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by Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey   Cover Date- January 1989 Price- 50p Script- Gerry Conway Art- Sal Buscema Lettering- Rick Parker Colour- Bob Sharen Editor- Jim Salicrup Editor-In-Chief- Tom DeFalco Publisher- Marvel Comics synopsisNew York City turns on its inhabitants as 'Inferno' takes hold of the metropolis. Kristy Watson withholds certain information from her cousin, Mary Jane, Robbie Robertson is plagued by the guilt of his past actions, Harry Osbourne continues his backslide into madness and the Lobo Brothers up the ante of their psychological warfare against the Kingpin as well as their charm offensive on Glory Grant. (K) Dave What do you make of the cover for issue 146? Kev I think the cover's pretty cool. It has that nice, shadowy Hobgoblin in the background too, but jeez, "What's going on?" "Night of madness." Story of madness more like. Dave It does catch your attention, the cover. Did you find this story to be a bit nuts? Kev Yeh. It took a while for it to dawn on me, but it's essentially 'Ghostbusters,' isn't it? Dave Haha. The full page spread is, again, good artwork by Buscema, but I'm not sure about the metallic Triffid popping up in the background. It kind-of reminds me of 'Day of the Triffids.'  "Feed me, Seymour. I mean, Peter." Kev The opening splash page is quality again, isn't it? Apart from the metal Triffid, yeh. It does look a bit like one, you're right. I was thinking, 'And now Peter's being attacked by an air-vent with dental problems.' Excellent. We're certainly not in Kansas anymore with this story. Dave It's the goofy looking Triffid. Kev Ha, ha! That or Audrey 2 from 'Little Shop Of Horrors.' I suspect the fact that Peter describes said vent as "Corny and crazy," says everything you need to know about how Conway felt about all this. Dave I do like how he refers to Mysterio as "fishbowl face." Kev Yeh. It's such a childish insult, but that's exactly what makes it so funny. This is some cracking artwork by Buscema, as per usual, in these opening few pages, despite how ridiculous the overall story is. Dave It's definitely an odd start, and again, we get a mini-recount of Spidey's life events right at the top of this issue. Do you remember how many issues this story was spread over, what with it being the big crossover event of that year? Kev I seem to remember it being a massive crossover. It felt like it took over every Marvel title at the time, but a quick look seems to suggest it was around 40 issues over about 14 titles. Dave That's an expensive run, even at 1989 prices. Anyway, so Kristy's done a runner, and why isn't her mum contacting members of the family in regards to this? Okay, so I know there was no social media back then but, come on, they still had telephones. Kev Yep. There's more Kirsty and her bulimia issues here. Yeh, I can't remember what the deal was with her mum either. It certainly reads as her being neglectful at this point and certainly hints at a less than perfect home life for Mary Jane's little cousin. And now we have a hissing lamppost. Dave Haha. Yeah, what's the hissing lamppost all about? I think the two extras in the background are just drawn for Sal Buscema's amusement on that panel where M.J. and Kristy are walking near the TV repair shop.  After one dog too many, this lamppost'd had enough. Kev Ha, ha! You're right. That guy in the foreground looks shifty as all hell. He looks like he's boosting cars. Dave Then there's also the big guy staring in the TV repairs window. Are those TVs meant to be switched on? Kev I think so. Although, maybe the TVs are possessed too. This is excellent stuff with Robbie and Martha though. When I see these bits, not only does it bring into sharp focus how terrible the 'Inferno' elements of this issue are, it also makes we wish we could see a Conway/Buscema kitchen sink drama. Maybe calling them terrible is harsh. It's just not a story that feels suited to Spidey though, is it? Certainly not my preferred type of Spidey yarn. Dave Yeah, the Robbie and Martha argument is well written, as it raises so many valid points by both parties. The last panel of Robbie sitting there with his head hanging down shows how bad he feels. Kev That panel is superb, isn't it? Fantastic Bob Sharen colour palette again.  "Hello darkness, my old friend." Dave And then it is back to the Harry Osborn nightmares. Kev Yeh, I like the setting-up of the Harry Osborne arc here. I'd forgotten that this was during Harry's amnesiac stage. Dave Yeah, this is when he's suffering from the memory loss. He's like a time-bomb, counting down to the inevitable explosion. I'm just impressed that his son has a full head of hair already. Kev Ha, ha! Yeh, he's got crazy hair. He hasn't quite developed the Osborn cornrow effect quite yet though. Excellent image of a creepy, voyeuristic Hobgoblin as well. Dave Yeah, I do like that panel of the Hobgoblin's silhouette, flying off into the moon. That's a nice touch.  Macendale needs to get that glider's exhaust pipe serviced. Kev Yep, classic horror movie style stuff, right there. Dave It certainly suits the mood of the overall piece. Kev I also like the bit of business between Peter, Kristy & M.J. when he's in the shower, particularly how M.J. calls Kristy out immediately on her flirting with Peter. This is a nice bit of light relief in an otherwise manic, and at times heavy, issue. Dave Yeah, it's a welcome bit of comic relief. Also, Kristy's not as much as an imbecile as she was making herself out to be. Kev No. She's definitely playing dumb here. I still think she looks like Ms. Lion from 'Amazing Friends' though. Dave Yeah, good point on that one. The Lobo Brothers sub-plot is slowly evolving in this next scene and that's a good first panel in the Starlight Ballroom massacre. Kev Yep, I'm definitely with you on that one, man. The panel-within-a-panel layout of it is excellent. It allows us to see a close-up of Urich's reaction to the bloodbath, without taking away from the impact of the main image, or having to split the storytelling over two concurrent panels. "Kingpin- Wolves Kill." I love it. I agree, this is an superb slow-burner of a plot.  Starlight Express, your ballroom's a mess. Love, The Lobo Bros. Dave It is. Plus, we get a brief visit from The Arranger, with a henchman who resembles Tombstone with his hair dyed blonde. Also, Frank Farrow is a classic looking character straight from a 70's era TV cop show.  Closed mouths don't get fed, eh Farrow? Kev Ha, ha! I thought the same thing about The Arranger's goon. He must like his muscle with a flat-top. Farrow really does look like your stereotypical cop from a 70's TV show, doesn't he? He's also very much in the vein of Harvey Bullock from Gotham City. He's your typical tough, no-nonsense, grizzled, veteran New York City cop. Dave Yep. I love Buscema's creativity in drawing these characters. He is great at making each of them individual and instantly recognisable. Kev He really does managed to infuse them with so much personality, doesn't he? And often in a single panel too. It's such a testament to his talent and skill as a cartoonist. I like this next scene at the Bugle too, it shows us that Jonah is a lot more than a Spider-Man hating buffoon and that he actually has to have some intelligence and leadership skills to have remained the publisher of a major newspaper for as long as he has. Dave He also looks like a raving maniac when he comes storming out of his office. Kev Oh yeh, he’s still a lunatic, of course. He also uses the phrase, "Define your terms" here, which is what Spidey said to Tombstone about his "friendship" with Robbie. It must've been a favoured Conway phrase around this time. I love Jonah's smug grin as he walks off having proven his point about the headline, it totally contrasts with him firing out of the office like a bat out of hell.
Dave Yeah, Jonah loves being the man in charge. Eduardo Lobo turning-up at JJJ's Bugle is no coincidence. Kev Not at all. Do you reckon Eduardo is using his wolfie charm on Glory Grant? It's a supernatural thing that has her so attracted to him, right? Like hypnotism? Not just that he's Antonio Banderas good looking. Dave Yeah, probably. This has been an issue for all things occult. Kev Ha, ha! Yeh, it has a bit, hasn't it? That's another excellent establishing panel on page 20, with Peter and Harry at the Osborn Chemical plant.  Start with why your factory comes to life, Harry. Dave Yeah it is, the inevitable build up to the attack of the metal pipes this time. Kev Uuuggghhh! 'The Attack of the Metal Pipes.' That sounds like an Invisibl Skratch Piklz record from the 90's and it suits that more than it does a Spidey story. Dave This is not what you would call the most suited of Spidey stories, no. Kev Definitely not. I feel Spidey has been shoehorned into this 'Inferno' crossover solely for the purpose of shifting some units. Not that anything mutant related needed any help shifting units in the '90s, of course. I also feel that Conway has had this foisted upon him as an company/editorial mandate. It just reads like all this 'Inferno' stuff is kind-of getting in the way of him telling the story he wants to tell. Dave It does lead up to Harry's eventual reawakening though. Pete's pretty smart on the psychology of Harry's Green Goblin. Kev For sure. Peter knows what's coming here. He's trying his damndest to prevent it from happening but, deep down, I think he realises it's inevitable. If I remember correctly, this storyline runs all the way through to #200, which is a fantastic issue and conclusion to the Harry Osborn/Green Goblin arc. It's written by J.M. DeMatteis rather than Conway though, as DeMatteis had taken over writing duties on Spec by that point.  "I'm talking to the man in the mirror." Dave That closing panel of Harry and the Green Goblin was a good way to end this issue. The Green Goblin is a great Spidey villain. Kev Totally. It's an excellent cliffhanger. I forgot to say, nice touch by Conway with Harry repeating the "Face...in the mirror...not mine..." line here whilst he's unconscious. I like that. In your opinion, is the Green Goblin to Spider-Man what the Joker is to Batman? Dave Actually yeah, I think he is. I'm glad you mentioned that, because I was going say that too. They are both maniacal villains. Kev Yeh, and they're just so intrinsically linked to their heroes. I suppose you don't have a great hero story without great villains and Spidey and Batman are blessed with amazing rogues galleries, with The Joker and Green Goblin arguably the best of them. Dave This issue wasn't too bad, actually. The only weakness was the stupid, attacking, metal Triffids, but the rest in between was enjoyable to read. Kev Yeh, definitely. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but that's largely because of Conway's Spidey stuff. The Spidey aspects of this issue are fine, it's just the rest of the 'Inferno' nonsense that lets it down, for me. It would've been fine in Doctor Strange, or Midnight Sons, or maybe it did suit X titles, but it's certainly ill-fitting for Spider-Man. Dave Luckily Conway's writing in-between made up for it. I don't recall any of the 'Inferno' storyline, but is was clearly a big deal for Marvel at the time. (D) & (K) Next: 'When The Bugle Blows.' 
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