Amazing Fantasy #1000: Spider-Man's 60th Anniversary

Amazing Spider-Man and Peter Parker: Spectacular Spider-Man were among some of the first comics I read as kid in the '70s- a halcyon era for the character in my universe, with Nicholas Hammond starring in the live-action TV show, and Mego producing 8" and 12" action figures that I loved so much. Though he debuted in Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962, artist/writer Steve Ditko's creation had such enduring popularity that Spidey was a childhood favorite of all of us Bronze-Age kids many years later, and remains as strong a property today. Kids and adults of all ages love Spider-Man! While I'm dubious to the "#1000" claim, this 60th celebration of Marvel's top-grossing hero was an issue I couldn't pass up. There is a lot of splashy and diverse art styles throughout the issue and it's many variant covers, mine the John Romita Jr. version. Aesthetically, things got off to a good start with Michael Cho's art in "Just Some Guy", appealing to my love for the kind of retro-styled cartooning Darwyn Cooke or Tim Sale produced.

In "Slaves of the Witch-Queen", a continuation of a story thread from Amazing Fantasy #15 brings a witch from Egypt's past through a portal by a convict lost in time, trying to return to the present...

Spider-Man is late for his 60th birthday dinner with a resigned Mary Jane, who later finds him visited by the denizens of New York, lined up to pay respects for their critically injured hero in Dan Slott's "Sinister 60". I loved artist Jim Cheung's work on this story, very inspired by John Romita Jr. ...

 Spider-Man fan Neil Gaiman's story in this issue retells his visit to the office of Steve Ditko, where the character lives as a real person in the mind of the author, seemingly underwhelmed with his fan's admiration...

616 Spider-Man traverses the Spider-Verse in author Jonathan Hickman's "You Get It", seeking validation of his trials as a Spider-Man, only to be rebuffed by his fellow Spider-Men who have accepted the burden themselves as a part of being who they are...

There are two or three other stories in this celebratory issue as well that CBR contributor Matthew McCreadie said in a recent MSN article, lacked supporting cast. Sure, Harry Osborne, Flash Thompson, and Gwen Stacy weren't really present, nor Iron Man or any of the other Avengers- some notable misses, but there were a few other characters and Easter eggs from Spider-Man's history. There is so much from the character's past that no single issue could reference more than a small percentage of it, and his contemporary stories involving the Spider-Verse and it's characters are changing Spider-Man's mythos more rapidly than ever. Regardless of what may come, I feel confident the wall crawler will be around for a long time to come, each generation telling new stories about their own Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man! Excelsior!

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Hulk Grand Design MONSTER & MADNESS No.1 (2022)

 I was pretty excited about artist Jim Rugg's Hulk: Grand Design upon solicitation, a fan of the character since childhood. I've said before that the CBS TV show starring Bill Bixby opposite Lou Ferrigno was a defining moment in my Hulk fandom, preceded by my Mego Hulk action figures, both 8" and 12", and strengthened by the Hulk comics I read thereafter. "Marvel's TV Sensation" was stamped on new books, reprints, and the avalanche of other product solicitations. I enjoyed Rugg's 2020 independent release of Octobriana 1976. but Hulk: Grand Design was several levels beyond that, taking on the history of the character, at times deftly assuming the styles of some of the greatest artists ever to have worked on him.

  

Two of the stories noted in Hulk Grand Design: Monster link directly to the Hulk comics of my youth and are reviewed on this blog, Hulk #124 and Incredible Hulk #141, telling the sad story of Bruce Banner and Betty Ross' ill-fated wedding, and the Hulk's jealous battle versus Doc Samson!

Many stories involving Betty Ross, daughter of Hulk's arch-nemesis General Thunderbolt Ross, pepper the character's history and source of his loneliness and misunderstood state of being...

The rapid-fire assault of visual delights never let up throughout Monster, Jim Rugg personalizing the art style at times, such as the ballpoint pen homage to Incredible Hulk #181, introducing alpha Marvel character, Wolverine...

The second book, Hulk Grand Design: Monster deals with some story arcs I'm less familiar with, like the Peter David run, but I had managed to catch a few issues starring Mr. Fixit, the Hulk's smarter, gray version, at the end of the '80s.

                     

Hulk Grand Design: MADNESS ends in an epilogue covering Planet Hulk and World War Hulk, both I enjoyed tremendously. While I've enjoyed Hulk stories that came after these two, particularly Indestructible Hulk, his latest, critically acclaimed incarnation in Immortal Hulk is missing from the Grand Design story - I realize there was a conscious decision where to cut off, and though the aforementioned epilogue seems like a good spot, Immortal may have been a better epilogue due to its ongoing popularity, portraying Hulk as a monster in a horror comic.  

Regardless, I found Hulk Grand Design to be a fun romp through the Hulk's history that I'd recommend to any longtime fan, or new readers to get a broad overview of the character. There are just so many Hulk stories- it would be impossible to get it all in 88 pages. You will find yourself thumbing back through it for the visual delight it is, and for $5.99 each, they are a great value. Jim Rugg is a fantastic cartoonist with a wide range of talent this format showcases wonderfully.  

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Incredible Hulk No.141 (1971)

I love these one dollar Marvel True Believers reprints, and pulled this Incredible Hulk No.141 from 1971, introducing Doc Samson! Psychiatrist Leonard Samson helps General Ross and Major Talbot capture the Hulk, intent on using his inherent gamma force to reverse Betsy Ross' bizarre condition, turned to glass from an unfortunate blood transfusion with villain Sandman in issue No.138. Doctor Samson's calculations are inexplicably correct, and Betsy is miraculously returned to her corporeal form!

Later that night, Doctor Samson investigates a suspicion that remaining gamma energy from the transfer might enhance a person's physicality, and returns to the laboratory to test that theory on himself ...!

Doctor Leonard Samson then lives out his life-long dream to become the hero Doc Samson, and sets out to win the love of Betsy Ross. Filled with jealously, Bruce Banner resolves to do whatever necessary to win Betsy back ...!

In desperation, Banner returns to the laboratory, reviving his monstrous alter-ego in a horrific explosion! Doc Samson arrives on the seen, challenging the Green Goliath, resulting in a thundering brawl in the city streets...

Defeated, Doc Samson is spared further humiliation when Betsy breaks free of her father's restraint, rushing to the Hulk's fallen challenger. To Hulk's visible disappointment, Betsy's expression of concern for Doc Samson leaves the the behemoth again misunderstood and alone....

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Wolverine Black White & Blood No.1 (NOV 2020)

I rarely pick up any single issue comics lately, but I was intrigued by this new title, Wolverine: Black White and Blood. I loved the Batman: Black and White title that was revived a few years ago, so I had to try an issue out. This book is meant to be a never-before-told tales sort of publication, and while some may ponder the necessity of another Wolverine series, the power of only black, white, and red is graphic and fitting of the character. It is predictably graphic in it's depiction of the sort of eviscerations administered by Wolverine on his unfortunate combatants. I love seeing all the drawing/inking  in a comic laid bare without color in black and white comics, and artists Adam Kubert, Joshua Cassara, and Declan Shalvey all bring their A game to these three short stories I sincerely enjoyed.

In "Beast Within Them", writer Gerry Duggan and artist Adam Kubert tell a tale of Logan's Weapon X days, Canadian Government Dept. K agents pitting a feral Wolverine against sequentially more and more powerful opponents, only to find he is virtually undefeatable. I love how they retrieve a spent Wolverine using a giant magnet at the end, as he catches his human reflection in a pool of blood he is lifted from.
 

Writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Joshua Cassara pit a Hydra Grand Inquisitor against a captive Wolverine in the spy-versus-spy "I Shall Be a Wolf", in which Nick Fury takes part. But Inquisitor Hersh has unwittingly fallen into Wolverine's trap in reality, ending this short story with a bang! The fight scenes are fantastic!

Declan Shalvey does double duty on the last tale, "Cabin Fever", adopting Frank Quitely's 2001 New X-Men look. There are no survivors in the end, save an orphaned child and the cop that arrived too late to save his partner, avenged by Wolverine only minutes before. Wolverine is one of my favorite characters, and this issue made me want to pick up the next! Recommended!

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Invincible Iron Man #150 (Double-Sized 15th Anniversary Issue, 1981)

I picked up this fun issue of Invincible Iron Man for a buck back in February, resolving to make a short post about it eventually, and five months later, here we are. The conclusion of the previous issue #149, "Doomquest", finds Doom and Iron Man are double-crossed by one of the former's lackeys while crossing a time machine platform in furious battle. If you picked up only this double-sized issue back in '81 however, it almost would not have mattered- Doom and Iron Man literally drop out of the sky into Camelot, have adventures with King Arthur and his armored knights... what else could a kid need?

Doom will not recognize the authority of King Arthur and his knights, but Iron Man pleads with him to be cool until they can figure a way out of their time displacement situation. Unfortunately, Doom has his own plans, using the opportunity to find Morgan Le Fay, whom he makes an alliance with to destroy King Arthur and Camelot for her assistance in retrieving his mother from the bowels of Hell!

With help from Iron Man, King Arthur and his knights defeat Doom and Morgan Le Fey's undead army. The witch escapes the armored Avenger through a dimensional portal at the last moment with the shard of Excalibur she used to attack Camelot, vowing vengeance on he and her brother, King Arthur.

Crushed by his chance to free his mother from Hell, Doom is persuaded to combine scientific skills with Iron Man, using their tech to make it back to present day. Though a truce is met out of necessity, the mortal enemies vow to resume their rivalry 24 hours after their escape, bidding a bitter farewell upon their mission success!

Artist John Romita Jr. is certainly working in the Marvel Method here, employed by his father before him, far removed from his later, more unique style. Bob Layton finished the art, also co-plotting the issue with writer David Michelinie. This is a real slice of the kind of Bronze-Age Marvel I was raised on, and would have loved as a nine-year old!  Circle back and check out my posts on the Marvel Legends 80th Anniversary Iron Man and Doctor Doom!

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Comics From My Youth: Marvel Super-Heroes #76, 1978

A recent run through the dollar bins unearthed this well-worn issue of Marvel Super-Heroes, featuring the Incredible Hulk, that I instantly recognized from my youth! This title contained mostly reprints of issues featuring popular characters from '69 to '82- in this case Hulk #124 (1970). I would have been six years old, and Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno were co-starring on the popular TV show, then in it's 2nd season on CBS, proudly advertised on the cover. This issue probably cemented my love for artist Herb Trimpe, whom I got a lot of exposure to as a Bronze-Age baby, and was as formative of my early love for comics as the Spectacular Spider-Man #22 issue I wrote about back in 2013. Historically speaking, Editor Jim Shooter had started to turn things around in this era, by growing the direct market. producing some classic stories, and getting books out on time. This was a relatively good time for comics, and the Hulk, along with Spider-Man, were really popular.

This was undoubtedly my first exposure to General Thunderbolt Ross, who comes to terms with his disapproval with Banner to make his daughter happy, and marry her off to him in her childhood home. It's as surely the first time I saw the Marvel villains Rhino and the Leader, the latter whom reads about the pending nuptials, and hatches a plan to undo a helpless Banner during the affair!

The Leader dispatches Super-Humanoid to retrieve Rhino, unconscious in a hospital from his recent defeat by the Hulk, and revive him using his advanced technology. Additionally, the Leader recreated the Rhino's suit, now amplifying his strength far beyond it's previous levels.

Rhino is hot to exact revenge on the Hulk, but the Leader has his own design- a shot of gamma to the unsuspecting Banner to awaken the Hulk, endangering everyone and everything in his path. Poor Betty's special day comes apart before her very eyes, the Hulk's wrath unleashed, her father injured in the melee and her childhood home destroyed in short order...

The brouhhaha escalates further when Rhino attacks, but the Leader fires 

on his impatient accomplice while trying to get another shot at the Hulk. ..

Angry, Rhino charges on the Leader, who attempts to leave in his escape module. It's jets are damaged by Rhino's attack, seemingly destroying them both in the resulting explosion ...!

We are promised a tangle with the Absorbing Man in the next issue, which I never read, but may now have to hunt down! This is probably one of the first comics I read, and all the action and emotions left a deep imprint on me, instantly recalled upon finding this treasure. Marvel must have printed a ton of these to capitalize on the TV show- did you have this issue? Below, a couple ads for toys/memorabilia within the pages, another thing I love about old comics!

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Hasbro 9in. Punisher (Spider-Man Origins 2006)

On the heels of my last post, I wanted to finally open this Hasbro 9" Punisher I've had in my collection for 9 years. I started this blog just prior to finding it on eBay, the focus of my new hobby on action figures that resembled my childhood Mego dolls, Mattel's DC Retro-Action Series and ToyBiz's Famous Covers Series being two examples. Later, Figures Toy Co. would relaunch the craze for Mego-styled figures, in their own design reimagining, and using Mego molds outright. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Marty Abrams relaunched Mego through an exclusive distribution deal with Target in 2018! While I've so far resisted buying any of the new 8" figures, I've purchased a few of the fantastic 14" line, of which I plan to buy more. Be sure to visit the online Mego Museum! I only had a handful of these 9" Hasbro figures from the mid-2000s, which were unique in design, and different than the earlier ToyBiz Marvel Famous Covers figures. Check out the video:

Like many of the early Marvel Legends action figures, these 9" Hasbro figures included a comic, this one a reprint of Amazing Spider-Man #129 from 1974, introducing Marvel's infamous antihero, The Punisher. In the middle of this comic is an advertisement for these "Signature Series" Spider-Man Orgins figures, featuring Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and two versions of Spider-Man. Hasbro would also release an Iron Spider, Daredevil and Captain America in this format. I've had the Spider-Man and Wolverine from this series for years, two favorite toys in my collection, and had a black suit Spider-Man at one time, as well as a Cyclops. If Hasbro were making theses today, after the Spider-Verse craze, we would have undoubtedly seen Spider-Gwen, Miles Morales, Prowler, and Spider-Man Noir among many others.

As a teenager at the end of the '80s, I got my hands on a copy of The Punisher, a graphic novel compiling the 1986 five issue run "Circle of Blood". Revered as the character's foray into success in a solo title and definitive Punisher story, this book blew my young mind and made me a fan. It was gritty, violent, and perhaps a little more than adult in nature than intended for kids. Written by author Steven Grant and illustrated by Mike Zeck. It is sometimes, and fairly, accused of being dated, but that's part of the fun for me now. More recently, I enjoyed Punisher in the 2012 Marvel NOW! relaunch of Thunderbolts, alongside Red Hulk, Agent Venom, Elektra, and Deadpool, but "Circle of Blood" will always be the impression branded on my imagination.

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