BY MATT TUCK
In the world of comic collecting, there are keys, there are holy grails, and then there are one-of-a-kind oddities that demand your attention. Thus we have the legend of the Amazing Spider-Man #14 “Angry Girlfriend Variant.”
It’s like the proverbial trainwreck that you didn’t want to see, yet you can’t look away from the carnage. When it comes to comics, seeing a holy grail like ASM #14 defiled with black permanent marker is much the same. Of course, that’s precisely why it has become such an internet sensation. “People stop and are, like, ‘I thought it was just a meme,’” said the infamous book’s current owner, Dustin Ruff.
As the story goes, the comic’s previous owner found himself with a new companion, and his girlfriend at the time was less than pleased. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, right? She grabbed a marker and took out her anger on the prized comic.
“Chance, Go to Hell,” she wrote on the cover along with an ominous instruction. “Turn over.” On the back, she went into a bit more detail. “I never thought I’d be able to destroy something that meant so much to me. As far as I’m concerned, your [sic] dead.”
Just in case you thought the scorned lover was taking the moral high road, she added, “In no way am I trying to be noble or anything like that.” It’s a good thing she cleared that up.
This comic has reached legendary status among collectors. Every three or six months, it will resurface in a social media group with a new verse added to the tale. Despite numerous claims of ownership, the comic has actually only been sold two times, according to Ruff’s former business partner, Shane Hester. Sadly, Hester passed away in January 2022, but his legacy lives on as part of this legendary comic. The Angry Girlfriend Variant fittingly passed to his best friend, Ruff. “Shane was like my brother, and this is like his legacy,” he said.
How did Hester and Ruff come to own the Angry Girlfriend Variant? The infamous Chance sold it to Titan Comics in the early 1990s. In a prior interview, Hester said he bought it for $40 at the Atlanta Comic Convention. “Every dealer, every customer, everybody picked that book up and looked at it, and they’re all talking about it, and then they hand it back. […] I whipped my wallet out. […] I bought it, and everybody else was like, ‘Dude, I would’ve gave $40 bucks for it,’ And I’m like, ‘It sucks to be you. It’s mine now.’”
Any copy of ASM #14 is worth having, but there’s few things that will make collectors cringe quite like someone writing on the cover. Hester had estimated that CGC would likely grade it in the 7.5-8.0 range, minus the writing. At the moment, the fair market value would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $6,000 and $7,000.
To add to the legend, some famous names within the comic industry are said to have offered five figures to own this infamous piece of comic collecting history. Hester claims that Donny Cates offered $25,000 for it, and that Jim Lee was willing to drop $50,000 on the “Angry Girlfriend.” Yet Hester and Ruff turned them both down.
Why? “I feel like the AGV is a very important part of comic book history, and it’s a living legend,” Ruff shared. “More and more people know what it is and come to my booth to see it.”
Most of us would jump at the chance to turn a $40 investment into a $50,000 profit, but Hester had said the novelty and sideshow of the comic itself made it worth even more to his and Ruff’s business. “We were at a con in Kansas City, Missouri, and everybody there came and touched that book. […] That book generates us $50,000 every six to eight months with people coming to see it and buying stuff.”
What would it take to pry the AGV away from Ruff? No amount of money could replace what it means to him. “I have no plans to ever sell it because people expect me to have it, and it helps keep Shane’s stories and legacy alive.”
