Raven's Haven: Stan Lee

Sunday, 20 November 2016

Amazing Spider-Man (1963) # 425-433, Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) # 249-256, Peter Parker, Spider-Man (1990) # 82-90, Sensational Spider-Man (1996) # 19-26, Spider-Man Unlimited (1993) # 17-19, Marvel Team-Up (1997) # 4-7, Spider-Man and Batman: Disordered Minds (1995), Batman/Spider-Man (1997), Spider-Man/Kingpin: To the Death (1997)

(I originally read these comics in mid May 2016)

Continuing with my post-clone Spidey read...

Any ongoing sub-plots that were distinct to each of the four main Spider-Man titles seem to have fallen by the wayside as the resurrected Norman Osborn muscling in on the Daily Bugle and using it to make Peter's life hell has come to dominate all. As a result of this, we've seen Joe 'Robbie' Robertson uhmm-ing and aah-ing over whether he can continue on as editor, amid pressure from his wife to quit. Spidey previously beat Osborn up - something which Norman engineered to use against him - and Osborn has recently framed Spidey for the murder of some lowlife mob skel. In the 'Spider Hunt' crossover he's now public enemy number one and has a five million dollar bounty on his head, severely impeding his ability to to be a hero. Norman has also employed a new Green Goblin to do his bidding but as yet his identity remains a mystery. Flash Thompson, meanwhile, is recovering from his bout of alcoholism and is employed as Norman's P.A.

Other plots include Tom DeFalco's inevitable return of Doctor Octopus in Amazing, after the many-limbed one's death during the Clone Saga, and DeMatteis building on the legacy of the villain he memorably killed off as Kraven the Hunter - actually his son Aloysha - makes his presence felt in the pages of Spectacular.

The two Spider-Man/Batman crossovers - the first published in 1995 - are written by DeMatteis and drawn by Mark Bagley and Graham Nolan, respectively. The second is marginally better than the first, though neither is as good as it should have been. The same can be said of the Spider-Man/Kingpin one-shot, touted as the return of the Stan Lee/John Romita team supreme, thirty years after their heyday. It's enjoyable enough, but Stan's script is somewhat corny (would heroes like Captain America and the Thing so readily assume Spidey had turned killer on the basis of such flimsy evidence?) and Romita's pencils would have benefited from a tighter inker than Dan Green.

And just so you're not kept awake nights wondering, the "mystery guest star" from Marvel Team-Up # 5 is everybody's favourite cosmic voyeur, the Watcher...

As an extra, here's the full gatefold cover of Spectacular Spider-Man # 250, by the father/son combo of John Romita and John Romita Jr.

Sensational Spider-Man (1996) # 19-24 are collected in:

Softcover:
Spider-Man by Todd DeZago and Mike Wieringo (US)
Spider-Man by Todd DeZago and Mike Wieringo (UK)

Spider-Man and Batman: Disordered Minds (1995) is collected in:

Softcover:

Crossover Classics: The Marvel/DC Collection Volume Three (US)

Crossover Classics: The Marvel/DC Collection Volume Three (UK)

Batman/Spider-Man (1997) is collected in:

Softcover:

DC/Marvel: Crossover Classics IV (US)

DC/Marvel: Crossover Classics IV (UK)

Peter Parker, Spider-Man (1990) # 88-90, Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) # 254-256, Sensational Spider-Man (1996) # 25/26 and Amazing Spider-Man (1963) # 432/433 are collected in:

Softcover:

The Amazing Spider-Man: SpiderHunt (US)

The Amazing Spider-Man: SpiderHunt (UK)

(I originally read these comics in mid/late March 2016)

Spent the last week reading Lee and Kirby's 'Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.' strips from the pages of Strange Tales. The creator billing is not entirely accurate as Kirby only provides layouts for most instalments, with artists including John Severin and Don Heck penciling. John Buscema returns to Marvel with ST # 150, for his first job since the '50s.

The 12-page strips are densely written and provide almost as much reading as a standard '60s Marvel comic, so I've been reading them at a rate of 2-3 per day. They're fun if second rate stuff, though they get progressively better. Nick is a great character, a blue collar James Bond, and Stan clearly enjoys writing his funny, sarcastic and rough-edged dialogue. His personality is contrasted well against that of new boy and eager beaver Jasper Sitwell in later stories.

Many long-standing Marvel concepts are introduced here: HYDRA, AIM, Life Model Decoys, etc, and # 145 is an early crossover with Tales of Suspense # 78.

Jim Steranko takes over for his legendary run with issue # 151. I'll come back to those soon enough, especially since they continue a plot already set in motion.