Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 299

    

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 299
Release Date: April 1988

Highlights

• Disputed first appearance of Venom
• Though it's largely accepted that this is a second cameo, and issue 300 is his full appearance, many site this issue as his first appearance, among them, Todd McFarlane himself
• First appearance of Annie Deitz, and Paul
• First appearance of The Spawning Club, and Sanctum Maximus
• Spider-Man has tracked his spider tracer to an eighteen wheeler truck, but as it gets gridlocked in traffic, a kid in the car ahead tips the driver to his presence
• A cop sends Spider-Man packing
• Reference is made to Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 128
• The still unconscious Chance is delivered to the Life Foundation's fortress, Sanctus Maxiumus
• Peter and Mary Jane go the the Spawning Club, where they see Eddie Murphy and Paul Schaefer
• Spawning Club? Foreshadowing? Nah, it can't be
• The Life Foundation tells Chance that their plan is to duplicate his wrist blasters and ankle jets, but their scientists can't figure it out
• They tell Chance he'll give them the information they want if he knows what's good for him
• Always a gambler, Chance simply responds, "Wanna bet?"
• After tracking Carlton Drake's records at the Bugle to a withdrawn donation at ESU, Peter visits Annie Deitz in the administrative office at the school who tells him that she can't share the information with him he wants, but that he shouldn't look while she goes to powder her nose, wink wink
• Finding the information he needs on her computer, Peter tracks the Life Foundation to New Jersey
• Spider-Man sneaks into Fortress Maximus by clinging to the bottom of a truck entering the facility
• Inside, his spider sense kicks in, picking up on the tracer he planted on Chance in the previous issue
• Spider-Man finds a severely beaten up Chance, and frees him
• Chance tells him that the Life Foundation think the world will soon plunge into total chaos, and Fortress Maximus is full of luxury condos and amenities, which they're selling to millionaires at five million dollars per home
• While the Life Foundation has armed a private military with the weapons Chance stole for them from the pier, the Foundation want to arm themselves in the event of an uprising from said military with the weaponry Chance uses
• Spider-Man and Chance are forced to team up as the alarms in the place sound
• Chance blasts the munitions crates, blowing the place sky high, but not before grabbing Spider-Man, and rocketing clear
• Mary Jane returns home from a night of shopping, miffed with Peter for not calling or leaving a message
• She sees what she thinks is him in the shadows of their apartment...it's not

• Venom is here

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• Chance gives Spider-Man a lift back to New York...on his back

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

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Retro Spins: Alice Cooper - Special Forces

 

Yesterday, I not only touched on the 1980's Alice Cooper album, Flush The Fashion, but also the history of the original iteration of the band, featuring the lineup of Vincent Furnier, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Neal Smith, who stayed together until 1974. Today, I continue my journey with 1981's Special Forces, and will also deep dive into the solo years of Alice Cooper.

When the band broke up, Furnier was interested in continuing a solo career. As of 1968, people had begun to refer to him directly as Alice Cooper, and wanting to continue using the name without any legality issues, would choose to change his name to that in 1975. Building off the momentum of the band's success between 1971 and 1974 with hits such as I'm Eighteen, School's Out, Billion Dollar Babies, and No More Mr. Nice Guy, Cooper returned to the studio to release the 1975 classic, Welcome To My Nightmare.

This was followed by 1976's Alice Cooper Goes To Hell, and 1977's Lace And Whisky. However, a steady decline, fueled mostly by drug and alcohol abuse, would begin with 1979's From The Inside, and continue throughout the 80's. Cooper himself would state that he was so heavily using cocaine during this time that he doesn't even remember recording albums between 1981 and 1983.

1981's Special Forces would be his last album to peak on the Billboard 200 (at 125), until 1986's Constrictor. It would also be his last album that he would tour for until the aforementioned '86 release. Forces would also continue the trend of changing musical styles, with the sleek hard rock sound being pushed aside for synth pop. It went as far as to reimagine one of his own previous tracks in this new style, Generation Landslide '81, and as a whole confused long time fans.

Though I'm no Alice Cooper aficionado, I do hear the very different musical style from what once was he shock rocker of the 70's. It's as if he's trying to keep up with he likes of the Cars, which is unfortunate. Alice Cooper was a persona who built himself from the ground up, so to hear him trying to be like other bands of the time is a bit disappointing.

While certainly a misstep, I won't say it's a total failure. There are standout tracks here, such as Who Do You Think We Are, Seven And Seven Is, Skeletons In The Closet, and You're A Movie. But as a whole, this doesn't sound like an Alice Cooper album, and that's ultimately not what you want when you put on one of his albums.

Cooper would release the pop-punk oriented, Zipper Catches Skin, in 1982. Critics would describe it as a mixture of the Knack and Cars, which sounds great on paper. However, as I said above, one doesn't pick up an Alice Cooper album with the intensions of not hearing an Alice Cooper album. Who knows, maybe it will turn out o be a hidden gem. I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

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Comics Corner: The Amazing Spider-Man 298

   

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Issue Number: 298
Release Date: March 1988

Highlights

• Todd McFarlane takes over pencil duties on The Amazing Spider-Man
• First cameo appearance of Venom
• First appearance of Sandy Kintzler, Stephanie, Mr. MacVay, the Life Foundation, and its leader, Carlton Drake
• First appearance and death of Orin Concardi
• First appearance of the East Village, Hearth, and the Upper West Side's Endicott Building
• Chance ambushes Orin Concardi as the feds are escourting him to court
• As the feds scramble to ward him off, Concardi takes off in their car
• Chances takes the opportunity to explode the vehicle with his lasers, killing Concardi in the process
• Chance reports to Mr. Treece that he's won the bet, and will be by for his $10,000.00
• After completing her fashion shoot, Mary Jane attempts to call Peter at home, but gets the answering machine
• Peter informs Robbie the two are probably moving to the Bedford, and when Robbie asks if he can afford the place, Peter tells him he can't even afford the YMCA
• Peter asks if there are any assignments, and is told no
• Joy Mercado overhears, and tells Peter he can't keep sitting around waiting for news - He has to get out there and chase it
• She gives him a tip on foreign arms being unloaded at a pier the next evening, and says if he wants to get the photos, she'll write the story, and they can split the proceeds
• Peter agrees
• After complaining that Mary Jane making more money bothers him, Peter realizes he's being a jerk, and decides to do something for her
• That something is dawning a red speedo, and greeting her as she comes home to a set table of wine and chicken McNuggets
• Mary Jane opens the door further to introduce him to her friend, Sandy
• After losing a bet of $500.00 to a cab driver, Chance reminds the readers that he wagers for everything, including every job he takes
• Carlton Drake contacts Chance, and tells him he wants his help
• The Life Foundation wagers Chance $20,000.00 that he can't get them the weapons being offloaded at the pier, he takes the bet
• As Spider-Man watches the weapons being unloaded, preparing to take photos, Chance strikes
• Reference is made to Web Of Spider-Man 15, and X-Factor 25
• As Spider-Man hits Chance with a spider tracer, and comes up with a plan, the entire city goes dark
• Though Spider-Man makes an alternate plan (see oddities), when Chance wounds a solider running for his rifle, our hero has no choice but to take action
• After delivering the weapons, the Life Foundation double crosses Chance, knocking him out with a bobby trapped pen which sends volts of electricity through him
• Mary Jane tells Peter he needs to stop worrying about making money so much
• A shadowy figure stands before a wall of Spider-Man news clippings, vowing revenge for what he's done to him
• As he pounds his fists, the black symbiote goo forms a familiar black glove
• Venom is coming - Ooh la la, the chills!

Low Points

• It appears the chronological reading order is off
• This issue has Mary Jane calling Peter and telling him she's going to check out the condo at Bedford Towers, which she says they have a chance of getting
• However, chronologically, the last issue read, Web Of Spider-Man 38, had them throwing a moving party at their old apartment

Oddities

• Spider-Man decides to let Chance go after he steals the munitions because he wants to turn the opportunity into another money making photo session, when he goes after the thief - That's not very hero like

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

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Retro Spins: Alice Cooper - Flush The Fashion

Getting into the 80's albums from Alice Cooper is something a long time in the works. Beyond his album Trash (1989), I honestly didn't know anything from this era. Couple with the relative rarity of this period of work on CD, and high prices associated with it, it took me a long time to finally come around to it, and commit.

At the age of sixteen, Vincent Damon Furnier, was eager to participate in a high school talent contest. The problem was, he didn't have a band. As such, he quickly gathered four friends from his cross-country team, forming the Earwigs with Glen Buxton, Dennis Dunaway, John Tatum, and John Speer. The problem was that only Buxton and Tatum actually knew how to play an instrument, so while they played guitar, the rest mimed along. Their parody rendition of Beetles songs overwhelmed the audience, winning them the talent show.

Inspired by the results, the guys decided to give it a real go, changing their name to the Spiders, and leaning on Buxton to teach everyone how to play. He'd also serve as main song writer, and take inspiration from the Rolling Stones, Who, Kinks, Doors, and Yardbirds. The band would perform regularly around the Phoenix area, with Furnier on vocals, Buxton on lead guitar, Tatum on rhythm guitar, Dunaway on bass, and Speer on drums. They would record their first single in 1965, Why Don't You Love Me, with a B-side of Marvin Gaye's Hitch Hike. Mascot Records would release it locally and bring the Spiders in as a house band at his club, Stage 7, which later became VIP Club. The would prove beneficial, and the band would find themselves opening for the Lovin' Spoonful, Yardbirds, Them, the Animals, Kings, and Byrds. 

After graduating high school in 1966, Tatum would be replaced by Michael Bruce. It as sited that his reason for departing was that he didn't feel the Spiders would make it. He instead would instead join a group with Bill Spooner (later of The Tubes). Undeterred, the band released their second single, Don't Blow Your Mind, with B-side, No Price Tag. They would follow this in 1967 with several road trips to Los Angeles to play shows. This would come with a name change to Nazz, and a new single, "Wonder Who's Lovin' Her Now, backed by Lay Down And Die, Goodbye. Speer would be frustrated by the slow pace of progress the band was making, and would opt to leave the band, being replaced be Neal Smith. So far, all I'm seeing is two people making big mistakes. 

As 1986 rolled around, the band learned that Todd Rundgren was already using the name Nazz, necessitating a name change. Legend has it that a session with a Ouija board led to the name Alice Cooper being chosen. While that sounds like a pure rock and roll story, it's also an urban legend which Furnier would debunk. Instead, Furnier suggested to his bandmates that they come up with a wholesome name, like someone's aunt. Thus, Alice Cooper, the band, was born. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, people started referring to Furnier as Alice Cooper. Embracing this, he would eventually have his name changed legally.

The classic lineup would consist of Vincent Furnier, Glen Buxton, Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Neal Smith, and stay intact through 1974. Together, they'd release their 1969 debut, Pretties For You, 1970'S Easy Action, and 1971's Love It To Death, which would serve as their breakthrough album. That same year, Killer would be released, and then 1972's School's Out, 1973's Billion Dollar Babies, and also in that year, Muscle Of Love. Hindered by severe substance abuse, creative exhaustion, and a desire to pursue solo projects, the band would break up in 1974. While Cooper would go on to a storied solo career, this wouldn't be the end for the original lineup, who would reunite in 1999, and eventually release The Revenge Of Alice Cooper in 2025. 

Cooper would go on to an illustrious solo career, and though there would be albums released between 1975 and 1979, the first of the 80's decade would be Flush The Fashion, released in 1980. Though it would peak on the Billboard 200, it would also be the beginning of a steady decline for the artist, and his last certified selling album until 1986's Constrictor.

As I played through it, I felt it had a very new wave, and 70's classic rock sound. For example, Pain stands out as a track that could easily have been included in Queen's A Night At The Opera with its catchy piano work, and Brian May reminiscent guitar riffs. Truthfully, while I enjoyed hearing something "new" from Alice Cooper, the album as a whole was just okay. The only other track which stood out to me was Clones. I also appreciate that it was one of his earlier works to receive a music video. Though of course at the time there was no MTV to play it on.

I would definitely say that if this were my first introduction to Alice Cooper, I probably wouldn't have gone any further. In retrospect, like I said, it was great to hear something I'd never heard from him before. With that hindsight, I can also appreciate it a bit more than I normally would have.

As noted above, Cooper would find himself in a steady decline of sales and popularity over the next several years. But down doesn't mean out, and he would eventually have a massive resurgence towards the end of the decade. However, before we can get to that point, we need to first dive through a slew of other albums. That continues next time with 1981's Special Forces.

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 38

    

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 38
Release Date: May 1988

Highlights

• First appearance of Barney Muggins, Fran, Mindy, Jasmine, and Dick Wagner
• Jason Macendale Jr., AKA Jack O'Lantern, but now Hobgoblin, streaks through the sky on his glider
• He explodes his way into Kingpin's tower, searching for the crime lord
• Arranger halts the battle by telling Hobgoblin that they should talk like the businessmen they are
• When in a private office, Hobgoblin demands to know why he's been blacklisted, and not received any assassination assignments, and is told it's because he's a boor, and an incompetent idiot who's only success is stealing the identity of someone else
• Arranger tells him that he proposes a test to see if he deserves the mantle of Hobgoblin
• It's proposed he kill Spider-Man
• When the meeting is over, Tombstone walks up behind Hobgoblin, and tosses him out the window
• He's able to call his glider at the last moment, saving himself from death
• Hobgoblin vows he'll not only kill Spider-Man, but then Arranger
• Mary Jane has thrown a massive party in the apartment, and Mrs. Muggins, who is searching for her husband, is none to pleased with all the noise
• It's a moving out party, as the two will soon be relocating
• Spider-Man is downing the punch that Mary Jane is serving, not knowing it's not just punch
• Hobgoblin searches the city for the perfect battle ground to challenge Spider-Man, and finds it in the Lincoln Tunnel
• Reference is made to The Amazing Spider-Man 261
• Harry Osborn calls Peter from his car phone, and informs him that he and his wife are stuck in the Lincoln Tunnel, and that the radio has announced that Hobgoblin is onsite causing problems
• Peter explains the situation to Mary Jane, and heads out
• The punch starts to kick in, and a drunk Spider-Man not only misses his web shots, but starts slurring his words
• A drunk Spider-Man goes into battle with Hobgoblin, and it isn't pretty
• He only wins the fight when Hobgoblin crashes his glider into a tower, causing it to go haywire, launching him off into the distance
• When he returns home, Peter demands to know who spiked the punch, only for Mr. Muggins to admit it was him
• Mrs. Muggins sees her husband, and attempts to chase after him
• Peter stops her, and when she says she won't miss him, he tells her that he'll miss her, and plants a kiss on her
• The party commences

Low Points

• It's really just a trope to hammer home the "drinking is bad" monicker
• Regardless, it's amusing and humerous

Oddities

• It's odd that Arranger would propose that Hobgoblin kill Spider-Man, calling him an obstacle for Kingpin, when the crime lord has often stated that Spider-Man serves a purpose to him
• A "friend" of Mary Jane's at the party hits on Peter, telling him she'd love to be the other woman in his life, and that his wife need not know
• Drunk Spider-Man

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

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Retro Spins: Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)

 

Between 1985 and 1986, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers spent a lot of time on the road. This kicked off with their appearance at Live Aid, which was followed by their own world tour, and subsequent live album, Pack Up the Plantation: Live! Rather than return to the studio, the band instead took Bob Dylan up on an offer to join him on the road for his True Confessions Tour. They would then join the Grateful Dead for a few shows between 1986, and 1987. Because of this, it would be two years since his last studio album before Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) would be recorded and released.

It would receive a generally mediocre reception, with critics calling it simple and fragmented. The overall lackluster opinion of it would also translate to sales and charts, making it one of the worst in the band's career since 1978's You're Gonna Get It!

If I'm being honest, I tuned most of this album out. There wasn't much, if anything, which grabbed my attention. By track six, I couldn't even tell you what any of the previous sounded like. It was all relatively forgettable.

All the momentum Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers had built up with me on 1982's Long After Dark, had began to falter under the drastic musical change of 1985's Southern Accents, and with Let Me Up, was pretty much gone.

It's a shame. This isn't how I wanted my listening sessions to go. I wanted to walk away from it all saying that while I may have been burned out on Free Falling, that there was a reason they were a legacy band. At the end of it, I'm just not seeing the mass appeal. Candidly, I can't even say there was a standout track in it all. Everything was just sort of, blah.

Rather than jump into another studio album, Petty instead joined George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne to record the song, Handle Me With Care. It would initially be planned as a B-side to one of Harrison's singles but be deemed too good for that. The end result was the birth of The Traveling Wilburys, and their album, Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, released in 1988 by Warner Bros.

Petty would then release his own solo album in 1989, Full Moon Fever. While many of the Heartbreakers would contribute to the recording sessions, so to did the likes of George Harrison, Del Shannon, Roy Orbison, Jim Keltner, and Jeff Lynne. While the album was released by MCA, Petty too would shift to Warner for his next studio album, 1994's Wildflowers.

Despite his solo success, the Heartbreakers were far done. The line-up of Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Howie Epstein, Benmont Tench, and Stan Lynch would continue through 1991's Into The Great Wide Open.  Lynch would depart in 1994, citing creative issues with Petty, and the band would continue on as a four piece through 1999's Echo.

Struggling with a heroin addiction, Epstein would be fired in 2002. With his departure, the band would not only replace him with previous member Ron Blair but expand to a six-piece with the inclusion of Scott Thurston, and Steve Ferrone. This iteration would finish out the storied career of Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers with three more albums; The Last DJ (2002), Mojo (2010), and Hypnotic Eye (2014). Petty would also release his third and final solo album, Highway Companion in 2006.

The Tom Petty Radio channel launched in 2015 on Sirius Radio, and by 2017, the band was embarking on a 40th anniversary tour. The tour wrapped up on September 25 of that year, and tragically, it was reported that Petty had passed away just seven days later. The worst part about it, his death could have been avoided. It was ruled an overdose from opioids and antidepressants, which he was taking to aid him with severe pain from several medical conditions, including a fractured hip.

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Comics Corner: Web Of Spider-Man 37

   

Title: Web Of Spider-Man
Issue Number: 37
Release Date: April 1988

Highlights

• First appearance of Elyse Nelson, Harvey Finklestein, Leslie, and Officer Richardson
• The story opens on a crime scene, where the police have found a dead body at the river
• The police have been on the hunt of a serial killer murdering fashion models, but have no leads, and no suspects
• The detective on-site speaks to Dakota North, the PI hired by several modeling agents to investigate
• Side note - Dakota is an obscure character introduced in her own five issue limited series in 1986, Dakota North Investigations
• As he's suiting up, the security guards of the building he's on the roof of show up
• Without his mask on, Peter jumps over the edge, and comes across an open window with a half naked Elyse inside - To which he thinks to himself, "Man is she cute." All of this in the same breath of thinking to himself that he's supposed to be meeting his wife
• It turns out this has a point in the long run, establishing that Elyse is quite the knock out
• A man named Harvey manages to get past security, and bring Elyse flowers to her dressing room
• As he's ushered out, Harvey grumbles to himself that Elyse and her friend, Mary Jane, are probably laughing at him
• He bumps into Peter, who's spider sense activates
• Elyse makes a comment to Mary Jane that she thinks herself to be fat, which Mary Jane informs her is quite to the contrary
• We're seeing Elyse has a complex that doesn't visually fit her physical attributes at all
• As Peter and Mary Jane leave, she tells him that her and Elyse will be in the upcoming fall fashion show
• Peter tells Mary Jane he can't attend the show because he's got a photography job out of town, and the money will pay his taxes
• Mary Jane informs him she's paid it, and it makes him feel bad
• After telling Mary Jane that maybe he will decline the job and attend the show, she tells him not to
• As Harvey walks through the unemployment office, he grumbles about being an unemployeed actor, and ponders how to get Elyse to notice him
• When he bumps into Leslie, a large man reading a paper, he notices the slasher headline, and asks the guy if he wants to make a few bucks
• The man put's Harvey's plan into action, holding Elyse in her apartment with a knife
• When her doorbell rings, the killer takes off, and Elyse begins scream, prompting Mary Jane and Peter to enter the home
• Peter gives chase, but instead of finding the man, runs into Dakota
• As Dakotah meets with Elyse, Peter chastises himself for losing the killer, and says there's no way he's leaving town now
• At Leslie's apartment, Harvey shrugs off that the plan didn't go off as expected, but then notices that Leslie has an awful lot of clippings of the slasher, and a lot of knives
• Leslie plays it off as being a character actor, and just him getting into character
• The next day at the shoot, Peter is sneaking in with a disguise on, after telling Mary Jane he was leaving for his assignment, and unknown to him Leslie is also working his way through the event
• Leslie, disguised as a security guard, enters the room of Mary Jane and Elyse
• Outside, Harvey knocks on the door, ready to play his part as protector, but as the girls and Leslie come crashing out of the room, he informs Harvey that his plan isn't working
• Meanwhile, outside the building, Peter has been taken into custody for sneaking around the bushes
• Hearing the ruckus upstairs, Dakota spring into action, as does Peter, who forgoes his secret identity, breaks his cuffs, and runs for the building after tossing the officers off of him
• They both give chase after Leslie, only for him to confess that he's just an actor
• Meanwhile, as Elyse and Mary Jane continue to run away, Elyse pulls out a knife
• Elyse tells Mary Jane that she's so pretty as compared to herself, and chases after her
• Spider-Man webs her up

Low Points

• The whole story crumbles under its hokey narrative, and Dakota's closing words (see oddities)
• The story just ends abruptly, and the whole thing is dumb

Oddities

• Ricky, Dakota's brother, reminds her that tomorrow is their father's birthday, and proceeds to produce an 8 X 10 headshot of him, all this while standing at their car at a crime scene
• Does he always carry around such large photos of his dad? Maybe I should read that limited series and find out
• After the introduction to Dakota at the crime scene, we cut to Peter suiting up, and it says, "Days later in New York City," but we're not told where the opening portion of the story took place
• When Dakota shows up after Spider-Man has webbed up Elyse, she says, that Dakota had a history of mental illness, and was always her prime suspect - What? No way, that's not even believable it's just conveniently hokey

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

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Retro Spins: Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Southern Accents

 

Led by its lead single, and quirky Alice in Wonderland homage music video, Don't Come Around Here No More would catapult the band into the MTV era. However, the album would be far from what it was initially planned out to be.

When Petty conceived Southern Accents, it was intended to be a concept album. However, this would quickly turn murky when Eurythmics alum Dave Stewart stepped in to co-write tracks. With him also came a shift in musical style. While it would still ultimately be labeled a Southern rock album, the truth was that the boys were dabbling into a more synth pop sound.

Some critics would call it ambitious, while others would say it got lost in its own ambition. Then there would be those who would rank it among the best from the band. In the end, the opinions didn't hinder the albums momentum up the charts, where it peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200. Further, it would once again return them to platinum selling artist status.

For me, Southern Accents includes my favorite tune from them, and that of course is the aforementioned Don't Come Around Here No More. I remember when I first saw the video on MTV, though not the timeframe it was. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. Visually, it was amazing, and the song itself resonated in my mind. Ironically, as I got older, I actually thought it was a tune from the 90's. I was ecstatic to learn it could be added to my 80's collection.

As for the rest of the album, you can definitely hear the influence of Stewart, not only in his three contributions, but across others. However, with that said, it's definitely a departure from Petty's previous work, and candidly, it kind of threw me off. With his previous album, Long After Dark, I had finally embraced the band's sound, and it made me eager to hear more. So, going from that to this, was a bit of a shock.

It's a decent album, and there's standout tracks in It Ain't Nothing To Me, and Mary's New Car. However, as a whole, it was really unexpected. I suppose it was also not what I really wanted. Like I said, I'd come around to the sound of the band, and my ears were ready, and maybe even anticipating hearing more of that.

The next stop for Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers was Live Aid, where they took the stage in Philadelphia to perform American Girl, The Waiting, Rebels, and Refugee. From there, they embarked on a massive world tour, which led to the live album Pack Up the Plantation: Live!, released that same year. Rather than return to the studio, the band would instead take Bob Dylan up on his invitation, and head out with him for his True Confessions Tour. Finally, in 1987, the world would receive their next album, Let Me Up (I've Had Enough), and that's where we go tomorrow.

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Comics Corner: The Spectacular Spider-Man 136

     

Title: The Spectacular Spider-Man
Issue Number: 136
Release Date: March 1988

Highlights

• Death Of Sin-Eater, AKA Stan Carter
• First appearance of the little boy, Skip
• Mary Jane buys Peter a copy of the Daily Globe, but cuts out all the portions about Spider-Man's failure against Electro
• Peter once again confides in her, saying he feels guilty for crippling Stan Carter, AKA Sin-Eater
• Mary Jane tells him that he needs to go speak with Carter, and then uses Rocky III as an analogy
• Peter replies that using Rocky as a life lesson is like taking opera lessons from Twisted Sister
• A citywide blackout occurs, and Spider-Man heads out to get some photographs of the impact
• Stan Carter hits record on a tape recorder, and beings narrating his memoire
• The ongoing visions of Sin-Eater continue to haunt him
• Reference is made to Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man 5
• Through his visions of Sin-Eater and Jean DeWolff, we learn that Stan had to kill her first to fully commit himself to his holy mission
• Spider-Man comes across a woman in labor, trapped in the gridlocked traffic
• He convinces the man driving her to allow him to take her to the hospital
• And then learns that the man isn't her husband
• The woman tells Spider-Man she wants to name the child after him, and asks for his real first name
• Spider-Man responds that it's Poindexter
• While at the hospital, an officer tells Spider-Man that Electro is the cause of the outage, and that he's at the Con Ed Station
• Spider-Man actually doesn't want to go and confront him, instead stating the police can handle one guy
• Electro tells Sergeant Tork that he can overload every television in the city, turning them into bombs in everyone's home, or short out all critical hospital equipment, and will start doing so in one hour if he doesn't receive ten million dollars
• Spider sees some kids robbing a store, and webs them to a wall
• The kids clap back that he'll face off against children, but not against a real threat
• Spider-Man goes to Carter's apartment, and is told by the man that everyone has to face their demons on their own
• Carter also tells him that his doctor's say his injuries are psychosomatic
• Spider-Man tells him he's headed to Con Ed to exercise his demon, and when he leaves, Stan says that he is too, and puts on his Sin-Eater mask
• Spider-Man confronts Electro, and tells him that if he thinks he's so tough, then come fight him knuckle to knuckle, and not using electricity
• A child named Skip, who was outside the power station with his mother, wants to see the fight up close, and sneaks off to get a closer look only to be confronted by Sin-Eater
• Sin-Eater takes him hostage, putting a gun to his head
• The cops surround him, pleading with him to put the gun down, but he tells them that Sin-Eater has to have his moment, that he won't leave him alone until he does
• Inside, Spider-Man mops the floor with Electro
• Outside, Stan tells the cops that Sin-Eater thinks he can take them, he doesn't think he can, and tosses the kid aside, baring his gun on the officers
• They open fire, filling him with lead
• As Spider-Man exits the building with a webbed up Electro in arms, he sees the slumped over body of Stan
• Spider-Man rushes over to him, asking him what he's done
• In his final breaths, Stan says that he's won - With Sin-Eater dead, he can finally live
• Stan, and Sin-Eater, die
• Spider-Man tells Tork that Stan was so far gone that he really thought he and Sin-Eater were two different people
• Tork informs him that he, Stan, got the last laugh against the villain then because the gun wasn't even loaded

Low Points

• None

Oddities

• The opening page of the issue, which is laid out like the front page of a newspaper, retells the ending of the previous issue, where Electro, AKA Max Dillon, challenged Spider-Man to a fight live on camera, but the hero didn't engage
• The odd part is that it then goes into detail on how Dillon robbed a jewelry store the previous day, but yet no cops bothered to try and arrest him at the studio?

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

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Christmas Catalogs - JCPenny 1974

Hey! You want to spend the next two years looking at the fantastic Christmas catalogs produced by Sears, JCPenny, and Montgomery Ward? Cause I do! Yeah, I said two years, cause that's a lot of catalogs! Join me on most Monday's each month as I post up one of those fabulous books starting with 1970, and ending with 1989.

Look through every page, feeling every bit of nostalgia. Chuckle at the look and style of the wardrobes those zanny past decade people wore. Gawk at the toys you used to have, but long since parted ways with. Bring back all those memories of hours spent laying on the floor, combing every inch as your young mind pined over everything you wanted. Reminisce over the Christmas that followed as you unwrapped those lucky few that you got.

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