Interview Series with Amazing Spider-Man Collector Extraordinaire - Bruce Wechtenhiser

     If you're a Spider-Man fan, this interview will be a treat for sure!  This interview series is with an owner of one of the most unique and premier collections of Spider-Man pieces.  Bruce Wechtenhiser has been collecting everything Spider-Man since he was little.  And from the looks of just some of the collection, he has a one of a kind collections all collectors can aspire to reach.

• Comics were in my home from an early age.  My older brothers had a few (Batman, Superman) and I would look over them when I was 2-4 years old.  I didn't get "hooked" on comics until I was almost 5 years old.  I had been watching and loving the original Spider-Man cartoon in it's first run (1967/1968).  My brother brought me a Spider-Man comic book one day.  I couldn't believe it!  Comic books with Spider-Man !!  It was Amazing Spider-Man # 71.  I drew all over the cover, wrote my name on images of Peter Parker, cut out some images and taped them to my wall.  I still have that comic book today!  Signed by Stan Lee and John Romita, and framed in my "Spidey Room".

Favorite childhood memory about comics? 

• I received a Marvel Comics "No-Prize" by answering a question that was posed in Amazing Spider-Man # 109, published in early 1972.  I was in 2nd grade!  When the envelope arrived, I excitedly tore it open!  Then I realized the reason it was called a "No-Prize".  The envelope was empty.  I still have the No-Prize, framed with the comic book and an enlargement of the comic panel where the question was asked.  In 2019 I got the No-Prize autographed by John Romita, Sr.

Tell us about your Spider-Man collection, what got you started? 

• My collection started with that first Amazing Spider-Man comic book I received at the age of 4.  I have all the issues produced since then, and continue to get them every month.  Being a "true believer", I was looking for anything Spider-Man related as a child.  I was just so hooked on the character, that I wanted to BE him!  Not many items were available back in 1968.  You had to mail away to order things from ads in the comics, or from the Marvel fan clubs (MMMS, Marvelmania).  I was too young and missed out on the mailaway items.  I did get the Ben Cooper halloween costumes in the late 1960's (wore them all year long, tore the seams, bought a new one the next year). 
• It wasn't until around 1972 that items were showing up in stores.  I played with those toys (vehicles, helicopters, punchballs) and kept them over the years.  I never stopped buying/collecting Spider-Man (and some other Marvel character items) in the past 55 years.  I got "super serious" about speeding up my collecting in the early 1990s (pre-eBay).  I would order things from people who placed ads  in a newspaper style magazine called "The Toy Shop'', which was published twice monthly. 
• There were also auction catalogs  available (for phone in auctions) from a few auction houses.  I also travelled to toy shows/conventions my tri-state area for a few years.  Then I joined in on eBay when it first started up.  I was really buying a lot of items in the early and mid 1990s.  I was trying to become the "foremost Spider-Man collector in the USA''.  Well, I gave up on that goal when I saw photos of some truly massive Spider-Man collections!  I was getting married in 1998, and my items were all in boxes, not being displayed.  I wanted to help pay for the wedding and down payment on a house for me and my wife, so I sold about 500 items (all to one buyer).  I kept some items (I wasn't quitting collecting).

Top 3 most unique things in your Spider-Man collection? 

• I recently traded for a piece of original art:  John Romita, Sr. preliminary (pencil on vellum) cover for a 1973 CREEM Magazine (rock and roll magazine) with a beautiful image of Spider-Man on it.  I saw that magazine as a 3rd grader, sitting a few feet away from the comics at the store where I was buying comics, and took it home that day.  The reason Marvel was featured in that issue is because the Spider-Man: A Rockomic LP had just been produced and they were promoting it.  So, the preliminary cover is the only piece of original art I currently own, and it is obviously one of a kind (and signed by Romita).  I am getting it framed professionally, along with a nice example of the Creem magazine. 

• This past summer, I finally got one of the giant, 6-foot tall Spider-Man posters from 1965, featuring artwork by Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko!  Those posters were only available by mailing away for them.  They are hard to find in nice condition.  Mine is in fair condition, and I had a friend build a frame for it.  I have lived my whole life here in Steve Ditko's hometown, so it makes it extra special for me to have this item.  In my opinion, the poster took my collection to a higher level.  

• Since I'm limited to top 3 unique things, it's a toss up for number 3.  I would say my unused (NOS - "new, old stock") playfield for the 1980 Gottllieb Spider-Man full-size pinball machine is very unique.  It's the giant wooden board that the ball rolls around on as you play pinball, where the bumpers, flippers, ramps, lights, etc., are attached.  I've been told that the unused playfields were never intentionally produced back then.  There must have been a slight flaw to it, and it got rejected from being installed in a machine back in 1980.  Nobody knows exactly how many of these unused playfields were kept by the Gottlieb company.  It could be a very small number.  So, it's really hard to find one of these, and even harder to get a collector to sell or trade one!  Beautiful, classic John Romita art all over the playfield!  Mine will be going on the wall as a piece of art... no parts going on it!

Do you collect anything else? 

• I specialize in collecting Spider-Man items, but I have collected other Marvel character items over the years.  Marvel fan club items and some toys which catch my eye.  I also collect some things related to the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL team and players from the 1970s (when they won 4 Super Bowls in a 6 year time span).  I have many interests, but not to the point where I am trying to build a collection.  I will pick up an item here or there if it is in my interests.

Next big thing for your personal collection? 

• Your grail or next piece you're after?  I'm always looking for pretty much anything that catches my eye or was one of my childhood items (or things I missed out on in childhood).  I try to only go after items from the 1960s and 1970s these days.  I'm hoping to work out a deal for one of the 1960s mailaway Spider-Man t-shirts.  Some of my grail items are typically far too expensive for me to afford, but if I find them at the right price (cash or trade), I am hoping to get a few key items.

Most rare or highest value item in your collection? 

• Highest value: emotionally, I can't even place a value on a 1973 Spider-Man AM radio.  My mom got it for me for Christmas.  After leaving her husband due to his many personal problems, she was raising four children on her own , me being the youngest, on a very low salary.  I saw the radio in our local department store.   It was $25, very expensive for a small item back then.  I asked for it, realizing I most likely would not get it because of our money situation.  She made sure it was under the Christmas tree that year.  The radio reminds me of all the sacrifices my Mom made for me and our family for decades.  I still have the radio she bought me, and many years later got one still sealed in the box.  I had it signed by John Romita, Sr., in 2019.

What's the future for your Spider-Man collection? 

• I have been blessed in many ways in life:  family, friends, and with my connection with the Spider-Man character.  I have had some fun interviews (like this one), especially the past 7 weeks or so (internet interviews, newspaper articles, television segments).  I hope to keep collecting Spidey items, here and there, for years to come.  I also will be selling some items from time to time.  I hope to continue to tell my "Spider-Man stories" in various ways and venues.  I have made some connections with various outlets, and also some personal connections over the past few years, which I am excited about.  For example, I've been in touch with members of Steve Ditko's family.  The Ditko Estate is hoping to do some big things in the next few years.  I am hopeful to be involved with some of those projects.

Best find or score? 

• A couple years before I got married, I went to a local "antiques day", where vendors come to town and set up tables outside along the streets of town.  I only found one Spider-Man item that day:  a 1972 Spider-Man ceramic ashtray.  Never saw it before, and I didn't know if it was licensed or just a bootleg item.  I paid around $40 for it, and thought I may have paid too much.  A few months later a collector paid a lot of money for a similar ashtray, featuring the Human Torch  on it, in a phone-in auction.  One of my friends contacted that collector to tell him I had a Spider-Man version.  I received a phone call from the collector, and he offered me quite a bit of money (and also additional items) for my Spider-Man ashtray.  I had never sold any items to that point, but I did agree to his offer.  I used the money to buy my girlfriend an engagement ring!  Yes, I am cheap... $40 for an engagement ring.  She is still my wife 24 years later!  And I got another one of those ashtrays later.  It was an item given out to Marvel employees one year.  I had John Romita, Sr., sign it in 2019.

 Advice to new collectors. 

• Do your research!  Be knowledgeable about the items you want to collect.  Buy what you love, but also keep an open mind to buying things which may be valuable to someone else (you can sell or trade it to advance your collection).  Buy "extra" items if the seller has more than one of the items you are getting from them.  Try to focus on quality/great condition when you buy.  When it's time for you (or your family) to sell your items, there are not too many beat up, loose items which people would want to buy.  Make friends/connections in the hobby.  Don't burn bridges!  It is so nice to say that I have friends all around the world, even if we never met in person, in the collecting world. 

A huge thank you to Bruce for the amazing interview and for sharing some great pictures of an unbelievable collection.  I imagine everyone reading this is super jealous if you're a Spider-Man fan because I know I am!  If you or anyone you know has an incredible collection, drop a comment below so we can reach out to them.

Learn more about Bruce and his collection

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