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by Dave Scrimgeour & Kevin McCluskey   Cover Date- April 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 SynopsisPeter Parker returns to his college studies, just in the nick of time for one of his fellow students to inadvertently turn himself into the latest incarnation of Carrion. This results in a journey down the rabbit-hole of clones and battles with the past, as Peter's love for Gwen Stacy threatens to undo his marriage to Mary Jane in its infancy. Oh, and there's a werewolf prowling the streets of Manhattan ripping the Kingpin's goons to pieces as well. (K) Dave Well, we’re nearing the end of the Tombstone saga, as this is the penultimate issue. I like the cover, it's a good contrast, with the Gothic colours of Carrion and the brightness of the Spidey outfit. It's another eye catching image. Kev Yeh, man. It's a cool cover. It's action packed and dynamic. There's a real sense of movement to it. I love the depth of field in the graveyard and the overcast, cloudy sky is moody. I always thought this Gwen Stacey WAS a clone though. Dave That Gwen Stacy story just confuses the hell out of me. It gives 'Twin Peaks' a good run for its money. Kev Ha, ha! Special Agent Peter Parker. I absolutely love this prologue, opening with Eduardo Lobo in his werewolf form. The silhouette of him against the full moon is a cracking image as well. I remember loving this storyline, back when you were buying this and Mike was buying Web, when we were young. Looking back on it, I think it was the inclusion of the slightly more horror-style elements that excited me about it. That last panel on that first page is excellent too.
Dave I do like the first couple of pages. The artwork is phenomenal. Plus, I like the Kingpin henchman who is dressed like Frank Nitti. Nice little touch, especially as 'The Untouchables' was in cinemas in 1987.  Dress for the job you want. Kev That's a really good point about the henchman. That hadn't dawned on me at all. Especially the potential 'Untouchables' reference. Dave He even looks a bit like Billy Drago. Kev He really does, as well. Dave I would have preferred this issue to follow the Lobo Brothers story instead of the Carrion/Gwen Stacy clone one, if I'm being honest. Kev Yeh, I know what you mean. I much prefer the Lobo Brothers stuff. The clone saga was just a mess by this point. Dave The full page spread shows how far Peter has come in life, yet he's still sitting in a classroom environment. Kev Yeh. It's good to see him back in academia, but I wonder if it feels like a bit of a step back in time to ol' Pete. I love the smirk on the girls face to his left as he zones-out in the class. Dave The blonde guy in the background is the new Flash Thompson-esque type of character for this issue and these times. Not much has changed, except Pete is older and more than capable of handling himself, but yep, he still is always zoning-out. Kev Malcolm McBride is definitely a bit of a Flash Thompson character, yeh. It's interesting though that Peter is acting towards McBride in a similar way to that which Flash would've acted towards Peter back in high school. There's an element of role reversal here. Peter using the girls to get under McBride's skin. Is Peter essentially the bully here? Using his experience as well as his intelligence to put down McBride? Also, Peter being referred to as "old man" by McBride is interesting, considering Peter was always looked upon as being the face of "youth" in the Marvel universe in so many ways. There's an awareness of the passing of time for Peter since high school. Dave Maybe. Yet Pete still scolds himself for his aggressive behaviour towards McBride. It's very instinctive of him. He is used to acting first then reflecting on those actions later, which is something the younger version of him would not necessarily have been able to do. It really shows how far Peter has grown as a person, that he still has his thinker side to himself, the reflective Peter who can empathise with others, even Malcolm McBride. Kev Yeh, you're right. There's definitely an emotional maturity to Peter by this point. I love how even the creative team are admitting that this whole clone saga is a confusing, ridiculous, convoluted mess with lines such as, "It never made much sense that my college biology professor would be able to clone a human being from a few cell samples" and captions like, "One last try to tie it all together, courtesy of..." Dave It is a totally messy story. To the point of trying to follow it is enough to give you a headache, I've got to say. That’s what doesn't make this issue a good read at all, I became detached from the story. I'm just glad to get to the final chapter of it, by this point.  Ah, the joys of being a "mature" student, eh Pete? Kev It really does feel like, editorially, Salicrup was sick of it, as was Conway as the writer and they decided to use this issue as a last ditch attempt to tie it all up. Dave It just became far too complicated. Professor Swan looks like a right character. Kev Ha, ha! He does indeed. Sal's rendition of him in panel 2 of page 4 is superb. You get such a sense of personality from it. He really is an amazing cartoonist. Dave I like how Malcolm McBride finds a potion that is still in the container lying underground without a drop spilled. The villainous look on his face adds a good element to the image though. It's very horror story-esque. Kev Yep. He's got a good evil grin does Malcolm. Nice literary joke with the Frankenstein quip on the last panel of page 6 as well. Dave Indeed, it does have a bit of Frankenstein's monster vibe to it, this story. Tombstone's presence in the Robbie Robertson trial is a fresh element to the next interlude. He looks so smug on the stand. Do you remember much about the Joy Mercado character?  Look at that wee face. Like butter wouldn't melt. Kev Ha, ha! Yeh, that look on Tombstone's face, in panel 5 of page 9, he looks like a mischievous little boy. I remember a little of Mercado from around this time. I always liked her. But then again, I really enjoyed all of Conway's supporting cast from the Bugle, with Kate Cushing, Joy Mercado, Gloria Grant etc. etc. It just makes Peter's world seem more fleshed-out and fully realised to me, more real. I wonder what all those characters are up to these days? I also like that Conway is using the University setting to introduce a whole new batch of supporting characters. It's even more of that soap opera drama stuff that I love. Dave Poor Gloria. Her bubble is about to be burst big time, walking around the office, singing away too. Kev Yeh, things are not going to end well for Gloria, are they? I like the use of the pink background for her, on panel 6 of page 11, to hammer home just how in love she is. With a werewolf. And, unfortunately for Kate Cushing, it seems like she has drawn the short straw, to be the one that has to pop Gloria's bubble.  "Oooh, it's so good, it's so good, it's so good, it's so good." Dave Conway loves to fill his stories with various interludes. Kev Oh, definitely. Conway loves an interlude. They help to keep all these interweaving plots and subplots bubbling away nicely, I suppose. Dave There has to be a full moon on the interlude 2 opening panel at Empire State University, of course. It's a good, eye catching panel. Kev Ah, good point. The full moon helps sell the reader on the horror elements of the story and also puts us back in mind of the werewolf or werewolves that are now running wild in New York City. Dave And so begins the transformation....into Carrion. Kev Yep, Malcolm McBride certainly didn't last long as a supporting character. Conway culled him quick smart. Dave Then we go back to the real mind melter, the diary of Miles Warren. I could hardly make out the writing in this. Probably just as well. Kev I agree. The use of the sepia tones/yellows for the flashback is excellent and the handwritten lettering in the caption boxes for Miles Warren's diary is a sound idea, but that font is a bit of a chore to read, isn't it? Dave Yeah. I get that the diary shows Warren's own handwriting, but it could have been a lot more legible. Kev Totally. It's not exactly an easy read, is it? And Peter really is terrible at preserving his secret identity. Just changing out in the open. Illuminated by the full moon.  Peter Parker's "secret" identity. Dave No wonder he keeps getting his identity discovered, carrying on like that. Kev M.J. looks sick to the back teeth of hearing Peter bang on about Gwen on page 14, and I can't say I blame her for her fears over Peter's inability, or unwillingness, to move on with his life and leave the past in the past. There's no competing with ghosts. They can remain perfect. You're right though, man, this clone saga stuff is just so convoluted by this point and it's like, in trying to fix it, they're actually just making it even worse.  The term, "dripping with sarcasm" was made for this. Dave Yeah, does anyone actually care who Carrion is anymore? Kev To be honest, probably not, no. I think the character was more a convenient plot device than anything else here, in that essentially, anyone could be Carrion because of the nature of the virus. Dave True. That is a classic Spidey panel of him swinging through the air at night. You generally get one of these per issue. Kev Yeh, you're right. Buscema always treats us to at least one per issue. Dave In saying that, although we're diminishing Carrion, this is a pretty good rumble between him and Spidey. Kev Yeah, I really like that fight sequence between Spidey & Carrion on pages 18 & 19. Yet more cracking stuff by Sal Buscema. Dave The stakes have gone up, as Spidey has to make sure he does not come into direct contact with Carrion's hands. There are some good action sequences in this fight, with of course, Spidey losing round one.  That's a couple of lost teeth, right there. Kev There's some excellent panels in here and some fantastic choreography as well. And yeh, the fact that Peter can't let Carrion touch him certainly adds another layer to the tension and the drama in this fight. I quite like the little catch-up conversation with Spidey and Carrion actually, as neither of them really has a clue as to what's really going on. Although, Peter is ridiculously bad at protecting his secret identity. Now this Malcolm McBride version of Carrion knows who he is as well. Dave It's a good finale setting, in the graveyard. It suits the tone of this story and as you say, catches up with the cover. Kev Yeh, I wonder how long it took Carrion to copy the pose of the gargoyle on top of the tombstone. Dave Haha! Yeah, he's kind-of adopted a Spidey pose on top of the wall and is almost mimicking the statue next to him. I like how Spidey calls him "mold mouth" before he gets a chance to fling more death dust at him. Kev Ha, ha! I agree, "Mold-Mouth" is a decent put-down. Dave Come to think of it, the gargoyle looks like the Zuul gargoyle in 'Ghostbusters' again. Kev Right enough. Perhaps Sal was a 'Ghostbusters' fan. This is good work by Buscema on the fight scene in the graveyard. It's the sort of stuff I just ate up as a youngster, especially that panel of Spidey flying backwards into the tombstone after the flying kick from Carrion. And the backgrounds are just beautiful too. The mood and atmosphere they create is just excellent.  Sal Buscema, ladies and gentlemen. Poetry in motion. Dave It is a great setting to finish off the story. It all adds to the tone and mood of the piece. Spidey can't half deliver some good crosses, hooks and uppercuts when he wants to. This is one of his trademark, close quarter combat fighting techniques, me thinks.  2. Kev Definitely. Once again, we see from this fight scene that, if you give him an opening, Spidey can wipe the floor with you. This is almost a re-run of that fight with Tombstone on the construction site in issue 142.  6. Dave Yeah, it feels a bit like that. Also, it shows he has a bit of range in his fighting technique as well.  Setting him up. Showing patience. Kev Oh, yeh. He's not just good at web-swinging around his opponents and peppering them with blows from the outside and using distance. Like you said, he's extremely effective in the pocket as well.  4. Dave The final panel, when Carrion smashes into the gravestone, is a cracker. The finishing blow. Power punch or what?  K.O. Kev It's superb, isn't it? That's another Buscema trademark, those power punch panels. "Sometimes reality is hard to accept. But get used to it. When the dream dies, when the nightmare is over ---- reality is all you've got left." Peter's clearly thinking about Gwen here. Dave He probably is, yeah. I’m assuming it was Miles Warren's gravestone that Carrion was sent flying into. Kev It'd certainly be poetic if it was. Dave The weather has changed. And suddenly it's daytime too. Peter best be careful removing his mask, there could easily be someone else in the vicinity, given his track record for letting his identity get discovered. Kev Ha, ha! You're right. He should've at least had a look around before he whipped the mask off. Or maybe just leave it on Pete. Just to be on the safe side, eh? Dave Yep, he still doesn't learn about taking the mask off, does he? Kev Ha, ha! Nope. Not at all. Come to think of it, why doesn't his spider-sense go off when all these people are seeing him in the costume without the mask on? Dave That's what I was wondering earlier. Some Spider-Sense that is. Kev It's a bit hit and miss, isn't it? Anything to serve the story, I suppose. Dave I suppose. Peter is a man, still burdened heavily by guilt. Kev He certainly is, but this is a new dawn for Peter, a "brand new day," so to speak. He's finally reached a point where he's ready to leave his past behind and embrace his future. Dave Yeah, but Pete is always going to be a tortured soul though. The last three panels are quite visually striking, a nice long shot to end the story on and the classic movie-style, "The End" to signify the conclusion of this saga.  Gwen Stacy No More. Kev I agree. Those last three panels on that bottom tier are great. They're a nice callback to 'Spider-Man No More' too. Although, they're perhaps more Spider-Man Forever. Dave That bottom row quickly closes this issue and this story off. I'm pretty sure the whole creative and editorial team were glad of that. Much like we are. Kev Definitely. I hear what you're saying about the guilt though. "Responsibility" is shown to be Peter's curse again here, as well as the guilt that often comes with it. Overall, this is a decent enough issue. I like it. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable read. Particularly considering Conway is traversing the Gwen Stacy clone minefield, which this issue is certainly burdened with. Plus, I still can't shake the feeling that 'Inferno' has rocked Conway's schedule a bit though, as this is the second one-shot, possibly filler, issue we've had in a row since the crossover. Well, ones that have certainly felt that way at least. Nevertheless, this was well worth the 50p it cost in early '89. Dave Still, it allows the story to move back onto the Tombstone and Robbie Robertson trial. I would say that this took a while to get going, but the Spidey and Carrion battle made it a better issue. Kev Oh, it definitely takes a minute to get going, yeh. The entire first half of the issue is all set-up, but once it gets to where it's going, it's pretty much action all the way. Dave Gerry Conway is a seasoned veteran in this genre and knows how to build the overall story up in layers. Plus, he cleverly keeps the sub-plots ongoing, so when one story is done, there is plenty more to move onto. Kev That was one of my favourite aspects of reading comics back in those days, was the way that so many writers, Conway prime amongst them, understood the serialised nature of comics and always planted seeds that had you wanting to come back for the next issue. Dave Yeah, it is very much an ongoing serial. As you stated earlier, there are so many supporting characters, it helps to build this fictional world and give it more depth. (D) & (K) Next: 'Guilty!' 
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