The document discusses Walter Benjamin's concept of aura and its application to reproductions of artwork. It analyzes Todd McFarlane's original artwork for the cover of Spider-Man #1, which sold at auction for $657,250, making it the most valuable piece of American comic art ever sold. While the image has been widely reproduced, the original drawing retains a unique aura due to its status as a singular, original work completed by the artist's hand, as well as finer details that were lost in reproduction. The document considers how aura applies to original works versus reproductions and mass-produced copies.

3. WHAT?

5. Because I view the Marvel comic out of its original context,
Benjamin would argue that the digital copy that I see lacks
aura because it is a reproduction. Furthermore, without me
knowing, being able to appreciate, and really living the
original context, the comic loses its “cult” or “ritual” value and
instead serves only the purpose of exhibition.

6. There is one thing about this Marvel comic that I find pretty
interesting in relation to Benjamin’s theory. At the top of the
comic is the label, “1st All-new Collector’s Item Issue!” The
reason this is so interesting to me is because it basically names
itself as authentic. However, labeling it a collector’s item
suggests that it was created with intentions of becoming
exhibitive in nature. This thereby creates a perplexing mix of
Benjamin’s description of authentic aura and his explanation of
art abandoning its original purpose for a more exhibitive – or
even political – one.

7. I believe one of the aspects of the aura the piece loses is in the
fact that because the image is reproduced so often, and
Spiderman himself is reproduced so often, that the familiarity
the viewer has with the piece takes away from the
uniqueness. Despite the fact that this the first collectors issue
and it is signed by Todd McFarlane, there is a level of
authenticity lost because it is so easily accessible and
reproduced.

8. Is it about… the Benjamins?

9. Todd McFarlane’s original art to the cover of Spider-Man was sold at
auction in 2012 for $657,250, reportedly making it the single most
valuable piece of American comic ever sold at auction. The aura held in
the original work is what gives this piece of art its essential value, as it
is safe to assume that no one would pay nearly three-quarters of a
million dollars for a reproduced copy that could be found online.
Although the original piece of art has been reproduced in spades over
the past two and a half decades, it alone holds the lone value of
originality, completed by the artist’s handwritten signature in the
bottom right hand corner. The authenticity and aura that are lost in
the process of reproduction reside solely in the original drawing of this
famous comic.

10. Todd McFarlane’s original art to the cover of Spider-Man was sold at
auction in 2012 for $657,250, reportedly making it the single most
valuable piece of American comic ever sold at auction. The aura held in
the original work is what gives this piece of art its essential value, as it
is safe to assume that no one would pay nearly three-quarters of a
million dollars for a reproduced copy that could be found online.
Although the original piece of art has been reproduced in spades over
the past two and a half decades, it alone holds the lone value of
originality, completed by the artist’s handwritten signature in the
bottom right hand corner. The authenticity and aura that are lost in
the process of reproduction reside solely in the original drawing of this
famous comic.

11. For perspective:
It’d take Dr. Phill 13 years salary
to buy that one comic image
Or that comic could pay for
roughly 6 educations from
undergrad-Ph.D.

12. Original Spider-Man #1
Silver Spider-Man #1 from
McFarlane’s Webs Comics
And Gold Spider-Man 1,
because 90s.

13. Spider-Man #13, with
SM in his black outfit.
Next to it is a newer,
digitally colored version.

14. Gen-13 #1.
Cover by John Cleary
Spawn #8, by McFarlane,
Jokingly signed “after me.”

15. Dramatically digitally colored
fan version.
Lego version.
Re-worked version for
Spider-Man: Masques cover.

16. Assassin’s Creed
And
GI Joe

17. Mo’ Spider.

18. Mo’ Spider.

19. If the image is known for its widely reproduced (over 2 million copies)
color version, why is the original black and white drawing so
valuable? The element that sets this image apart is the aura
surrounding it.
Because the image was hand-drawn and not colored until later, there
is much more detail in the original. Each strand of web, each spider,
and every element of his suit required conscious time and effort, and
it is very apparent. Many details were lost when the color was added
and the image was shrunk to be printed and distributed. Because
aura is that which is degraded with mechanical reproduction
(Benjamin), this detail contributes to the overall aura of the piece.

20. If we are discussing this piece with regard to the physical copy that was
produced and sold at auction, then this Spider-Man #1 cover, by Todd
McFarlane, undoubtedly possesses some semblance of an aura, though
it is slightly different than that of a traditional aura, as defined by
Walter Benjamin. It may be argued by some that this piece of work
possesses an incomplete aura is due to the fact that while it is an
original piece by an author, it is still a reproduction of the idea of Spider-
Man, as the original creators, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, produced the
original Spider-Man in a 1963 Amazing Fantasy comic book.
While this may seem like a viable argument, Benjamin describes the
primary flaw of a reproduction is that it lacks the original’s “presence in
time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to
be,” (Benjamin 3).

21. Yet, one of the many questions that Walter Benjamin brings to fruition is: are
these reproductions really the same and do they do the original justice? The
quickest way I can answer this question is with another: have you ever listened to
a song being made? The moment the final chord is melded into the melody or the
high-hat is added to flesh out the percussion section, the musical ensemble finally
makes sense and it suddenly clicks with the musician or whatever audience
member might be there. This moment of immediate recognition gets at two of
Benjamin’s points on the “aura” of a rhetorical piece: the time/place of a given
piece of rhetoric and the previous nonexistence of identical copies. The moment
the song is finished, nobody else has heard anything like it before (unless it is
completely derivative) and nobody else has heard it at the time and place of its
creation (the timing of music is essential – 2000’s music would not be popular
today and vice versa).

23. Which has the most “aura?”
1.
2.
3.

24. Which has the most “aura?”
1.
2.
3.
Seems timeless, at least right now. Highly
likely to still be used and recognized in a
decade, but far removed from first Cowboy
star.
Hand drawn. I bet there’s only Bat-1.
Still insane clever with it’s hidden arrow,
but due to colors and font likely to pass
from favor and use long before the
Cowboy’s star.