Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 274

   

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 274
Release Date: March 1986

Highlights

• First appearance of Century Club
• Reference is made to Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 111
• Puma returns to his uncle's reservation in New Mexico, telling him about Beyonder, and that he's too powerful for Puma
• His uncle informs him that since the champion of death failed, that it is up to the champion of life, but doesn't know who said champion is
• Beyonder stands in a distant galaxy, pondering if he should destroy everything, or continue his quest to find peace in the realm of existence
• An alien race soars towards Beyonder, and opens fire from their ships - Annoyed with this, he wipes them out of existence, then their home world, and then every other planet that ever came into contact with them
• Not content with this, he appears before Mephisto, stating he's there for him and his entire realm
• Mephisto makes a deal with Beyonder that the existence of his realm and the multiverse be extended should a human past the test that mortals are worthy of life - Mephisto is given Spider-Man as his pawn piece in the game
• Beyonder chooses Zarathos as his, and sends the demon to Earth
• The game is simple, as Beyonder explains it; "Spider-Man is an individual who is motivated by a deep sense of responsibility. All Zarathos has to do is get him to renounce that" - If he does, Beyonder wins - If he doesn't Mephisto wins, and the multiverse and his realm will get twenty-four more hours
• Nathan is still in the hospital, but apparently getting out soon
• Though he's invited to join his Aunt, Mary Jane, and her Aunt for lunch and a show, Peter tells them he has an assignment for the Bugle that he needs to get to
• During his assignment, Spider-Man learns that the thugs he's photographing from the rafters also plan to assassinate Kingpin later that evening
• After taking his photos of the cops raiding the place, Spider-Man heads off, pondering that even though Kingpin is a major criminal, he can't leave him to be murdered
• Zarathos appears in the sky, urging Spider-Man to let him die before covering him in a hallucinating mist
• With his mind messed with, Spider-Man begins to fight hallucinations, including and attacking Green Goblin, his parents who tell him they're disappointed in him, nasty boils on his face, Captain Stacy who blames him for his death, Gwen Stacy falling from the same heights Peter is, and visions of Uncle Ben
• Beyonder is actually sad for all the suffering Peter is going through, and Mephisto takes full advantage of it
• As Mephisto prepares to transfer power to Spider-Man, which would also kill him upon his victory, his own demon's stop him, stating they would rather be destroyed from existence than stay in his real continuously being tortured
• Spider-Man defeats the demon, and also saves Kingpin, winning the game for Mephisto
• Beyonder gives Mephisto's realm, and the multiverse another twenty-four hours while he goes away to ponder the events of the day

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• Editor's Day Off: Mephisto says, "The battle has has barely started..."

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Retro Spins: Public Image Ltd - 9

Well, here we are. The final entry of Public Image Ltd. for the 80's. They're a band, for me, which started off the decade somewhat struggling, but ultimately got better and better as their sound evolved, and new members came into the fold.

By 1989, the band was reduced to a quartet with the departure of Lu Edmonds, who left from difficulties associated with tinnitus. However, while he wouldn't contribute guitar to the ninth PiL studio album, appropriately called, 9, he would be credited as co-writer. He would eventually be replaced by Ted Chau. However, Chau doesn't perform on the album.

Evolving again, the band settled into a new wave pop rock sound for their decade ender. While it was initially intended to be produced by Bill Laswell, who had worked with Lydon on 1986's Album, once again Laswell caused waves. Much like with 1987's Happy? which saw the producer wanting to replace the band with session musicians, Lydon simply wouldn't agree to do that. The end result was that the agreement was dissolved, with Steven Hague, and Eric Thorngren being brought in to fill the role.

9 produced the band's most successful single to date, Disappointed. It would reach number thirty-eight in the UK, and hit both the Billboard's Modern Rock Charts, and Dance Club Songs charts. Further, Lydon himself has stated it's his favorite song he's ever written.

When it first kicked on, I felt the album was definitely bigger than previous releases. It included what felt like a full band sound, while also incorporating female background vocals. Extravagant comes to mind.

By track four, while I hadn't heard anything I disliked, it would be the odd U.S.L.S. 1, which would be the first track I actually wanted to add to my shuffle list. Worry would be the next which hit this mark, but again, I stress that I wasn't hearing anything bad. If anything, I kind of want to listen to the album from front to back again.

Was it a smashing ending to the decade? No, not really, but 9 was an enjoyable album overall. If nothing else, I'm really glad that as a whole I found some new tunes in this journey.

The irony is that when I first got into buying PiL albums, it was at the same time as when I started getting the Psychedelic Furs. If you would have asked me at the time, I would have told you the Furs were going to be the superior of the two. That turned out to be quite the opposite.

Years of living in the excess of the party life, Bruce Smith felt it best to step away in 1990 to get himself cleaned up. The band, consisting of remaining member John Lydon, John McGeoch, and Allan Dias, would continue on, recruiting Gregg "J.P." Arreguin, and Curt "Kirkee B." Bisquera for the 1992 released That What Is Not.

Virgin Records would decline to pay for a tour in support of the album, culminating in Lydon disbanding PiL. Rather than return to the music scene, he would spend 1993 working on his memoire, Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs, which was released the following year. in 1996, he participated in the reunion, Sex Pistols' Filthy Lucre Tour with Steve Jones, Glen Matlock and Paul Cook. This was followed in 1997 by his solo album, Psycho's Path.

2009 would finally see PiL reemerge, but unfortunately only Lu Edmonds, and Bruce Smith would return, with new member, Scott Firth. This new iteration would release three albums, This Is PiL (2012), What The World Needs Now... (2015), and End Of World (2023).

Sadly, Lydon's wife of forty-four years, Nora Foster, would pass away from Alzheimer in 2023. The singer would announce his retirement shortly thereafter but thankfully end up changing his mind. Public Image Ltd. is currently on tour, with shows scheduled to wrap up in May of this year.

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Comics Corner: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 112

   

Title: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 112
Release Date: March 1986

Highlights

• Final appearance of the Santa Claus Imposter
• First appearance of Amanda Robertson, Steven Estevez, Alex Woolcot, Fritz Woolcot, Jordan Modica, and Joe Krolik
• Joe Krolik runs from the mall, having just robbed a woman
• When Spider-Man catches him, tells him that he was just trying to get a present for his mom who was dying from a bad clavical
• Spider-Man doesn't buy his story, but the woman he robbed does, and doesn't press charges, only to find out that Joe stole her watch as she was forgiving him - The cop on the scene just laughs at her
• Peter Parker walks under the mistletoe as he enters the Bugle, and is greeted by a big kiss from Joy
• Things are lining up that Peter will be alone for Christmas, but only because he doesn't give people the opportunity to invite him over before disappearing on them
• Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 273, Marvel Tales 182, and Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 100
• Jordan Modica sits on Santa's lap at the mall, asking for some pretty rad stuff; Raiders of the Lost Ark on VHS, Stinkor (from Masters of the Universe), and Optimus Prime (from The Transformers)
• Mary Jane washing up

• Felicia Hardy dawns her Black Cat costume again, the first time since her and Peter broke up, and heads out into the night
• As Black Cat hones in on a pair of criminals robbing a store, they insult her by calling her Black Widow
• Black Cat decides to take the mink coats they were stealing for themselves, but then gives them to a pair of bag ladies trying to stay warm with a barrel fire
• Being a modern day Robin Hood made Felicia feel good, and she decides it's the perfect compromise to simply being a cat burglar
• Peter finds to Coke's in his fridge, and makes not that it's not that "new" stuff
• A pathetic Peter is having a Coke with his black costume, and talking to it like it's a real person to spend the holiday with
• Randy Robertson calls his father from the airport, and says his flight is delayed, but that he's bringing a friend he bumped into at the airport - Turns out that friend is his new wife, Amanda
• The Santa Claus Imposter attempts to rob the apartment of the three girls living next door to Peter, who springs into action as Spider-Man when his spidey sense goes off
• Spider-Man chases the burglar, but he gets too far ahead, and makes it out to the roof, where he meets someone else dressed as Santa Claus
• When Spider-Man makes it to the roof, the burglar, and the mysterious stranger, are gone
• The next morning Peter is called down to the Bugle where the criminal has not only changed his ways, but called the cops on himself, while he hands out hand made wooden toys and stuffed animals to children
• Peter is handed a note from the reformed man, which reads, "call your aunt"
• As Peter, Mary Jane, Aunt May, and Mary Jane's aunt Anna sit at Aunt May's home having breakfast
• Aunt May informs everyone that Mr. Popchik wasn't indicted by the jury for shooting the hoodlums who tried to rob him, and he's not only out of prison, but visiting his son
• In the bushes outside lurks two mysterious men, one wielding a knife, and in a cliffhanger ending, the one says to the other they'll do it another day

Low Points

• The focus point of Amanda is that she's white, and the Robertson family is black

Oddities

• I'm pretty sure once the cops see two bag ladies wearing thousand dollar minks that they'll be arrested and accused of robbing the store they came from

Rating (based on a 1 through 5 Stans grading system)

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Retro Spins: Public Image Ltd - Happy?

With the new line-up of John Lydon, John McGeoch, Lu Edmonds, Allan Dias, and Bruce Smith in place, Public Image Ltd. was ready to return to the studio. There was just one hangup. Previous Album producer, Bill Laswell, wanted to replace all but Lydon with session musicians. Unwilling to agree to that, Laswell would ultimately be nixed, and Gary Langan brought in to fulfill his role.

Happy? produced the single, Seattle as well as the abortion-themed single, The Body, a sequel of sorts to the similarly titled Sex Pistols song, Bodies. However, overall, it would suffer on the UK and US charts, peaking at 40, and 169, respectably.

The album saw the band shifting again in music style. Still gone were the roots of punk from earlier releases, and in their place were a continuation of the previous alternative rock, now sprinkling in a fair amount of dance. PiL had definitely reshaped themselves, pushing ever forward to stay relevant with the times.

Happy? is the second album from the group that I actively had on my want list (the second being 1984's This Is What You Want...This Is What You Get). The others all just came with finding them cheap at used CD shops. In particular, I wanted the song, The Body. However, within the first few seconds of hearing Seattle, it too became a must have for me.

Personally, I didn't hear the purported dance. Instead, it was just a solid rock album. Much like my previous listening experience of Album (1986), it's not perfect by any means, but it's rather enjoyable as a whole. In addition to the above noted tunes, I also dug Open And Revolving, Angry, and Fat Chance Hotel. While this was more so for the guitar work on all three, which feature really catchy riffs, Lydon brings an almost haunting vocal to them, especially on the latter.

This is definitely a band, which for me, has gotten better and better as the decade progressed. I'm equally excited to jump into their next album, but disappointed at the same time that it's their last of the era.

PiL would support the album by appearing as the opening act for INXS in 1988. However, tinnitus would impact Edmonds at the time, forcing him to depart. This didn't slow the band down much, as by the end of the year they were back in the studio as a quartet to record their final album of the decade and then set off in 1989 with New Order and Sugarcube, billed as The Monsters Of Alternative Rock. That's my final stop for tomorrow.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.