As I have mentioned previously 1973 was my favourite year for comic books. This was recently reinforced to myself when I was thinning out my comic book collection and putting to one side a pile of comic books that I had no intention of getting rid of. On checking this pile I noticed that almost everyone came from 1973. So before I put these back in their comic boxes I thought I would show some of those great Marvel comic covers purchased by 13 year old me in 1973. The above issue the “Amazing Spider -Man” 120 (cover by John Romita ) was only the second ever US Spidey comic I had seen and it wouldnt be too long after this that Marvel stopped sending ASM to the UK as he had his own UK weekly comic book.
Defenders issue 9 Cover by Sal Buscema
Avengers issue 116 cover by John Romita/ Michael Esposito. I vividly remember picking up the above Avengers and Defenders comics on a weekend family holidy in Blackpool. At the time I had no knowledge of this multi team battle, which was a pretty exciting comic book event back in the day.
Iron-Man issue 63 cover by Gil Kane /Michael Esposito.
Captain America and the Falcon issue 160 Cover by Gil Kane .
Captain America and the Falcon issue 166 Cover by Rich Bucker / Frank Giacoia - For a few years Captain America was my favourite Marvel title, mostly as it seemed to be regularly avaiable in the Glasgow area and or course for Sal Buscema's excellent art.
Savage Sub -Mariner issue 69 - cover by John Romita
Amazing Adventures issue 18 (cover from Internet as my copy is very badly riped) - Cover by John Romita.
Warlock issue 5 - cover by Gil Kane. This was the first Marvel comic that I really didn't like but I soon became a big fan of Warlock once Jim Starlin took over the reigns.
Conan the Barbarian issue 26 -Cover by John Buscema/ Ernie Chan. This was my first Conan comic book and although. I may have just missed Barry Smiths classic run on the title this was an excellent issue to start my facination with the character. This was another comic I purchased on a family weekend holiday break in Blackpool.
Amazing Adventures issue 18 -cover by John Romita. I have
previously blogged on my affection for this comic book.
Kull the Conqueror issue 9 - Cover by Marie and John Severin. Another of my all time favourite comic books thatI have
rambled on about in the past.
Sgt Fury - Issue 110 -Cover by John Severin. I only bought this issue as I wanted have a copy of as many comic book titles as I could get, even although war comics were of little interest to me. Next up a look at some of my favourite DC covers form my favourite year.
I was probably about seven years old when I walked into my local newsagents in Cambuslang (near Glasgow) with my pocket money firmly he...
Following on from my last post featuring some of my favourite Marvel comic book covers from 1973, I thought I would show some of DC's ...
Nearly a half-century on I still consider 1973 to be the year that cemented my destiny in becoming a lifetime comic book fan. It was a yea...
So much to love about this batch of comics. I have real affection for so many of the comics you mention here such as those that were part of the incredible Avengers-Defenders Clash. Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by just how many comic's I had purchased and still managed to hold onto from 1973 (far more than noted here). The purchase of those Avengers v Defenders comics is still so vivid in my memory. I still recall the shop and area of the town where I bought those 2 issues when on holiday. That's one of the (many) great things about comics and things you were passionate about when your 13 years old !
ReplyDeletePart of me never quit being thirteen. That's both good and bad. Comics seem to get under the skin more than many other hobbies of our youth. They linger.
DeleteI can still get that 13 year old "hit" if I see an old classic comic but new books no longer give me that thrill.
ReplyDeleteA great set of covers, McScotty. I'm really impressed that you've managed to hold on to comics first bought in 1973...I sold all of mine from that era in 1984. You're spot on that 1973 was THE year for comic collecting. I was thirteen , turning fourteen that year. DC had great stuff happening....The Shadow, Swamp Thing, Aparo's Phantom Stranger, Shazam! , and I really started to look at new Marvels. Like you, I took quite a shine to Captain America in that period pre-Kirby's return. As you pointed out, the downside was that Marvel UK was putting the brakes on the US colour books' distribution, with Spider-Man #120 being the last issue for many years being a major fly in the ointment.
ReplyDeleteOutside of comics, there were great things on TV...Kung Fu, Longstreet (with James Franciscus and Bruce Lee), Alias Smith & Jones, Star Trek. And in the cinema we had Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Elton John released Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Cannot believe it was all fifty years ago!
I left a lot of my old comics boxed up in my mum's for years Ian, so in the mid 1980s when I got my own place (as opposed to renting) I picked them up again. I have repurchased a few comics from 1973 that I used to own but lost\gave away at at various points in the late 1970s early 1980s but most were bought at the time like all the covers here.
ReplyDeleteThere really were some great comics in 1973, music and films. Longstreet is a new one to me I'll need to check that pit.
I was only seven in 1973 and I was still reading The Beezer and The Topper (both great comics). I didn't discover Marvel until November 1974 when I saw Marvel UK's Planet Of The Apes No.5 on sale so I snapped it up as I loved the POTA TV series. But 1973 was important too because it was the year that I saw a film at the cinema for the first time - my father took me to see 'When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth' which was on re-release.
ReplyDeleteA great film Colin. The Beezer used to be one of my favourite comics when I was a kid, I stopped reading that around 1970 when I was 10. Strangely i stopped reading the UK POTA comic after issue 5 as there were too many weekly UK Marvel comics at that time, changed days.
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