Untold Tales of Spider-Man #8

Name: Untold Tales of Spider-Man #8
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Apr 1996 · Marvel · 0.99 USD; 1.38 CAD

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“Harry's Story”

★ 1st appearance — Headsman

At just 99 cents, this 1996 Marvel gem delivers a cover packed with tension — Spider-Man is caught in the middle as a lasso-wielding figure in green and a brawling young man in yellow close in from either side, while a smaller purple-suited accomplice crouches nearby, all three overwhelmed by the looming silhouette of the Headsman casting a dark shadow across the green-tinted background. The bold cover art by Patrick Olliffe and Al Vey frames the threat beautifully, balancing menace and energy in a way that makes it hard not to flip straight to the story. Kurt Busiek's "Harry's Story" promises the kind of character-driven, early-era Spider-Man storytelling that made Untold Tales one of 1996's most satisfying ongoing series.

writer Kurt Busiek · artist Pat Olliffe · inker Al Milgrom · inker Pam Eklund · colorist Steve Mattsson · letterer Richard Starkings · letterer Comicraft · cover Patrick Olliffe, Al Vey

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Untold Tales of Spider-Man Vol 1 #8 - April 1996 $1.59

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Trivia · 8 facts

Title: 'Harry's Story.' Written by Kurt Busiek; pencils by Pat Olliffe (layouts), inks by Al Milgrom and Pam Eklund; cover date April 1996, on sale February 13, 1996.
First appearance of the Headsman (Cleavon Twain), a new villain armed with an electronically enhanced axe and a flying platform, deployed by Norman Osborn as a proxy against Spider-Man.
First in-story reveal that the anonymous shadowy figure who had appeared in the background of Untold Tales #1 is Norman Osborn — resolving a planted mystery from the series' debut issue.
Norman Osborn's origin is dramatized in flashback: after Mendel Stromm's embezzlement lets him seize control of the company, an accidental lab explosion gives him enhanced clarity and drives him toward a costumed criminal identity; the closing scene shows him sketching the face of a goblin for the first time.
The issue contains the earliest known encounter between Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy in mainstream Marvel (616) continuity — Peter bumps into Gwen and Harry on the street while rushing away in secret, but leaves without exchanging names; Gwen simply wonders where 'that other boy' was going.
Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn appear together here, placing them in each other's social orbit well before their canonical first appearance as Peter's college classmates in Amazing Spider-Man #31 (1965).
The Enforcers (Ox, Montana, Fancy Dan) also appear as Osborn's hired muscle, tying the issue directly to the continuity of Amazing Spider-Man #10.
The issue has been reprinted in: Spider-Man Visionaries: Kurt Busiek Vol. 1 TPB (1997); the Untold Tales of Spider-Man Omnibus (2012, ~808 pages); and Untold Tales of Spider-Man: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 (2021).