Attempted Bloggery: The Night Gwen Stacy Died

Saturday, February 16, 2013

The Night Gwen Stacy Died

In my early adolescence I had been eying The Amazing Spider-Man title at my friendly neighborhood newsstand for some months without buying. When issue 121 came out dated June 1973, it was clear from the cover that something momentous and irrevocable was going on. I clearly had to make the purchase this time.

John Romita, The Amazing Spider-Man #121, June 1973

http://www.spidervillain.com/SpiderManCovers/Amazing/ASM121/ASM121.htm

Thus began my acquaintance with Spider-Man, alter-ego to the tormented teen Peter Parker. Well, every teenage boy probably thinks he's tormented, but when you get to know Peter Parker, you realize your problems aren't so bad, although you might be willing to take his on if his girlfriend is a part of the deal. I met him at his darkest hour, at least since the death of his Uncle Ben.

Let's see. Industrialist Norman Osborn recovers once again from his amnesia and recalls that he is the Green Goblin, Spider-Man is his arch enemy, and that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. So Parker's girlfriend and first true love Gwen Stacy is kidnapped by the despicable super-villain. The resulting battle on the George Washington Bridge results in her sudden death as Spider-Man desperately tries to save her from a precipitous fall. I had just met these characters and I was devastated. Apparently I wasn't alone.

This issue broke the formula. If the superhero can't save the girl, why are we reading these stories? I can't really answer that one, but I did keep reading for a few years at least.

If this indeed marked the end of the Silver Age and the beginning of the Bronze Age of comic books, I was never told. These weren't terms used when I was reading comic books. They were just comic books then. The eras were defined after the fact. My father's comic books were all Golden Age, of course, but he sold them on the street for a few cents long before anyone thought they'd be worth anything. He had the first issue with Superman and the first Captain America too, dammit.

John Romita's original cover artwork to The Amazine Spider-Man #121 will be sold this coming week at Heritage in New York. As of this writing, the next bid will require a cool $200,000. Baby boomers still pining for the lovely Gwen Stacy will be frantically bidding for this one, but remember, lads, nothing can bring her back. Our sweet, lovely, blonde girlfriend is gone forever. Now if only we can find a tall, gorgeous redhead to take her place!