Wanted for Murder: Spider-Man!

Well, that didn’t take long, did it? It was only just recently that Spidey was cleared of all charges by the cops, and here is wanted for murder again — at least by J. Jonah Jameson.

The Spider-Slayer bit of this story was thankfully brief. This issue really served as mostly a setup for the next one, in which we can expect a major confrontation between Spidey and Jonah, and Peter and MJ.

Rating:

In Search of the Man-Wolf!

I guess Spidey wasn’t unconscious from the Man-Wolf’s blow, just stunned and “barely conscious”.

It turns out Spencer Smythe is behind a bunch of this lunacy (ha!), orchestrating the attacks by Chameleon, Electro and Man-Wolf. Smythe is pissed because he’s dying from Spider-Slayer-related radiation poisoning, and wants revenge on Jameson and Spidey.

At the end John Jameson dies! :O

Rating:

There’s One Iron Man Too Many!

…And a Child Shall Slay Them!
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Illustrators: Keith Pollard, Joe Sinnott
Letters: Costanza
Colors: G. Wein
Originally published: February 1979

The Andromeda Attack!
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Illustrators: Keith Pollard, Joe Sinnott
Letterer: Jim Novak
Colorist: Francoise M.
Originally published: March 1979

Spidey’s unconscious from the Man-Wolf attack, so we’ll have a brief stopover with the Fantastic Four before rejoining him. First, the Fantastic Four battle Quasimodo and an evil duplicate of Iron Man. Next, the Fantastic Four fight evil duplicates of themselves. Finally, in 204, The FF deal with some Skrull stuff and Johnny Storm gets bamboozled by a fake university.

Spidey appears in a flashback in FF 202 and has a real appearance in FF 204, as a cut-away to a fight with the Man-Wolf in ASM 190. I’m reading 203 because it comes in between those! FF 202 and 203 should come before ASM 187, by the way.

Rating:

Mayhem by Moonlight!

Betty kisses the crap out of Peter in this issue. They probably have pop-pop in the attic after that. BUT PETER ISN’T EVEN INTERESTED IN BETTY. Boy, does our hero have girl troubles.

This was a pretty nice issue with a good pace. Having the Man-Wolf back makes sense, and I think the whole Jameson vs. his son thing could be interesting, even if it’s ground that’s been tread before.

Rating:

The Jigsaw Is Up!

alright, even with my big shift around, this is in the wrong spot. mary jane reacts harshly towards betty, which is completely contrary to their conversation in spectacular 27 — these two asm issues should come before those.

the whole jigsaw-as-terrified-wreck angle was kind of interesting, but overall this story was a dud.

Rating:

White Dragon! Red Death!

Holy calamity, everything’s going down the shitter — Betty Brant left Ned! And now, she’s after dear ol’ recently-dumped Petey.

In other news, apparently John Jameson is ill and in cryogenic stasis. That’s weird.

The issue ends with Spider-Man boiling to death in a vat of burning oil. Good stuff!

Rating:

Snow Death!

More Frankenstein’s monster and Man-Wolf. This was really painful to read.

Rating:

Once Upon a Time in a Castle… / The Cold Wind of Doom! / To Make a Monster!

So, I was really, really not looking forward to this. Frankenstein’s monster? Come on. This relaxation of the comics code and subsequent horror schlock in the mainstream Marvel books is very annoying to me. The book ended up being better than I expected. Not good, really, but not terrible either. This is mostly because it played like a spy/James Bondy kind of thing.

Rating:

The Beast Within!

Moon of the Hunter!
Writer: Tony Isabella
Artist: George Tuska
Inker: Vince Colletta
Letterer: C. Jetter
Colorist: Jan Brunner
Originally published: November 1974

Deathgame!
Writer: David Kraft
Artist: George Perez
Inker: Klaus Janson
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Petra Goldberg
Co-plotter: Tony Isabella
Originally published: January 1975

Moonbound
Writer: David Kraft
Illustrators: George Perez, Fred Kida
Letters: Dave Hunt
Colors: Irene Vartanoff
Originally published: September 1975

These are just kind of like the daily life of John Jameson, Man-Wolf. He turns wolf, he turns human, same old, same old. I guess I’m not particularly invested in the character, so it’s hard to get into.

He tries to get help from various places, he gets in trouble for being AWOL, he gets captured by Kraven, he goes into outer space; none of it interested me. Ok, actually, the space station stuff in #37 was pretty sweet, but mostly because I love space stations and aliens and junk. Also in that issue, somebody calling himself “God” shows up.

Spider-Man appears in flashbacks and very small non-speaking cameos in issues 31-33. After these three issues I skip three more and in 37, Spidey again appears in a tiny cameo.

Rating:

Man-Wolf at Midnight! / Duel of the Demon Duo! / When Strikes the Vampire!

Pretty good story in which John Jameson reverts to Man-Wolf form, Morbius comes to New York to control him, and Peter Parker gets nominated for Photographer of the Year. In the end, Morbius gets tricked into leaving, Jameson is still suffering from Man-Wolfism, and Pete does not win the award.

Twice in the issue characters say “that’s the boy” instead of “atta boy” or “that a boy”, and both times it caught me off guard and struck me as very odd.

This was fine, but I certainly didn’t dig the whole “giant-size” thing. For me it was way too long, and would have worked better being shorter, or perhaps spread across two issues. One of the biggest problems was that there wasn’t really a b-plot. It was just all Morbius and Man-Wolf for the whole thing.

Rating:

The Kangaroo Bounces Back!

Kangaroo sucked the first time around, and he was boring this time. Luckily there was enough else going on in this issue to keep things moving. Take, for example, this tidbit: Harry Osborn was, as I suspected, the one who removed his father’s costume. Furthermore, Harry has lost it and has taken on his father’s role – he is now the Green Goblin!

The most interesting thing about this issue is that Spider-Man gets approached to build a Spider-Mobile. BEST. IDEA. EVER.

Rating:

Wolfhunt!

• Half the art is underwhelming, but the other half is fantastic – like this John Jameson panel blow. In fact, John’s whole flashback is super sweet.
• John Jameson’s origin as Man-Wolf is from some crazy moon rock. That’s pretty badass. The moon scenes was great.
• MJ’s problems with harry, and the subsequent cold shoulder she gives Pete, are intriguing. I’m curious how they’re relationship will develop.

Really great issue overall. The writing was snappy and had really good pacing. Peter’s attitude and behaviour comes off as real and, most importantly, interesting to read. I absolutely loved the scene with JJJ at the end.

Rating:

The Mark of the Man-Wolf

Ten days since Gwen and Norman Osborn bit it, and things aren’t getting any better for Spider-Man. The issue opens in the rain, and it’s a perfect way to set the mood. Mysteries still abound – who is covering up Osborn’s secret identity? What was up with that guy in Montreal that wanted to see Aunt May?

Those questions won’t be answered here, unfortunately. This issue shows Peter’s continuing struggle to deal with Gwen’s death, as well as introducing a new problem: J.J. Jameson’s son John has become a werewolf!

First, the Gwen stuff. Pete oscillates between trying to convince himself that he’s fine and ready to move on, and having wild outbursts and mood swings that point to the exact opposite. He attempts to go to class, can’t handle it, and flips out at MJ and Flash. These school scenes are the best in the issue. Later, he cracks up and smashes a newspaper box, destroying its content. (Sure he often destroys way more property than that, but it’s usually in the form of Spider-Man and usually for a greater good. This time he was just venting.) He then takes off, fully intending to attack Jameson. He’s become unhinged. The anger fades, but still…pretty shocking that it bubbled up in the first place.

Man-Wolf: Dave Hunt’s colouring gets lousy marks for his work on John Jameson. The Junior JJ has always been a striking brunette, but Hunt has given him completely grey hair. I realize that his hair could have greyed over time, but it’s obviously just a screw up. It irks me. And what’s with all the werewolf stuff? This is from September ’73. In August ’73, Spider-Man was dealing with the Werewolf. Now he has Man-Wolf? Gerry Conway wrote this one and plotted the other one, so it isn’t just a crazy coincidence. Conway’s wolf-crazy.

This issue wasn’t bad, and it’s nice to get back into an issue that’s taking a larger look at the ongoing arc, rather than just wrapping everything up super neatly. The Man-Wolf stuff doesn’t get resolved here, and is continued in the next ASM.

By the way, I think this is the last Gil Kane appearance in Amazing Spider-Man. His art here pretty much sums up how I’ve felt about his whole run – it’s a total mixed bag. There are some things in here that I love, that look totally awesome. And there are some panels that just look uninspired and bad. I don’t know if it’s just me, but Kane’s work has never seemed consistent. I’m usually excited by artist changes, and this isn’t an exception. I just hope the new stuff is by someone good!

Rating:

The Arms of Doctor Octopus!

Well folks, this is the beginning of a pretty huge event in Spider-Man’s history: the death of Captain George Stacy! The story opens with Doc Ock’s mechanical arms on display in a museum. Unbeknownst to anyone, Dr. Octopus – miles away in solitary confinement – has been practicing to extend the range of his mental control over the arms. Back in the museum, the arms suddenly spring to life under Ock’s mental commands and make their escape. Outside Spidey tries to stop them, but is forced to let them escape when a damaged building threatens the lives of some innocent bystanders.

Later, Peter sees Gwen at school and gets chewed out by Professor Warren for missing so much class and letting his grades slip.

Also later, Doc Ock’s arms reach his prison, break in, and bust him out.

Also later, J. Jonah Jameson and his son Col. John Jameson prepare to board a Pentagon 747 flying a General Su from Chicago to the UN in New York. As the plane takes off, it picks up an unexpected guest – Doc Ock, who clings to the exterior and then forces his way in through the luggage hold. He busts in, quickly incapacitates the MPs stationed on the plane, and captures a miscellaneous ununiformed woman – I guess she’s a flight attendant or something, which seems weird on a military flight.

The thing is, Octopus didn’t even realize the significance of the flight he hijacked. It’s only when one of the pilots slips up that he realizes General Su (a terrible stereotype, BTW) is even onboard. When he does find out, though, visions of ransom start dancing through his head. He demands to be met with $10 million upon landing.

Upon hearing the news, Robbie Robertson and Peter rush to the airport – to get the scoop, but also concerned that harm to the General Su could start a war. When they get to JFK airport they find none other than Capt. Stacy. To make matters more complicated, the airport is also filled with demonstrators protesting both for and against Su.

Pete knows that he must do something. He changes into Spider-Man and manages to make his way on top of the landed plane. He’s able to quickly sneak aboard and blind Ock with some webbing. It’s enough for him to briefly release his hostages, but it also really pisses him off. While pummeling Spider-Man, Ock manages to get some of his tentacles into the cockpit, and begins to actually pilot the plane down the runway. Realizing how crazy dangerous this is, Spider-Man bails – jumps right out of the moving plane – right before the plane explodes in a huge ball of fire!

Almost everyone assumes Doc Ock died in the blaze, but Spidey questions whether they can actually be certain of that.

Great issue! Even without my foreknowledge about how this is all going to end, you do get this sense that everything’s building up to something big. Sure, this issue could be a stand-alone, but there are enough loose threads that you get a feeling something bigger is in the works.

(BTW, there’s nothing in this that contradicts any of my order from my last post.)

Rating:

The Speedster and the Spider!

Basically everything turns around here for Spidey: Jameson recovers (from shock, not actually a heart attack), he gives to tablet to Capt. Stacy, Pete’s pictures vindicate Spidey and the protesting students. Everything’s fine.

Quicksilver shows up and is trying to get in good with the Avengers. QS thinks Spider-Man’s a crook and tries to capture him. It doesn’t really go anywhere.

Pretty boring story again, unfortunately.

Rating:

To Kill a Spider-Man
Script: Stan Lee
Breakdown: Johnny Romita
Finalizing: Donny Heck
Embellishment: Mickey Demeo
Lettering: Sammy Rosen
Originally published: March 1968

Peter still has no memory of who he is. Jameson calls in Ka-Zar to kick Spidey’s ass. Ka-Zar doesn’t have nipples. He fights Spider-Man and makes Spidey drown.

It turns out Spider-Man’s not really drowned dead, just unconscious. In fact, his near-death experience fixed his amnesia. Ka-Zar takes off, but meanwhile Spencer Smythe has a new Spider-Slayer robot. Jameson wants to capture Spider-Man with it, but Smythe wants to kill Spidey. Luckily Spider-Man beats the robot.

Even though Peter has recovered his memory, he still hasn’t been able to get back in touch with Aunt May and his friends, who are still sick/worried over the whole thing.

There was just slightly too much fighting in these issues, it kinda messed up the pacing and the far more interesting amnesia story. Stan kinda fell into the structure trap. In the second issue there were weird mistakes, like having Smythe and Jameson out following the Spider-Slayer in a car, but then magically relocating them to Jameson’s office a couple panels later.

Rating:

The Tentacles and the Trap!
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciller: John Romita
Embellished by: Mickey Demeo
Lettered by: Sam Rosen
Originally published: November 1967

Doc Ock Wins!
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciller: John Romita
Inking: Mickey Demeo
Lettering: Sam Rosen
Originally published: December 1967

Disaster!
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciller: John Romita
Inked by: Mike Esposito
Lettered by: Sam Rosen
Originally published by: January 1968

ASM #53 is the first Amazing Spider-Man since issue 23 without an exclamation mark in the title.

These issues have Spider-Man fighting Doctor Octopus who, it turns out, did survive their last encounter. Doc Ock is trying to steal the U.S.’s most powerful new weapon: the Nullifier.

In the first issue Ock tries and fails to get that Nullifier, and thinks he’s killed Spider-Man.

In #54 Doc Ock moves into the spare room at Aunt May and Anna Watson’s place! Obviously there are big fights and Aunt May ends up getting the crap scared out of her.
In #55 Ock gets the Nullifier and attacks Stark Industries. Shit gets really interesting at that point because Doc Ock uses the Nullifier on Spider-Man and gives him complete amnesia. Octopus convinces Spider-Man that he is a super-villain in Doc Ock’s employ. Whoa!

In #56 Spidey is Ock’s henchman but doesn’t feel good about it. Spider-Man takes off when the army capture Octopus and retrieve the Nullifier. The issue ends with Spider-Man still having amnesia and not having any clue who he is. Meanwhile his friends and family are super worried about him.
Notes:

• Shit man, it’s epic.
• These issues were coming out exactly 40 years ago.
• This is the first time somebody’s found a spider-tracer.
• Dock Ock looks oddly like Elton John.
• I really like the catty friendliness between Gwen and MJ.
• It was not clear to me before, but I guess Flash was just on a temporary leave. He seems to be back in the shit.

I really loved this arc and especially how it ended. It’s nice to see some larger arcs showing up, rather than just shitty villain-of-the-week issues. It allows for some way more interesting stories and character development, and gets Stan out of the structure trap he sometimes falls into: villain appears -> long boring fight that Spidey wins -> villain goes to jail.

Rating:

We learn in a flashback that when Kraven the Hunter previously fought Spider-Man, he was doing so with the promise of $20k if he could kill Spidey – courtesy of the Green Goblin! It turns out that way back when, when I said I liked that Kraven’s motivation wasn’t greed, I was dead wrong. Nice retcon, Stan.

In the present, Kraven finds out that the Goblin is dead and blames Spider-Man for keeping the 20 grand from him. He vows revenge. Kraven knows that Norman Osborn was working for the Goblin (but not that Osborn was the Goblin) and decides to go find him to demand some money. When he finds that Osborn is out of town, we’re treated to a view of his new weapon – nipple lasers that will magnetize Spider-Man’s elecrolytes.

There’s some Peter/Harry/Gwen action, then Pete invites Betty and Ned to Flash’s going-to-war party. On part night, Gwen definitely has MJ beat fashion-wise…although their dresses are both awesome. That Romita sure has an eye for fashion.

Unfortunately for the gang, KRAVEN SMASHES INTO THE PARTY! Since Norman Osborn was out of town, he’s going after Harry. When Flash tries to come to the rescue, Kraven bitch slaps him onto the floor and kidnaps Harry. Luckily, Spider-Man is on the scene and they have a big fight. After awhile, Kraven hits him with the nipple lasers and really turns the table on ol’ Spidey. Just then, Norman Osborn shows up and takes Kraven’s attention away from Spider-Man. Osborn, who has no memory of ever encountering Kraven (or of being the Green Goblin) gets grabbed by Kraven but is saved by his own amnesia – since Kraven has some sort of lie-detecting “jungle instinct”, he knows Osborn is telling the truth about not knowing Kraven or the Goblin. Kraven assumes that he has the wrong man and starts to leave. Spider-Man would probably stop him, except that Norman Osborn was klutzy and fell off a high building, so Spidey had to go save him.

When it’s all over, Peter says goodbye to Flash and finally, for once, starts to question whether the poor guy will survive the war.

This issue was really good!

Rating:

Another great cover on this issue.

The issue starts off with the Rhino’s tranqs wearing off, allowing him to escape. We then cut back to the Bugle where we learn that Ned & Betty are actually engaged now, with a ring and everything. Cut to Anna Watson’s house, and we see that Peter is infatuated with Mary Jane, and that she talks crazy like Austin Powers.

Back with the Rhino, we learn his origin in a flashback. Basically, he was a thug working for some spies. For some reason they experimented on him and gave him a bunch of injections and shit, and then a “molecular adhesive” skin that gave him the power of a rhinoceros. They wanted to use him as an assassin, because he was dumb and obedient and powerful, but the experiments made him smarter and he smashed his way out.

Back in the present, the Rhino is loose in the city and MJ tags along with Peter as he goes after the Rhino. Peter ducks out under the guise of getting photos and the Rhino and Spider-Man fight. MJ makes no indication of knowing that Peter is Spider-Man, which doesn’t jive with what happened in Untold Tales (and I believe what’s reinforced elsewhere). She says “It’s Spidey! Oh, isn’t he the dreamiest! Petey better get back before he misses all the fun!” – so…yeah, what’s up with that?

In the fight, Spidey ends up dazed and confused and gets saved by a cop, but the Rhino thinks he’s dead and takes off to find Col. Jameson again (his target from the last issue). Poor stupid Rhino doesn’t realize that Jameson is back to normal and no longer valuable. Guessing the Rhino’s plan, Spider-Man goes to check up on Col. Jameson, but first he stops in with Dr. Curt Connors to get help analyzing a piece of the Rhino’s hide that Spidey found. Connors makes an ominous comment, wondering if maybe the Lizard could defeat the Rhino; I’m sure the Lizard will be back presently (this is confirmed with the teaser for the next issue). Spider-Man and Connors end up whipping something up with Spider-Man’s webbing that should help defeat the Rhino, and Spider-Man goes off again towards Jameson again.

Once he gets there the Rhino does, indeed, show up and the two of them start fighting. Spider-Man’s webbing dissolves the Rhino’s skin, and the day is saved.

On the last page we learn — Flash is getting drafted!!! :O There’s a very real possibility of Flash and Harry getting drafted too, but Gwen points out they probably wouldn’t take Peter because of his scholarship. Pretty nutty stuff.

Also, Aunt May is sick again and out of medicine because Peter spent all his money on a motorcycle. He’s such a jerk.

Rating:

This issue starts off strong, with Col. John Jameson socking Spidey on the cover, and then Spider-Man apparently stealing a bag of cash on the splash page. What’s going on?

It turns out the space spores that John Jameson contacted have given him super strength. To keep it somewhat under control and protect his hear and nervous system, the doctors get Stark Industries to build Jameson a special suit (also because everyone with super powers needs a special suit). Jonah Jameson sees his son’s new super powers as a perfect means to catch Spider-Man after his daring, and as yet unexplained, bank robbery.

Before they meet, though, we’re given an update on the Rhino. He’s unconscious from his fight with Spider-Man (still? even after all the crap with the Avengers? I think ASM Annual 3 might be out of order) and being held at a courthouse. Unfortunately for Justice, they haven’t found any way to remove his costume or pierce it to tranquilize him. Can it be a real skin? What will they do when he awakes? Well, it turns out they’ll all get their asses kicked when he awakes, but their backup plan of a tranquilizer gas is able to stop the Rhino before he actually escapes.

When Jameson finally runs into Spider-Man, they fight a whole bunch. Spider-Man doesn’t get a chance to explain the bank robbery to Jameson. Luckily, though, we get a flashback of the actual series of events. Apparently Peter’s spider-sense warned him of a bomb in one of the money bags, so he had to steal it and ditch it in the river.

Spidey makes a trip to the Bugle office to tell JJJ the truth. Later, John Jameson shows up vowing to defeat Spider-Man, and it’s clear he’s off his rocker (as Spidey later puts it). Jameson and Spider-Man end up finding and fighting each other again, and Spider-Man somehow is able to turn Jameson back to normal by electrocuting him.

When that’s all over with, Peter goes to dinner at Anna Watson’s at meets MJ for the first time! Yeah!

UPDATE: I’m gonna assume everything is in the right order, and that Spidey just really did a good job of kicking Rhino’s ass.

Rating:

The splash page on this issue declares this is the beginning of “a great new era” for Spider-Man, which seems like kind of a petty jab at Ditko.

• Peter buys a motorcycle!
• Col. John Jameson returns, and we learn that he’s been exposed to some mysterious space spores and that other countries are interested in kidnapping him for study.
• the Rhino shows up in his first appearance, smashes everything, and kidnaps Col. Jameson.
• Betty returns to New York and she and Peter discover that any chemistry they once had is completely gone; she leaves with Ned Leeds
• Peter’s crush on Gwen turns into a major boner.
• Peter wants his own apartment and Aunt May wants to move in with Anna Watson, but they’re both afraid to tell each other.

I love Romita’s art. Stan Lee’s writing seems much better too. It’s like he’s been reinvigorated or reinspired with Ditko leaving. It’s kinda sad, but I can’t complain about the really good work Lee and Romita are doing.

This isn’t related, but I just looked down and noticed that I’ve spilled coffee all over myself without noticing. That’s fucked up. I don’t have anyone to tell right now, so I’ll let the internet know.

Rating:

As Dreams Are Made On Part Two: In the Nightmare Factory
Written by: John Marc DeMatteis
Art by: Michael Zulli
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colorist: Christie Scheele
Originally published: February 1999

As Dreams Are Made On Part 3: Wake Up Call!
Writer: John Marc DeMatteis
Illustrators: Michael Zulli & Vince Locke
Lettering: RIchard Starkings
Colorist: Christie Scheele
Originally published: March 1999

The cover of this issue is really great. It’s really dark and dramatic, and a pretty sweet style that I’m not used to seeing for a Spider-Man book (or any Marvel book, really). It was a really pleasant surprise to see that the inside was just as amazing looking. Unfortunately, in the third issue there’s a noticeable, if subtle change in the look of the book. Vince Locke is credited along with Zulli on this issue, but I doubt that’s why. I get the impression that, for some reason, there just wasn’t as much time spent on this issue as with some of the others. It still looks good, mind you, just slightly less good.

The prologue of the first issue overlaps a bit with the end of ASM 38, with Peter defeating Joe Smith and heading home. When we get to the title splash page though, we’re thrown for a huge loop – a shot of J. Jonah Jameson’s tombstone! Whoa! That got me interested. The book takes a slightly weird point after that, with future Peter Parker being introduced as the narrator and breaking the fourth wall for a couple panels. It was kind of annoying, but I can look past it.

Anyway, the first issue is almost entirely setup. There’s a lot of time spent comparing Quentin Beck (Mysterio) and Peter Parker, showing how similar they are and stuff in their normal lives. Some of it seems kind of strained, but it’s not completely unbelievable or anything. They’re both in a funk, and Beck decides to fix his by going after Jameson and Spider-Man. He ends up kidnapping Jameson and making him think he’s dead and gone to hell. Meanwhile, he fakes Jameson’s death and frames Spider-Man for it.

Spider-Man, to his credit, figures it out pretty quick. Thank you John DeMatteis for not dragging that out – I hate when the hero is dumber than me. This second issue continues the theme of how similar Peter and Beck are, but focuses it more on their similarities as costumed weirdos. There’s a lot of exposition from Peter about how much fun he has with these fights, and how much he likes fighting bad guys and stuff. It’s pretty obvious that he’s not taking this seriously enough, and that something bad is going to happen. And, after Spider-Man saves JJJ and confronts Mysterio, something bad does happen – some sort of big explosion, the exact details of which are not explained until issue three. In addition to that particular cliffhanger, there’s also a more literal one – Joe Smith, playing the hero, grabs onto the giant flying sphinx that Mysterio takes off in, and is last seen hanging from the edge as they fly away.

(On a side note, there was one detail of this second issue that I loved: it ended with “to be concluded”, like Back to the Future Part II! Whoo!)

In the final issue we find out that the explosion turned out to be a special effects fake – kinda predictable, kinda disappointing. Spider-Man zips off to find Mysterio, who is fighting with his childhood girlfriend / current love interest (sorta) / future biographer, Betsy, on top of the flying Sphinx. Before Mysterio can do her any harm, though, Joe Smith shows up and saves her. He also gets thrown off the side of the sphinx to plummet to his death. Luckily (and, again, predictably) Spider-Man catches him.

After that it kinda gets weird. Mysterio and Betsy have apparently made up, so he makes her dress in a Princess Leia metal bikini and a big skirt. Then Mysterio pushes a button on his “experimental virtual reality machine” and turns Manhatten into ancient Egypt. That’s bullshit. I was with this story the whole way, but what the fuck is with Webspinners and fucking virtual reality? There was one in one of those other issues I read too. Were people really that obsessed with virtual reality in the 90s? This was such an annoying way for the series to climax.

The most annoying thing about it is that once Spider-Man shows up and begins to fight Mysterio, there are actually a lot of really awesome surreal panels of Beck changing the “reality” around them. It looks fucking awesome, and it’s a shame that there wasn’t a better way for DeMatteis to fit it into the story, without relying on fucking VR.

Anyway, Mysterio is about to self-destruct the VR machine (because virtual reality machines always have self-destruct functions), but Joe Smith unplugs it and then everything’s fine. Also, Joe Smith and Betsy fall in love. And Peter publicly embarrasses Jameson by leaking video of him when he thought he was in hell, crying and freaking out, because Peter is an asshole like that.

Like the art, the writing is a lot darker than any of the other Spider-Man stuff I’ve seen up until this point. It’s also pretty good overall, even with the lame-ass virtual reality. I think the thing it suffers from the most is being too…languid? The pacing is incredibly slow through the whole thing, and the narration is really, really wordy. Personally, I probably would have liked it more as two issues, or maybe even one. I still enjoyed it, though, and with the sweet art it made it a pretty decent read.

Rating:

Busiek’s back to form with this one. The Spacemen are pretty sweet villains, and we get lots of great JJJ character development. This is really a Jameson story, and we get to see him going full force railing against Spider-Man, but also interacting with his son and, ultimately, second-guessing himself when Spider-Man reveals that the Spacemen are criminals.

I’m really digging this series, Busiek has a great knack for exploring the nooks and crannies hidden away in the early Amazing Spider-Man issues. His attention to detail is great too, making sure everything he does fits well into the existing continuity. Here, for example, Peter’s running around without his glasses, because Flash broke them in ASM #8.

Excellent book, highly recommended.

Rating:

Yet another Sandman story, this time set right after he’s captured by the Human Torch. When the Sandman escapes, he pummels the hell out of Spider-Man and sends Peter on a self-doubt spiral. Luckily Betty Brant’s around to pull Peter out of his misery and get him back in the game.

This issue wasn’t bad, but I don’t think it was up to Busiek’s standards. The depiction of Peter’s emotional state was good, and I think that’s something Busiek really specializes in. I love that he always makes the book about the characters, rather than the action. Unfortunately, the dialogue in this story didn’t ring true to me. Spider-Man’s taunts were pretty lame, and Betty seemed relatively two-dimensional.

This wasn’t Busiek’s best work, but it was still enjoyable.

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This is Spider-Man’s first appearance in his own book. Reading this makes me appreciate the effort that went into all those other issues I just read that are set between AF 15 and this; there was a nice attention to detail that paid off in setting this story up and filling in the blanks.

Peter and Aunt May are still having money troubles, and Peter is desperate to try to fix them. Unfortunately, he’s finding it rather difficult to do so, both as Peter Parker and as Spider-Man. Matters are made worse by a scathing editorial by J. Jonah Jameson, but Peter doesn’t let this come in the way of his duty: when trouble strikes JJJ’s son John, Spider-Man puts his own neck on the line to save John. Unfortunately, this somehow only serves to further infuriate the elder Jameson, and Spider-Man is left stuck with few prospects in a city screaming for his skin. What will befall Spider-Man? Only time, as Lee reminds us, will tell.

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