The ugly Spider-Man font is back. What’s going on? They fixed this problem. Comics painter and later penciler Paolo Rivera couldn’t possibly know what his relationship to Spider-Man would come to be in the future when he scored this one-off story. I’ve always thought the way he draws the eyes on the mask like the top is curved under his eyebrow looks really cool. This is also a really good “Spidey-in-motion” sequence. I’ve never read this issue.
Are we going back to the “man on the street” well?
I’m not sure I believe Peter is naive enough to ask prostitutes if they’re models, but it is kind of cute. We then drop this entire premise to watch a kid in a wheelchair on a rooftop watch day turn to night. Um.. what were those first 2 pages?
(Oh man I hope this isn’t insensitive) Joey watches the city, and Spider-Man swings by overhead, clearly looking for something. Then he thinks he sees what Spider-Man was searching for through a window across the street. It looks like Nosferatu lighting candles on the ground. Uh… ok. Then his dad comes up and takes him inside because it’s getting cold. We get an overview of his dad and sister taking care of him, him wishing he could pay them back for all they do. I mean, that’s nice. And the Nosferatu thing seems to watch through the window.
Wut. Did we wander into the wrong comic?
Wh… what? Why does Morbius look like Nosferatu?? Is this yet another “make it cooler” 2000s costume change? I mean, Morbius is kinda silly looking, but just ripping off Nosferatu is not the answer.
Spidey and Morbius keep mixing it up, Jenkins hitting perhaps an all-time low on Spider-Man quips by having him call Morbius “Tooth-Boy.” Joey watches the whole thing, a witness to something most people will never see.
That was a pretty sweet one. Coulda gone way worse. I don’t understand Morbius. Paolo Rivera will be even better next time we see him. This is the last issue of TAC in this block, and the next time we see it… well… things are gonna get really, really weird.