Spider-month Part 2 of 3: Spectacular Spider-Man #139

This was one of the first issues of Spectacular Spider-Man I bought off the racks myself.   I had been aggressively collecting comics for a short while when this issue came out, and Spider-Man comics weren’t part of my regular collecting list (with the exception of Marvel Tales, which I bought to read the older comics; older comics were my thing even then).  For whatever reason, I bought this issue. Could be that I had read a few issues of Spectacular Spider-Man from my friends and liked it?  Who knows?  I didn’t own hardly any issues of the title at this point.  This story drew me in, though.  The villain of Tombstone was so bad and nasty that he seemed like a real threat, especially to poor Joe Robertson.  I haven’t looked at this issue in years, but the art of Sal Buscema was the style I picture when I think of this title, just as I tend to picture Alex Saviuk when I think of Web of Spider-Man.  Another plus was the writing of Gerry Conway, who wrote many classic Spidey stories years before in Amazing Spider-Man. A fun time and a landmark reference point in my relationship with this title.

This month, I’m focusing my sights on the web-flinging wall-hugger as I have been reading a lot of Spider-Man comics lately. I am preparing a Spider-Man-themed Far-Out Sounds from the Six-Panel Grid episode, and here (returning, finally) you'll receive three Some of My Favorite Comics entires that will be Spider-themed.

Spider-month Part 1 of 3: Web of Spider-Man #1

When I was a youngster, I remember beginning to go to the barber for the first time.  The first visit was, as I remember, rather frightening.  One fixture of the barber shop that helped eventually relax me and look forward to going was the supply of comics that were sitting in the bottom of a little stand, specifically put there to keep kids entertained.  These comics were well-read, and a few were coverless (I’m not sure if this issue in question could have been one of the coverless).  That’s where I first read Web of Spider-Man #1.  Also piled on this stand were issues of Whitman Disney comics, an issue of Captain America, an issue of Cloak and Dagger, and others.  Over the years since, I have gathered copies of all these into my collection, but one that stands out as a favorite is the first issue of Web.   I recall the story being so different from the other older Spidey stories I had read, plus there was the black costume, which was a strange new thing for me.  I remember this issue and the others in the stack stayed there for years, getting more and more worn and eventually disappearing as they either got thrown out or taken.  Years later, when I finally got my copy of Web of Spider-Man #1, I found it strange to hold a copy that wasn’t tattered and smelling of hair products and cigarettes…

Here are two videos that were the sources for some of the audio in Far-Out Sounds from the Six-Panel Grid episodes...

I am moving to Baltimore!  I started a new job in the city, and I'm in the process of moving to my new digs.  I last moved a little over two years ago, so I know the harrowing work ahead of me moving the collection.  I may be off the grid for awhile as I get settled, but I'm still here. 

There's plenty of comic book opportunities in the city, and I've already added another comic shop to my list of first visits: Cards, Comics, and Collectibles. The best part is that the Baltimore ComicCon will now be a definite annual experience.

On this second venture into the grid, I take a look at Superboy #150, Marvel Comics: The Untold Story book, and a first visit to a comic shop (Cosmic Comix & Toys).  (23:37)

Atomic Comics in Hagerstown, MD, shows up Justice League #27.