Date: January 1976 Publisher: DC Comics Cover Price: 25¢ 2012 Price Range: $38 – $3 Stats: 18 color pages plus ads and “Swamp Things” letters page. Writer: Gerry Conway Artist: Nestor Redondo Notable Notes: Swamp Thing battles its doppelganger!
Ok, I’ll be honest: when I bought this issue I thought I was getting the one that was Alan Moore’s first issue… but I was sadly mistaken. Alan Moore’s first Swamp Thing script was in Saga of the Swamp Thing #20, not this one, which is just plain old Swamp Thing #20. Sheesh! Such a rookie mistake – I am totally embarrassed! Oh well, I bought and read this one so let’s see how it stacks up shall we?
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Date: December 1983 Publisher: Marvel Comics Group Cover Price: 60¢ 2012 Price Range: $1 – $10, depending on condition Stats: 22 color pages plus ads, Bullpen Bulletins and “The Spider’s Web” letters page. Writer: Roger Stern Artists: John Romita Jr., John Romita Sr., Joe Rosen and Bob Sharen Notable Notes: In which Spidey picks on “Nose” Norton!
When I read Spider-man #246 I was a bit disappointed that Hobgoblin didn’t play a bigger part in the story, so I was excited to get back to the storyline in this issue. Yeah, turns out Spidey is still looking for Hobgoblin, but he doesn’t get too far in this issue. Oh well, I’m sure he will next time… right?
Date: August 1975 Publisher: Harvey Comics Cover Price: 35¢ 2012 Price Range: $3.00 (good) – $25.00 (NM-) Stats: 37 color pages, plus a two-page text story and ads Writer: ? Artists: ? Notable Notes: In which Richie discovers a robot from an ancient civilization!
So, the cover of this issue shows that it is “52 pages” – which I took to mean 52 pages of story, however that is not the case. Sure, there are 52 pages in the book, but only 39 of them are actual story pages (and 2 of those are a text story!) Nevertheless, I actually enjoyed seeing and reading the old ads – things like Grit, Hostess, American Dental Association, Camp Fire Girls, Cub Scouts and the ever-famous Sea-Monkies! They were quite a hoot I tell ya! I’m sure I didn’t like the ads when I was a kid, but now they amuse me to no end!
Date: March 1980 Publisher: Marvel Comics Group Cover Price: 40¢ Current Price Range: $1.00 – $8.00 Stats: 31 color pages plus ads, “Bullpen Bulletins” and “The Hammer Strikes” letters page. Writer: Roy Thomas Artists: Keith Pollard, Chic Stone, Joe Rosen and C. Gafford Notable Notes: A giant eyeball that keeps referring to itself as “eye”!
Ever since 5th grade I have been interested in mythology – mostly Greek and Roman, but others as well. Because of my comic reading days when I was even younger, I also found great interest in Norse mythology. So, it was kind of cool to read about the Norse gods who existed before the Marvel Comic’s version, and how their actions lead to the current version. I don’t know how much of this issue was based on real Norse mythology, but it was still fun to read about, and even more fun knowing that the creators at Marvel were giving a nod to the real myths.
Date: November 1983 Publisher: Marvel Comics Group Cover Price: 60¢ Current Price Range: $1 – $10 Stats: 22 color pages plus ads, Bullpen Bulletins and “The Spider’s Web” letters page. Writer: Roger Stern Artists: John Romita Jr., Dan Green, Joe Rosen and Bob Sharen Notable Notes: The “Daydream” issue!
Ahh, If Only…
Who doesn’t like to daydream? I know I sure did as a kid – heck, I still like to do it! I remember thinking what it would be like to be Daredevil – how cool it would be performing amazing feats without sight and what not. Anyway, this issue explores some ideas of what comic book characters might fantasize about.
Date: October 1983 Cover Price: 60¢ Current Price Range: $1.50 – $12 Stats: color, 22 pages + ads and Bullpen Bulletins Publisher: Marvel Comics Group Writer: Roger Stern Artists: John Romita Jr. and Dave Simons, Joe Rosen, Bob Sharen Notable Notes: 4th appearance of Hobgoblin, Lefty Donovan gains powers of Hobgoblin
My History with this issue: In 1983 I was 12 years old, and our family was going camping. My mom, quite thoughtfully, picked up a few comic books for me at the local 7-11 and this awesome issue was among them. This was one of my earliest ventures into Marvel comics and superhero comics in general, and I was immediately captivated by Spider-man! Now, 29 years later, I am still captivated by this issue!
