We’re back to the mainline continuity, and we’re starting with something silly. Not as silly as it looks. That is not a Scrier who’s become a cop. That’s some random other guy who someone probably should have pointed out looks just like Scrier, but did not. As part of the “Who knows, maybe it will work?” approach to comics Marvel had in this era, we have a 4-issue miniseries about Daily Bugle reporter Kat Farrell chasing down an increasingly dangerous story. Maybe with the Bugle’s reduced presence in the Spider-Man books, this seemed necessary, but it’s hard to imagine a Daily Bugle comic setting the sales charts ablaze. At any rate, the resource I use to try to make sure I read every Spider-Man appearance I own said he was in this, and it’s been so long, I just believed them. Spider-Man appears on two pages of this comic. But since I went to the trouble of dragging it out, here they are, from writer Bill Roseman, penciler/inker Guy Davis and colorist Dave Stewart.
Rosemann has come up before on the blog. At this point, the great Guy Davis will soon begin a very long stint drawing for Mike Mignola’s Hellboy universe (Which Stewart already worked in), before they have a falling out so bad Davis quits comics for a much more lucrative career doing designs for film, most frequently for Guillermo Del Toro. Comics’ loss is Del Toro’s gain. Anyway, here’s his typically quirky take on a Spidey Vs. Doc Ock fight. Good luck making that fit into continuity, but continuity is becoming a dirty word at Marvel, at this point. Anyway, that’s not the real post, the real post is Thor, Vol. 2 #51:
I bought this just for the blog. Been some time since we saw a book like that. Kind of incredibly, Dan Jurgens is still here, 51 issues into a 79 issue run. Very impressive! This volume only ran 85 issues, it’s disappointing he didn’t get to do the whole thing. Anyway, at this moment, his penciler is the great, underappreciated Tom Raney. He’s inked by Scott Hanna and colored by Dave Kemp, so it’s appropriate Spider-Man is here. How “here” is he? Will he be a major part of the issue?
I’m thinking yes. Who says “hooking a ride” instead of “hitching a ride?” Weird start, Dan. I guess this is the first time Asgard has appeared on Earth. It won’t be the last. No one, including Spider-Man, seems to know it’s Asgard, tho, and as he leaps off that plane, Heimdall shoots it down. It explodes, and the fireball messes up Spidey’s plan to web parachute in, causing him to crash into the roof of an Asgardian tavern.
Not a friendly greeting, but in fairness, he did destroy their roof. We cut to the UN, where everyone’s wondering what’s going on (And it’s mentioned that areas around the world suffering drought are getting rain and volcanoes are quieting and such) when a representative of Asgard appears on a flying horse with a “take me to your leader” bit. Informed the Secretary General was taken to safety, he just grabs a guy and makes him the ambassador. Back in Asgard, those dudes are still hunting Spider-Man, who’s hiding in a barn. He webs them up as they come in and runs out. And, then fffffffinally…
Jurgens’ Spider-Man is so weird in this. He wrote him just fine previously, why is he talking like this? Meanwhile, the guy from the UN is brought before the ruler of Asgard. But it’s not Odin.
Yeah, Odin is dead. Again. He dies all the time. But, this time is a little different, because rrrrrright after he died, Joe Quesada decreed that “dead means dead” in the Marvel U. If you killed somebody in your comic, they were not allowed to come back (Until this policy was reversed a few years later). Like any other time Odin was killed, the plan was to bring him back, but suddenly, Jurgens & Co. were stuck with Thor as ruler of Asgard indefinitely. Awkward!
Spidey and Thor’s argument about responsibility is rudely interrupted by the Chinese launching nukes at Asgard. The news reporter who’s been cutting in and out of this issue tells her family she loves them as Thor streaks toward the missiles. Spider-Man thinks this is all way beyond him. Duh!
That was a pretty weird comic. Kind of strangely paced. Art team was totally crushing it, tho. Tom Raney was so good. I don’t know why he never became a bigger name, look at this stuff. Not just any artist draws a great Thor and a great Spider-Man. Well, anyway, that does it for our double-detour. Next post, back to the main books.