Here's what I bought in May 1973:



This may be the first month in which my Marvel purchases exceeded my DC buys. I loved Defenders and followed it to the end. I remember feeling pretty lost with Warlock #7, and being disappointed with the quality of MTU #12, and Marvel Spotlight #11. Avengers #114 felt like a big deal, and I loved discovering that a villain, the Swordsman, had once gained official membership in the Avengers. Marvel Spectacular #1 was a revelation, because I absolutely loved this version of Thor, and I didn't care for him in the then-current comics. Sub-Mariner had become a surprise favorite character of mine, but I was also let down with this issue...not enough to stop buying it, but unsatisfied. 

It was a great month to be a Jim Aparo fan, with one of my favorite B&B's, in which Batman and Rock meet Satan himself, and the awesome finale of Wein & Aparo's team-up on Phantom Stranger, which reads like a final issue, tying up both the lead series and the back-up. Given PS's shaky sales history, I've always guessed that Wein had been told this would be the final issue, but a last-minute reprieve forced DC to find new creative teams on both features, handicapping them--or, depending on your perspective, freeing them--by starting anew with all of the subplots and supporting characters taken off the table. 

I'm not sure why I bought the Tarzan Super-Spec. I didn't really like jungle comics, and didn't much care for Kubert art at this point. Mr. Miracle had risen to an every-issue purchase level, although it was clearly running out of steam. I loved it anyway. 

I'd been disappointed with the new Shazam stories, but the reprints in the treasury edition were terrific. 

Prez...well, I fell for the hype in the house ads and gave it a try. It was like reading comics from an alternate reality. 

I give cover of the month to Mike Kaluta's impressive PS/Frankenstein cover. I loved that they gave the ol' Spawn Of his own logo this time around!

In June 1973, I bought:



I think this was the first time my Mavel purchases exceeded my DC purchases.
The King-Size Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Conan annuals delivered some important reprints, reprinting the second Spider-Man magazine from the 60's, Reed and Sue's wedding, and Barry Smith stories that made me like Conan. Valuable education for a new Marvel aficionado. 
I always bought Defenders, Man-Thing was good but no Swamp Thing, and Ghost Rider had me excited after splitting off the new Son of Satan series in its final Marvel Spotlight installment.
Thing team-ups were a welcome follow-up to Ant-Man in Marvel Feature, and I was digging being in on the early days of a new Dr. Strange series in Marvel Premiere.
Among Marvel's many monthly reprints, I was blown away by the quality of Kirby's Thor in Marvel Spectacular, and I was eager to catch up on the Swordsman after his recent reappearance in Avengers. 
Marvel Team-Up continued to disappoint, but I bought it, even though I didn't really like Captain America. 
Red Wolf caught my eye by moving away from the Western setting that I didn't care for (back then). And I enjoyed being in on the ground floor with another new superhero, Brother Voodoo. I was still enjoying one of my favorite Defenders, the Sub-Mariner, in his own comic, and Tomb of Dracula was incredible stuff. As an SF fan, I liked Worlds Unknown's adaptation of The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Savage Tales #2 delivered more Smith Conan, so I was eager to buy.

There was no better value in my mind than DC's Super-Specs, and this one gave us the complete original Two-Face trilogy. I'd loved this villain since his recent B&B appearance.
The second Black Orchid appearance was fun, and I was smart enough to pick up Neal Adams' classic Joker store in that month's Batman. 
JLA was continuing its annual JSA team-up and reintroducing more Golden Age characters in the Freedom Fighters, so that was irresistible. 
DC's new reprint line held its appeal; I was surprisingly happy with Boy Commandos, and Secret Origins, well, of course I was a sucker for an origin story, even if Vigilante and Kid Eternity weren't special favorites. 
I'd eagerly awaited Plop, and Sword of Sorcery was a favorite throughout its short run. I had become firmly committed to the Legion, and I stubbornly stuck with Shazam, and gave an inexplicable try to Strange Sports Stories. Swamp Thing was a must-not-miss, and I was rewarded when I finally gave Jonah Hex a shot with a purchase of Weird Western--it was terrific stuff!

BARRY SMITH RULES!!!

Another great month for comic-book fans. Alas, I missed it entirely... I wouldn't start reading American comics for a year or so yet.

June 1973:

Dracula Lives #3: I grabbed every issue of this series I could get, which I think ended up being only around half of them. This was one of them. The contents of the various issues are mixed up in mmy memory, so can't recall exactly which stories were in this one. Great Neal Adams cover - I always find his style so much better suited to this kind of thing than to the superheroes that made him a fan-favourite.

Fear #16 (Man-Thing): as a kid I was fascinated by many of the new horror series of the early 1970s and this was one of my favourites, even though I think I only managed to read 5 or 6 issues when they were new on the stands - but that was the case with all the others as well. Another great cover, this time by Frank Brunner, not that I knew the name at the time - I didn't see his Doctor Strange until a few years later.

Plop #1: fun humour comic with lots of good art. I remember this series staying very consistent for the few issues I read at the time.

Swamp Thing #6: I remember the impression this comic made on me pretty vividly, especially, for some reason, detective Matt Cable - the shot of his office desk with the various clues and newspaper-clippings, etc was for many years my mental image of what a detective's desk was supposed to look like, no matter what the context, whatever detective book I was reading, etc.

Bought new:
Avengers #116
Captain America #166
Daredevil #105
Ghost Rider #2
Iron Man #63
Sub-Mariner #66
Thor #216
X-Men #84

Bought later:
Batman #252
Detective Comics #437
Incredible Hulk #168
Marvel Premiere #11
Supergirl #7