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Skirmish Beneath the Streets (The Amazing Spider-Man #151) (1975)

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Writer/Editor: Len Wien  Illustrators: Ross Andru & John Romita Following the events of last issue, Spidey has one distasteful chore left to perform before he can try to put this episode behind him. Time for Peter to get back into the swing of being a student at Empire University. With a new writer, it seems like it may be time for a new beginning, with reunions and a refocus on Spidey's supporting cast. MJ tries to cheer Harry up while we get a little foreshadowing on the radio. (By the way, as a mental health professional myself, I feel confident in saying that a therapist would never tell Harry that he needs to forget about his past, but if I remember an upcoming storyline accurately, Harry’s therapist has other things on his mind than his client’s good mental health.) Jameson has his hands full keeping his party under budget. When the blackout makes its way to the party, Peter decides it’s time to investigate. From his new vantage, it becomes apparent that the scoundrel is ...
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The Grifters (1990)

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Director: Stephen Frears Writers: Donald E. Westlake, based on the novel by Jim Thompson Stars: Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening, Jan Munroe, Robert Weems, Stephen Tobolowsky, Jimmy Noonan, Richard Holden, Henry Jones The paths of three grifters converge, bringing tragedy to all.  Lily (Angelica Huston) and Myra (Annette Bening) have established themselves within the world of the professional con—with all the sublimation of personal relationships to calculated self-interest that it involves.  Roy (John Cusack) is more sentimental, a practitioner of the short con, which doesn’t require him to maintain long-term relationships steeped in deception.  Myra sees him as a tool to get her back into the world of the long con after the collapse of a previous partnership, and while Lily's relationship with him is more nuanced, because she is his mother, she ultimately values him for his usefulness.  Shortsighted Roy doesn’t stand a chance against these smart strateg...
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Case of the Vanishing Beauty (Shell Scott #1) (1950)

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by Richard S. Prather A woman hires private detective Shell Scott to find her missing sister, but the case becomes more complicated after she is murdered, and Shell follows the trail through nightclubs, rackets, religious cults, and other disreputable corners of Los Angeles.  It may seem like a familiar setup, but Richard S. Prather handles it well, planting clues in plain sight and then drawing them together cleanly at the end.  Richard S. Prather Scott is much breezier than the more dour hardboiled detectives who crowd this genre, and he relates the action in a humorous first-person voice that is often very funny and consistently entertaining.  He also seems to actually enjoy being a private eye, which is a nice change from heroes who treat the job as a form of spiritual punishment.  It is also refreshing that he is on reasonably good terms with the police instead of constantly snarling at them or teetering on the edge of losing his license every few pages. "A Fold...
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Spider-Man…or Spider-Clone? (The Amazing Spider-Man #150) (1975)

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Writer: Archie Goodwin  Artist: Gil Kane  Inkers: Mike Esposito & Frank Giacoia Tortured by his dilemma, Spider-Man goes web-slinging, but he does not go unobserved. He enlists the aid of Dr. Connors to determine whether he is the genuine article or a clone. Spider-Man is recovering after a series of debilitating tests, but his rest is disturbed. The battle has an unexpected conclusion. Round two! And we all know what happens when the Sandman gets wet! But not this time. After a similar encounter with the Kingpin, Professor Smythe and his Spider-Slayer show up to make everything clear. Spider-Man has his own epiphany while on the verge of being battered to death. Gerry Conway passes the writing torch to Archie Goodwin for a pretty underwhelming anniversary issue. A flimsy plot is constructed just to give an excuse for some of Spidey’s iconic villains to make an “appearance,” although it’s nice to see artist Gil Kane getting a shot at drawing them. Peter’s decision to toss ...
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