WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #14 - #15, May-June 1986

All That Glitters…/Fox Hunt

Credits: David Michelinie (writer), Mike Harris (penciler), Kyle Baker (inker), Phil Felix/Rick Parker (letterers), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Peter Parker is threatened with eviction if he doesn’t repair his apartment’s smoke damage. Soon, as Spider-Man, he’s unable to stop the Black Fox from stealing the Eye of Carnelia from the Carnelian Embassy. Spider-Man learns of the Fox’s fence, Andre Boullion, and decides to sell his golden notepad. Spider-Man spots the Black Fox leaving Andre’s office, and is shocked to discover Andre’s body inside. Spider-Man assumes Fox is the killer, but soon learns that the mercenary Chance is responsible. Spider-Man defeats Chance, and sells the notepad to another fence the Fox tried to use. Unable to sell the Eye of Carnelia, Black Fox returns it to the embassy for the reward money. Meanwhile, Peter decides to pay Nathan Lubenksy’s hospital bills rather than save his apartment. He returns home to discover Mary Jane has made the necessary repairs.

The Subplots: Aunt May’s boyfriend, Nathan Lubenksy, is in the hospital after taking a beating in Amazing Spider-Man (he’s a gambling addict). Robbie Robertson is afraid Jonah Jameson is trying to usurp his editorial control of the Daily Bugle.

Web of Continuity: The Black Fox is an elderly jewel thief who often tricks Spider-Man into letting him go. Chance is a mercenary obsessed with…chance. Rather than charging for his services, he wagers on the outcome of his assignments.

*See _________ For Details: The Black Fox and Andre Boullion last appeared in Amazing #265. Chance kills Andre because he refused to join his employer’s intelligence network. A footnote points towards recent issues of Spectacular. Peter and MJ painted his apartment in Amazing #273.

Commercial Break: The somewhat infamous Power Pack/Spider-Man child abuse prevention comic is advertised on the back cover of #15.

Review: Wow, that golden notepad stuck around for a long time, didn’t it? Since character and ongoing continuity counted more than anyone’s “personal vision” in these days, David Michelinie begins his run by addressing the few recurring storylines this fill-in prone title’s accumulated. The golden notepad storyline had potential at the beginning, but unfortunately stuck around in the background for almost a year, as Spider-Man would occasionally remember he’s supposed to be angsting over it. Michelinie addresses the more practical questions, such as how does Peter go about selling a golden notepad in the first place? Dealing with an underworld fence doesn’t feel right for the character, but this is at least addressed during the story. And it should come as a shock to no one that Peter ends up using the money to help someone else rather than himself.

Allowing MJ to save his apartment actually forecasts an issue from the early days of their marriage -- Peter’s insecurities over being with someone much more successful than he’ll probably ever be. Michelinie will go on to write many of those early marriage stories, and he’ll revive Chance and Black Fox regularly during his run on Amazing. He clearly has some affection for the characters, and is able to use their unique gimmicks very well in this arc. The fake-out at the end of #14, hinting that the Black Fox killed Andre Boullion, is a great clifhanger.

The combination of Mike Harris and Kyle Baker looks nice, and very ‘80s at the same time. If you’ve read any of the Bill Sienkiewicz/Mary Wilshire issues of New Mutants, you know what I mean. There are a lot of shadows, and everything is slightly realistic yet slightly stylized. I’m assuming the missing detail lines and faded colors are an aspect of the printing process used during the time.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #13 - April 1986

Point of View

Credits: Peter David (writer), Mike Harris (penciler), Kyle Baker (inker), Phil Felix (letterer), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: Spider-Man slows down a semi-truck with his web-line before it hits a pedestrian. Some of the bystanders believe Spider-Man actually caused the accident, which is the angle the media exploits. Jonah Jameson pays for the pedestrian’s hospital bills, not knowing that he is actually a con artist who ran into traffic when he saw Spider-Man overhead. Spider-Man, frustrated with the public backlash, breaks into Jameson’s office and threatens him. After Jonah makes him realize he is acting like a menace, he leaves. When Robbie Robertson tells Jonah that the “victim” is actually a criminal, Jonah chooses to run the truth rather than save face.

The Subplots: None.

Review: David Michelinie is announced as the new writer in the letters page, so this is the last Peter David fill-in for a while. J. Jonah Jameson’s characterization has been all over the place over the years, and there have been a few stories that try to make him less cartoonish. This succeeds in adding some depth, but it also attempts to rationalize his various portrayals. I think the accepted characterization of Jameson now is that he is a credible newspaperman with a specific blind spot that involves Spider-Man, which is the angle David takes. After he pushes Spider-Man too far, Jameson has to talk him off the ledge. Jameson doesn’t take any joy in seeing Spider-Man driven to the brink; he doesn’t seem to know what to think about his actions. As Jameson puts it, either Spider-Man really is a menace, or Jameson has been able to convince him that he is one. Spider-Man leaves, unwilling to prove Jameson right. After Jonah agrees to run the true story behind the pedestrian, admitting he was duped into paying for a con artist’s hospital bill, he wonders if Spider-Man will ever realize that he is a true journalist. For a brief moment, he admits that maybe they’re both wrong about each other.

It’s a great issue, and I wonder if it’s been lost to time because of where it ran. Not only is this running in the third Spider-Man book, but it’s a fill-in in the middle of what seems to be a run of fill-ins. Why would Wizard continually praise the old Amazing fill-in, written by Peter David, about Spidey chasing a criminal in suburbia, but not bring this one up? Why wouldn’t this story be included with “Born Again” as one of the greatest J. Jonah Jameson stories? It certainly deserves to be.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #6 - September 1985

Gold Rush!

Credits: Danny Fingeroth (writer), Mike Harris (layouts), Zeck/Layton/Simons/Mooney (finishes), Phil Felix & Rick Parker (letters), Bob Sharen (colorist)

The Plot: A solid-gold building created by the Beyonder collapses, leaving Spider-Man to rescue the people inside. Kingpin is awakened in the middle of the night with news of the gold building. He makes a deal to help the federal government dismantle the building and cover up the story, lest the global economy collapses. Spider-Man is told to evacuate the building by a federal agent. He continues to save the occupants, avoiding shots from the Kingpin’s men. When Spider-Man learns that the Kingpin is being paid for his services with golden typewriters, he steals a golden notepad from the trashcan.

The Subplots: Nathan Lubenksy reveals to Aunt May that he told Peter about her financial problems. Mary Jane questions if she should’ve accepted Peter’s marriage proposal years earlier.

*See _________ For Details: This story follows the events of Secret Wars II (I have no idea which issue because there’s no footnote), and is continued in Amazing Spider-Man #268.

Review: Priest wrote stories about the global economy collapsing in Black Panther, didn’t he? Maybe I’m looking too hard, but it seems like he could've influenced at least this aspect of the story. I do like the focus on a realistic response to a fantastic event like a golden building, although I question if this could ruin the global economy. It would obviously drive down the price of gold, but the “gold standard” isn’t necessarily the global standard. America’s currency is worth something because the government says it is, and not because it’s backed by gold. The real conflict in the story comes from Spider-Man’s decision to take the golden notepad. It’s not a bad moral dilemma to explore, especially since the story is structured so that any qualms Spidey could have about taking it are philosophical ones. One gold notepad won’t harm the price of gold, it had already been thrown away, and Spidey is already in a bad mood after getting shot at for doing the right thing. Plus, Aunt May is in danger of losing her home, and we all know that Spider-Man does irrational, horribly misguided things when that old broad is involved. (Ahem. Sarcasm.) Visually, this is an inconsistent rush job, the kind where Spider-Man’s eyes are occasionally different shapes within the same page. However, Mike Zeck and Jim Mooney produce some lovely pages, so the majority of the issue looks fine.