Here's what I bought off the stands in August 1973:


DC's Super-Specs were a no-questions-asked purchase, if they were superheroes, and I already liked the Flash. 
I was enjoying the new Black Orchid feature in Adventure Comics, so I continued following her brief run, not guessing that one of my all-time favorites was on the way. 
Avengers 117 had another installment of the Avengers/Defenders war, an immediate sell. 
A rare Shadow crossover made the Batman an immediate buy for me this month. I remember looking forward to it after seeing house ads, but I was a little disappointed in the execution. 
I was surprised at how much I loved Boy Commandos. Not my usual fare, but I really dug it. 
I kept sampling Captain Marvel, feeling like I should love it, but I never really did. 
I bought every issue of Defenders, so I bought this one. The war continues!
I wasn't about to pass up a JLA/JSA event, especially one that brought back yet another boatload of defunct Golden Agers. 
I didn't usually buy Tarzan, but I distinctly remember picking up this treasury edition. 
I was still sore at the ejection of Ant-Man from Marvel Feature, but a Thing team-up series? Cool!
With no B&B this month, Marvel Team-Up continued my team-up fix. Never really liked this series much, though. 
Power Man tempted me into reading the Avengers reprint in Marvel Triple Action.
Not pictured above, but I bought Plop #2. Loved that weird little book!
I loved the Spectre, so Secret Origins felt like a real treat. The letters page revealed he was about to take over for Black Orchid in Adventure Comics, but didn't reveal that Jim Aparo would be drawing it!
I was sticking with Shazam, but continued to be disappointed. 
Sub-mariner had the best new costume change I'd ever seen; how could I resist?
I was a full Legion convert, and the Legion-centric Superboy never disappointed me. 
Swamp Thing? Of course. Especially with Batman!!!
Sword of Sorcery was my favorite barbarian fantasy book. Keep your Conans and Kulls!
I'd learned my lesson: buy Tomb of Dracula every time it came out! One of the most consistent offerings on the stands, and consistently good!
Not pictured above: Weird Western Tales 20. I had discovered that Jonah Hex was one Western I really loved!
Weird Wonder Tales: Marvel's SF reprints had a very different flavor than DC's, and this was one place where I much preferred the Marvel reprints. "The Eye of Doom" by Wolverton was a real trip. 
Weird Worlds: I was eager to pick up brand new features, but Iron Wolf proved to be a bit beyond my kind of comic. 
Western Team-Up: Little would I have expected I'd devote so much effort to this comic 5 decades after I bought it. See my Western Team-Up thread for details, including a photo of the very place I bought this! And, as I hinted in that thread recently, I'm soon going to do even more on this topic, in another venue...

I first met Black Orchid in the pages of a digest-sized French reprint book; I really enjoyed the way her identity was never revealed to the readers. Although I enjoyed the Gaiman-McKean miniseries that came years later, I thought it was a pity for her origin to be made clear.

It's been a constant throughout my comic-reading years: I often find the origin story of older super-heroes more interesting that whatever they might do afterwards (which is one of the reasons I enjoyed the "fictional" parts of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay so enjoyable; Michael Chabon really managed to convey the sense of wonder of a Golden Age origin story). I know that reprint books like the Essentials and Showcase Presents phonebooks are unlikely to make a comeback, but I would have loved to see a reprint volume of Secret Origins. 


Namor's green Speedo is probably too iconic to be replaced by now, like Daredevil's red suit or Red Sonja's steel bikini... but may I be turned into a carp if I didn't think that scaly suit looked great!


I definitely will!!!

I kid. I enjoyed Sword of sorcery too, just not to that extent.

I forgot I also bought E-MAN #1 off the stands...I even remember where I got that one, at a store in the Raleigh Springs Mall that didn't carry the typical comics rack offerings I would find in convenience stores. No DC or Marvel books, but plenty of Charlton and Gold Key, so this was the closest to superhero fare I could get my hands on from that selection.
It didn't resonate with me like it seems to have with other fans. I've never warmed to Joe Staton's work, and even in my old age I can't find the nostalgic appreciation that I can for other artists I didn't care for back in the early 70's.

And I'm suddenly reminded of the blatant error on the cover of JLA #108, but I am only now noticing that the cover design subtly incorporates a big 'X'...

the only ones I can say for sure I bought at the time are E-Man #1 and Swamp Thing #7, as my comics reading continued to wind down. E-Man I thought was fun, but Swamp Thing was of course at another level altogether with that Wrightson artwork. I remember being impressed by how out of his element Batman seemed: it made Swamp Thing's world feel scary and insecure to 11 year old me. Still, Wrightson's was one of the best visual renditions of the character ever, though I imagine based on Neal Adams's?

Here's what I bought off the stands in September, 1973:


Astonishing Tales #21: I unapologetically, unironically love this four-issue run from Isabella and Ayers. I was the perfect target audience. I remember I even did a reel-recorder dramatization of the story!
Avengers #118: Didn't really love the Avengers, but this was the Defenders crossover, so it was a must-buy again this month.
Black Magic #2: Not as disturbing as issue 1, so I bailed on this reprint from here on out. 
Brave & Bold #110: My first chance to see the inexplicably frequent B&B co-star Wildcat. I loved every issue from Haney and Aparo. 
Defenders #11: The wrap-up to the Avengers/Defenders war. I was solidly on Team Defenders. 
Detective #438: Aparo on Batman, and a fine set of reprints featuring major JLA-ers, backed with Simonson's astounding Manhunter. Outstanding value. 
Fear #19: "What new horror is this? It vaguely resembles a duck, but..." Howard's debut cracked me up!
Hulk #171: On a bit of a Trimpe kick at the time, I found this one appealing. Two brutish villains against one brutish hero, fine but trivial entertainment. 
Ka-Zar #1: For some reason I had decided to become a Ka-Zar fan. I don't think it lasted long, but I know I was there for this move to his own series. I read this one again recently in preparation for a jungle comics post; Mike Royer overwhelms Paul Reinman on the art, and I considered that a good thing. 
Marvel Spotlight #13: I thought Herb Trimpe was terrific on this fascinatingly out-there concept for a new superhero. The cover of this one, though...I was getting a bit tired of Romita's ubiquitous cover work.
Marvel Team-Up #16: I bought but never really loved MTU. I do remember really digging Gil Kane's work this issue, and thinking the Basilisk was an awesome design for a new villain. 
Mister Miracle #17: This continued to be a favorite, but I could see that it was weakening. 
Phantom Stranger #28: I continued to be very disappointed that Arnold Drake and Gerry Talaoc were doing what they were doing to one of my early favorites. I look a little more kindly on it now, especially Talaoc's wonky artwork, but it was a huge letdown after Wein and Aparo.
The Shadow #2: I had a subscription in place before this series started, so I got this one. Unfortunately, I learned that sub copies arrive long after the comics hit the stands! I loved the book though, and instantly remember Nico the Cigarette Fiend, a "freak" who smoked a mouthful of cigarettes at the same time!
Shazam #8: The reprint 100 page issues were great, unlike DC's own new Marvel Family stories. 
Special Marvel Edition #15: I was eager to see Marvel finally publish the Fu Manchu series they'd been teasing. I knew absolutely nothing about Fu Manchu, but the idea of adapting classic adventure characters excited me. I liked this one a lot, but never got fully on-board with Shang Chi. 
Supergirl #9: I don't know why I picked up this issue, but I did. 
Tomb of Dracula #15: I wasn't getting every issue yet, but I was quickly learning that every issue was very, very good!
Wonder Woman #209 (not shown above): I don't know why I hadn't learned my lesson yet, but I bought another issue of Kanigher, Estrada, and Colletta's juvenile nonsense. 

TOTAL COST: $4.40 

COVER OF THE MONTH: While it's not quite the masterpiece its predecessor was, I give it to Kaluta's SHADOW #2 cover. 

COMIC BOOK I DON'T HAVE BUT WOULD MOST WANT: I'll take a YOUNG LOVE #107 Super-Spec, thank you. In retrospect, I wish I had sampled at least one of these off the stands in the early 70's, and this one looks like a good example of the state of the art. 

Bought then:

Zip, zilch, nada, bupkis.

Bought later: