Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,117
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Post by Confessor on Sept 22, 2024 8:37:56 GMT -5
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 47 (reprinted in Marvel Tales 187) That’s an interesting cover, which is different from what I’d expect from John Romita. It seems almost like something Steve Ditko would design. The various Spider-man figures are reminiscent of the ones used on the cover of Amazing Spider-man Annual 2. I think I recognize one of the poses, so I assume the rest are also re-purposed from previous issues. I’m guessing sort of deadline problems required this cover to be put together in a hurry, but I think it turned out pretty good. This cover has never been a favourite of mine, I'm afraid. It's fine, but it doesn't grab me and make me desperate to read this issue – which is a shame because I think this issue is a knock-out! This story opens up with flashbacks to earlier stories of Spider-man and Kraven’s battles. Once again John Romita gets to re-create scenes from old Steve Ditko comics. This time, there’s a bit of a twist, as a little creative, retroactive continuity establishes that it was Norman Osborn (posing as a go-between for his own alter-ego the Green Goblin) who hired Kraven to go after Spider-man. Is this the first Spider-Man recton? I can't think of an earlier example off the top of my head, but I might be forgetting something. Might it even be the first retcon in the Marvel Universe? Enquiring minds want to know. Unfortunately, although the retcon is nifty enough within the context of this issue, it doesn't really work. It's clear the flashback in this issue takes place at around the time of Amazing Spider-Man #34, but there are two problems with that. Firstly, Kraven was back in Africa at the start of that issue, when he decided to return to the U.S. to battle Spider-Man in order to regain his honour. And secondly, Kraven tells us (by talking out loud to himself, as super-villains often do), exactly why he is going after Spidey again: "I can endure the frustration no longer! I must battle and defeat my greatest mortal enemy or else everything that has gone before is but a hollow mockery!" There's no mention of any other motive or the involvement of the Green Goblin at all. So yeah, this is both a clever retcon for the purposes of the story and a bit of a goof by Stan. This issue really does include as many supporting cast members as they could cram into these pages. Aunt May and Anna Watson, are shown settling in to their new shared home, with Mary Jane stopping by to liven things up in her usual manner. Meanwhile Gwen is busy arranging a send-off for Flash Thompson before he leaves for the army. Harry is still interested in dating Gwen and despite the comments he made last issue, it doesn’t seem that he is anything more to her than a casual friend, though he’s still in a bit of denial over that. Peter has shown an interest towards Gwen in prior issues, but now his attraction seems to have grown, and will develop even further in the upcoming issues. I really enjoy all the supporting cast moments in this issue. Stan Lee apologises for focusing on the soap opera elements so much, but as far as I'm concerned, they are my favourite parts of the comic. The party offers John Romita the chance to demonstrate his talented skills as both Mary Jane and Gwen show up in elaborately designed outfits and show off their dance moves. Peter Parker has some impressive moves of his own The scenes at the Silver Spoon during Flash's send-off party are great fun. Fab dialogue from Stan, which, along with John Romita's artwork, does a fantastic job of conveying the personalities and emotions of all the characters – even the background youngsters in the café we've not met before. Also, the scenes of Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy dancing (along with Peter thowing some shapes, of course) are fabulous. Great mod outfits on the two girls too. When Kraven crashes the party and grabs Harry, Flash tries to intervene but is easily shunted aside. I love that Flash takes a swing at Kraven, even if the Hunter brushes him aside like a gnat. Say what you will about Flash, but he's not a coward; he might be a bully, but he's certainly not "all mouth" and will get stuck into a scrap when he needs to. Note also that Harry Osborn even throws a punch at Kraven's face as the Hunter is carrying him away. You go, Harry, boy! But of course, the most serious question about this scene is who's gonna pay for the hole in the Silver Spoon's wall?!! The action in this issue is pretty good, and takes place at a work site across the street from the party where a building is being constructed. The staging and choreography of the fight between Spidey and Kraven on the half constructed high-rise building is brilliant, even by Romita's standards. This might be the best fight sequence he's delivered in the comic thus far. Since their last battle, Kraven has upgraded his arsenal to include ray-blasts which shoot out from his vest providing an added advantage against Spider-man’s agility and strength. I’m not sure if the addition of these gizmos push Kraven too much into standard sci-fi super-villain terrority. I know what you're saying. I certainly don't mind Kraven's "nipple lasers" , but at the same time I'm not overly enamoured with them either. I guess I'm just kind of ambivalent about them either way. The story ends with Peter and Flash saying their goodbyes on good terms, and shows just how much both these characters have matured Absolutely. The way in which Pete and Flash's relationship has changed and matured over the last fifty or so issues (including annuals) has been one of the most satisfying aspects of these comics. Also, I find it very touching how in the last panel Peter is genuinely worried about Flash being killed in Vietnam, even after everything Flash has put him through… It's a moving panel – and not just because of how well we know these characters, but because it expresses feelings that would've been shared by many youngsters in 1967 who watched their friends and classmates going off to fight in Vietnam. Overall, this is just a stupendous issue of Amazing Spider-Man – one of my absolute favourites from this era. Stan Lee and John Romita are just going from strength to strength at this point. The artwork is starting to look much more like Ronita now, as his pencil line becomes thicker, or rounder and his action panels are becoming larger in order to move away from his self-imposed Ditko imitation. The only thing that lets this issue down for me is the slightly mediocre cover and Stan's minor continuity error regarding the retcon. The moments involving Peter and his supporting cast in this issue are what really make it though.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,117
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Post by Confessor on Sept 22, 2024 11:35:16 GMT -5
Some comments on issues #48 and #49... THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 48 and 49 As you said in your review, and tarkintino mentioned it too, there's a nice bit of misdirection on the cover of Amazing Spider-Man #48 in the way John Romita hides the Vulture's head from view, thus preserving the surprise that this isn't the original Vulture. Spidey’s web-swinging takes him past Municipal Prison, where unbeknownst to him, an old foe is on his deathbed, and, at his side, a new foe is ready to be born! I've always sort of wondered whether Stan Lee and John Romita genuinely intended to kill off the original Vulture at this point? He is pretty aged, after all, and the prison doctor seems pretty convinced that he's only hours from death. Perhaps the two creators were thinking that a new, younger Vulture would go over better with the readers? Of course, that's not the way things turned out and the original Vulture would return in issue #63 to confront Blackie Drago in an attempt to establish who the true Vulture is. But yeah, the original Vulture's death seems pretty imminent here. I don’t really think Blackie Drago counts as a new super-villain created by John Romita the same way as the Rhino or the Shocker, but it’s still a new plot that hasn’t been seen in these pages before. I agree. Having Blackie Drago taking on the mantle of the Vulture is a surprising and interesting twist, but this isn't really a new villain per se. Peter Parker has caught a cold, from all that web-swinging in the cold winter weather… This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Peter get sick… Despite his super-powers, Peter Parker is still susceptible to many of the things that regular people have to deal with, and that includes health problems. Surely, Peter's catching a cold and being weakened is just a narrative device to explain why Blackie Drago – who is just a normal thug, lest we forget – should give Spider-Man any trouble at all? Then again, I guess the original Vulture was a regular human too (and an old one too!) and he gave Peter a fair bit of trouble. On a related subject, the scene in ASM #49, where Blackie repeatedly dives at a helicopter almost toppling it out of control, is ridiculous. Drago has no super-strength, so he would just bounce off the 'copter and cause only minor danger to it. He'd be more of a danger if he flew into the rotor-blades! Not even Gwen Stacy’s new hairdo is enough to perk him up. Harry mentions that Gwen’s new hairdo is almost like the way Mary Jane wears hers, Gwen’s classic, iconic look has almost arrived, and the reason that’s provided for why she may have decided to change her hairstyle is a nice simple, but realistic touch. As I mentioned in my comments for ASM #46, Romita deliberately gave Gwen a haircut similar to Mary Jane in an attempt to make her as popular as MJ with the readers. Her hairstyle will become even more like Mary Jane's over subsequent issues, eventually looking pretty much identical except for the colour. This was all part of Stan's strategy to put fans off MJ and have them instead prefer Gwen as the perfect choice for Peter Parker's girlfriend. I went into more detail about this in my comments on your review of ASM #46, jtrw2024. I do agree though that the in-story reason – that she is jealous of how much attention MJ gets from Peter – and the subtle way in which it is handled in Stan's dialogue, is a very realistic touch. I like the addition of the helmet to the Vulture’s costume, and can’t really stand any of those scenes where he’s flying around without it. Blackie Drago says it’s for extra protection, and to make him look scarier. The original Vulture looks okay without the helmet since he was designed by Steve Ditko with that distinct bird-like head and face, but Drago, or anyone else wearing the costume, would need that little something extra. Drago's helmet or cowl also makes his head look "balder", much like the original Vulture's. Most species of Vulture have featherless heads, so the helmet makes him look more like his avian namesake. That's why it kinda looks wrong when we see Blackie flying about with a full head of hair. Kraven worked with the original Vulture as part of the Sinister Six a while back, and being the expert hunter he is, can probably tell that this is a new guy in the suit, but doesn’t say anything, nor seem to care. I don't think Kraven realises this is a new Vulture until he observes Blackie attacking the helicopter: on page 9 he says, " I've finally seen him in the flesh! Now that I have the scent, he cannot escape me!" Since, as you point out, Kraven and the original Vulture have met before, that says to me that Kraven has definitely realised that this is a new guy. Kraven has been hanging around his jungle-themed hideout where a news broadcast informs him that New York’s deadliest menace is the Vulture. I love Kraven's jungle-themed TV! I like these two issues a fair bit, though I consider Blackie Drago utterly inferior to the original Vulture. The plot about him assuming the Vulture's mantle is strong enough to sustain the story across two issues and the soap opera elements involving Aunt May, Gwen, MJ and Harry visiting Peter while he's suffering from a nasty cold, causing him to hide his Spider-Man costume under the bed sheets, are a lot of fun. Romita's artwork in these issues is good as ever. By the way, there's an uncredited Mike Esposito inking issue #49.
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Post by jtrw2024 on Sept 22, 2024 11:58:01 GMT -5
I've always sort of wondered whether Stan Lee and John Romita genuinely intended to kill off the original Vulture at this point? He is pretty aged, after all, and the prison doctor seems pretty convinced that he's only hours from death. Perhaps the two creators were thinking that a new, younger Vulture would go over better with the readers? Of course, that's not the way things turned out and the original Vulture would return in issue #63 to confront Blackie Drago in an attempt to establish who the true Vulture is. But yeah, the original Vulture's death seems pretty imminent here. Prior to this it didn't really seem like the original Vulture's age was even much of an issue. Obviously he was older than Peter, but that goes for pretty much all his villains. This is the first time his age is really brought up as a plot point. I guess if Spider-man can have real life problems, then so can his enemies. Though "old-age" probably wasn't one of those problems that most readers at the time were thinking too much about yet
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Post by tarkintino on Sept 22, 2024 14:21:16 GMT -5
I love that Flash takes a swing at Kraven, even if the Hunter brushes him aside like a gnat. Say what you will about Flash, but he's not a coward; he might be a bully, but he's certainly not "all mouth" and will get stuck into a scrap when he needs to. It also illustrates the gargantuan level of power Kraven has over ordinary people; he outsizes Flash by some considerable degree, and is a charging force who cannot be stopped with the common man's bravado. Romita made Spider-Man come alive as the best representation of the character. I've mentioned this before, but Romita added to the character of Spider-Man by giving him such a unique set of physical gifts, from his fighting style to athleticism, that he would never be lumped in with any other character of the genre, with many illustrated with simple, thrown punches. Easily one of the reasons TASM's supporting player plots stood head and shoulders above anything else Marvel attempted. For once, the characters felt like they lived in the world, and as mentioned before, they were the polar opposite of the kind of static supporting characters seen in too many superhero comics up to that time. Lee was spot-on showing how there was no single perspective about a friend heading to Vietnam, so we have witnessed some of the group genuinely supportive of Flash and where he was going, while Peter fears the worst. Both capturing realistic views of 1967 America. Undoubtedly. To say Spider-Man--by this time--was the runaway pop cultural hit for Marvel would be an understatement. Despite the very big presence of all things Batman (related to cashing in on a then-fading phenomenon), or some honestly magnificent comics produced at this point in comic book history, Lee and Romita--the quality of their beautifully blended talents--made TASM the gold standard of superhero comics of the 1960s.
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Post by jtrw2024 on Sept 22, 2024 17:27:24 GMT -5
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 50 (reprinted in Marvel Tales 190) “Spider-man No More!” Credits (as they appear in the comic): Stan (The Man) Lee / Johnny (Ring-a-Ding) Romita Mickey Dimeo, Inker Sam Rosen, Letterer Andy Yanchus, Colorist Plot Synopsis: What happens when Peter Parker decides to be Spider-man No More? Comments: This is the 50th issue of Amazing Spider-man and it is an important milestone in the character’s history. The story starts off with a typical action sequence, showing Spider-man fighting regular street-level crime. What follows is a series of vignettes showing other recurring situations which have appeared many times over past issues. The average person on the street still doesn’t trust Spider-man despite his efforts to do good. Aunt May’s health continues to be a matter of concern. Peter Parker cannot find the time to balance his school work, or personal life with the responsibilities that come with being Spider-man. Finally, the constant attacks from Spider-man’s most persistent antagonist J. Jonah Jameson have driven Peter towards a life-changing decision. All these events, presented in only the first few pages of the story, serve to reinforce the idea that being Spider-man is a burden for Peter Parker, one which he cannot continue to endure. Peter’s fateful decision is presented with one of this series’ most iconic images. The image is a full page, and is something many fans are familiar with. There have been countless, homages to both this issue’s cover, and the image of Peter disposing of his Spider-man costume. Many elements and images from this story, including this scene, were adapted for the second Spider-man movie in 2004. Many fans probably know the scene, but have never read this story. That’s their loss, because I think that this story is one of the best! When Spider-man’s discarded costume is discovered, news of the web-swinger’s sudden disappearance spreads. J. Jonah Jameson has been Spider-man’s bane since the first issue, and basks in his moment of triumph. . The middle part of the story shows the repercussions of Peter’s decision. For Peter himself, it means having the freedom to focus on his studies, and tend to the need of his Aunt. Peter still hasn’t decided between Mary Jane or Gwen, but has plenty of free time to pursue them both. As he is no longer Spider-man, Peter cannot continue to sell photos of himself in action to the Daily Bugle, though the offer to work for Harry’s father could offer him new possibilities. With Spider-man out of the picture, Peter’s life seems perfect, but the web-swinger’s absence proves even more fortuitous for the Kingpin of Crime. As if this issue wasn’t important enough, it also features the debut of a brand new villain. The Kingpin is probably the greatest contribution to Spider-man’s rogues’ gallery during the Stan Lee/John Romita era. He’ll appear quite often during Romita’s time on the book, and continue to pose a challenge for Spider-man and other heroes for decades to come. The Kingpin isn’t the first villain in these pages with ambitions to rule the city’s underworld. Frederick Foswell attempted this, way back in issue 10, in the guise of the Bigman. Investigating the shift in the city’s criminal activity as Patch, Foswell learns about the Kingpin. Though Foswell has been retired from crime for some time, working a legitimate job as a reporter for the Daily Bugle, he now feels an urge to go back to his old ways. Foswell thinks he should rule the underworld himself, but quickly learns that the Kingpin is not the type of villain you want to mess with. These scenes with Kingpin, Foswell and the other criminals set-up plots which will play out in the next couple issues, but they serve a purpose here and do a good job showing what a city without Spider-man would be like. Although Peter has resisted the urge to fight crime, or even read about it in the paper, a stroke of fate puts him in the right place at the right time to stop a robbery in progress. The man Peter rescues reminds him of someone, and he recalls the tragic mistake he made a long time ago. Spider-man’s origin doesn’t seem to get mentioned as often back then as it does now. The origin story was retold only a few brief times in earlier issues, redrawn by Steve Ditko, and now John Romita gets to provide his own version of those classic scenes between Spider-man and Uncle Ben’s murderer. This is all it takes to get Peter back in to costume. Spider-man is back and ready for action by the last page, ready for the adventures that lay ahead! Notable differences in the reprint: Previous issues updated the credits to replace Mickey Dimeo with his real name Mike Esposito, however this time it was not changed. There’s a Post Office of the Past letters page reprinting old letters about “Spider-man No More”. James C. Owsley, Editor. Adam Blaustein, Assistant Editor There’s an editorial column, View From The Tenth Floor, written by James C. Owsley where he discusses the story which will be printed in the next issue. Marvel Tales ends their consecutive reprints of Amazing Spider-man with this issue, but there’s no reason provided in this column. The next issue is 64 pages, reprinting Amazing Spider-man 96-98. The one after that will reprint Amazing Spider-man 121-122 before the series goes into a different direction. If you’re going to end things off, this issue was a good place to stop. (we'll get to those other stories eventually though) This story was skipped over in the earlier Marvel Tales issues when it came time to reprint it in 1972. Most likely this was because it had been reprinted a year earlier in Amazing Spider-man Annual 8. The reprinted version in this annual, was an abridged version of the story, with missing pages and had been re-coloured. The new colouring was mostly good, except for one unfortunate error on an important part of Spidey's costume. Personal anecdotes: I bought this issue of Marvel Tales as a back issue around 1988-89 when I was getting lots of other comics. I don’t think I knew anything about the story, and hadn’t yet seen any homages to that important scene of the discarded costume, so the story was all new to me. AFTERWORD: Since this issue marks the end of Marvel Tales’ consecutive reprints of The Amazing Spider-man, it also means the end of this first part of my review thread. After I started this project, I changed my mind about the direction I wanted to go after this initial run of Marvel Tales reprint issues finished with Amazing Spider-man 50. I’ll still be continuing the reviews past ASM 50, as planned, but the format and structure will change a little bit. The main thing that was bothering me was choosing between multiple formats when stories were reprinted in more than one place. My original reading plan would have had me jumping around from the digest sized Spider-man Comics Magazine, to older Marvel Tales and wherever else stories may have been reprinted. The new revised structure provides me with a way to accommodate more than one reprinted format wherever applicable. As the next era of Spider-man comics also deals with a lot more continued stories which run for 2 or 3 issues, expect to see more longer, combined reviews, similar to a few others I’ve done before. That being the case, I'll also slow down my pace a bit since I’ve now reached the first part of the goal I set for myself, but I’m still committed to seeing this thing through. Thanks for everyone who has been following me from the start, and anyone else who’s joined in and contributed along the way! Look out for the next review in a few days!
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Post by Ricky Jackson on Sept 22, 2024 22:46:48 GMT -5
Great work so far! Very comprehensive. Keep em coming
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Post by tarkintino on Sept 22, 2024 23:09:47 GMT -5
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 50 (reprinted in Marvel Tales 190) It has been said endless times before, but this is an absolutely magnificent cover, and as far as i'm concerned, easily in the top 5 of greatest monthly superhero comic book covers for all of its meaning and powerful, beautiful execution. Yes, and when the first Marvel Tales run skipped over to TASM #51. (in Marvel Tales #36 from August of 1972) readers were served a rather underwhelming cover: Still, Marvel never had an issue with reprinting anything fairly close to the original publication, as seen with Marvel Tales #1 from 1964, which reprinted Amazing Fantasy #15--barely two years old at the time. Arguably the most celebrated / referred to issue ever published by Marvel, and for endless good reasons: Up to this period in comic book history, how often did the hero ever seriously buckle under the unavoidable pressures of life and his alter-ego's constant assault from the media? Stan Lee was breaking so much new ground here, constantly moving the hero toward realistic concerns and emotional pitfalls. This was no grinning good guy in a cape who wrapped up all of his problems at the end of an issue with a wink or bland statement written for him 50,000 times. The Lee/Romita Spider-Man/Peter Parker was the new hero, one far more relatable (in certain aspects of his life) than his Ditko-era version had been. Romita was an artistic force in comics with few equals, as he was always in the process--in one way or another--of changing the visual language of superhero comic art, only his rich background of numerous genres allowed him to add the kind of emotional composition one would see in romance or medical titles (with their own genealogical connection to soap-opera films and early TV), only heightening the power of his storytelling, and the appeal of Peter Parker's troubled world on a changing class of reader. As you mentioned, The Kingpin was not the first villain to attempt to rule the underworld, but Lee and Romita brought in Marvel's first legitimate analog to real world organized crime, with its methods and open brutality adding a greater sense of danger than previous crime groups created for this title. It would not be long before more depth would be added to Fisk, but he--out of the gates--was a fascinating landmark character for Marvel, and one of the most threatening to Spider-Man sans gimmicks or costumes. I've always appreciated that Peter's realization that timely providence played a role in his acceptance of Spider-Man not a being a hindrance to his life, but part of his actual destiny. Obviously, in his published future, he would come to see Spider-Man as being a curse to his existence, but no matter the personal pain his "great responsibility" brought him, he had a higher calling.
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Post by jester on Sept 23, 2024 8:41:42 GMT -5
The Kraven-Vulture story arc is a personal favourite of mine that kind of contains everything that made this era of Spider-Man great. This period of early Romita issues was a golden age for the title.
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Post by Yasotay on Sept 23, 2024 18:41:31 GMT -5
Yes, and when the first Marvel Tales run skipped over to TASM #51. (in Marvel Tales #36 from August of 1972) readers were served a rather underwhelming cover: Don't knock that cover! That was one of the first comics anyone ever gave me when I was maybe 5 years old.
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Post by jtrw2024 on Sept 24, 2024 17:25:30 GMT -5
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 51 “In the Clutches of… The Kingpin!” Credits (as they appear in the comic): Stan Lee and John Romita Mickey Demeo* Inker Sam Rosen Letterer *(Mike Esposito is credited as Mickey Demeo) Plot Synopsis: Spider-man vs The Kingpin! Comments: The Kingpin of Crime is ready to take control of New York City’s underworld. Only one man stands in his way. Well, two men, actually, now that Spider-man is back in action after the events of last issue. Before he even knows that Spider-man has returned, the big threat that has got the Kingpin worried is J. Jonah Jameson. The Daily Bugle has always been known to stand against, crime and corruption, but it’s usually directed towards Spider-man. Jameson knows Spider-man is back, but maybe his editorial on the underworld takeover rumors was something he was working on during the period when the web-swinger was out of action. Regardless, it’s nice to see Jameson actually crusading against legitimate threats for a change, acting like a real journalist. Maybe the Bugle’s new city editor who first appears in this story has something to do with it. In the short period Spider-man was away, the city’s crime-rate has risen, but our hero doesn’t waste any time getting back to business. An encounter with a gang of hoods gives Spider-man the first indication that something big is in the works, when he overhears mention of the Kingpin. I think John Romita does a great job showing Spider-man against regular non-super-powered crooks. That probably comes down to Romita’s skill in general when it comes to depicting regular looking, realistic characters. Although the Kingpin was introduced last issue, we only got a hint of why he’s such a formidable threat. It’s early in this story where we learn that Kingpin’s massive build is actually solid muscle, and that his speed and strength make him a match for anyone who dares challenge his claim to leadership. One of the tough gang leaders learns this the hard way, and if Frederick Foswell had any thoughts about opposing the Kingpin himself, they’re soon put to rest after that impressive demonstration. Photographs of Spider-man’s latest crime-busting endeavor are all it takes to get Peter Parker back in J. Jonah Jameson’s good graces after he had previously quit last issue. These scenes at the Daily Bugle bring us up-to-date on the usual gang of characters, Jameson, Betty and Ned, (who takes over Foswell’s crime-reporting duties in his absence). The most important addition to the supporting cast to come out of John Romita’s time on the book is Joe “Robbie” Robertson who appears right here in Amazing Spider-man #51. Not only is Robbie the first black character to be introduced to Spider-man’s supporting cast, he’s all-around, just a good, strong, character who will go on to play an important role throughout the series for decades. Peter’s other friends, Mary Jane, Gwen and Harry make brief appearances in the first part of this story, but the main focus is on the action. Stumbling by chance on another of the Kingpin’s crimes, Spider-man plants a spider-tracer on one of the crooks. Though no formal explanation is given, by this time, Spider-man is now shown following his tracer’s signal with only his spider-sense, instead of the tracking device used in earlier issues. J. Jonah Jameson is brought to the Kingpin’s penthouse headquarters where he discovers Foswell is in league with the villain. Spider-man arrives soon after and though he has no trouble dealing with the gang of henchmen, the Kingpin himself is another matter. In their first encounter Spider-man makes the same mistake as most who oppose the Kingpin. Though he does not appear to have super-abilities, the Kingpin’s strength is more than a match for Spider-man’s powers. In addition his special weapons such as the cane with a built-in ray blaster, or the gas that shoots from his tie-pin, give Kingpin the extra advantage he needs to overcome the web-spinner in their first bout. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 52 “To Die A Hero!” Credits (as they appear in the comic): Produced and Presented by Stan (The Man) Lee and John (Ring-a-Ding) Romita Embellished by Mickey Demeo* Lettered by Sam Rosen *(Mike Esposito is credited as Mickey Demeo) Comments: As the second part of the story begins, an unconscious Spider-man is carried down into a sub-cellar below Kingpin’s penthouse. Spider-man is bound to a steel chair, together with J. Jonah Jameson, left to their fates, as the room fills up with water. This is the type of thing that typically happens in stories like this, whether in comic books or tv and movies, where the villain leaves the hero to die in some elaborate death trap which they couldn’t possible escape from. I don’t have any problems with it getting used here, since I enjoy seeing classic book tropes like this. What doesn’t get explained, is why neither the Kingpin, nor any of his men bothered to unmask Spider-man when they had the chance. This will happen plenty of times throughout this character’s history, and also to plenty of other masked heroes. Obviously having Spider-man’s identity exposed in this story would complicate the plot more than is necessary, but it would still be nice to have it addressed somewhere on panel. Just a simple explanation would suffice. Maybe something like Spider-man’s spider-sense and adhesion-powers kick in to overdrive when he’s unconscious, and in danger, making his costume difficult to remove. Unless the plot requires it to work otherwise, that would cover almost any situation where this type of thing is a matter of concern. That’s my theory and I’m sticking to it, (no pun intended)! Feel free to send me my “No-prize” if you agree. The second part of the story includes a few more scenes at the Daily Bugle, with Ned Leeds, Betty Brant and Joe Robertson. Once again, Betty shows her concern over Ned rushing in to danger. This is consistent with the way Betty acted in earlier issues when she was together with Peter, but does come across as a bit of a stereotype to have her always concerned for the safety of her man. Spider-man and Jameson escape the watery death-trap, naturally, but it’s ironic that in order to save JJ, Spidey has to act like the menace he’s always been accused of being. Once Spidey scares Jameson into fleeing to safety, the action really picks up and doesn’t stop. Well it stops for a bit, because, of course, we need to check in with the gang at the Silver Spoon. Harry, Gwen and MJ are all there to greet the returning war-hero Flash Thompson. It’s not too clear what type of action he’s seen, but he still seems to be displaying the same enthusiasm he had when he departed a few issues back. Before that brief interlude interrupted things, Spider-man had burst into the Kingpin’s office just in time to save Foswell from a crushing fate. Even though Spider-man is better prepared for the Kingpin than he was in their first fight, the big crime-boss is still a force to be reckoned with. The Kingpin’s penthouse comes prepared with a special escape chute which he uses to flee. The Kingpin will become a major recurring villain for this series, returning to fight Spider-man time and time again. Right from the start though, this first story shows that Kingpin has what it takes to compete on the same level as any of the major spider-foes that came before him . The final few pages of this story bring closure to the story of Frederick Foswell as he dies protecting J. Jonah Jameson from what remains of the Kingpin’s men. Although he was introduced as a villain way back in Amazing Spider-man 10, Foswell returned to the series as a reformed man, and proved himself a capable reporter. In his other identity of Patch, he would, at times, be an ally to Spider-man. There was no indication prior to this storyline that he had any thoughts about returning to crime. Foswell’s original motivation for becoming the Bigman and wanting to rule New York’s criminal underworld in the first place have never actually been revealed, so there really isn’t anything to help us understand this sudden desire to return to that role. In the end though, conflicted as he was, Foswell does the right thing, making him a real hero in the end, at least as far as Jameson is concerned, (as strange as that may seem). This storyline was a good introduction to the Kingpin, and comes directly after “Spider-man No More!”. I almost want to consider it a three-parter, but I think Amazing Spider-man 50 works well as a standalone story, even though it introduces the Kingpin, and sets-up some of the plots for these following issues. Notes about the Reprints: Marvel Tales 36-37 (1972) Marvel Tales reprinted both these stories in the early 70s, with brand new covers. MT 36 has a new cover by Sal Buscema (pencils) and John Romita (inks? Layouts?). MT 37 has a new cover by Sal Buscema (pencils) and John Verpooten (inks). The original covers are reprinted inside towards the end of the books. These stories look unaltered. The colours look about the same, other than the usual differences one expects from different paper stock or printing methods. I’ll assume that this stretch of Marvel Tales usually uses the original colours when available, but if I notice any that are re-coloured I’ll try to point it out. Spider-man Comics Magazine 1 (1987) Spider-man Comics Magazine was a digest sized reprint series which picked up the Amazing Spider-man reprints where Marvel Tales left off in the late 1980s. The comic was released bi-monthly and each issue was 68 pages, usually containing 3 reprinted stories. None of the Annuals from this period were included, and some issues were skipped over. The series did reprint Spectacular Spider-man 2 (but not issue 1), and also the Spidey story from Marvel Super-heroes 14, in later issues. Once Spider-man Comics Magazine was cancelled, Marvel Tales would pick-up the Amazing Spider-man reprints from where this one left off, but only for a few issues. The format of this series would change after the first few issues. The series was inconsistent when it came to including the original covers. With this first issue, the front cover is a re-purposed John Romita Spider-man drawing, the type that would be used on licensing and merchandise. The back cover reprints the original cover to ASM 51, but it’s not identified as such. The original covers to ASM 52 and also 53(which is also reprinted in this issue), are nowhere to be found. The first two pages are a contents page, and preview images of what you’ll find inside. There’s a Bullpen Bulletins column from Marvel’s Editor-in-chief Jim Shooter about other unrelated titles. James C. Owsley who was also the Editor on Marvel Tales, writes a View From the Tenth Floor column announcing the debut of this new title. The back page is made up to look like the Daily Bugle and provides advertisements for the other current Spider-man comics published around this time Adaptations in other media: This comic book story was adapted for an episode of the classic Spider-man cartoon from the 1960s. “Kingpinned” is the second episode of season 2 of Spider-man (1967). The story is changed so that it takes place earlier in Spidey’s career shortly after the death of Uncle Ben, on Peter’s first day at the Daily Bugle. The Kingpin’s scheme is a little different, and involves him dealing in phony pharmaceuticals which also have an impact on Aunt May. J. Jonah Jameson plays a big role in the story, and gets mixed-up with the Kingpin’s plans similar to the way it happened in the comics. Foswell makes a brief appearance, looking different from the way he does in the comic book, and only has a small role as a Daily Bugle reporter who secretly provides information for the Kingpin. This is one of the better looking episodes of the series. Like the previous season, it uses many Spider-man poses inspired by (or swiped, if you prefer) from Steve Ditko’s and John Romita’s comic book drawings. Personal anecdotes: I first read these issues through the reprint which appeared in Spider-man Comics Magazine 1 which I got new off the shelf in 1987. I was already familiar with the story, as I recognized it as one that had been adapted for an episode of the Spider-man cartoon from the 1960s. I bought these two old Marvel Tales issues just recently, and read them right before writing this review. I tried to re-read them in Spider-man Comics Magazine too, but despite having good vision and never needing glasses, I couldn’t read these darn things. Not sure if the quality of the ink, or paper caused these things to fade over the years. I’ve got old Archie digests which are still clear, and read old paperback novels all the time. Anyway, that’s actually the real reason for changing my approach to these reviews.
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Post by Cei-U! on Sept 24, 2024 18:39:07 GMT -5
Is this the first Spider-Man recton? I can't think of an earlier example off the top of my head, but I might be forgetting something. Might it even be the first retcon in the Marvel Universe? Enquiring minds want to know. I might be mistaken, but I think the first retcon in the Marvel Universe was that Bucky Barnes didn't survive WWII. As for Spidey's first retcon, unless I've forgotten something then, yes, this is it.
Cei-U! I summon the belabored backstory!
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Post by tarkintino on Sept 24, 2024 22:25:11 GMT -5
Is this the first Spider-Man recton? I can't think of an earlier example off the top of my head, but I might be forgetting something. Might it even be the first retcon in the Marvel Universe? Enquiring minds want to know. I might be mistaken, but I think the first retcon in the Marvel Universe was that Bucky Barnes didn't survive WWII. As for Spidey's first retcon, unless I've forgotten something then, yes, this is it.
Cei-U! I summon the belabored backstory!
Well, on the subject of retcons, chronologically speaking, the first might be a few panels earlier from the same issue of The Avengers (#4), with Captain America being recovered from a state of suspended animation, and Giant Man confirming Cap had not been seen since WW2.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,117
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Post by Confessor on Sept 26, 2024 9:39:53 GMT -5
I'm a little late to the party, as always (been a busy few days with boring real life stuff)... THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 50 (reprinted in Marvel Tales 190) I know this is gonna sound like blasphemy to some, but I've never much cared for that cover. It's hard to pin-point exactly what it is that I dislike about it, but I think it's a combination of too much red and the figure of Peter Parker somehow simultaneously looking like he's walking towards and away from the viewer. Also, have Peter's trousers had an argument with his shoes?! “Spider-man No More!” This is the 50th issue of Amazing Spider-man and it is an important milestone in the character’s history. Something that I remember reading a long time ago in some magazine or maybe online is that the finality of that cover image and the "Spider-Man No More!" title must've really surprised and worried fans when they picked it up back in 1967. Although we take it for granted these days that, no matter what happens in the stories, Spider-Man comics will continue to be produced, back in the mid-to-late '60s there was no such certainty. Comic series got cancelled and characters were shelved fairly often, so why shouldn't it happen to Spider-Man too? I mean, sure, we know in hindsight that Spider-Man was a best-seller, but your average reader probably wasn't aware of that. That this was indeed the end of Spider-Man must've seemed like a very real possibility. All these events, presented in only the first few pages of the story, serve to reinforce the idea that being Spider-man is a burden for Peter Parker, one which he cannot continue to endure. I agree with tarkintino when he says that up until this point seeing a superhero buckle under the pressure of the job was almost certainly unprecedented. Stan Lee's patented "realistic superheroes" undoubtedly found their fullest expression in Peter Parker/Spider-Man. What's more, Peter's decision to jack it all in feels all the more realistic because long-time readers have seen how being Spider-Man impacts his life. We've also been privy to him considering giving up superheroing before, even if only momentarily; the closest he'd come before was probably in Amazing Spider-Man #18, I guess. When Spider-man’s discarded costume is discovered, news of the web-swinger’s sudden disappearance spreads. J. Jonah Jameson has been Spider-man’s bane since the first issue, and basks in his moment of triumph. I always feel really sorry for that little kid who found Spidey's costume and rushed it to the Daily Bugle to hand it in to J. Jonah Jameson. All he got for his troubles was a complimentary copy of the Daily Bugle. The middle part of the story shows the repercussions of Peter’s decision. For Peter himself, it means having the freedom to focus on his studies, and tend to the need of his Aunt. Peter still hasn’t decided between Mary Jane or Gwen, but has plenty of free time to pursue them both. I really enjoy seeing this glimpse into what Peter's life looks like without his having to be Spider-Man. It's a fascinating look at an alternate timeline in which Peter didn't get bitten by the radioactive spider and also nice to see him happy for once. With Spider-man out of the picture, Peter’s life seems perfect, but the web-swinger’s absence proves even more fortuitous for the Kingpin of Crime. As if this issue wasn’t important enough, it also features the debut of a brand new villain. The Kingpin is probably the greatest contribution to Spider-man’s rogues’ gallery during the Stan Lee/John Romita era. He’ll appear quite often during Romita’s time on the book, and continue to pose a challenge for Spider-man and other heroes for decades to come. I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment about the Kingpin being the best contribution to Spidey's rogue's gallery that the Lee/Romita partnership created. While we see relatively little of the Kingpin here, he's nonetheless pretty much fully formed: huge, hulking, powerfully-built figure, bald head, laser cane – it's all here. Romita has gone on record a number of times about how he wanted the Kingpin of Crime to not look like your typical villain. In a 1999 interview with Comic Book Artist magazine, Romita said, "I made him a 400-pound monster; that was my idea. I made him bald, I put the stickpin on him, I gave him that kind of tycoon look." In the book Comics Creators On Spider-Man, Romita describes how he patterned the Kingpin after two actors: Edward Arnold, an overweight guy with a big wide face and a hooked nose, and Robert Middleton, who was bald. I've read elsewhere that heavy-set actor Sidney Greenstreet was also an inspiration. The Kingpin isn’t the first villain in these pages with ambitions to rule the city’s underworld. Frederick Foswell attempted this, way back in issue 10, in the guise of the Bigman. Investigating the shift in the city’s criminal activity as Patch, Foswell learns about the Kingpin. Though Foswell has been retired from crime for some time, working a legitimate job as a reporter for the Daily Bugle, he now feels an urge to go back to his old ways. Foswell thinks he should rule the underworld himself, but quickly learns that the Kingpin is not the type of villain you want to mess with. Having Foswell being drawn back towards a life of crime is an interesting, and sadly all too plausible, twist. These scenes with Kingpin, Foswell and the other criminals set-up plots which will play out in the next couple issues, but they serve a purpose here and do a good job showing what a city without Spider-man would be like. Yeah…and this is the flipside of the scenes with Peter kicking back and enjoying his life without a care in the world. Again, this is a nicely realistic touch from Stan and John, insofar as the idea that the city's gangland bosses would be emboldened by Spider-Man having retired feels very believable. Although Peter has resisted the urge to fight crime, or even read about it in the paper, a stroke of fate puts him in the right place at the right time to stop a robbery in progress. The man Peter rescues reminds him of someone, and he recalls the tragic mistake he made a long time ago. An early example of one of the many, many flashbacks to the night Uncle Ben was murdered that we will see over the decades. The origin story was retold only a few brief times in earlier issues, redrawn by Steve Ditko, and now John Romita gets to provide his own version of those classic scenes between Spider-man and Uncle Ben’s murderer. It's interesting to see John Romita's take on these famous scenes, but I must say that I prefer Ditko's original panels to Romita's re-drawings. Maybe that's because that's how I'm most used to seeing them, so anything else seems somehow "wrong". I do generally prefer Romita's artwork to Ditko's, but not in these flashback scenes. This is all it takes to get Peter back in to costume. Spider-man is back and ready for action by the last page, ready for the adventures that lay ahead! I think the real brilliance of this issue is that it conclusively shows us that not only is Peter compelled to help people as a superhero by the lesson learned from his Uncle Ben's death, but also because he's intrinsically a good person who wants to help people in need. Being a hero is in his blood. All in all, this is a great issue. Romita's artwork is, as ever, brilliant and utterly gorgeous looking, really helping to sell the story of Peter's inner turmoil and the action sequences alike. The pacing and plotting of the story is note-perfect and Stan's scripting is excellent. Peter's lingering guilt over his Aunt May, his wanting to spend more time on typical teenage concerns like dating, and his concern over his slipping grades are all handled in a very emotional and grown-up way. But there's also lots of great Lee humour in the story too. This panel in particular always makes me chuckle… It's like something out of MAD magazine. Overall, this is simply a fantastic story – one worthy of the series' first important milestone issue.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,117
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Post by Confessor on Sept 26, 2024 10:21:39 GMT -5
AFTERWORD: Since this issue marks the end of Marvel Tales’ consecutive reprints of The Amazing Spider-man, it also means the end of this first part of my review thread. Congratulations on reaching this first target in your review threads, jtrw2024. It's been really fun to follow along with you. The pace with which you've raced through this issues has been very impressive (and a little hard to keep up with on occasion ). It's doubly impressive, given that your reviews are so in-depth and enjoyable to read. The main thing that was bothering me was choosing between multiple formats when stories were reprinted in more than one place. My original reading plan would have had me jumping around from the digest sized Spider-man Comics Magazine, to older Marvel Tales and wherever else stories may have been reprinted. The new revised structure provides me with a way to accommodate more than one reprinted format wherever applicable. Bear in mind that the late '70s copies of Marvel Tales feature edited stories. At some point during this period, Marvel reduced the number of story pages in their comics to 17 or 18, I believe. So, when they reprinted older issues they needed to edit them down. That's not quite as bad as it sounds though because the omissions were very skilfully handled: editors utilised panel cropping, relocation of speech balloons, reduced panel size and other "tricks" to keep as much of the original issue as possible, rather than just chopping out whole pages of a comic. So, you don't really miss any "story", but if you are looking for historical accuracy, the late '70s Marvel Tales reprints are doctored. Myself, I never noticed the omissions in these late '70s reprints until someone here in the forum mentioned it a few years back. As the next era of Spider-man comics also deals with a lot more continued stories which run for 2 or 3 issues, expect to see more longer, combined reviews, similar to a few others I’ve done before. That being the case, I'll also slow down my pace a bit since I’ve now reached the first part of the goal I set for myself, but I’m still committed to seeing this thing through. One question I have is, will you be reviewing supplementary comics like Marvel Super-Heroes #14 or Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #1 and #2, all of which came out in 1968? Or is this review thread just for reviews of Amazing Spider-Man and the attendant annuals? I notice that you have already chosen not to review things like Spidey's appearances in Daredevil #16 and #17, of example, so I'm guessing the answer will be you won't be reviewing those supplementary comics?
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Post by tarkintino on Sept 26, 2024 13:47:38 GMT -5
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 51 “In the Clutches of… The Kingpin!” As mentioned up thread, TASM #51's first reprint was in the pages of Marvel Tales #36 from August of 1972: Honestly, the cover--credited to Sal Buscema over a Romita layout (certainly not enough of the latter survived), lacked the sheer, threatening power of the Romita original: I agree that Jameson running an anti-crime (organized) campaign was refreshing, giving the character more real world substance than just being some one-note caricature ranting exclusively about Spider-Man. Undoubtedly--as a fine, advertising and comic artist, pre-Silver Age Romita had long proved he was not one for bizarre anatomy and far too cartoony versions of the people readers knew in their real lives. The same cannot be said for some artists, who leaned hard on exaggerated illustration (some might refer to it as a "style"), which has the power to take one right out of the story. One of the complaints (thankfully marginal) about The Kingpin had been centered on his supposedly "regular" human self being able to to battle a super-powered man, yet this--and other issues to come--almost tease that he's some sort of genetic outlier, not just someone who is physically fit enough to battle an enhanced man. Robertson was such a major statement in superhero comics: the black professional who was not there to be what on TV is referred to as the "issue of the week" or a token. As developed, he was a respected pro in journalism, stood toe-to-toe with Jameson and offered an experienced view of the world that resonated with the two sides of Peter Parker. No matter how dark things would get for Spider-Man, Robertson would question the circumstances, but never turn into a Jameson-esque firebrand against Spider-Man. Lee and Romita brought a long-needed, dominant and frankly charismatic menace into Marvel's organized crime sub-universe; the "Maggia" had existed since 1965, but none of that organization's leadership ever cast as smothering a shadow as the Kingpin, nor did they feel like a true danger to the hero. The Kingpin initially dismissed Spider-Man (and would do so in next issue's conclusion), but he learned to respect Spider-Man enough to take him seriously from that point forward--essentially painting a larger target on Spider-Man's back. You know you have a successful superhero drama when one of the hero's most ruthless adversaries does not need superpowers to threaten the life of one such as Spider-Man. Yes, its time for the cover comparison part of the program, and up first is the original: Yet another fantastic, jaw-dropping John Romita cover with what had to be quite shocking to readers: the unconscious hero bound back-to-back with his biggest detractor, both mere moments from drowning. Romita's eye and compositional strengths were arguably unmatched at Marvel, as he created one masterful cover after another, never failing to pull readers into the issue, where he would not fail to satisfy. On the other hand, the first reprint-- Marvel Tales #37 (September, 1972), featured another uninspiring, standard action piece courtesy of Sal Buscema, not at all capturing the drama or energy of the original (or its interiors): As noted earlier in this post, The Kingpin would eventually respect Spider-Man as an advesary, but at this point, he sees the hero as a freakish thorn in his side who needs to die as soon as possible, so unmasking him would not benefit him, or his plans. A dead man is a problem solved. Consistent. I've always loved how fearless and disrespectful The Kingpin was regarding the super-powered of that world; yes, he would develop a teeth-gritting respect for Spider-Man, but he--unlike the rest of the regular residents of the Marvel world--was not in awe of superheroes at all, or super-villains for that matter. It was a fitting, and ironically tragic end for a character who--through his other identity--had few qualms about working with the same kind of killers who were attempting to kill Jameson. Jameson regarded Foswell a hero, but he was anything except heroic, moral, or any other positive appellation one might use to describe him for one heroic action. Despite difference in the adaptation, "King-Pinned" was a stylish, enjoyable episode (produced during the Ralph Bakshi season), coming off like more of a detective story than straight super-hero tale.
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