Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man # 86
Writer: Bill Mantlo
Pencillers: Al Milgrom & Fred Hembeck
Inkers: Jim Mooney & Joe Albelo
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Cover Date: January 1984
Rating: 
Keeping up with the theme of reviewing weird comics, I’ll take a look at Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man # 86, which took place during the stint that really showed comic book fans that Marvel can excel in comedy- Assistant Editor’s Month! in which the regular editors were away at a local convention, leaving their assistant editors to run every title they put out for the month.
For PPTSSM, famed Marvel cartoonist Fred Hembeck comes aboard to illustrate a story that brings back The Fly, who wants revenge on both Spider-Man AND J.Jonah Jameson and find himself in turmoil because the experiment that turned Rick Deacon into The Fly is actually turning him into a real Fly as he finds himself attracted to trash and a spilled soda. Meanwhile, Spider-Man contemplates revealing his secret identity to The Black Cat but not before both he and The Cat get drawn into a battle with The Fly.
Fred Hembeck made quite a name for himself as the in-house cartoonist for Marvel and his style, while quirky as it is, really does a great job of blending in with the moody tone that Bill Mantlo put in place during his time as the writer of this title and
I really like how Hembeck’s style never upset the vision that Mantlo was going for but it really brought something innovative and downright weird to this issue, and yes, I can say with confidence that Jim Mooney’s inks really enhanced Milgrom’s artwork, whose artwork graces the last few pages of this issue (Just wanted to put that out there); While Assistant Editor’s Month brought out the best and the absolute worst in all of the titles from Marvel, this issue of PPTSSM brings out the best in terms of creativity but also showing that pure silliest works well in a superhero comic.
Next week, I’ll be back with another review so thanks for sticking around and I will see you all next time.
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