Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, Marvel Comics carried with it a certain amount of counter-culture cache. This was due in part to the new faces coming into the business sharing some of those sensibilities naturally, as they were then the same relative age as most members of that youth group. But also, in attempting to appeal to that college-aged audience, writer and editor Stan Lee had often attempted to make his series reflect the real world–even if he was a bit distanced himself from what the concerns of his young readers actually were. So it was that in 1973, Marvel (and Stan in particular) became the subject of an extensive cover article in the pages of CREEM, a monthly rock and roll magazine. The piece was authored by Mike Baron, who would go on to enter the field as a writer himself, and eventually work for Marvel. John Romita provided the cover artwork.
Never one to miss a plug, Stan or somebody negotiated a half-page ad for the Spider-Man Rockomic, a well-remembered album released during this time.
The Tom Brevoort Experience 
The cover is a Marvel Comics / Robert Crumb team-up. The milk bottle character is a Robert Crumb creation called Boy Howdy. For Creem’s April 1969 issue, they commissioned cartoonist R. Crumb to do his worst and spackle their front cover with one of his patented “slick jobs.” Thus was born Boy Howdy! Afterwards the milk bottle appeared in nearly every CREEM issue and graced the torsos of rock fans and musicians alike.
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