Turning back the hands of time back to when cable and satellite television was in its Golden Age, there was something called the public broadcasting system.

This was, essentially, what many television pioneers believed television was meant to be. It was commercial free, funded by governmental programs and out of public pockets. With no one to answer to, PBS was able to broadcast programs with a more educational agenda.

One such program was The Electric Company.

Part of the American educational children’s television series, The Electric Company aired from Oct. 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977. In total, 780 episodes were broadcast over the six seasons. It would continue in reruns through Ot. 4, 1985.

Marvel Comics formed a free partnership with the Children’s Television Workshop.  By the fourth season, Spider-Man began to appear in live-action segments.

Spidey would save the day by stopping crimes of a lesser nature; usually muggings, hold ups, etc. Viewers were prompted to read Spider-Man’s thoughts that popped up courtesy of thought balloons. Less than 30 segments were filmed.

To compliment the episodes, Marvel printed a comic book entitled Spidey Super Stories. While the television series was short lived, the comic book lasted 57 issues running from 1974 to 1982. The book was geared toward six- to 10-year olds.

Spidey Super Stories (1974)                    1

Young fans were welcomed to the Marvel U with a guest villain each issue. In addition, other members of the Marvel stable made appearances like J. Jonah Jameson, Mary Jane Watson and many others.

Spider-Man was immortalized on vinyl as part of the Children’s Television Workshop and Peter Pan. His recorded adventures included Spidey Versus the Measles and The Queen Bee, both from The Electric Company. Also included were Spidey’s origin story, The Last Laugh, The Leader of the Pack, 20,000 Feet Under the Ground, Deadly is the Doctor Called Doom and Spidey Versus the Sandman.

Some of Spidey’s electrifying adventures can be found on YouTube and are worth a look for the hardcore Spider-Man fan or just morbidly curious. The once dollar-box fodder Spidey Super Stories are gaining a little traction in the collector’s market and can be found in most third-party shopping spots.

Whatever your predisposition, don’t expect too much and you may not be disappointed this National Public Television Day.

You were probably wondering when we were gonna announce today’s non-holiday.

Welcome to National Joe Day.

Today is designed to serve two purposes: enjoy a cup of coffee – or Joe – with a Joe. Or, Joseph, or Joey or Josephine, Jody, Johanna, fill in your Jo of choice.

For our usage we’re going with plain old Joe. As in Just a Guy Named Joe. That’s the title of Amazing Spider–Man issue 38. While unremarkable story wise, it does mark the end of an era.

Amazing Spider-Man 38 (1963)

Issue 38 is the dissolution of the creative partnership between Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. For 38 issues, and Amazing Fantasy 15 (1962), Stan the Man and Sturdy Steve laid the foundation of a franchise that carried Marvel for decades.

In the first 38, the bulk of Spidey’s rogues gallery was formulated. As were the core cast of characters who have shadowed Spider-Man and his alter ego. Peter Parker’s DNA are in those issues.

So, it is with a whimper the two dissolve their partnership with Joe.

Joe Smith.

A nice enough guy, but a loser. Poor Joe just can’t catch a break. He only wants to be somebody. Whether it be in the ring or in front of the camera.

He gets his wish in merry Marvel misadventure manner. That means Spidey must save the day, yet it’s Joe who wins in the end.

It’s a serviceable comic book. It does bring the promise of action to come. And, Peter almost meets the love of his life.
But, it’s over shadowed by the book that follows. Amazing Spider-Man 39 is the first to feature Jazzy Johnny Romita (Sr) on pencils. It also features the Green Goblin’s real identity.
So, like poor Joe, issue 38 finds itself overlooked except as a swan song for the original team who birthed a legend.
And, like Joe, it has gotten a little respect with the 1:10 scale McFarlane Toys PVC statue. Complete with environmental backdrop.
It actually is cool. I picked one up.
Okay, Back to Joe.
Did you know the name Joe is the 103rd most popular male name in the United States with an estimated population of 508,202.

Joe is used as a first name 99 percent of the time. It is also used as a male’s name 97 percent of the time.

The state with the most people named Joe is Texas where 97,514 can be found. Yet, you are more likely to meet a Joe in New Mexico where there is a person named Joe 477.94 times for every 100,000.

Back in June of 2020 I interrupted Summer with a Christmas tradition from Norway. At the time I had very little information on the book. By accident I was able to find out a little more, so here’s an update:

The julehefter, or Christmas booklets, have been a Norwegian tradition for over two centuries. Lately the term julehefte has become a synonym for comic book. The first julehefte was printed in 1817 and was a collection of social and drinking songs. It wasn’t until 1845 juleheftes were geared more for children. Their popularity grew and by the end of the 19th century they included  a variety of themes including art, literature, recipes and religion.

2009

The first Christmas comic book was based on the U.S. cartoon The Katzenjammer Kids and published in 1911. Eventually other licenses would join the fold such as Donald Duck, Tom & Jerry, Calvin and Hobbes and, obviously, Marvel titles such as Spider-Man.

Apparently there were three published between 2009 and 2011.

Currently there are around 50 Christmas booklets published each season, some selling as many as 150,000 copies or more.

So, while there’s still snow on the ground and portions of Christmas somewhere undiscovered till the spring clean, here’s a little more information on the tantalizing illustration from a couple years back. To see the original post, click here.

2010

2011

What a complicated web Stan, Steve, John and all who followed have woven for Spider-Man over the years.

Little did studious Peter Parker know when he attended the science exhibit his life would change forever. One spider bite later and Marvel’s flagship was born.

Whether it was the radioactive spider or Peter coming of age, the floodgates of romance burst open. His first lady love was Betty Brant.  J. Jonah’s secretary and the freelance photographer discovered some workplace chemistry ’till reporter Ned Leeds intervened.

Leeds’ interest and Betty’s eventual hatred of Spider-Man would end the romance almost before it began.

Waiting in the wings was Liz Allen. Liz began as the BMOC’s girl, but later found herself swayed by Peter’s low-key charm. Fate intervened with an uncle turned super villain and Liz would fade from the title for a decade or more.

Eventual wife Mary Jane Watson began as a blind date Peter ran as fast as he could from. Even after they began dating, he had eyes for a curvy blond, then involved with his friend Harry Osbourn.

Peter and Harry eventually swapped ladies and Gwen Stacy became his first true love. She would meet with an untimely end courtesy of Harry’s father Norman, aka the Green Goblin.

Mary Jane returned as an on again-off again girlfriend. Peter would even propose to her while still in college. She would decline the offer and head west.

Betty Brant, estranged from her husband, would return for a brief time and Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, would enter Peter’s life as an admirer. They were an item until Peter learned Felicia was only interested in Spider-Man.

In grad school Peter would meet Deborah Whitman, but he was never as serious about her as she was with him.

Mary Jane would eventually return and this time accept his proposal. This would last until the One More Day story arc.

All this, plus a super-hero career. Wow.

January days seem so long though they grow dark too early.
Still suffering from the big holidays hangover, it’s almost like work trying to find anything mildly interesting to survive the month.

Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man 98 (1976)

This non-holiday caught my attention and triggered a memory of a Spidey villain from years past. Who better than The Spot to host National Polka Dot Day?

Why someone established a day for polka dots is beyond me. It just exists. The word first appeared in the 1857 Philly publication Godey’s Lady’s Book.

Since their introduction as a form of ladies wear fashion, polka dots have transferred to everything from napkins to fingernails. They are a fashion statement and fashion stigma depending which way the whims of haute couture are blowing.

For our purposes polka dots are a means of transportation.

Dr. Johnathon Ohnn made his debut in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man 97 as a Kingpin minion. The MIT grad was under orders to recreate Cloak’s – of Cloak and Dagger fame – means of teleportation.

A laboratory mishap caused Ohnn to become the means of transference himself, peppered in black polka dots that are pathways to wherever his desire may lie.

Al Milgrom, writer, and Herb Trimpe, artist, are his creators.

Spot would also come to life as part of Marvel’s animated universe. He starred in his self-titled episode in 1994 on Fox Kids animated Spider-Man series and in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in 2018 and Spider-Man: Across the Universe in 2023.

I wasn’t gonna do anything for New Year’s Eve. After 24 days of trying to make ornaments sound interesting- or, as interesting as they have been to me – there was some burnout.

However, watching the countdown myself, there was a sense that there should be more. So, I tossed in the Day After and Lucky 13. Maybe it was an attempt to slow down 2024’s demise. Not that it was an exceptional year, nor was it a bad year. It’s just the swan song before another begins and we start that journey through the unknown after being able to look back at what has already transpired.

Then, I read the Marvel Holiday Tales to Astonish. It was a Christmas special, so a must have. I just wasn’t prepared to enjoy it as much as I did. Three holiday stories that entertained more than anticipated.

Marvel Holiday Tales to Astonish and variants

First, the variant cover was a nod to the Marvel Treasury Edition Giant Super Hero Grab-Bag from 1974. Then story one, ‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas, featuring the Fantastic Four, made for a good opening salvo.

Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny host an annual Christmas party for all heroes who have been included in the ranks of the FF over the years (see below for the list). A distress call takes the core members away to do battle with a first gen Doombot.

Festival of Fights, starring the Uncanny X-Men, was even better. Told through the eyes of new member Kitty Pryde, she counts down Hanukkah with their adventures including the classic Christmas tale from X-Men 143 and her solo battle in Demon.

Finally, Spectacular Spider-Man and Resolutions. This New Year’s Eve tale gave me the excuse and reason to chime in one last time this year.

Yes, this site has been silent for far too long. For that, I apologize. Next year will be different. Guess you could say this is my New Year’s Resolution; to make the coming year worth returning for. I’ve already gone down another rabbit hole for February. Please plan to be there.

Trying to keep the site fresh isn’t always easy. Hopefully 2025 will be a return to something good. We’ve already pulled down some new ideas while retaining the source material. We’ll try to make it worth your while. Whatever your decision, thanks for being with us this far.

As promised, here’s the list of Fantastic Four members from throughout the years and the issue they joined. Recruits include Crystal (FF 81), Medusa (FF 132), Luke Cage (FF 168), Nova (FF 238), She-Hulk (FF 265), Ms. Marvel/She-Thing (FF 306), Ant Man (FF 348), Storm (FF 543), Black Panther (FF 543) and Spider-Man (FF 657).

This does not include the time the FF were replaced by Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, Hulk and Wolverine for issues 347-49.

December 26th: 365 days and counting…

We’re not really gonna do this. Not this early.

No, we’re trying to help the Christmas hangover with a little hair of the dog. Here’s some more Yule time merch to get you over the hump.

This Spidey puzzle features our favorite wall crawler in festive spirits spreading some holiday cheer.

And, while we’re not gonna start the big countdown just yet, don’t worry, we’ll be ready with our version of an advent calendar come December 2025.

December 21st: Four days and counting…

This is another ornament I’ve had for so long I can’t remember where it came from.

                       1996

As I’ve stated before, Batman will always be the season’s hero for me, but that’s ‘cuz he was in my stockings come the big morning.

However Spidey will also be near and dear to my heart, no matter what time of year. He’s had his share of Christmas adventures as we’ve noted previously. One of my favorites is maybe his first in Marvel Team-Up issue one.

Lest we forget, Web Head has had his share of animated holiday episodes as well. Those include:

Reinforcement, the third episode of the show’s second season, from The Spectacular Spider-Man series.

Nightmare on Christmas and The Moon Knight Before Christmas were both featured on the Ultimate Spider-Man series. Nightmare was the 22nd episode of the third season. By then the cartoon was sub titled Web Warriors. Moon Knight guest starred in his eponymous episode. It aired as part of the series fourth season, by then retitled Ultimate Spider-Man v. the Sinister 6.

A Very Spidey Christmas, Merry Spidey Christmas and Halted Holiday were all part of Spidey and His Amazing Friends. A Very Spidey Christmas aired as the first segment of the 12th episode of its inaugural season. It aired on Spider Monday to promote tickets for Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Merry Spidey Christmas was part of the second season and partnered with Halted Holiday. Both aired as part of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever release.

December 18th: Seven days and counting…

Its simple and elegant, but speaks volumes.

The red block design features the Marvel Comics logo with super heroes on one side and villains on the other. Heroes include Thor, Captain America, Spider-Man, Black Widow, Hulk and Iron Man. Villains are Loki, Red Skull, Hela, Thanos and Ultron.

   Amazingly, these are the same heroes and villains featured in recent movies allowing both theater goers to enjoy as well as comic book veterans.

   This is part of the less expensive Hallmark ornaments produced for outlets like Walmart. It doesn’t diminish the enjoyment of adding this one to the tree.

December 14th: 11 days and counting…

Hallmark offered this Spider-Man ornament for the 2005 season complete with Holiday Memory Card in case Web Head was gonna be a present.

The back of the box reads, “What happens when a nerdy science student accidentally gets bitten by a radioactive spider? Comic book history! Reluctantly at first, a shy Peter Parker uses his amazing agility and extraordinary sensory powers to launch a heroic fight against crime. He learns along the way that ‘with great power, there must also come great responsibility.’ Introduced in 1962, Spider-Man has won the hearts of countless fans as he pits himself against the most menacing lineup of superhuman villains in the comic universe.”