Because fans demanded it, we’re tackling an Aunt May adventure this month! Well, just one fan. Well, probably not a fan, but a friend! Well, I might be a bit presumptuous to call him a friend. I like him, but for all I know, he hates my guts. Anyway, because our very own Adam Schingle brought it up in casual conversation on the Internet, we’re tackling an Aunt May story this month! Yeah!
Break into your long boxes, friends (including people who hate me, but are reading anyway), and grab Amazing Spider-Man #220. If you don’t already have it, you can run down to your local comic store and buy it up for about $10 in a good condition. I did see people trying to sell it for over $200, but if you are looking at that price tag, just get it on Marvel Unlimited for free!
The main story is “A Coffin for Spider-Man” is a team up between Spidey and Moon Knight. The story is nice and all (who doesn’t like Moon Knight?), but the real story comes in when the main one is over – “The Nursing Home Caper”!
This is written by Mike Barr – normally a DC writer, did writer a few Marvel comics. Spider-Man issues include this back up in ASM 220, MTU 101, 102, and 105, a Marvel Fanfare where Spidey teams up with Scarlet Witch, and Spider-Man Unlimited #1. I reached out to him for comment on the story, but he probably was too busy laughing over this being the story he was asked about that he forgot to respond.
Our setting is Restwell Nursing Home – same one Aunt May was in when the owner told Peter she was dead so that the original burglar come ransack her home look for hidden treasure in her house. (because of course Peter would keep her in the same home that declared her dead and ransacked her house).
Then Peter makes a joke…
That turns out to be oddly prophetic.
Notice that not at all suspicious man walking up in the back. There is no Spidey-sense here, so we can all rest easy.
It seems Aunt May is in charge of the music selection at rest home functions.
I actually found a group called The Shriekers and contacted them. They responded right away saying that it wasn’t them, but they wished they were featured in a Spider-Man comic!
Nathan Lubensky is off at a doctor’s appointment, making May fair game for the other guys at the home. Mr. Brewster is spry enough to get the jump on them all.
But just before the trip the light fantastic, May expressed her concerns about that not at all suspicious guy we saw earlier only to be reassured that he is Poly’s nephew and is only guilty of trying swindle his aunt out of her money.
Oh, that Aunt May!
Not everyone likes Aunt May’s taste in music, though. Rodney, Polly’s not at all suspicious nephew, goes over and insults them. When he returns from his refreshment run, he finds…
He instantly accuses Raisin Razor and his band since they have wires for their equipment, but May is having none of it. Nobody accuses her favorite cheap punk rock band!
Rodney, now trapped by several elderly men and women, resorts to violence! Oh my!
By the way, Miss Marple is an Agatha Christie detective, so kudos to Rodney for being well read!
This pisses off the punk rockers (attacking Aunt May, not the Marple allusion) who all tackle him while Mr. Brewster runs quickly (well, quickly is a relative term) as he can to May’s assistance, but all is seemingly too late for the dear old crow.
Land o’Goshen! Admit it – she got you too! The old faker slyly not only got out of the not at all suspicious man’s grasp, but also managed to inspire The Shriekers into action! They tackle Rodney and the day is saved. Mr. Brewster lays it on thick, but alas! This is his only appearance. For that matter, Polly never makes an appearance again either, most likely she slunk off in shame. How could Aunt Polly ever match the glory of Aunt May?
Mr. Brewster tries to score points by bringing up Peter and says won’t her nephew be proud when he hears about this!
That’s it gang! I know you are scratching your heads wondering why this didn’t make any of the top fifty lists and what can I say other than some people are stuck in their ways and a masterpiece like this about an elderly lady well, it….. well, let’s let Aunt May explain it:
I like to think that somewhere in the Marvelverse, The Shriekers are playing warmup to Lonesome Pinky now. From my laptop to Spencer’s ears…
Since I only have a few citations today, let’s have a little fun and do them in Turabian style.* My son Grant has to use this utterly useless format in his field of study.
Comic Book Realm. 2019. “The Amazing Spider-Man Issue 220.” Accessed March 3, 2019. https://comicbookrealm.com/series/113/1637/the-amazing-spider-man-issue-220.
Mike W. Barr. 2018. Accessed February 15, 2019. http://www.mikewbarr.com/.
Wikipedia. 2019. “Mike W. Barr.” January 15, 2019. Accessed March 3, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_W._Barr.
*Probably the only time someone mentioned Turabian and fun in the same sentence. So what citation style do YOU want me to test out? I know some of you only read these articles for the citations.
‘Nuff Said!
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@Grant – Challenge accepted!
Citation recommendation: IEEE
I know it’s for computer engineering and technology stuff but, after all, this is on the internet and that’s technology so…….
here’s a link to a style guide: https://pitt.libguides.com/citationhelp/ieee
Holy moly, Evan! That couple is pure evil! How did I miss their nefarious expressions! They may be agents of Mephisto!
@hornacek — You’re right — I had completely forgotten about that. There’s really no comparison:
https://youtu.be/q_H658mR5qo
@Evan – The only thing that could have made those freeze-frame smiles at the end of each MSW episode better would be if they had done them like the “freeze-frame” endings of each Police Squad! episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIteXqJjCyA
@hornacek — Except Miss Marple didn’t have the freeze-frame smile at the end — which, of course, is the best part of any Murder, She Wrote episode. I don’t remember there being a freeze-frame smile even when Angela Lansbury played Miss Marple in The Mirror Crack’d. P.S. — Where did you purchase your glasses and inhaler?
@Evan – Murder She Wrote was basically an American version of Miss Marple.
@Mark — I’m partial to APA style myself. (See? I read all the way to the end!) I wonder if Aunt Polly never made another appearance in anticipation of potential copyright infringement lawsuits from the Mark Twain estate. Incidentally, the closest I ever came to actually solving an Agatha Christie novel (though I can sometimes make an educated guess) is the Marple book A Murder is Announced, but I accidentally mistook a major clue for a typo. Make mine Poirot! What with Not-At-All-Suspicious Man’s immediate confession, this story reminded me of an episode of Murder, She Wrote. Consarn it! Incidentally, in the “Cuttin’ a rug” panel, don’t you think the old couple in background look like they’re plotting something? If Not-At-All-Suspicious Man hadn’t confessed, maybe he could have blamed them. Is that Anna Watson?
@Adam Schingle and Hornacek –
@Adam – Awww… Thanks buddy!
@Hornacek – OK, Brad has intervened and created a committee to settle the matter. As soon as the committee meets and discusses the Marple issue, I will be back here to issue an apology, or more likely a boast of vindication. JR is on that committee, so it is unlikely that it will meet anytime soon. You know, I just realized that most of the discussion that comes from my posts aren’t Spidey-related, but rather about stuff like monocles, _ShawShank Redemption_, and citation choices. Hmmmmm….. 🙂
As far as the email goes, I’m glad you got one. I haven’t gotten one in over a year.
@Mark Alford – I think I’ve read most (all?) of the Miss Marple stories, and she consistently describes herself as an observer of village life (which she uses to solve mysteries) and not a detective. So I’ll take the actual content of the stories written by Christie instead of a website written by someone else.
As for my monocle, https://media1.tenor.com/images/2c11c2eba61054bb1757137b6cb6ee73/tenor.gif?itemid=12590291
Also, today is the first time in many months (?) where I received an email when a follow-up comment was posted to an article I commented on. Don’t know if something behind the scenes was just fixed, but it’s appreciated.
You’re a good guy in my book, Mark.
@hornacek & Jack Brooks _____________________________________________________________________________________
@hornacek – (takes a pull from inhaler) – From AgathaChristie.com – “Miss Jane Marple doesn’t look like your average detective. Quite frankly, she doesn’t look like a detective at all. But looks can be deceiving… ” Ha! By the way, do you wear glasses AND a monocle? Or did that monocle finally break from falling into your martini glass so often?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
@Jack Brooks – Didn’t think of that! I can see it now, “Petey hasn’t come to see me in two days. Time for another chest clincher!”
This story brings a dark cloud of suspicion over nearly all of May’s alleged heart-attacks.
(pushes glasses up nose) Actually Miss Marple is not a detective, she’s just a elderly woman that lives in St. Mary Mead and gets continually drawn into murder investigations. At best she’s an amateur detective.