This feature is called "Almost Hidden." Even with this large amount of comic books that have been collected in trade paperbacks, there are still a number of great comic books that have never been reprinted in print (I'd say roughly 60% of them are DC Comics from the 1980s through the mid-1990s). So in this feature I spotlight different cool comic books that are only available as back issues (or digitally). Of course, the way things go, something I spotlight today might be collected tomorrow, but for right this moment, these comics have not been collected!

Today, based on a suggestion by reader Jeff G., we take a look at a classic Spider-Man/Black Cat/Doctor Octopus storyline that somehow has not been collected into a trade paperback as of yet.

The story began in Spectacular Spider-Man #73 (by Bill Mantlo, Al Milgrom and Jim Mooney), when the Owl and Doctor Octopus declared war on each other...

After a weird detour in #74 (the presence of the Debra Whitman subplot in the middle of this story really does make it take a bit of a hit, esteem-wise, as that story was terrible), we pick up in #75, as we learn that Black Cat is back! Spider-Man is very happy to see her...

She had taken a job for Doctor Octopus to steal something from the Kingpin, but then she discovered that it was part of a device that could kill millions, so she betrayed Octopus and took the device right to Spider-Man, who she was hoping would protect her...

That did not work out so well for her (what a great page by Milgrom, right?)

Spider-Man goes to track Octopus down and discovers that the Owl/Doctor Octopus war ended pretty badly for the Owl...

A distraught Spider-Man goes a bit nuts and just tears Octopus' arms off of him...

In the next issue, though, while Spider-Man is distracted by Octopus' minions arriving, Doc Ock still tries to use his arms to get the device and when Black Cat tries to stop him, she gets badly injured...

Spider-Man rushes her to the hospital (he learns along the way that she has been granted amnesty) and, in a great moment, as he cries by her bedside, she awakens...

Meanwhile, Doctor Octopus is getting his arms reattached and he is not particularly happy...

In the next issue, Doctor Octopus stops by Black Cat's room to tell Spider-Man that, now that Octopus is back to normal, he will kill Spider-Man in a day....

This leads to a standout issue in #78, where Peter uses that last day as if it is his last day on Earth. He hangs out with his friends...

gives an emotional toast...

and spends some time with his Aunt May...

As he awaits Doctor Octopus' attack, Spider-Man spends some quality time with the Black Cat...

And then, in an amazing final page, it's on!

I won't spoil the final issue for you.

This really needs to be collected, especially with Black Cat even having her own series now! And heck, during Doctor Octopus' time as Superior Spider-Man, you'd think they would have collected such a prominent story for him!

Thanks to Jeff for the suggestion!

If anyone has a suggestion for a comic that hasn't been collected into a trade that you'd like to see me spotlight in this feature in its more typical setup, drop me a line at brianc@cbr.com!