Amazing Spider-Man #154. The Sandman

(Cover from March 1976.)

"The Sandman Always Strikes Twice"

Words by Len Wein.

Pencils by Sal Buscema.

Inks by Mike Esposito.

Lettering by John Costanza.

Colours by Glynis Wein.

Just how long is a piece of string? About half as long as the average super-villain is stupid.

All of which brings us to the Sandman.

I don't think anyone ever accused Flint Marko of being a criminal genius but, this tale, he really does seem to have been taking the idiot tablets. No sooner has he been freed by a gang of mystery men than he's out to have another fight with Spider-Man, the man who helped put him away mere days earlier. Why he wants to fight our hero when he's on a mission for the shadowy mastermind who organised his release is anyone's guess but, needless to say, it endangers the entire endeavour for no good reason and, this being Spider-Man's comic - not the Sandman's - leads to a rather unpleasant ending for our beachified brawler.

But what of that shadowy mastermind who sent him on this errand? Hmn let's see. Who can it be? This is The Amazing Spider-Man and the mystery mastermind uses a cigarette holder. It's certainly tough to figure out his identity, though I have a hunch he's not the Kangaroo.

On the art front, Ross Andru's gone missing but has a good excuse. I believe that, at the time, he was drawing Spider-Man's mammoth first encounter with Superman (With a little uncredited help from John Romita and Neal Adams), so, it's time for Sal Buscema to step in.

Sal Buscema's never been as celebrated as his brother, with a style that's a kind of missing link between Don Heck and big John but I've always had a soft spot for him. Ground breaking he wasn't but he knew how to tell a story with the maximum of clarity and the minimum of fuss. Still, he's no Ross Andru and I'll be glad when he's back.

There's literally nothing of Peter Parker's private life in this tale. Not one panel. I'm assuming this is because of the stand-in nature of the artist. It makes you realise how much influence pencillers had under the Marvel Method Stan Lee developed. Presumably, having been drafted in late in the day, Sal Buscema wasn't up on what was going on in Peter Parker's domestic arrangements and therefore avoided them like the plague. Interesting that the implication of this is that, with Marvel Comics, developing such subplots was often left to the artist, not the writer.

On a scientific note, I'd love someone to explain to me the principle behind the functioning of the Cryogenic Converter but somehow I doubt an answer'll be forthcoming.

Amazing Spider-Man #153. A man called Paine

(Cover from February 1976.)

"The Longest Hundred Yards!"

Words by Len Wein.

Pencils by Ross Andru.

Inks by Mike Esposito.

Lettering by John Costanza.

Colours by Glynis Wein.

If the last couple of issues have seen Len Wein trying to make as little a splash as he can on the strip, here's where he makes so big a splash, he practically empties the whole pool.

Suddenly the man announces his arrival, with a story that can only be viewed as a deliberate classic. Spider-Man takes an almost total back seat as the story concentrates on Dr Bradley Bolton and the kidnapping of his young daughter. The girl's been abducted by a creep called Paine. It's a corny name but there's nothing old style about him.

What a startlingly nasty piece of work he is, sadistic, duplicitous, cowardly and far more contemptible than any of the super-villains our hero's ever faced. A man who kills for no reason other than that he can.

And the story's focus on Bolton, a supporting character we've never seen before, marks the tale out as something unusual. An issue striving for something more than the usual pat action-adventure.

It also has to be said the dialogue in this issue's superb; from Bolton's initial conversation with Ned Leeds and Peter Parker (get the small details, such as him remarking on the shape of the goalposts), as he tells of his past as a college footballer, to Peter and Mary Jane's on-off relationship.

Ross Andru's artwork rises to the challenge too, more restrained than normal, as he gets the chance to concentrate on telling the story of our characters rather than just doing super-heroics but still making full use of angles and composition. There's a beautiful panel where we see Mary Jane looking down from the stands as the men discuss Bolton's past. I've always had a feeling that, deep down, in some way Mary Jane once symbolised death, and here she seems to cement that role, hanging, like a cloud in the background, over the last carefree moments of a doomed man,

Of course, there are minor quibbles. However good he was at football, it seems highly unlikely Bolton would be able to run near-on a hundred yards into machine gun fire before being hit.

But none of that matters. What matters is the tale of a man seeking redemption for a minor past failure, through the ultimate self-sacrifice for the thing he loves most.

As for Spider-Man, just for once our hero isn't on time. He finishes off the villain but too late to save the day.

There's an ambition here, a desire to instill a depth and an emotional punch you rarely see in comics and it sets a benchmark that perhaps the strip would subsequently struggle to live up to.

Amazing Spider-Man #152. The Shocker

(Cover from January 1976.)

"Shattered by the Shocker!"

Words by Len Wein.

Art by Ross Andru/Mike Esposito/Frank Giacoia.

Lettering by John Costanza.

Colours by Glynis Wein.

Popeye. What was it with him? He'd spend nearly all a cartoon getting knocked about by Bluto and then, at the last moment, take a can of spinach and turn himself into Superman. All of which posed the obvious question of why he didn't eat the stupid stuff at the start of the fight?

A similar question arises whenever Spider-Man faces off against the Shocker. How does our hero defeat our villain in this tale? Easy. He does it the same way he always does, by webbing up his thumbs so he can't control his blasters. In that case, why does it take him so long to defeat the villain? All he has to do is web Shockie's thumbs the moment he sees him and that's that.

I really don't have a lot else to say about this tale. It's solidly drawn, as always, by Ross Andru, though not one of his stand out-issues. It's solidly written by Len Wein, though not one of his stand-out issues. It sort of comes and goes without making any great impact on your consciousness. Due to its noticeable lack of twists and turns, it also feels very short.

So, there you have it, not an issue to turn you off Spider-Man if you're a first time reader but not one to get you hooked either. There aren't even any new developments in the private life of Peter Parker, apart from MJ not speaking to him which is hardly a ground-breaking development and, here, mostly played for fun.

More interesting than the Shocker storyline is the subplot featuring a mysterious street bum fleeing an unseen figure.

Who is it?

How does it impact on our hero?

Only time will tell.