Spider-Man: 1976

I did a few of those decade-crawls through a targeted character (Batman and Hulk in the 70s, Fantastic Four in the 60s, couple others). I find them mostly all unreadable now - I actually spent a good but of time going back through them and removing, or so I thought, extraneous covers here and there and generally cleaning them up/ trying to un-bloat-ify them, but my changes apparently didn't take. Good to discover! I was going to do more of that kind of stuff (cleaning up old posts) but who needs it if the save/update function isn't working for old posts. 

But this post isn’t about the past... Well. Except it kind of is, literally, about the past: a year in the life of the web-slinger, 1976! 

Minus whatever was going on in the newspaper strip. 

I covered some of these in the Spidey Super Stories posts, but I went through them again to see what was going on. Lots of stuff with the Spider-Mobile. That makes a few appearances in the other titles, too. 

This all was a little before my time. I didn't realize the car was designed to kill Spidey. That's kind of cool, I guess. It also makes the later alien-costume thing even lamer than it arguably was/is; they already did this where Spidey-is-menaced-by-his-accessories thing. (Wait wait, though - what if it was his COSTUME?) It also makes the above a little confusing - isn't Spidey worried the car will try to kill him in the race? Also, I love the Shocker-mobile - but that's the magic of Spidey Super Stories.

Over in Marvel Team-Up, there’s a time travel caper that accounts for a stretch of issues and guest-stars, though not as many time-specific ones as you'd think, given the number of those in even the Marvel-verse of 1976. It does feature some kind of demonic Cotton Mathers, though, so that's something. (And some wry commentary, perhaps, on the bicentennial from Marvel's bullpen.) 

Say true, Cap.

It’s my last official write-up for Spidey, so I’ll be candid: if you’ve seen one or two Sal Buscema panels, you’ve seen them all, and ditto for Bill Mantlo. Both maintained acceptable baseline. As an editor, I’d have them both on speed dial – and everyone at Marvel did. I don’t mean to shortchange their work as professionals, just not the brightest-burning of Marvel’s bullpen. 

There's a lot of other work in this year of issues, though, including some always kinetic stuff from Ron Wilson when Spidey teams up with the Thing. 

from MTU 47.

A grisly end to MTU 44.

Amazing Spider-Man is likely the best of the lot, if only for the Andru/Esposito art and the stretch of interconnected stories from 155-159. I liked those so much I covered Marvel Tales just so I could look at them when I did '81 for Spider Man in the 1980s. But are they memorable for anyone who didn't read them as a kid? The eternal question. I'm not sure. I'd love to see it all the capper for a good season of Spider-TV, though: the W.H.O.-dunit caper to the Doctor Octopus/Aunt May romance (weird!) to Ned and Betty getting married to the Hammerhead ghost and all else.

Revisiting it I see the strings a bit more, but that’s okay. In other issues, in no particular order: (1) Peter keeps leaving MJ places, (2) He keeps getting his costume covered in sewage and such, (3) the Shocker! (4) the Spider-Mobile! Again. Not that Spidey Super Stories counts. In this one, the Tinkerer has "tinkered" with it and hi-jinks ensue. At the end Spidey leaves it hanging off the side of some building inexplicably. (5) Some carnies and X-intrigue. That's X-Men, don't get excited. And (6) There's one of those former high school hero turned down on his luck mixed up with the mob sort of stories whose act of redemption ties into his high school glory as well as redeems the little girl he leaves behind. Except, he dies during it all, as Spidey busts up the kidnapping stuff. In true Marvel fashion this girl should've grown up to hate Spider-Man; I wonder if anyone revisited this? She hates two things: football and Spidey.

Peter Parker had this place through the 80s, I think. 

Right soundtrack and this is the best thing ever. 

The annual introduces the Fly, above. Fairly natural foe for Spider-Man. Years later the original Tarantula turned into an actual tarantula-man hybrid for a memorable three-parter (ASM 234-236) and died. Looking back that should've been the Fly instead of the Tarantula, right? Maybe they thought it was too on-the-nose. It'd have scooped the Cronenberg reboot, though, by a few years. Anyway, I had this one, back in the day. This was one of my first before-my-time purchases, I can't recall how much I paid - in allowance money, whatever it was, it was enough. 

As a kid I had a subscription to Green Lantern for a few years when Gil Kane was doing an amazing stretch of covers. I had no idea of his long pedigree in comics at that time. I doubt I noticed it was the same artist here in the annual, either. 

~

If you were a kid in 1976 and this was your first year of Spider-Man (followed by a live action show in 1977, crappy as it was) would it have led you to becoming a lifelong Spider-addict? Anything's possible, I guess. Chances increase if you throw in everything Marvel Tales was reprinting at the time. 

Here's some leftover pictures from all of the above:

Earlier this year I picked up the Marvel Index to Spider-Man. Those covers are great. I'd hoped the cover to issue four covered the spirit of '76, but no luck. The issues discussed above are indexed in this issue:

Not a bad cover. But the one I was hoping for is this one. 

I love that. Great image to end on. That's Ron Frenz and John Romita, Sr., incidentally my first favorite Spider-artists (and enduring ones). Thanks for everything, gents.

More Spidey Super Stories

Spidey Super Stories was an out-of-continuity joint production with The Electric Company, a long-running program for the Children's Television Workshop in my earlier years. I've been looking at some of these comics with my kids lately and wanted to share some impressions. Same deal as last time.

Let's start with some:

1.

SCRAMBLED ORIGINS

On the inside cover of every issue were four or five black-and-white panels introducing the Marvel characters appearing in that issue. These panels featured a condensed, almost surreal, and certainly misleading breakdown of their origins and powers. Case in point:

Not even close, but okay, shorthand for kids. More Doom to come.

Or this overview of the Moleman.

This takes up two panels of his five panel origin story.
Or The Lizard:

Technically accurate. More on The Lizard later.
Onto Spider-Woman.

Is he reassuring us or his daughter? Either way, it's not very reassuring.

Just roll with it.

Here's the Plantman.

This is kind of terrifying.
Or how about Mastermind?

No he doesn't.

No he isn't, and no he doesn't. (Okay so it's not Jason Wyngarde.)

...

When it came to Spidey's origin, they did a decent, kid-reading-level job of Peter Parker:

 

 And even a decent job explaining the web-shooters:

And then there's these two panels which condense "With great power comes great responsibility" / the death of Uncle Ben into one "Eureka!" moment. 

2.

QUITE A BIT

WITH DOOM, ACTUALLY

Doom shows up a lot in the random sampling of issues I chose for this round.

This plan comes unraveled when someone unplugs Doom's hypno-machine.
Also, what's with the eyes?

3.

ALSO QUITE A

BIT WITH PAUL

Paul the Gorilla was played by Jim Boyd in the series. He gets quite a few plots in these stories, mostly not feeling like Spidey is his friend and then Spidey / everyone has to prove it. Which is exactly the sort of kid-centered programming that makes sense for kids going into preschool and kindergarten - right down to the fake gorilla.

Spidey - as Paul's stunt double in The Electric Company, except when he isn't - always plays second fiddle to Paul in these escapades.

Oh, Paul.

Jesus, Paul.

4.

SPIDEY STAMPS

5.

THE LIZARD THING

HAS ESCALATED

"Oh, Spidey missed the bottle marked LIZARD CURE that I keep in a TOTALLY DIFFERENT ROOM!"

6.

THE VAMPIRE

I've yet to see an origin/ explanation for the Vampire. He just kinda shows up, Mad magazine style for one or two page asides.

7.

SPIDEY 2020

And like James Polk, having annexed half of Mexico and captured the Funny Bunny in one term of office, Spidey walked away from the White House, never to return.

8.

PETER CRISS?!

9.

OMINOUS

Tomorrow... it ends.

10.

WOMEN'S DAY

I like how everyone in this parade is gorgeous, and all the signs are reasonable. It's a beautiful world of make-believe!

Guess the news hasn't changed much. 

That's Thanos (THANOS) they're passing over to the Central Park beat cops, by the way. I know I used this joke last time but good lord. That'll end well.

11.

RANDOMS

Poor stupid Hulk.

"Will this party be off the hook?"
"Does Gene Motherfucking Shalit mean anything to you? Huh? How about J. Jonah Jameson and this dude in the green coat and orange tie in the forefront? Hook it into my veins.")

I sense a reboot waiting to happen here.

Ditto.

~

All screencaps from Spidey Super Stories #s 1, 9, 11, 19, 21, 25, 26, 29, 32, 35, 36, 39, 42, 49 and 42.  Art direction by JRSR and Marie Severin.