We continue this week (with thanks to Titan Books) with our series of excerpts from Spider-Man: The Icon - The Life and Times of a Pop Culture Phenomenon by Steve Saffel.

The 320 page coffee table book tracks Spider-Man through the ages, from his start in Amazing Fantasy #15 up to the beginning of One More Day, focusing not only on the adventures and times of Spider-Man, but also upon how Spider-Man has made an impact upon culture, and how the character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko has been embraced by popular culture.

This week's excerpt - drugs!

As Saffel sets the scene for this week's pages:

By the early 1970s comics began to receive more and more press coverage in publications as widespread as Rolling Stone, The New York Herald Tribune, Creem, and Esquire. One issue of Esquire featured original artwork by Jack Kirby and Marie Severin, and John Romita's cover for Creem features one of the most famous Spider-Man poses .

Perhaps the most famous piece appeared in the May 2, 1971 issue New York Times Magazine. The article, appearing under a Joe Kubert cover illustration, was titled "Shazam! Here Comes Captain Relevant," and it discussed at length the famous drug abuse issues of The Amazing Spider-Man--issues which changed the code and proved the power comics wielded.

As important as that storyline was, it didn't receive universal praise--especially from Marvel's fellow publishers, and the men who enforced the Comics Code Authority. As you will read in this excerpt, their response has to be seen to be believed.

Special thanks to Ellie Graham, Adam Newell, and Martin Stiff for helping with the excerpts.

Click on the image below to open a pdf of the pages.