicism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\u003cb\u003e5. Free (Snail’s Pace) Shipping Policy\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eShipping is 100% FREE to you.\u003c\/b\u003e However, please manage your expectations accordingly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe ship using standard economy ground services—a transport system carefully engineered to test the limits of human patience. Your comic will be packaged securely in a rigid Gemini mailer so robust it could survive a small natural disaster, but it will travel to your doorstep at the leisurely velocity of a burdened pack mule. If you require instant gratification, we suggest looking out your window. Otherwise, sit back, relax, and check your mailbox in a week or two.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Grumpy Apothecary","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55882617094217,"sku":null,"price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/grumpycomics.com\/products\/marvel-tales-8-1967","provider":"The Grumpy Apothecary","version":"1.0","type":"link"}