The Amazing Spider-Friends thwart a disgruntled ballet-wannabe-turned-supervillain, then take in a production of the Dallas Ballet Nutcracker. This weird promotional comic by Jim Salicrup, Jim Mooney and John Tartaglione is equal parts C-list Spidey story, Classics Illustrated and Fun & Games Magazine.
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Puppet Master crashes the Fantastic Four’s Christmas party in a plot to return to Europe and harvest more radioactive clay. A ho-hum-but-not-completely-humbug holiday outing from the team of Mark Gruenwald, Frank Springer and Chic Stone.
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Despite strong art from up-and-comers like Tom Sutton, Rich Larson and Mike Zeck, Creepy Things #2 is still a bit of a mess.
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A hodgepodge of reprints repackaged to look like a horror comic, this issue is largely a bland affair. While most of the work is uncredited, the lead story – featuring the debut of Tragg – offers stylish art by Jesse Santos.
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A “hitherto undiscovered bacterial force” “activates” algae and turns a washed-up Olympic swimmer into Man-Monster. Yes, this uninspired origin story by Tony Isabella, Rich Buckler and Mike Vosburg is as bad as it sounds. But the backup tale – featuring art by Enrique Badía Romero – is decent.
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Spider-Man and the Frankenstein Monster team to stop Monster Maker Baron Ludwig von Shtupf – but Man-Wolf stands in the way! A weirdly unsatisfying conclusion to a monster-themed two-parter by Gerry Conway, Sal Buscema and Vince Colletta.
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Spider-Man is zapped while breaking up a bank robbery and wakes to find himself imprisoned next to the Frankenstein Monster. What sounds like a comic with some monstrous potential turns out to be a ho-hum affair from the creative team of Gerry Conway, Sal Buscema and Vince Colletta.
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Spider-Man battles the Prodigy, an alien villain who is promoting misinformation to trap America’s teens with unplanned pregnancies. While just a so-so as a Spider-Man story, the Planned Parenthood giveaway by Ann Robinson, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito is a telling historical relic.
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This debut issue of Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch features some morally mixed-up tales. But the real appeal comes from the back-up text feature’s illustrations, drawn by a young John Byrne.
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Marvel characters decorate puzzles, mazes and other time-wasters. Some are easy, but others require deep geek knowledge. Canadian Comic Book Hall of Famer Owen McCarron oversees the trickery.
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