Just Doodling - Spider-Man 2099

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Just Doodling: Jim Shooter Through The Years

When I created these below images, it was long before they went live today. It saddened me greatly to hear that since their inception and today that Mr. Shooter had died on June 30, 2025, no more than a month after I last saw him in person at Big Lick Nova 2025.

The few times that I got the privilege to meet Jim, he was always smiling, happy to sign books, and fill the ears of anyone who would listen with all the fantastic stories about comics, and his time at Marvel. He was a true legend of the industry.

He openly admitted he was a tough boss at Marvel, but also talked about the positive changes he made there, such as providing creators with royalties, and even the basics in terms of supplies to draw the comics they were creating. The positives far outweighed the negatives, and for the fans looking from the outside in, our reward was quality books that delivered consistently on time, while introducing us to other legends in the industry. Jim knew what talent was, and in turn, despite what they said, that talent wanted to work for him.

Though he's no longer with us, I just want to again thank him for all that he helped create in the world of Marvel Comics, for signing all those books for me that he did, and for the commission piece he created for me. I honor his life through this visual retrospective of his storied career.

In 1965, Jim started writing comics
for DC at the age of 13

He joined Marvel Comics in 1976,
succeeding Archie Goodwin as
Editor-In-Chief in 1978

Throughout the 80's, Marvel Comics
became an industry powerhouse under
his watch

He would go on to found Valiant Comics
in 1989 with Steven Massarsky, but sell
it to Acclaim Entertainment in 1994

Throughout the 2000's, he returned to Marvel,
DC, and also worked with Dark Horse, and
newly formed Illustrated Media

During his final working years, Jim still did
freelance work, as well as frequently appears
at comic book conventions across the world
to meet fans and sign autographs

I ended up giving a stack of these to Jim at Big Lick Nova, 2025, and got one signed from him. He kept one personally for himself, and gave all the rest to people who stopped by, signing them as he did. I can't tell you how happy that made me that he not only embraced what I had created, but wanted to share it with everyone else. It saddens me deeply to know he's no longer here with us.

Thank you Mr. Shooter for everything you did not only for the comic book industry, but me personally. Your legacy lives on in my home. I hope we meet again when I too come home to the Lord.

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Marvel UK Posters By Rafael López Espí

Marvel UK Posters by Rafael López Espí
Marvel Comics
1974

If you had 90 pence back in 1974, and read Marvel UK magazines, then you could have been among the lucky comic book fans to get your hands on a fantastic set of posters created by Spanish artist, Rafael López Espí.

López Espi is not among the most well known artist from the Marvel era, and this is perhaps because the majority of his work was confined to reprints of issues while working for Ediciones Vértice, the group responsible for Spanish versions of popular Marvel Comics.

Born and native to Barcelona, López Espí began his career in 1953, which has included covers for titles such as DC Thomson’s Commando and the Fleetway titles Air Ace, Battle, Roxy, Marilyn and Valentine.

He also produced strip work for western stories such as Rex Raven, Billy McGregor and Riffle, as well as several war and romance stories, and Mytek the Mighty. His talents could easily rival some of the greatest of the era. I daresay if given the chance, he could have taken on books of his own, ushering in a new age of Marvel prior to the 90's boom where it was more about the art(ist), and less about the story.

It's indicated that he eventually tired of comics work because of issues over creator rights. However, he did return to them in 2009 to create Extra-Humans and Rayser, published by Panini, the latter which inspired a musical soundtrack by Zíclope and Scud Hero. For Marvel alone, he's credited for working on close to 600 covers during his career, and that's just the work he did for Marvel.

Pertaining to this work specifically, though there wee only six posters made available during this 74' promotion. However, you can see more work done in this style directly at his website, "HERE". While his site is in Spanish, I think the artwork speaks for itself.

I'm particularly a fan of this Spider-Man image, if that's a surprise to any of you readers of The Toy Box. I like how Espi has incorporated into the mask his facial features. These are details which would clearly be visible through his mask, but was something no artists I've seen prior, or since, have bothered to hone in on.

I would have loved to have these posters on my wall as a child, and young comic collector. Granted, by the time I was into comics, 1974 was long past. Heck, I wasn't even around when they first came out.

For a deeper dive into his work, you can also track down a copy of his book, El poder de López Espí: El arte de los superhéroes (translated The power of López Espí: The art of superheroes), published by Dolmen Editorial. It's still available on their main website, "HERE". However, much like his blog, the book is also in Spanish.

This post is not sponsored by Rafael López Espí, or Dolmen Editorial.

These days, books with Rafael López Espí covers are found few and far between, and when they are, they average $100.00 to $200.00 each. However, if you were interested in putting together a comic collection based on the art alone, this would certainly be one I recommend.

Credit is also given to, downthetubes, an additional source for this post.

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Cinnamon Toast Crunch Amazing Fantasy 15 (General Mills)

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Amazing Fantasy 15
General Mills
2022

On October 20, 2022, Wal-Mart launched an online exclusive box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal. Featured on the box was a fabulous rendering of the original 1962 cover of Amazing Fantasy 15, the first appearance of Spider-Man in Marvel Comics. Limited to just 1,962 boxes, and despite being priced at $10.00 per box, the cereal sold out fast - Mainly to scalpers, of course.

The main treasure within this collectable box was on the back. Flipping it over, it would open up, like a book, and featured an abridged reprint of Amazing Fantasy. Yes, that's right. A fantastic and iconic comic right there on the back of your cereal box!

Back in 2024, when I wrote this post, sealed boxes were still relatively easy to come by, on secondary markets, of course. Typically, they sell for between $20.00 and $25.00, with free shipping, which I suppose isn't terrible. I mean, it was decent enough for me to grab one, and by the time you read this, I may have opted to grab more. It's a unique collectible for comic fans, and a fun way to read the origin of Marvel's web spinning super hero.

Based on the label, the cereal expired as of April 20, 2023. While I suppose that's not too long a period between then and now, I still wouldn't recommend eating any of it. But, hey, to each their own if you opt to get a box or two.

For those of you who've never taken a moment to read this iconic story, I took the liberty of posting the book in its entirety below, ads and all. Personally, I'm not a fan of the "B" and "C" stories, but that Spider-Man debut makes up for it in spades. It's a classic read! Enjoy!

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