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Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey   Writer- David Michelinie Art- Todd McFarlane Letters- Rick Parker Colour- Bob Sharen Editor- Jim Salicrup Editor In Chief- Tom DeFalco Published 12/01/1988 by Marvel Comics SYNopsisThe build is done with. The wait is over. The time has come. Ding! Ding! Ding! It's round 1. Dave Well, picking up from where we left off, this is where the story starts to pick up the action, and exposition, as well. And those webs on the top panel of page 26 look like they have a life of their own.  Y'know that scene in The Amazing Spider-Man TV series pilot movie from 1977? When Peter wallcrawls around on the outside of Aunt May's house? Well, that! Kev They certainly do. That was another McFarlane innovation, in terms of what he brought to Spidey, was the look of the webbing. Dave Still, another good web-slinging pose. It’s a good aerial point of view on the 3rd panel, as he approaches the building. Plus, we get to see Peter’s expectation that his Spidey sense will alert him. A bit of foreshadowing here. Kev Yeh, Peter walks (swings) right into Venom’s trap here. It’s a smart move by Eddie and the symbiote, to use the fact that Peter is arrogant and naive enough to think that he is one step ahead of them to their advantage. For example, no spider-sense. Dave "Welcome to my neighbourhood, Spider-Man? Would you be my....could you be my ....neighnour?" I guess Venom likes a bit of Ugly Kid Joe. This was a few years before Ugly Kid Joe did ‘Neighbor,’ which was 1992. You can see the physicality of Venom on the last panel of page 27 compared to Spidey. He does look monstrously big. Kev Yeh, Eddie is a specimen, alright. I like this four page history lesson Eddie gives us as he monologues in an evil villain way. And I like that the bottom panel on each of those pages is of Spidey’s hand getting closer and closer to the sonic blaster. That’s nice panel layout and storytelling.  There's an irony in Spidey having to stretch to reach the sonic blaster created and built by Reed Richards.  Almost as ironic as us stretching that observation.....  .....across three panels. Dave The close up of Brock, as he gives his backstory, is layered, and he really does have a weatherbeaten/leathered face. Also, as Pete reaches for the blaster, and Venom does the typical villain thing and outlines his personal history to him, he clearly gets distracted by his own waffling. Kev Yeh, I had forgotten that Brock worked for the Daily Globe, the rival paper to J. Jonah Jameson’s Daily Bugle. I was thinking Brock worked at the Bugle as well. Which I think he did in Spider-Man 3, so that’s probably where I’m getting that from. Just goes to show how your memories can be overwritten by the big screen outings. Dave I like the layout and structure of the panels on pages 28 and 29. They’re well put together, and I especially like the middle panel on page 29, as Brock is walking in the street with the parked car behind him. There's a cartoonish element to some of the drawings here, especially on pages 30 and 31, with Brock's fantasy of wringing Spidey's neck, and as the symbiote attaches itself to Brock himself, it is reminiscent of Sam Raimi’s style of film making. I wonder how much of a conscious choice that was. Kev If you put some jazz sax under that panel of Brock walking the streets, it would be like a noir movie. Dave Indeed. I like those noir films. The middle panel on page 31 is another real eyecatcher. That evil personified look on Brock’s face, as the symbiote takes over him, and great use of the shadowing on it as well. Kev Nice placement of it in the centre of the page as well. That's a really good point about it having that Raimi, ‘Evil Dead,’ horror comedy vibe to it. I need to go back and read the ‘Sin Eater Saga,’ which Brock references here. I remember really enjoying the little bits of it that I read back in the day, and it’s right up my street as a crime/serial killer story. I feel that they don’t do enough mystery stories like that in Spidey comics these days. In any superhero comics, to be fair. It's interesting that the symbiote finds, and joins with, Eddie in a Catholic church. I feel that there’s something ungodly about that. Then again, that could just be the lapsed Catholic guilt in me. Dave Well, it enhances the story; in a godly place an ungodly act occurs. Have you still kept your copies of The Sin Eater saga? Kev No. I never had them back in the day. Someone must’ve loaned them to me. I think that was how I read it. Dave Pages 32 to 34, as Spidey and Venom go at it, is straight out of Wrestlemania, with slams and pounding. It’s a nice little battle, as Spidey has to rely on his experience in combat to tackle a physically stronger foe. And just as Spidey realises the danger of trying to separate Brock from the symbiote and tries to flee, Venom’s having none of it, back for the next round, pulled back into the ring again. Kev It's a really well choreographed fight, isn't it? I do like how different Venom’s fighting style is from Spidey’s though. Less quick and agile, more explosive and power based. Like watching a pro-wrestling match between Rey Mysterio and Brock Lesnar. Venom’s gorilla/Incredible Hulk-like double hammerfist in the bottom panel of page 37 is a good example of this. I especially like Spidey’s attempt to take Venom’s back and apply a rear naked choke/sleeper hold, albeit unsuccessfully. McFarlane doesn’t have Venom’s teeth down yet. The chompers here are way too flat and human looking, and the way the symbiote functions when it’s covering, or removing itself from Eddie, like a printer printing an image line by line, or the loading screen from an old tape-based ZX Spectrum game, just looks odd now. Still, fun to look back on and see just how far it has all come though, a trilogy of big budget movies starring Tom Hardy later. And Peter’s speculating/filling in Eddie’s blanks in the telling of Venom’s origin story is pretty spot on. Dave If you look at the top panel on page 34, those pearly whites on Venom should be used for a toothpaste ad. We get no fancy quips from Pete this time, just his internal monologue throughout.  Roman Reigns for Venom, please. Kev Yep. He's fighting for his life here against a foe he has no experience of. There's no room for japes at this point. Venom rocking the “Turkey Teeth” veneers way before they came into vogue. Dave Venom’s rocking those brand new dentures, alright. But he has some power, as he literally smashes Spidey into unconsciousness. Kev Yeh, that last blow must’ve been a doozy if it knocked Spidey out cold for “unknown hours.” That is one hell of a concussion. Pete might want to get checked-out for that one. Is it just me, or is Venom a bit too chatty and quippy here? “Night-night,” etc. etc. It kind-of takes away from the threat and the fear he projects a little bit, I think. In saying that, he has adopted the garb of a priest here to read Spidey his last rites, so to speak, so maybe he was always just a bit of a corny, goofball. Dave It's like you said; this character is essentially a first time try out so, yeah, it must be different to what he became later on. It could also show, with the priest garb, how far detached from reality Brock has become with his obsession. Kev That's true, yeh. Eddie is certainly deluded in his righteous indignation towards Peter, and the world at large, to be fair. He's doing the cackling villain bit here as well. Dave Yep, a common thing for villains to do. Look at that maniacal expression on his face on page 37, he looks demented. McFarlane sure enjoyed drawing these crazed expressions. Kev Yeh, he really did. You're 100% correct in what you said earlier about McFarlane having a real cartoonist's flair for his character's faces. Dave I'm seeing parallels to the ending of ‘Spider-Man 3,’ with the church setting and the bell here. Raimi must have taken some influence from this story. I know the ‘80's weren’t that big on saving the environment and stuff, but is that amount of webbing on page 37 really necessary? Saying that, it's an eyecatching panel for sure. Kev Yeh, it really helps sell the claustrophobia of Peter being trapped in all that webbing. And Michelinie's line about it feeling like trying to "scratch through...a cast iron glove" is fantastic. You can really feel that sensation under your nails as you read it. It's interesting that Michelinie is establishing the idea of the symbiote permanently bonding itself to Brock here, whereas in later years that symbiote has been a bit of an adulterer, and has seemingly bonded itself to every other character in the entire Marvel Universe. But hey, gotta sell those DLC video game skins and Funko Pop figures, right? Dave Page 38 has some interesting compositions, from a really wide shot (something you mentioned in our last review), to extreme close-ups (no ‘Wayne’s World’ stuff). It has quite a unique look to telling the story. I will also say that this issue, so far, is giving its readers its money's worth. With the interaction between Spidey and Venom, its keeping it quite action packed, and there’s plenty of exposition to get all the background stuff out of the way, as well as also giving Spidey the realisation that, as much of a dangerous threat Venom is, he can't risk killing him with the symbiote blaster. Kev Yep. Good job it was a double sized issue, as there has been a lot to cram into it. It WAS $1.50 though, right enough. Dave It was a bumper sized issue. That's a good middle panel on page 39, of Brock and the church window in the background, the angle of it works well. We are looking up at Brock and it highlights his physical prowess.  Gotta admire the tight fade and flattop combo that Eddie's rockin'. It's a winner, Kev Yeh, it really highlights his haircut as well. It's a good flattop. It's not quite Dragon from ‘Dragon's Claws’ good, but it's good nonetheless. You know I appreciate a good flattop. Dave Did Brock and Dragon share the same barber? Or at least, was Dragon’s barber a descendant from Brock’s barber's lineage? Kev Ha, ha! From a long line of barbers. How many great greats would it have to be to reach all the way from 1988 to 8162? This issue is really motoring along at some speed now. Spidey’s escape from the webbing bell (not the wedding bell, he and Mary Jane are already married) over the course of those three pages is pretty speedy, and that’s a cracking first panel on page 40 though, as he breaks free of said webbing. Classic McFarlane Spidey pose and all. In fact, McFarlane’s art across pages 40 and 41 is all top notch. These are some of the best of his renditions of Spidey in the black costume, which is my favourite Spidey outfit, incidentally. Dave As the fight resumes on page 40/41, it's not letting up on the rounds. I like the first two panels on 41, with the classic Spidey pose, as he descends onto the roof, and the close up panel next to it is superb. Isn't it some great artwork? And the black costume never looked better than in those panels. It was essentially setting a new bar for Spidey at the time. Kev I think you're right, actually. It felt so fresh. No wonder it redefined the look of the character, and became the model for Spidey for years to come. Dave And that was a cracking kick he gave to Venom on page 41. I can hear Gorilla Monsoon commentating on this, "Right in the kisser with that one.” Kev Ha, ha! Awww, Man. You can't beat Monsoon on WWF commentary for me. Add in The Brain doing the colour, and that's the soundtrack to my first love of wrestling, right there. Dave Yeah, and that fall was pre-WWE Attitude era as well. Kev True, we were still firmly ensconced in the WWF's golden era at this point. Hulkamania was still running wild! I like the theory Spidey uses to defeat Venom here. It makes sense considering, as he rightly points out, Venom used so much of his reserves to web Spidey into the bell, but how high up is the roof of that church? And how long is Venom falling for before he finally hits the pavement? It must’ve been a really tall building in order for the symbiote to deplete itself to the extent that there’s barely any of it left on Eddie by the time they hit the ground. Dave That's a good victorious pose on page 43, as Spidey stands over an unconscious Brock. Even the next panel, as he is atop the phone booth making a call, that’s one super flexible Spider-Man. Kev It sure is. He's favouring that left arm though. Yeh, Pete's definitely been doing his DDP Yoga, that's for sure. Bang! More wrestling references. Dave Then the next panel, on page 43, highlights what I said about the flamboyant, cartoonish, look that McFarlane draws, especially the security guard. He looks like the villain in the ‘Maniac Cop’ film that was out at that time. Another low budget horror slasher of that era. Kev He really does. And that 'stash is.....a choice, shall we say. Wow! This really places this comic at a specific point in the 616 timeline if the Fantastic Four’s headquarters is the Four Freedoms Plaza, not the Baxter Building, and Ben Grimm is the leader of the FF. AND he's rocking the rock crown to boot. This is pure late ‘80’s, right here.  Mind that time Spidey was booked for the Playboy Mansion and Hugh Hefner turned to a Rock Lord? Dave And he's rocking a hell of a house coat as well. How many Xs are there before the L in that coat? Kev Ha, ha! Good point. Come to think of it, there have been a lot of housecoats in this issue. I bet he's rocking a cracking pair of slippers as well. We just can't see them 'cause they're out of shot. Dave And McFarlane has to add a light comic touch with the logo on Ben’s housecoat. Kev Indeed, we get the MacFarlane Felix the Cat Easter egg, which I used to take great joy in finding in each issue of Spidey that he drew. That and the many, many hidden spiders. Dave There's an interesting contrast in sizes between Spidey, Brock/Venom and Ben Grimm. Spidey really is getting dwarfed. Plus, he is drawn as being really thin in comparison as well. Kev I much preferred the look of McFarlane's Spidey when he was smaller and leaner. It really helped sell his speed and agility. Dave That is another great panel of Pete and Ben though. The artwork has been superb again. Kev Yeh, it really has. Dave Then as the scene shifts, we get another wide shot of Pete and MJ’s mini Wayne Manor, then the next panel from an aerial view, as if the camera is tracking in, whilst MJ stands in front of the fire. Incidentally, we covered McFarlane's rendition of Batman in ‘Year Two,’  Parker Jewel-Box House. Kev "Mini Wayne Manor." Ha, ha! I like that. Dave What did you make of his choice to turf the black outfit into the fire? Kev Yeh, I’ve got to admit, I was gutted when Peter went back to the red and blues, because I absolutely loved the black costume. Not necessarily the symbiote, but I loved the look of the black costume. Still do, to this very day. The in-story justification for it makes complete sense though. It would stand to reason that MJ would be traumatised after such an ordeal, and that it would be something that she wouldn’t necessarily want to have to look at every day, more or less, for the rest of her life. Still, I suppose they had to get him back to his classic look for his big 25th anniversary, eh? Also, it just goes to prove that she was clearly masking, and putting on a brave face earlier in the issue, with the housewarming and all. Something that we know full well that she has a tendency to do. We even covered it in an earlier discussion when we discussed ‘Parallel Lives.’ Dave That last panel on page 45, of the silhouette of Pete and MJ as they are about to embark on….. you know? There's been a few instances where they go from a heavy conversation right into getting it on. Michelinie and McFarlane are not aiming this at kids and wholesome values. I’m getting ready to rename this ‘Spider Soft Porn.’ Kev It's not soft porn, Dave. It's classy erotica. It's art. Like the French make. Dave If it was written in the 80s, it was "soft porn.” Hehe. I’m sure classy erotica came (no pun intended) in the ‘90s. Kev Ha, ha! True. With ‘Basic Instinct.’ Dave I’ve got to be honest, I like the transition into his original outfit, purely from a colour perspective. It’s going to elevate the colour tones in the upcoming issues. Kev Yeh, as much as I'm a fanboy for the black duds, there's no doubt that the old red and blues pop off the four colour page more. Now, I know I said last time that I wasn’t the biggest fan of McFarlane’s use of the screentone technique for his New York cityscape backdrops, but that final, splash, page is stunning.  Y'know that scene.....ah, shite! Used that one already. Dave It’s stunning, indeed. I think you summed it up very well, there’s so much attention to detail in it, and the colour contrast works so well. How many years did Pete wear the black out fit for? Kev He first got it in ‘Secret Wars,’ which was ‘84, and this issue was published in ‘88, so around four years. It was a fair chunk of time. It has also just dawned on me that the ending to this issue is almost exactly the same as the ending to issue 289, the aforementioned first issue of ASM that I ever bought, right down to his partner at the time, Felicia Hardy AKA The Black Cat, providing Peter with a new costume, Peter doing his Patrick Swayze, ‘Dirty Dancing’ lift bit with her,, and a splash page of him webswinging across the New York City skyline to close out on. I must just really like Spidey comics that end this way. Dave I think you were maybe born into Spidey. After all, the pilot episode of the 70’s show premiered on CBS on the 14th September 1977. Does that ring a bell (again, no pun intended)? Kev It does, unfortunately, yeh. I had to come along and fucking ruin it, right? Story of my life. Christ, I’m old! Dave Haha! So, what do your adult eyes make of reading this issue again? Kev At the risk of sounding like a broken record, my only real quibble with this issue is that the back end of it felt ever so slightly rushed. There was perhaps even just one scene too many in there, that resulted in the pacing feeling a bit too fast, and subsequently the rest of the scenes feeling like they were just in, then almost straight out of there. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting it. It still gives me most of, if not all of, the joy that it gave me when I was 11 years old. It’s pretty much a home run in terms of introducing what would go on to become one of Spidey’s signature villains, Michelinie’s story is a pleasure to read, as is McFarlane’s art to look at. It also managed to reset the, as well as established a new, status quo for the character and his world, and it successfully ushered in the webhead’s second quarter of a century as a multi-media and merchandising juggernaut. What more could Marvel, and indeed, us as readers, have asked for? What about yourself? What have you made of it again, after all these years? Dave It was a good read, from build-up, to the showdown. I like that it took up a good chunk of the latter half of the issue, giving us plenty to sink our teeth into. I can see the writing and artwork were veering to a wider audience, deliberately making it raunchy and cartoonish, with a horror element, plus a slight comedic turn. Perhaps the ending was a bit rushed though, yeah. I also liked how Pete's crisis of conscience kicks in, and doesn't want to commit murder. Even against a deadly foe, he still has his values and moral code to stick too. Yeah, it worked well as a bumper issue, and introduced us to a new enemy for Spidey. I also liked the contrast between this and the ‘Spectacular’ series that was running at the time with the whole ‘Tombstone Saga,’ who was another formidable villain. We really were getting some great material on our favourite wall crawler that year. Kev Yep, with Gerry Conway and Alex Saviuk on ‘Web of Spider-Man’ as well, we were spoiled. And as is always the case; we didn't even know, or appreciate, it at the time. Dave Oh yeah, and ‘Web Of…’ as well. Another sterling series in this era of Spidey. Three different variations on Spidey. Kev Yeh. That was Mike's title. We really should get him on to cover some of those issues. Dave Yeah, that would be worth doing with Mike. His memory for those issues would be great. Kev You reckon he'd be up for it? Dave Yeah, I reckon so. Kev I'll give him a shout about it then. See if there are any issues in particular he'd like to do. All this talk takes me right back to Friday nights, lying on my front on the living room carpet, with one of those comics in front of me, and ‘Cheers’ on the tele. I guess we haven’t changed, or matured that much in the intervening four decades. Or maybe I've just never been that content and happy ever again. Good times. In fact, I might stick an episode of ‘Cheers’ on just now. Dave And break out a comic book to accompany it. Kev Yeh. (D) & (K) Next: When a pensioner gambles away his pension. 
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