I need help finding some old Spider-Man comics from when I was a kid.
I'm no expert but I'll explain as best as I can.

It always seemed, IIRC, that there were the "american" comics which were smaller and had the adverts for Twinkies, X-ray specs and Sea Monkeys in them and there were, erm, other comics as well.

The ones I am looking for WEREN'T the usual american ones.

The ones I am looking for were Spider-Man comics (not sure if they were Amazing SM or Spectacular SM) that were drawn in black and white and came in a larger format (maybe A4 or even slightly bigger) back in the mid 1970s.

IIRC, the storylines were quite dark. One story that I recall involved Peter Parker having his "life force" sucked out so he only had a few days to live and, eventually, I think he ended up having to kill somebody else (maybe The Kingpins son?) and steal their life-force to survive.

I've been sniffing around the internet and, TBH, I haven't even found any Spidey comics that were drawn in B&W so I've got no idea what those comics were.

Anybody have any ideas?

OK, I believe you're getting mixed up. There were two issues of a more adult orientated A4 format magazine called 'Spectacular Spider-Man', one issue of which was in black & white, but thse were published in 1968 and the stories don't match your recollection. The story you descibe, concerning the Kingpin, sounds a lot like a rather garbled recollection of a story from the late sixties/early seventies which would have originally appeared in colour in Amazing Spider-Man-BUT, it was reprinted in Britain in the mid 70s in the pages of Marvel UK's black & white Spider-Man Comics Weekly. Given time, I could probably pinpoint the specific issues for you. Marvel US did have a black & white magazine line back then, aimed at older readers, but Spider-Man didn't feature in any of them-I'm almost 100% sure you're remembering the weekly reprints. Spider-Man weekly ran, under various titles, from February 1973-December 1985, and was in black & white until 1981.

I did think your recollection is of the UK reprints throughout the seventies / eighties. (My loft is still full of my copies much to my wifes discontent........if I had a pound for every time she has suggested I get rid of them).

I also vaguely recall the episodes that I think you refer to. It was the Vulture (the old guy) who stole Spideys life force to make him young. Checking this out the episode was orignally published in the US Amazing Spiderman 387 from 1994 so I guess either there was another life sucking episode or that the comics you refer to must have been published some time in the nineties!

Still at least you can now check to see if this is the episode you recall

I think that storyline came later, didn't it? In the 90s?

Checked it out just a bit more and the story I think you recall was originally published in Jan 1977 in ASM 164 and it was the Kingpin who stole Spidey's life force in order to reanimate his son Richard Fisk. Spidey was helped by Curt Connors to get his life force back which I guess meant the end for poor old Richard.

Based on the above I'd say for sure that the comics being remembered were the UK reprints

Yes, I've just checked too and I'm now sure it was that story (though Richard Fisk didn't die-he eventually resurfaced as crime boss The Rose). The Vulture story mentioned above came decades later, circa Amazing Spider-Man #387.

And it was the plot of an episode of the 90s cartoon as well.

Crikey, you lot know your stuff!!

I still have the Vulture action figure from the Animated Series line.


Well, in my case it helps if comics are your job as well as your hobby.