Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 90

  

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 90
Release Date: February 1980

Highlights

• Retelling of Modular Man's origin
• Reference is made to The Rampaging Hulk 1 and 8
• Death of Modular Man

Low Points

• Peter takes a date, Cissy, to the science exhibit, and she immediately leaves him to chase after Beast
• Editor's Day Off: Spider-Man says, "I placed my spider on the Beast..." Should have probably been spider tracer

Oddities

• None

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

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The Other Obligatory Halloween Post

A nod to 2 Minute Toy Break. 

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 89

  

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 89
Release Date: January 1980

Highlights

• First appearance of Cutthroat, AKA Daniel Leighton
• A man in the crowd at the circus is wearing a Superman shirt
• Reference is made to Marvel Team-Up 67

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• Editor's Day Off: Amanda Sefton says, "I want bath."
• Nightcrawler has a car at the airport to pick his girlfriend Amanda up, but then puts her in the trunk of Jardine's car thinking it's safer to keep her with him while he tails the villain - Um...Just give her the keys to your car, and tell her you'll meet up with her later
• Amos Jardine's plan is to have an assassin kill Spider-Man, and thinks posting a challenge in the paper for the hero to prove he's better than his high wire act would be sufficient to get him to appear at the show where his assassin waits in the rafters

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

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Halloween Is Neigh With Peg People Series 13!

I love getting these brown bags of goodness from George of G.I. Jigsaw. He committed in a big way to my crazy large pipe dream checklist, and I'm so grateful for everything he's produced so far. This is by far the most excited I've been for an action figure line in the longest time.

Truly George, thank you!

Okay, mushy sentimental stuff over, let's get into this fantastic wave of Peg People!

The usual suspects were within the bag, rubber banded paper towels with a handful of figurines carefully wrapped within each bundle. Then there was the mystery package. The secret figure George started including as of wave seven. Naturally, I'll save the latter for last.

First in the bunch was Man Mountain Marko, a classic villain who first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man issue 73. His orange shirt and black suit gave his identity away the moment I saw him.

Big Wheel may be one of the more obscure characters in the bunch. He only had eight appearances to date since his introduction in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man 183, and met his end in the pages of Deadpool and the Mercs for Money, issue 4. He's also appeared in a couple Spidey related video games.

Sin-Eater, AKA Stanley Carter was a police officer turned murderer, thanks to his duel struggle with duel personalities. He's the man behind the death of Captain Jean DeWolff, a storyline which is highly regarded as one of the "must reads" in Spider-Man chronology.

Depending on who you ask, there are many stories behind why Miles Morales was created. Some say it was simply a stroke of genius from creator Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli to introduce a new character in the Ultimate line. However, others will say there was more behind it. That Marvel was growing worried about the approaching fall of the original Peter Parker Spider-Man into the public domain, and this was their way of reinventing and resetting said copyright. Frankly, I don't know what the truth is.

Anna Watson, aunt to Mary Jane Watson, and best friend to (aunt) May Parker. She was a mainstay in the earliest issues of Spider-Man, making numerous appearances before her niece made her first official appearance.

Mephisto has gone up against numerous heroes in the Marvel Universe, but none was more Earth shattering to Spider-Man fans than the panned One More Day story arc, which to this day continues to ripple through the heroes fictional life. I won't spoil it for you, suffice to say the consensus is that fans of Spider-Man don't like it, wish it would be undone, and continue to express hate towards writer J. Michael Straczynski for coming up with the idea, and Marvel Comics for green lighting it.

Randy Robertson didn't often show up in the pages of Spider-Man, but when he did, he was poorly utilized, and often relegated to being a part of some form of protest.

The man behind the goblin formula that corrupted Norman Osborn, and turned him into the Green Goblin. Professor Mendel Stromm would eventually come into his own as a formidable villain to Spider-Man, and even has the unique privilege of being killed twice.

With less than twenty-five appearances, you would be forgiven for not knowing who Kangaroo is...or rather, wise. He's dead...also having died twice in the Spider-Man Universe. He was definitely fodder for villain of the week material.

Black Abbott is one of the few villains who made their first appearance in the pages of Marvel Team-Up. Despite being introduced in this Spider-Man series, he would later be transitioned over to the pages of The Punisher, and eventually Captain America, where he met his demise.

Even fewer and far between than villain's introduced in Marvel Team-Up were those who appeared first in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man. The Answer, stupid name, was created as a hitman with a knack for solving problems...Thus always having The Answer...Stupid origin. He stands out for me as one of the few characters heavily utilized during the symbiote story arc, solidifying him as a must have character, among the other 300+.

It was rare for the Marvel UK line of books to get the privilege of introducing new characters. However, this is exactly where the birth of Incandescent Man came from. If you count the five fingers on your hand, that's how many times he's appeared since 1985.

It's ironic that one of the coolest iterations of Spider-Verse to come about in a long time, Spider Punk, is actually one of the worst to read mini series. Story aside, the character is awesome. At least in my book. There have been so many volumes of The Amazing Spider-Man at this point, that I don't know off the top of my head which one falls in 2013 when this character came about in issue 10. What I do remember is how much of a violent mind f**k that story arc was to read.

Another alum of the Spider-Verse, Spider Gwen! She's exactly what one would think she was. An alternate universe Gwen Stacy who has the powers of Spider-Man. Yeah, admittedly, the Spider-Man Universe is messy at this point. As someone who only checks in for key issues, it's difficult to follow.

Anna May Parker, the daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson who first appeared in What If, Volume 2, issue 105. She's technically Spider-Woman, and truth be told, that's where I put her on the below checklist. However, after talking to George about her, he made her as an alternate to Aunt Anna Watson. So, long story short, she's technically a bonus figure (for now). I'll have to fix the checklist when the next wave gets released.

I wondered how George would tackle the boxy robot Living Brain. I'd say the final results worked out.

Foreigner is the former husband of mercenary Silver Sable. While the latter is more commonly known then he was, he's actually been around since his (at the time) wife's first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man 265. Unlike his mercenary ex-spouse, Foreigner strives to be a formidable criminal and assassin.

Jim Shooter didn't create a lot of Marvel characters, well, as compared to others. However, when he sought to launch the all new Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man, it would be his new creation, Light Master, who would fill the pages of the first few issues.

With all the little paper towel bundles opened, it was time to unwrap this wave's mystery figure. As I pulled it from the Christmas wrap, I let out an audible, "Yes!" Back when George gave me wave 9 and 10, I made a not so subtle shout out for what secret figure I would love to see. Well, George let me dangle for a bit, but then delivered him, Eric Draven, The Crow. Pure awesome! This will probably always be my favorite comic book movie.

With everyone photographed and accounted for, it was naturally time to update the old checklist. It looks great with two full pages completed.

I also took some time between receiving wave 12 and 13 to reorganize the shelf. I'm not 100% sold on how things are organized. I started out with themes, but then things just got cluttered and stuffed here and there. I definitely want to revisit this soon.

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Retro Spins: Boys Don't Cry - Boys Don't Cry

 

Boys Don't Cry is one of those unique groups that many people don't remember at this point. They only released two albums in the 80's, and out of nowhere, a third in 2014. However, for those who do recall the band, they probably do so for their one hit wonder status for the song, "I Wanna Be A Cowboy." It's an obscure 80's song at best, and not very good, if I'm being honest.

I added this album to my list of 80's albums I wanted to obtain relatively late on in the game. It was probably during one of those many sessions of digging into forgotten 80's tracks on Youtube, or via various Google searches that this one came back onto my radar. However, it remained a very low priority.

The album became even more of a lower priority when I started wrapping up my want list, which seems to continue to grow every time I turn around, a story for another time. It was non-existent on ebay, and in broadening my search, I was finally able to come across it at a whopping €100.00. That equates to $113.91 US dollars for those of you wondering.

Though I left it be for the longest time, I eventually came back to the listing, and during a period of having a bit of extra money I wanted to spend on CD's, I offered the seller €75.00, which he politely declined. I told him if he ever changed his mind to please let me know, as I would probably still be interested.

Fast forward several months later when the seller randomly reached out to me and said he would accept my offer if I was still interested. While considerable time had passed, as well as my overall desire to spend even €75.00 on the album, I was impressed that the seller had held on to my contact information for so long, and reached out. I honestly felt obligated at that point to complete the deal, so I did.

With the album in hand, I found myself intrigued enough to dive right into it, something I normally don't do. In the back of my mind I was saying to myself, "Well, this ought to be interesting." I was expecting something as obscure as their hit song, and as such was not prepared for what was about to happen.

Everything starts up with a building drum beat and piano, which ultimately becomes Cities On Fire. It grabbed me, hooked me, and pulled me down the street on a journey I didn't expect to be on. I really enjoyed the opener. From there, things went a little up and down, but overall, were enjoyable. I actually ended up grabbing four tracks in total from the album for my shuffle list.

What was also interesting to find out was that I Wanna Be A Cowboy is actually very different from the the rest of the tracks. Lead vocalist, Nick Richards has a great voice, and the rest of the band are no slouches either. Brian Chatton, Jeff Seopardi, Nico Ramsden, and Mark Smith all bring their "A" game.

The most exciting thing about the whole experience was that it left me asking, "Where can I get their 1987 follow up?" Man, I love when that happens! That's really what these Retro Spins are about. Sure, it's great to hear tracks I already know and love. But, my goal is to dig deeper. Discover tracks I didn't know, and find more and more music to expand my collection with.

Well played, Boys Don't Cry. I tip my hat to you...but I haven't got a hat.

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Sunkist Fun Fruit's 1986 Contest

 

The year was 1986. I was your average kid starting middle school. One of the more common snacks around our house at the time consisted of Sunkist Fun Fruits and their Fruit Roll Ups line. They were both fruity, sugary, and the perfect treat for a kid looking for a quick bite after a day of classes.

Though I don't remember the specific day, I feel like it had to have been a weekend. The reason being, both mom and dad were home, and it was the day time. As I popped the top on a fresh box of Fun Fruits, I found inside a scratch off card talking about a contest, and the various prizes on offer.

It would be decades later before I would retrace the steps of that particular contest to this particular ad which showcased the variety of prizes available, which included, a stereo, Omnibot 2000, a television, computer, and VCR, along with 25,000 other unnamed prizes. Are you kidding me? This type of stuff was the equivalent of winning the lottery to your average kid. We didn't have our own televisions and VCR's. If we owned a stereo, it was typically a boombox or, at best, a Walkman.

Now, imagine, if you will, you're that kid in 1986 who pulls a card from the box, and finding a section to scratch and see if you won a prize. Now continue to imagine that you found a coin, and carefully etched off the grey coating, and underneath you found the word, "STEREO".

That was me.

I shouted with joy from my bedroom, "I won a stereo!" As my brother came to see what all the fuss was about, and my mom eventually following in tow, all to see the card in my excited hands. My mom took the card, looked it over, and what happened from there, I honestly don't remember. Truth be told, with so many toys, and a Nintendo, and a bike to venture the world, I didn't honestly dwell on it. My mind was quickly occupied elsewhere.

Then one day a large box showed up at the house, which my mom gave to me. Inside was a brand new Emerson M2335 dual cassette, record player, and AM / FM radio with matching speakers. As an adult, I of course can understand what happened. Mom took the card, probably sent a check for shipping and handling with the card, and ten to twelve weeks later, the box arrived.

For the longest time, this was my one and only stereo. I only parted ways with it around 1992 because that was when I finally transitioned to the world of CD's. I used that thing non-stop to listen to the Weekly Top 40, play my limited cassettes, and even fewer records. Many days it blared Prince's Batman, and Graffiti Bridge soundtracks.

As we were gearing up to move across the country in late 1989 / 1990, I remember staying up all night, spending that time to record music onto cassettes. One such record I recall vividly using for this was the soundtrack to West Side Story. I don't honestly know why. It wasn't anything all that important to me, but hey, when you're planning for weeks of travel, you have to maximize the options. Mixed with various artists from other sources, this would become my highway music for the long drive from the West to East coast.

Still, I have a fondness for this machine. For years, it was my gateway to the world of 80's music. Despite its lack of CD player, this is the stereo that I want. It has nostalgic and sentimental value to me. Unfortunately, to date, I have only been able to find ones which are being sold for "parts". I.E., non-functional. My hope is that one day I'll find a working unit to add to my collection.

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 88

   

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 88
Release Date: December 1979

Highlights

• First appearance of Hole in the Wall Gang
• We learn that Spider-Man, or rather, Peter Parker, doesn't know how to drive a car

Low Points

• The cliffhanger ending from issue 87 doesn't pick up in this issue, and I don't know when or where it does
• Generic crooks kidnap Sue Richard's son, and expect her to use her invisibility to break into a bank for them and rob it to get him back - Generic at its best
• Story is very amateurish, nonsensical, and unbelievable, even from a fictional super hero standpoint

Oddities

• Editor's Day Off - Several panels where Spider-Man's lenses are red
• Sue Storm goes stag to ensure she's fully invisible
• Spider-Man / Peter Parker quick change from street clothes to costume from panel to panel
• The gang of thieves really think that kidnapping Sue and Reed's son will give them control over the Fantastic Four?

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

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Comics Corner: Marvel Team-Up 87

  

Title: Marvel Team-Up
Issue Number: 87
Release Date: November 1979

Highlights

• First appearance of Thomas Agar, John Gamelin, Hellrazor, and N'Gama
• Corruption and lies - A plan is motion to take all the vibranium from Wakanda, but one which ends on a cliffhanger

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• The Marvel Way: Spider-Man and Black Panther start throwing fists instead of talking to each other first

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

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Retro Spins: Paula Abdul - Forever Your Girl

 

I feel like the coming of Paula Abdul was my clue in that music was changing, and not necessarily for the better.

How to explain. I'll use an analogy I gave George of G.I. Jigsaw years ago. 80's music is like the vintage G.I. Joe figures. Music, much like G.I. Joe hit many radars in 1982, and it was different, but kind of cool. Between 1983 - 1986, it took off, and was in its prime with tons of amazing stuff being released. 1987 things started to taper off a bit. It was the year where things were a little different, a little unique, but still very enjoyable. But 1988 - 1989, things were very different, and while somewhat enjoyable, there were clear signs that only worse things were on the horizon. Then the 90's hit, and it was clear that the end was neigh. By 1994, forget it. It was just pure garbage.

With that said, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that Paula Abdul is horrible by any means. She had a few Billboard hits, and they were all deservedly earned. What I found truly odd was that the first among them was Knocked Out. Even after hearing it for today's Retro Spin, I feel like I only vaguely remember it. The song charted in June of 1988, reaching number forty-one before being joined on the charts by (It's Just) The Way That You Love Me, and Straight Up, the latter which would become her first number one hit by February of 1989.

Forever Your Girl would follow by entering the charts in March. Straight Up and Forever Your Girl would cross each other in the 30's in April, with the latter reaching number one by May. Though it stayed there for two consecutive weeks, it dropped down to number eight immediately thereafter.

Cold Heated followed, and fired its way up to the number one spot by September. However, as it began it drop back down the charts, (It's Just) The Way That You Love Me would re-enter the charts, going to number three by December.

Paula wasn't done there. Opposites Attract landed on the charts shortly thereafter, and it too went straight up (now tell me) to the number one spot by February of 1990. It stayed in the spot for three weeks before Janet Jackson's Escapade took its place.

All of this success was achieved with her debut album, which as a whole reached number one on Billboard by July of 1988. Boy, talk about setting the bar high for a follow up album.

I've never necessarily "liked" Paula Abdul, but I do respect her for her contribution to the 80's. If your radio was on between 1988 and 1990 then you undoubtedly would hear any number of her songs in rotation throughout the day. She certainly earned her accolades as the mouthpiece for the above songs. I say mouthpiece, because she didn't actually write any of them.

As I fired up the album, I was immediately transported back to my Jr. High years in Bend, Oregon. Specifically when I picked up the album at a local K-Mart for a girl in my class by the name of Amber Tillinghast. The odd part of this story is that this wasn't one of those childhood crush things. I just felt like doing something nice for her since she said she wanted the cassette. I haven't even thought about that until just now. Truth be told, I'd be surprised if she even remembered who I was or how she got the tape...Or that she even had it.

Listening to the album, it's not as bad as I seem to want to remember it being. It has good songs on the album, most of which were noted above. No, I take that back. All of which were noted above. Again, I respect it for the contributions to the 80's it served as, and the hits are worth hearing. However, I wouldn't call myself a fan by any means.

My true childish guilty pleasure of this album is giggling like a four year old when I hear her say, "Do do you love me." Ha! Gross! I also giggle that same way when I hear Aerosmith say they love you, "Because your deuces are wild." I'm such a child...

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Disney 100 Comic Cover Variants (Marvel Comics)

 

Disney 100 Comic Cover Variants
Marvel Comics
2023 - 2024

It's not often that Disney does something that intrigues me, let alone gets me to drop money on it. However, in January 2023 when the Mouse House tagged up with another one of their properties, Marvel Comics, and started releasing variant cover issues, I took notice. Then I quickly moved on to something else.

Fast forward to 2024, and Disney was still in the swing of thing, collaborating with Marvel on more and more covers. I took notice again. As I perused through the various, the classic cover homage variants definitely intrigued me more than the modern ones, but I still wasn't sold on them.

Then I saw the homage cover for The Amazing Spider-Man 300. Okay, now this "series" had my attention. Then I came across a cover for Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, and another depicting issue one of The Infinity Gauntlet.

As I picked and chose various ones, the cost wasn't rising all that much. Despite being a year old, the books were still only garnering cover price. My pile grew and grew, and that was when I took notice of something else.

The covers had all been slapped on volume six issues of The Amazing Spider-Man, and though not a consecutive run, encompassed the odd numbers starting with issue 17 through 51 (so far).

So, wait. Now I was not only getting cool Disney homage covers, but they were all associated with Spider-Man? Okay, now I was all in. I'm not typically a current comic book reader. I prefer to keep my reading era limited to nothing past 1998. However, this I could justify adding to my collection.

I'm going to be honest, and say that I wouldn't hate if Disney kept this up. Most of these are really cool. At least to me they are. I could see myself continuing to buy into this gimmick if they kept going.

What I won't do, is buy in to the 1 in 100 variant cover version, which are nothing more than black and white versions, as pictured below each color cover in the images. That's just stupid. Especially when the majority of them sell for between $100.00, and $120.00. Yes, apparently it's the 90's again, and it's not about the comics, but gimmick covers.

I suppose the same thing could be said for the color versions. They are, after all, just another variant of each particular Amazing Spider-Man issue.

Though, I do have a thought. Would these issues have been as popular if they were homage covers with reprints of the actual issues they were intended to represent within the pages?

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