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| Copyright MARVEL COMICS |
In what sometimes seems like another lifetime, in a place that can be accessed only in dreams and memory, I started to again collect a weekly comic that I'd bought as a young teenager. The comic was called SPIDER-MAN COMICS WEEKLY, and in 1979 it shortened its name to just SPIDER-MAN COMIC. At some stage I gave up on the periodical, but then, in 1984, I started buying it again, probably (I assume) because it featured the first instalment of a comic strip adaptation of INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM. By this time (1984), it was called simply SPIDER-MAN, and it was printed on good-quality paper and was quite a handsome publication.
I restarted with issue #590, but #601 was the last to feature the better printing, as the following week, it started using slightly cheaper paper for the insides, and what's more, the height of the comic shrunk by nearly an inch. However, it now had more pages (36 as opposed to 32) and more of them were in colour, so I suppose it was a fair trade-off. For some unaccountable reason, I missed two issues (there may have been more, but if so, I acquired them so far back that I've forgotten not having them), which I finally managed to track down nearly 34 years after the fact. (In case you're wondering, they were #607 and #615.)
The last issue I purchased in that particular run was #621, which I took a look at last week when emptying a cupboard full of comics in a search for some specific numbers of SMASH! from the '60s. (Didn't have them in loose form.) I was surprised to see that all three stories in Spidey were continued, and assumed, as with #s 607 & 615, that I just couldn't find the next ish in the shops at the time. So I typed it into ebay and there it was for a few paltry quid. Bought it on the spot and it arrived today, and I'm glad to see that the wrap-up for all three tales reaches their natural conclusion, meaning that I can now regard that run of comics as complete.
It may have taken me nearly 35 years, but I'm glad to say that I eventually got there in the end. There's an old saying (which I'll paraphrase) - 'it's better to travel hopefully than to arrive', and in many instances that may well be true, but this case is the exception. It's good to finally reach the end of this particular 'journey' and write 'close' to an unfinished chapter in my life - when I was more than half the age I am now. What amazes me is that it went by so fast, but that's a song you'll be fed up hearing me sing, so I better not batter the subject over the head again this time around in case you bail out on me for another blog.
When I get time, I'll scan all 32 issues and do another cover gallery for you. Is that something you'd like to see? Then say so in the comments section, frantic ones.
The last issue I purchased in that particular run was #621, which I took a look at last week when emptying a cupboard full of comics in a search for some specific numbers of SMASH! from the '60s. (Didn't have them in loose form.) I was surprised to see that all three stories in Spidey were continued, and assumed, as with #s 607 & 615, that I just couldn't find the next ish in the shops at the time. So I typed it into ebay and there it was for a few paltry quid. Bought it on the spot and it arrived today, and I'm glad to see that the wrap-up for all three tales reaches their natural conclusion, meaning that I can now regard that run of comics as complete.
It may have taken me nearly 35 years, but I'm glad to say that I eventually got there in the end. There's an old saying (which I'll paraphrase) - 'it's better to travel hopefully than to arrive', and in many instances that may well be true, but this case is the exception. It's good to finally reach the end of this particular 'journey' and write 'close' to an unfinished chapter in my life - when I was more than half the age I am now. What amazes me is that it went by so fast, but that's a song you'll be fed up hearing me sing, so I better not batter the subject over the head again this time around in case you bail out on me for another blog.
When I get time, I'll scan all 32 issues and do another cover gallery for you. Is that something you'd like to see? Then say so in the comments section, frantic ones.
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