Show caption One cover of The Amazing Spider-Man, published by La Prensa and drawn by José Luis González Durán. Photograph: La Prensa / José Luis González Durán Comics and graphic novels El Hombre Araña! Why Mexico created an alternate Spider-Man in the 70s When Marvel killed off Spidey’s girlfriend, Mexican fans were so incensed that a publisher created an alternate storyline that has won the Internet’s heart David Barnett @davidmbarnett Tue 5 Mar 2019 14.23 GMT Share on Facebook

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When Spider-Man’s girlfriend Gwen Stacy was thrown from a New York bridge in a 1973 comic, her death was a watershed moment. Stacy was one of the first major supporting characters to be killed off in mainstream comics – so Amazing Spider-Man #121, written by Gerry Conway with art by Gil Kane and John Romita, became an instant classic.

Except in Mexico. From the early 60s, the country was an early adopter of Marvel’s superheroes, and they took Spider-Man – or, el Hombre Araña – to their hearts especially. The newspaper publisher La Prensa put out Spanish translations of the wall-crawler’s adventures, distributing them to hungry fans not only in Mexico but also in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Peru, as well as Spanish-speaking communities in California and Florida.

But so beloved was the Spider-Man cast that, when Gwen died, Mexican fans reacted with fury. So La Prensa abandoned the Marvel continuity and did something amazing: it began creating a whole new timeline of Spider-Man comics where not only did Gwen never die, she married Peter Parker and lived happily ever after.

Outside Mexico, these Spider-Man stories have largely disappeared, but they got fresh exposure recently when Chris Ryall, president of the US comics company IDW, appealed to comics fans on Twitter for their favourite forgotten comics. One user drew his attention to the La Prensa Spider-Man stories.

Ryall was immediately “obsessed”. None of the stories had ever been translated or released in the US. And although La Prensa had approached Marvel Comics the year before Stacy was killed, to ask if they could license Spider-Man for use in original stories, even professionals working on comics at the time knew nothing about it. Conway, the writer who killed off Gwen, announced on Twitter that he was astounded.

For 48 years, nobody cared about my work ... it is fantastic that at last, fame came to me.

Then, out of the blue, Ryall was contacted by José Luis González Durán, the artist behind the alternative Spider-Man strips, which lasted for 45 monthly issues. Now 86, and with failing eyesight, the artist was amazed that there was renewed interest in his work: “He was very flattered to know that his comics were being discussed, and wary but intrigued by the prospect of them possibly being translated and released in English after all this time.”

Durán, who lives in Toluca, Mexico, told the Guardian that he was especially taken with Gwen – evident in her prominence in his art, appearing front and centre and often in somewhat suggestive poses. Her death was a turning point for Mexican fans, he said, and the decision to keep Gwen alive was his own “foolishness”, wanting to keep them happy. “The readers and I lamented, we regretted her death, because she was such a necessary and attractive character for the series.”

He is enjoying his new fame. “It surprised me enormously since for 48 years, nobody cared about my work. For me it is pleasant, because with this I was able to find new friends, and that gives me life. At 86 years of age it is fantastic that at last, fame came to me.”

Will Durán’s version of Spider-Man stories see the light of day again? Ryall couldn’t say if IDW would be involved, but has said he would love it if Conway wrote the dialogue for the alternate story inspired by his own.