"If This Be My Destiny...!"
And Other Great Stories in Spider-Man Comics Weekly
This is the last batch of Spider-Man Comics Weekly issues that I managed to take shots of while I was in the UK, back in May.
I said it in the previous post, and I’ll say again. Seeing Steve Ditko’s artwork in this raw state takes me right back to reading these as a 14 year old. I think I prefer this look over the recoloured collections that I own, tbh.
Spider-Man Comics Weekly #21, July 7, 1973.
In the previous comments, Ed H ILYA, and Matthew Bunce requested a photo of The Shed, so here it is. Nothing to write home about, but I do wonder how much better these comics would look if they’d been kept in the house. Would they have turned quite as brown? I guess I’ll never know. They were in fact stored in cardboard boxes, inside my childhood wardrobe within the shed itself, so less exposed to the elements than they would usually be.
The ‘7’ scrawl on the next issue was our house number at the time, as reference for the paperboy.
Spider-Man Comics Weekly #22, July 14, 1973.
Enter… Doctor Strange!
Spider-Man Comics Weekly #23, July 21, 1973. Wow! Win a pound a week for a whole year!!! That’s only £52.18 quid - or $67.26 bucks! Also, I’ll fess up on this; when I checked my iPhone shots, I’d photographed some of the interior panels, but must have forgotten to photograph the cover for some reason, so I had to nab this image from eBay. Good to see their value is increasing.
Looking at this panel now, it’s weird to think that 38 years later I’d end up working on a Spider-Man and Doctor Strange team-up with Brendan McCarthy on Spider-Man: Fever.
Interesting cover design for issue #24.
Spider-Man Comics Weekly #24, July 28, 1973. Who is the Master Planner?
Spider-Man Comics Weekly #25, August 4, 1973. "If This Be My Destiny...!" Stan Lee always came up with great story titles.
Spider-Man Comics Weekly #26, August 4 ??? I think there’s a bit of a typo on this! Should be August 11th, surely…
Spider-Man Comics Weekly #27, August 18, 1973. This one concludes the classic story. If This Be My Destiny... originally spanned the US editions of The Amazing Spider-Man #31–33 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. It also introduced the characters of Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy.
Spider-Man Comics Weekly #28, August 25, 1973.
Lest we forget, The Mighty Thor was also featured. Apart from Jack Kirby’s art I was never a massive fan for some reason.
Spider-Man Comics Weekly #29, September 1, 1973.
Spider-Man Comics Weekly #30, September 8, 1973… and then…
Behold! The first advertisement for FOOM. I didn’t hesitate for a moment to fill out the coupon. "I've no conscience! I'm willing to take advantage of you big-hearted boobs! (I don't think that meant quite the same thing in 1973) So here's my measly 50p. Rush my big bargain FOOM membership kit immediately.
For more about my addiction to FOOM, please check out this earlier post…
The Far-Flung Fellowship of FOOM!
Time: 8.30 am (ish) GMT Date: 24th March, 1973. Location: Wilmot Road, Carshalton, Surrey, UK. Item: FOOM Membership pack. The letterbox flap slammed shut and outside, a squeaky gate closed behind a bemused postman. The eager boy leapt from the breakfast table and ran towards the front door, unconcerned that his
A good shed there! Thanks for the picture.
How is it that you have a copy/record of your FOOM application? That is too cool for school, my mellifluous, magnificent Marvelite! (MMMS and other slightly-cultish acronyms for fictional fandom fandangles.)