In Part One of this examination of my favorite ongoing comic book of all time, The Amazing Spider-Man, we looked at how Stan Lee crafted and created the character for the first 100+ issues. Now, we turn to those who came after.
Hit the break for episode two!
ISSUES 111-149 THE CONWAY YEARS (1972-1975)
With #111, Lee handed off the regular writing chores to Gerry Conway, who worked with both Gil Kane and John Romita Sr. for several years, and then with Ross Andru (who I personally wasn’t impressed by). Also during this time, the character got more diluted, appearing in three books every month: Amazing, Marvel Team-Up, and Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man. I was a regular reader of all three books, but there was no denying that Amazing was the best.
The Conway years brought us issues #121-122: “The Night Gwen Stacy Died,” perhaps the most controversial Spider-Man issue of its time, in which Spider-Man kills Gwen—due to Green Goblin’s machinations. Some say it was Gobby who killed her, but check the facts: The webline broke her fall and snapped her neck. On the one hand, this left Spidey feeling sad. On the other, it left him free to pursue probably the second-best-known nonsuper female in comicdom: Mary Jane Watson. Yes, that’s right, a superhero switched girlfriends! Who had done that before? Peter Parker may have been the first.
Lots of folks don’t remember that Conway also created The Punisher, in issue #129, as well as Hammerhead and Tarantula; had Otto Octavius and marry to Aunt May; and let Harry Osborn step into his daddy’s purple pointed boots. But those were the high points.
Conway also created Man-Wolf, Grizzly, and Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy clones; let Aunt May shoot Spider-Man (yes, really); and got J. Jonah Jameson to hire Power Man (Luke Cage) to murder Spidey. Oh, and the Spider Mobile. And it is because of these low points that I give the run an overall B-. It was decent but forgettable, with a few A+ storylines throughout.
ISSUES 150-181: ENTER: LEN WEIN (1975-1978)
After issue #150, which ended the first clone saga (not nearly as bad as the second one, and written by future editor Archie Goodwin), Len Wein (creator of DC’s Swamp Thing) came on board, while Ross Andru continued on the art chores.
I have to admit, this was one of my least favorite runs for 1970s Spidey—the decade was otherwise pretty good. What Wein brought to the table was a tendency for even longer form narrative—but by this time, it was becoming more common for the MU to have multi-issue arcs that changed a character long-term. High points included Aunt May’s heart attack and the second appearance of Punisher. Low points included a third Green Goblin, the ghost of Hammerhead(!), and generally “meh” stories about the usual suspects (Sandman, Shocker, etc.).
Grade: C.
ISSUES 181-204: CLAP FOR THE WOLFMAN (1978-1980)
Issue #181 was a done-in-one origin retelling. (Marvel was fond of tossing those in as filler now and again. In fact, several Amazing Spider-Man annuals were simply reprints of prior issues—these were the days before trade paperbacks were available, after all.) So Marv Wolfman, fresh off of his run as Marvel’s editor-in-chief, began his run with #181. And what a run it was! Marv brought us Black Cat, whose relationship with Spidey was clearly patterned around the Batman/Catwoman dynamic, but Black Cat was more than just a DC imitation: She was a thief who was happy. She had joy, even exuberance, when she sparred with Spidey—and it wasn’t cynical snark, it was genuine playfulness. For the first time since the creation of the Lizard, one of Spidey’s “totemistic” foes actually seemed to have the personality of the animal upon which she was based.
And, more importantly, here was someone with powers who loved having powers. I mean, if your job was to get up and do cool stuff, wouldn’t you look forward to going to work every day?
Wolfman was also a fan of some of Spider-Man’s more . . . stupid enemies. Like Rocket Racer, e.g. But he could t make them resonate. Wolfman’s love of capes and tights is evident throughout his run—this is a man who loves what he writes.
Yes. There was actually an action figure of Rocket Racer.
On the art chores, Wolfman was joined frequently by Keith Pollard, who did a fine job, but there were some other standouts: Jim Starlin’s work on #187, which featured Captain America and Electro, exemplifies everything I love about Starlin: Muscular characters, clear lines, and a bold sense of drama. This is one of the best done-in-ones of Wolfman’s run, and probably one of the best in all of Amazing Spider-Man history. Wolfman also got to work with John Byrne, Sal Buscema, Al Milgrom . . . All some of the best Marvel artists of the 1980s.
Overall, as fun as they are, Wolfman’s stories didn’t have any long-term implications for Spider-Man, so they’re basically dispensable. For example, in issue #200 Marv killed off the burglar who had killed Uncle Ben. It was a very good comic book, but in retrospect it feels like it should have had more weight. Again, Marv is known for thrills—not depth. That being said, the whole point of Spidey is fun, right? So I’m giving this an A- for content, but only a B for significance, which translates to a B+. Read it if you want good adventures (and in the 1980s, Marvel was really about adventure—it hadn’t gone “dark” yet), but not if you’re looking for “important” developments in overall Spider-mythology.
February 25, 2011
ekko1
