First Issue: 17th February 1973
Last Issue: 14th December 1985
Copyright: UK Marvel
Stan Lee
Spider-Man’s first ever appearance was in issue number 15 of the American comic ‘Amazing Fantasy’ in August 1952. Written by Stan Lee and Artwork by Steve Ditko, Spider-Man eventually made his way across the Altalntic. Spider-Man made numerous appearances in British comics over the years including his first British appearance in number one of ‘Pow’ in 1967, ‘Smash’ in 1968, and ‘TV 21’ in 1970.
X-Men
Spider-Man Comics Weekly issue number one hit British magazine racks dated 17th February 1973. Along with Spider-Man, Spider-Man Comics Weekly included reprints of original ‘The Mighty Thor’, reprints of ‘X-Men’, reprints of ‘Daredevil’, ‘Captain Britain’ and many other titles.
Unsurprisingly the star of the comic was Spidey. Spider-Man was the story of an orphan named Peter Parker who lived with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. One fateful day Peter was bitten by a radioactive spider and was left with special powers which included the ability to climb walls and spin webs. Peter decided to use his special powers to earn some money for himself. With the creation of his alter ego ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ including an outfit to disguise his identity, Peter was making good money from his wrestling.
Whilst having an argument with his promoters about his payment, the promoters were robbed. Incensed by the promoters behaviour towards him, Peter allowed the robber to escape. Days later, Peter’s uncle Ben was murdered by the same robber. Burning with guilt and anger, Spider-Man vowed to fight crime.
After numerous title changes, the comic that started out life as ‘Spider-Man Comics Weekly’ came to an end as Spidey comic in its final issue dated 14th December 1985.
Spider-Man Comics Weekly First Issue
17th February 1973
Spidey Comic Last Issue
Number 666
14th December 1985
British Comics – A Cultural History
by James Chapman
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