Thanks for “swinging” on by again, Spider-Fan!

It’s time for another installment of our amazing, spectacular, sensational, deadly foe-y and, most importantly, essential – no, wait – indispensable (!) Spider-Man Chronology.  This week, we look (mostly) at issues published between ’75-’79.

For those of you who are new, here is the lowdown on this Spider-Man Chronology listing:

• It is a pared down chronological Spider-Man reading order
• It is limited to just the essential issues so you can read from the beginning with more efficiency
• Very important issues are marked with two asterisks (**), while issues that are part of those storylines, without the major event, are also included and marked with a diminutive one asterisk (*). Search for “**” in this below to further pare down the list.
• Issues are considered essential if the story contains changes to the status quo, the story is considered as one of the best Spider-Man stories or the stories introduce a new, important character.

Spider-Man Chronology from 1975-1979 : What You Need To Know

What makes the cut of the indispensable 1975-1979 Spider-Man Chronology

This was truly a strange period in the Spider-Man chronology.  Since the death of Gwen Stacy, the original supporting cast began to fall out of favor in the Spider-Man books, such as Harry becoming the next Green Goblin and Flash going off to war.  This period of the Spider-Man chronology sees more departures, as Mary Jane rejects Peter’s first proposal and leaves, Jonah goes crazy and leaves the Bugle and Aunt May is thought dead for a period as well.  These stories make the cut, as do the introduction of Carrion as a clone of Miles Warren and the introduction of yet another Green Goblin.  Sadly, many of these stories tended to be sequels (Carrion via Clone Saga, Green Goblin III).

This period is very unique, as many of the most compelling supporting characters take a back seat, and the books seem to have less direction, though there are still some important elements here that are essential reading.  This list is pared to down to just 47% of potential issues in this era, though that drops down to 21% for the most essential issues, which is rare for a period when there are just three ongoing Spider-Man titles.

Creators of the 1975-1979 Spider-Man Chronology era

Gerry Conway and Ross Andru continue their Amazing Spider-Man run, though Len Wein, then Marv Wolfman, eventually takes over, as does Keith Pollard.  Over in Spectacular Spider-Man, Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema, with Jim Mooney replacing Sal later on.  Finally, Chris Claremont, occasionally recreating the Bronze Age X-Men team with John Byrne, pens most Marvel Team Up issues of this era.  As usual, those Marvel Team-Up issues, while very good, are not included in this essential Spider-Man chronology list, as very few repercussions are felt from that series.

Titles of the 1975-1979 Spider-Man Chronology era

Amazing Spider-Man is joined by a new series in this Spider-Man chronology with the launch of the Spectacular Spider-Man, which starts off this list.  Marvel Team-Up is still consistently published in this era with a great creative team, though with very little influence on Peter Parker’s overall story.

Events of the 1975-1979 Spider-Man Chronology era

For Spider-Man, we mostly see fallout from previous storylines, such as the introduction of Green Goblin III and Carrion.  We also see a run of issues that has a villain make Peter think Aunt May died, though only to return at the end of the run.  Also during that run we see Spider-Man confront the burglar that killed uncle Ben.  For Peter Parker, there are some essential life changes, as Betty Brant gets married, Mary Jane rejects his proposal and leaves, all  the while he finally graduates to continue on his graduate studies.

Collections of the 1975-1979 Spider-Man Chronology era

This is perhaps the run of comics in the Spider-Man chronology most available in trade paperback form. You can find it in hardcover, softcover, newsprint, and even digital. Here are a few of the most popular trades collecting this run:

Spider-Man Chronology in the Marvel Essentials Collection (Black and White Newsprint but Affordable)

Essential Spider-Man, Vol. 8 (Marvel Essentials)
Essential Spider-Man, Vol. 9 (Marvel Essentials)
Essential Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials)

Other Trade Paperbacks

Spider-Man: Marvel Team-Up by Claremont & Byrne

The Indispensable Spider-Man Chronology 1975-1979

Order	Year	Age	Issue	Creators	Details	**
162.14	1976	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #1 BUY ES-S1	Conway, Sal Buscema		*
163.01	1976	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #163 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	Kingpin, Richard Fisk, the gang decorate Peter's apartment	**
164.01	1977	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #164 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	Kingpin, Richard Fisk, Connors helps Spidey	*
164.02	1977	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #2 BUY ES-S1	Conway, Sal Buscema	Kraven	*
165.01	1977	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #165 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	Lizard, Connors	**
166.01	1977	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #166 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	Lizard, Connors, X-Mas, Liz and Harry engaged	**
167.01	1977	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #167 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	Spider Slayer	*
168.01	1977	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #168 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	Spider Slayer, Jonas Harrow	*
169.01	1977	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #169 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	Revealed! JJJ has Spider-Man and Peter Clone Pictures	**
170.01	1977	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #170 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru		*
172.06	1977	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #9 BUY ES-S1	Mantlo, Sal Buscema		*
172.07	1977	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #10 BUY ES-S1	Mantlo, Sal Buscema		*
173.01	1977	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #172 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	Molten Man	*
174.01	1977	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #173 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	Molten Man	*
175.01	1977	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #174 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	Punisher	*
176.01	1978	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #175 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	Punisher	*
177.01	1978	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #176 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	The Green Goblin Returns, Green Goblin II	**
178.01	1978	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #177 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	The Green Goblin Returns, Green Goblin II	**
179.01	1978	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #178 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	The Green Goblin Returns, Green Goblin II	**
180.01	1978	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #179 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	The Green Goblin Returns, Green Goblin II	**
181.01	1978	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #180 BUY ES8	Wein, Andru	The Green Goblin Returns, Green Goblin II, Green Goblin III	**
181.02	1977	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #12 BUY ES-S1	Mantlo, Sal Buscema		*
181.03	1977	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #13 BUY ES-S1	Mantlo, Sal Buscema		*
181.04	1978	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #14 BUY ES-S1	Mantlo, Sal Buscema		*
181.05	1978	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #15 BUY ES-S1	Mantlo, Sal Buscema		*
182.01	1978	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #182 BUY ES8	Wolfman, Andru	Peter's 1st Proposal to MJ	**
183.01	1978	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #183 BUY ES8	Wolfman, Andru	MJ rejects Peter's proposal	**
184.01	1978	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #184 BUY ES8	Wolfman, Andru	Betty returns, splits from Ned	**
185.01	1978	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #185 BUY ES8	Wolfman, Andru	Peter graduates College	**
186.01	1978	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #186 BUY ES9	Wolfman, Pollard	Chameleon, Spider-Man freed of charges for death of Cpt. Stacy	**
186.18	1978	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #25 BUY ES-S1	Mantlo, Mooney	Best! 1st Carrion	**
186.19	1979	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #26 BUY ES-S1	Mantlo, Mooney	Best! Revealed! Carrion visits Peter's apartment	*
186.20	1979	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #27 BUY ES-S1	Mantlo, Frank Miller	Best! Carrion	*
186.21	1979	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #28 BUY ES-S1	Mantlo, Frank Miller	Best! Carrion	*
186.22	1979	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #29 BUY ES-S1	Mantlo, Mooney	Best! Carrion	**
186.23	1979	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #30 BUY ES-S1	Mantlo, Mooney	Best! Carrion revealed to be Jackal's clone, Revealed! by Carrion	**
186.24	1979	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #31 BUY ES-S1	Mantlo, Mooney	Best! Carrion	**
186.25	1979	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #32 BUY ES-S2	Mantlo, Mooney	Lizard, Connors	*
186.26	1979	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #33 BUY ES-S2	Mantlo, Mooney	Lizard, Connors	*
186.27	1979	Bronze	Spectacular Spider-Man #34 BUY ES-S2	Mantlo, Mooney	Lizard, Connors	*
188.01	1979	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #188 BUY ES9	Wolfman, Pollard		*
189.01	1979	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #189 BUY ES9	Wolfman, Byrne	Man-Wolf	*
190.01	1979	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #190 BUY ES9	Wolfman, Byrne	Man-Wolf "dies"	*
191.01	1979	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #191 BUY ES9	Wolfman, Pollard	Spider-Slayer	*
192.01	1979	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #192 BUY ES9	Wolfman, Pollard	Spider-Slayer, Revealed! JJJ can unmask Spidey	*
193.01	1979	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #193 BUY ES9	Wolfman, Pollard	Peter & MJ break Up, Ned attacks Peter	**
194.01	1979	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #194 BUY ES9	Wolfman, Pollard	Best! 1st Black Cat	**
195.01	1979	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #195 BUY ES9	Wolfman, Pollard	Best! Black Cat	**
196.01	1979	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #196 BUY ES9	Wolfman, Milgrom	Kingpin returns, May "dies", 1st Whitman	**
197.01	1979	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #197 BUY ES9	Wolfman, Pollard	Kingpin	**
198.01	1979	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #198 BUY ES9	Wolfman, John Buscema	Best! Mysterio, Jonah has a breakdown	**
199.01	1979	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #199 BUY ES9	Wolfman, Pollard	Best! Mysterio	**
200.01	1980	Bronze	Amazing Spider-Man 1st series #200 BUY ES9	Wolfman, Pollard	Best! Death of the Burglar, Revealed! to burglar, May is alive	**

Please, help us make this list better by contributing your thoughts on what should be included.  We would love to pared own this list even further, though we don’t want you to miss out on some great runs. Drop us a line in the comments for changes to this Spider-Man Chronology, which will be reflected in our larger Spider-Man Chronology list here:

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