Amazing Spider-Man # 18
Plot: Down on your Parker is now scrubbing dishes at a greasy spoon. Strapped for cash, this is evidently the only job he can get. He then calls his Aunt May to see if he can come visit and get a shower, etc.
Peter then goes to Aunt May’s house to find Anna Watson, MJ’s aunt. Peter tells them that MJ isn’t’ dead, and that everything is going to be all right.
We then cut to the Green Goblin coming back to terrorize Liz Osborne. He evidently wants Liz to show him some secret files from the Osborne corp.
Spidey then comes to the scene and saves Liz.
Likes:This was Byrne’s best looking issue, mainly due to the inking of artist extraordinaire John Romita Sr. Man is this guy an outstanding artists. He can turn Byrne’s sub-standard pencils, with hardly any backgrounds, into perfection.
Unfortunately, Romita’s inking of Byrne’s pencils is the only good thing about the issue.
Dislikes: When you have dialog such as “It can’t be Harry, I just ran into his holographic ghost” in the story, then you’ve got problems. There is no explanation to Goblins return, so the reader could care less. The battle of Spider-Man and the Goblin is anti-climatic and tries to set the stage to buy the Peter Parker book. The Goblin escapes, as Spider-Man tries to hold a transport tram from falling into the bridge.
I really didn’t like the out of character Peter Parker sleeping on the streets. He’s mumbling to his Aunt’s how Mary Jane isn’t dead, he’s a dish washer at a local greasy spoon, and he’s a bum that sleeps on the streets. Mackie and Byrne are taking this “down on your luck” superhero thing to a new level.
Rating: I’m giving this issue one and a half web heads out of four. Explain the Goblins motivation, advance the MJ plot, and stop going over the top with plots to crap on Peter,then you’ll have a decent comic.
Brad Douglas
View articlesBrad created the Crawlspace back in 1998 while attending college at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He’s the webmaster and writes front page news items, and also produces, hosts and edits the podcast. He’s been collecting Spider-Man comics since the age of three and is a life-long fan of the webhead. His website has been featured in USA Today, Entertainment Weekly and on Marvel.com and inside the comics themselves. The Crawlspace is one of the first Spider-Man fan sites to ever hit the internet. Millions of people visit the site every year.
Brad has interviewed several “Spider-Celebrities” over the years including co-creator Stan Lee. He’s also interviewed actors who have portrayed Spider-Man like Paul Soles (Voice Actor from the 67 Spider-Man Cartoon), Dan Gilvezan (Spidey Voice Actor from Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends) ,Yuri Lownthal (Voice Actor from the Spider-Man PlayStation game) and Nicholas Hammond (Spider-Man 1977 Actor).
You might be interested in …
The Chi-Town Breakdown: ASM: 68
It’s Part Two of the Chameleon Conspiracy which is not to be confused with the god awful Clone Conspiracy, so you are in a safe place here. Nick Spencer has set up the pieces in […]
Prowler #4 Review
“Hobie!! Hobie!! You’re here!! What the hell is happening?! Yeah, I’m doing these reviews out of order, just to shake it up a bit. To recap though, Prowler has hardly been one of my favourite […]
Craig’s Critique: Amazing Spider-Man #46 (Legacy #940): “The Ravencroft Redemption” or “Anna Watson, Villain Rehabilitator”
Peter and MJ actually interact and talk like grown-ups! Wacky hijinks with bad villains. Wait, did I accidentally get the issue that was intended for Mark to review? (Is it just me or does Electro’s […]
Social
Recent Comments
- Evan Berry on Panel of the Day #1615 (Splash Page Sunday!): “@Hornacek – Maybe Stan reserved the writer credit for himself.” Nov 18, 08:01
- Hornacek on Panel of the Day #1615 (Splash Page Sunday!): “In these older issues, why is the writer sometimes listed as “Scripter”? Is this like in a movie credits where…” Nov 17, 09:09
- Hornacek on Panel of the Day #1615 (Splash Page Sunday!): “I mean, eventually he’ll fall enough that he can web onto a building. This isn’t that dire a situation. Now…” Nov 17, 09:08
- Evan Berry on Panel of the Day #1612 (Splash Page Sunday!): “I guess there was something different about Cindy Moon’s body chemistry, too.” Nov 11, 08:15
- Hornacek on Panel of the Day #1612 (Splash Page Sunday!): “I don’t like the whole “something was different with Peter’s body chemistry” explanation here. He was bitten by a spider…” Nov 11, 04:30
- Gevorg on 1994 Spider-Man #15: “Battle of the Insidious Six” Review: “Your complaints look like nitpicks and made-up. Why angry face should be indicative of seeing stone crushed?” Nov 10, 14:28
- Evan Berry on Panel of the Day #1611: “I might be in the minority, but I’ve always been confused about Spider-man Noir’s wielding a gun.” Nov 8, 09:36
- Hornacek on Craig’s Critique: Amazing Spider-Man #60 (Legacy #954): “Hit The Road, Zeb” or “All [REDACTED] Things Must Come To An End”: “@Paul Penna: I just don’t see any future writer “doing” anything with Paul besides having him around. Marvel wants him…” Nov 6, 09:19
- Evan Berry on Panel(s) of the Day #1610 (Mary Jane Monday!): “@Hornacek — I would make a horrible Spider-man. So many times, were I in his place, I would have confided…” Nov 5, 07:53
- Hornacek on Panel(s) of the Day #1610 (Mary Jane Monday!): “At least he said “I have to go take photos for the Bugle.” This is a valid excuse since this…” Nov 5, 04:26