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

-


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 someone who goes by the name of Shockep…oh, wait, I get it.



Spidey finds the Shocker right where he expects, but their battle doesn’t go well for the web-slinger.



This issue does not feel particularly fresh despite being Len Wein’s debut as writer on the book. I did enjoy the refocus on Peter’s supporting cast at J. Jonah Jameson’s party, and the midair costume change while dangling from a helicopter is a classic example of the sort of practical inconvenience that plagues Spider-Man. However, the logic behind the Shocker’s blackout scheme is eye-rolling.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hamilton (2020)

-
Image
Director: Thomas Kail Writers: Lin-Manuel Miranda, based on the book by Ron Chernow Stars: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom, Jr., Phillipa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson, Daveed Diggs, Anthony Ramos This powerful Broadway musical provides an exciting, explosive account of Alexander Hamilton’s battle to transcend his outsider status as a low born bastard from the West Indies and gain the respect and power in America that will ultimately grant him access to “the room where it happens,” the place where policy is made and the course of the nation is set.  This filmed record of the stage production, assembled from two performances, showcases the energy of the performers.  In addition to the quality of the play, it is astonishing just to witness the complex interplay of music, rap, and choreography in long unbroken takes.  Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and the book and made the bold choice to cast it almost exclusively with people of color.  This...
Read more

The Dragon Reborn (The Wheel of Time #3) (1991)

-
Image
by Robert Jordan This novel draws Robert Jordan's large cast of characters, scattered during the events of the previous book, together once again for a confrontation with evil in the city of Tear, where Rand al'Thor, now becoming widely acknowledged as the much anticipated and dreaded Dragon Reborn, must claim a legendary sword in accordance with prophecy. Robert Jordan  Jordan has quite a few balls in the air already in a series that numbers fourteen fat novels.  Judging from the opinions of readers of the later books, it looks as though this profusion of heroes, villains, and schemes may ultimately serve to diffuse the drama of Jordan's story; however, this novel maintains its narrative momentum by showing us how our cast of characters converge for an action-packed climax.  Rand is oddly missing from most of this tale, but we gain some intriguing insights into other characters. "The Dragon Reborn" (Spanish) "The Dragon Reborn" (Italian)
Read more

Lust, Caution (2007)

-
Image
Director: Ang Lee Writers: James Schamus, Hui-Ling Wang, based on a story by Eileen Chang Stars: Tang Wei, Tony Leung, Joan Chen, Leehom Wang, Chung-Hua Tou, Zhi-Ying Zhu, Ying-Hsuan Kao, Lawrence Ko, Johnson Yuen, Lar Lok Chin A young woman living in China during the Japanese occupation (Tang Wei)  becomes entangled with a collaborator (Tony Leung), whom she has been assigned to seduce and set up for execution.  The assignment eventually becomes the context for her entire life, until her very sense of self is wrapped up in layers of deceit and betrayal.  Ang Lee's masterful film introduces us to our characters when they are young college students swept up in idealistic fervor and then rejoins them years later when they are older and wearier, fighting the same battle more out of necessity than idealism.   This is a long film because Lee takes his time fleshing out these characters, but it is time well spent.  I was thoroughly engrossed and shattered by the ...
Read more