Let's go back to the late Spring of 1984. Rom's entering the last phase of his war with the Dire Wraiths, who are infiltrating Earth, replacing humans, and planning a sorcerous coup. Spider-Man's only recently come back to Earth with a symbiotic costume that responds to his commands. ] Synopsis Roderick Kingsley’s office is intruded by the Hobgoblin. But it reveals itself to be a Wraith, and offers him a body double he can use for his secret identity! He runs for it, hidden passage out, and makes it to his gear. He fights back as the Hobgoblin, not trusting anyone to have his secret. He seems to kill all the agents present from the Dire Wraiths. The Dire Wraiths report this attempt to replace Hobgoblin and assume his place in the underworld, failed, but they have two other plans, converging. One, they have a poltician adviser in place, who will get the humans to build detention centers, for the use of the Wraiths once they take power. The second plan invol...

I gotta be honest. There is definitely an appeal to having an indefinite canonical origin for The Joker. It's just better if he comes out of nowhere, really. Now, Venom is from an era when villain origins could be built to last, and his had a lot of build-up. It's sorta cool that in 1984 you have the first half before you even know you'll have a second half: I'm talking, of course, about Spider-Man's black costume, and the symbiote from space it was revealed to be. In our discussion, aside from a distaste for the inconsistent depictions in Todd McFarlane's earliest issues, my partner Anji was more perturbed at how the alien costume only had a 'heel turn,' because Marvel intended to dispose of the design. Before it was really in any stories, the new black design had evoked a vocal backlash. A few months in, and seeing Spider-Man in action in the new costume was grabbing new fans. Her point though: In Web of Spider-Man #1, the costume/ symbiote h...

It's not where I first noticed it, but going back across Stern's run, this is the first place you see it, when the Black Cat targets purveyors of black market high art. ASM # 232 Mister Hyde stalks the Cobra Then you have Tarantula picking up where Cobra left off. Cobra chasing down Nose Norton was yet another instance: ASM #231. Ned Leeds and Marla Madison are caught in the middle of this one! Then, Ben Urich's caught up when Tarantula picks up the trail. So Norton is sort of the second hunted villain in a story line, in that someone besides the cops or Spidey is tracking a character who we'd agree is not deliberately on the side of angels. But the next storyline has even more villains chasing each other. Will O' the Wisp returns for revenge against Brand and ends up fighting their latest, fatal experiment. Tarantula's transformation scared the heck out of me! I just got to peep a few pages while I waited on Mom at the grocery store. I didn...

I think this may be, by some slim margin, the best cover of Amazing Spider-Man, the Marvel title that began publication in 1963. I'm going to include cover credits, where I know them. This one's by John Romita, Jr. I hope this brings back so many memories, or is at least very fun for fans of Spidey and comics in general! ASM #226 This has got to be one of Marvel's best covers of the decade! From 'Daydreams'- isn't this hilarious? Jonah in a track suit AND smoking a cigar. It's John Romita, Jr. again. You just can't leave out this dramatic second part of the most famous single Spider-Man storyline of the 80s, Kraven's Last Hunt. The mini-series was drawn by Mike Zeck and, I believe, inked by Bob Wiacek. It ran across all three Spider-Man titles, each week! Early Frank Miller cover href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ADdv9Nhod6AHxpJSSWIHvCuVfdO_McIK0qJQ2DFHZ_hoz2tQXnjIpplC_3Rvfi1mXo3BD...

Overnight, I was thinking: Instead of video games, I like to unwind with books. But if I really want to let go, it's comic books- preferably from the 20th century. I won't go into 'why,' besides it's a cheap bit of time traveling plus escapism. I like to see the weigh stations of the times, the way comics integrate influences from years before I was born with voices of their times, which are now before many of YOU were born. I love the way art and text together tickle my brain, ping-ponging between right and left hemispheres in a way Grant Morrison described so beautifully in the non-fictional SuperGods . There's a delight in execution, certainly a hint of nostalgia to stir a lifetime of remembrances, a love for this four-color trash made by an industry that always expected its demise the next year, making pamphlets that might survive to a yard sale for a quarter or so each, if not just tossed before the silverfish struck. I've met, interviewed (es...

Superman and Bat Man- well, Tonto and the Lone Ranger- heck, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid- friendship's always been part of the appeal of our classic heroes. Even Wolverine benefits from someone on his Six, storywise. Now I want to focus on early Marvel- I was fascinated by the way they built a storyverse, with guest stars and shared villains and footnotes connecting your earlier Marvels to the one in your hands. The Hulk/ Thing rivalry kicked off the very same month (in Fantastic Four #12) that Spider-Man visited and antagonized the Fantastic Four for the first time in Amazing Spider-Man #1 (his second appearance, of course). With Spidey, they had an apparent hit on their hands, so why not mix him up with the teen member of their flagship title, the Fantastic Four? While trying to build their nascent - I'm going to use my own term, Heroverse- they repurposed their weird/mystery/UFO/monster titles as vehicles for the new characters. Torch got three years as the co...

A great fight scene for Marvel’s top TV heroes of the late seventies, Spider-Man and the Hulk! OK, first twenty-five minutes of story sets up Banner being kidnapped to the Rosslyn Hotel in NYC. Peter’s looking for tips about the famous research scientist who has supposedly turned up in the Big Apple. At this point, Spider-Man’s spider-sense begins bringing him closer. He changes, climbs to the top of the hotel, and continues homing in on his signal. That danger sense grows when Dr. Banner is pushed too far and Hulks out. Now, we’re setting them up to meet in the hallway- and cut to commercial! Wow! Imagine what might happen next! Well, as I have no concern over the health of stunt men nor of a budget at risk, here’s what I picture, using their television counterpart power levels. Ok, FADE IN: Hulk roars. Spider-Man uses his ability to do the unexpected: leap onto the ceiling. This confuses and infuriates the Hulk, which provokes a kick in the face. This doesn’t do too mu...