The Toy Box

Comics Corner: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 118

Title: Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 118
Release Date: September 1986

Highlights

First appearance of Gary, Sal, Freddy Helms, and the 1400 Club
Reference is made to Daredevil 233
The prologue of the issue appears to take place during the events of Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 117

Foreigner calls Silver Sable, and asks her if she enjoyed the flowers, an even which took place from Sables perspective when she received a vase which exploded, and was followed by the call

Steven Estevez, Alex Woolcot's teacher shows up at the Bugle looking for Peter, and asks him to help contact Spider-Man to find the missing boy and his father
Alex shows up outside the Bugle, but when a couple cops approach him as a truant, he destroys their car with his powers, sending them flying
Hearing the explosion, Spider-Man quickly catches up with Alex, but the kid panics, and attacks him
S.H.I.E.L.D. arrives on scene, and unleashes Mandroids on Alex in an attempt to stop him

Alex, thinking they are robots blasts one, melting the metal to the flesh of the man inside who screams in agony

In response, S.H.I.E.L.D. authorizes deadly force

Spider-Man intervenes, grabbing Alex, and making a run for it, but S.H.I.E.L.D. gives chase
S.H.I.E.L.D. catches Alex off guard, and fills him full of holes - Is he dead? No.

Low Points

None

Oddities

None

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

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Retro Spins: Michael Bolton - The Hunger

By 1986, Michael Bolton was on the cusp of a breakthrough. Returning to the studio, he would shape his third album differently. Though it would incorporate hard rock elements from his prior releases, some tracks would shift in tone, taking on softer notes, hints of the adult contemporary tracks which would skyrocket him to chart success.

The Hunger would produce Bolton's first two top forty singles, That's What Love Is All About (peaking on the Billboard Hot 100 at 19), and the Ottis Reading cover, Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay (peaking at number 11). With their aid, the album would reach gold status over the course of two years, but eventually reach double platinum when his career took off in the 90's.

While the first track of the album starts out on a hard rock note, it's with track two, Wait On Love, that you can start to hear the Michael Bolton that became a household name. It's admittedly enjoyable.

The full transformation definitely comes with his rendering of Dock Of The Bay. The track is neither for me, and if I were being honest, which I will, it kind of derails things. It doesn't fit with the previous two songs.

Things continue to flip flop, first with the rocker, Gina, but then back to the crooner styled That's What Love Is All About. It kind of makes you wish he'd pick a lane and stick with it. The songs aren't bad by any means, they just fight with each other for artistic style, and mess with the flow of it all.

The song which probably amalgamates both styles together best is actually the title track, The Hunger. It gives you a bit of that rock, but also the sultry smoother side. It works well.

Despite this initial success, Michael Bolton still wasn't necessarily a superstar. In fact, when he finally began work on what would become 1989's Soul Provider, the artist was not only facing considerable financial difficulties, but exhausted. Though there were talks in the background of dropping him from Columbia Records, the label would ultimately support him and see the album through to completion and release. Smart move considering the numbers it would go on to sell. We'll pick up there 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.

Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man Annual 2

Title: Web Of Spider-Man Annual
Issue Number: 2
Release Date: September 1986

Highlights

First appearance of Karl Weber, Reni Weber, and the ASPCA
At Xavier's mansion, Warlock wakes all the New Mutants up with his multiple televisions he's watching all at once
Moonstar tells him that since he can't dream, the best place for Warlock to go is New York, but then immediately tells him not to go there

As the New Mutants go back to bed, Warlock does just that, and heads to New York

Warlock transforms his alien craft into Speed Racer's Mach 5 to blend in as "normal"
To blend in, Warlock takes on the appearance of David Letterman, resulting in the opposite effect of him drawing nothing but attention to him
Warlock heads to a toy store, and is noticed by Dr. Karl Weber, and Dr. Reni Weber, who take him home
Karl tests his Karlotro Meter MX-6 machine on Warlock, but the energy expelled from it over juices him

Warlock turns into a giant walking energy lizard, resembling Godzilla, and even calling himself Warlodizilla, which Spider-Man runs into on the streets

Warlock pleads with Spider-Man to stop talking to him, or it will break his concentration, and he'll explode
Warlock changes into another classic movie monster, resembling King Kong, but calling himself King Konglock
Warlock turns into a rocket, and launches into the sky, exploding to save everyone else, reforming on the ground
Seeing Spider-Man professed to be a terrorist by a newscaster, Warlock states he'll never watch television again
Backup story featuring Hobgoblin, Kingpin, Black Fox, and even the symbiote, but it's all just a nightmare in Peter's sleeping mind

Low Points

None

Oddities

None

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

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Retro Spins: Michael Bolton - Everybody's Crazy

Yesterday's Retro Spin of Michael Bolton's 1983 debut was a fantastic hidden gem, and one that really psyched me up for his follow-up, 1985's Everybody's Crazy.

Tracking this one down wasn't easy. The CD version has never been released in the USA, and this is partly because when Bolton's popularity took off, he pleaded with Columbia Records to not reissue his debut and sophomore album. He feared doing so may confuse his soft rock / adult contemporary audience he'd built with his latter albums. When I finally tracked on down at a decent price, it was still a roll of the dice with the seller - a mass retailer on ebay, who utilized stock photos, and claimed to have multiple copies. Fortunately, things worked out, the CD arrived, it was the right one, and well, here we are today.

Everybody's Crazy features the returning collaboration of Bolton and Bruce Kulick, among several other musicians. For Kulick, while he would return to work with the singer in the future, he would formally join the makeup clad classic rockers, Kiss in 1984.

The album is a return to form of its predecessor, for me, it didn't pack as big a punch. Though it was decent overall, I'd also say it was mostly generic rock tracks. Not too memorable ones at that. Save Our Love was really the only standout for me.

Frankly, there's not much more to say about it. For the trouble it took to get the album, and for how great his debut was, I honestly expected better.

Again, it's not a bad album. It's just not as good as his prior. I can understand why his label started watching him with concern at this point and even considered dropping him. But for any of you who know his later hits, you already know that bigger and better (depending on tastes in music) were on the horizon, and soon, Michael Bolton would become a household name. Though things would also come to a head, making that name a household joke, but that's a story for later down the road.

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