Green Goblin First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #14 and How to Identify It

Green Goblin first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 (cover date July 1964), published by Marvel, by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko. The source puts it this way: "The Amazing Spider-Man #14 graded CGC 9.6 – first appearance of Green Goblin".

• Identity concealed at first appearance: at this point his identity was unknown, but he proved popular and reappeared in later issues, which made a point of his secret identity.
• Norman Osborn appeared unidentified as a background civilian before his identity as Green Goblin was revealed: an earlier, unnamed background character was meant to be Norman Osborn.

• Indicia: the small print on the first page or inside cover gives the issue number, date and publisher; reprints usually say so there.
• Cover price and barcode: a price or barcode format that did not exist in the year printed means a later edition.
• Paper and staples: decades-old newsprint is tan at the edges; bright white pages on an old date are a warning sign.
• Restoration: color touch, trimmed edges and married covers are common on expensive keys; a grading service can detect them.

Shoot the front cover flat, straight on, in even light, then the indicia page and the back cover. Include the top edge and staples in one frame. The app reads the title, issue number and cover and matches it against the checks above; the indicia photo settles most reprint questions.