We’re back with… whatever this is. That’s some cover. Guess the Enforcers’ cameo last issue wasn’t it for them.
Oh, right, Hydro-Man! I was like “I know who the guy in the painfully generic supersuit is” last page of last issue, but I couldn’t place it. Pointless fighting continues for another page before some guy whistles. Really loud, apparently.
Is that Ramrod behind Hydro-Man? These scenes tend to be so full of nobodies.
That panel repetition was frankly pretty jarring reading digitally. I thought something was wrong for a second. Spider-Man threatens to ruin the bar unless the barkeep gives him the Bookie, and he tells Spidey where the guy lives. But then he calls someone about it when Spider-Man leaves.
This is a really bad page. The panel break in panel 3 makes you look at it first, but it doesn’t happen first, so you get confused. And then May and Martin Li disappear in the final panel, although I could guess McKone didn’t plan for the two to follow instantly and Gale did that with the text. Regardless, tho, messy. Nice of them to remember May exists. Well, Spider-Man is in New Jersey, and he has encountered the Golden Age Bookie, who is very glad to see him because, he says, his son has been kidnapped by the Enforcers for fixing that bet. He further informs our hero that they’re holding him in Coney Island, and Spider-Man has to go save him. When Spidey asks why he would do that, since he’s famous for being a killer right now, the old guy says he knows that’s a frame. And where I think it would be reasonable to assume the guy’s a fan or something, Spider-Man immediately assumes the old guy knows something about the Spider-Tracer Killer, and as dumb as that is, he’s apparently right.
At Coney Island, the Enforcers have the Bookie tied to a ride, and are taking bets (via the camera man from last issue broadcasting to the bar) on whether he’ll throw up, black out or fall off first. The Bookie yells for his dad as the ride cranks up. This is some pretty low stakes supeheroing. Speaking of, Spider-Man and Bookie the Elder exchange a bunch of banter for two whole pages riding a train to Coney Island, then we finally get there.
Boy, this is stupid. Also if Ox threw a baseball at your head, it would probably come off.
Couple pages of really bad “jokes” and fightin’ takes down Dan and Montana.
Could anyone have not seen this coming? Bookie the Elder cops to working with the bartender to take bets all on this stupidity. Spider-Man and Ox become aligned against him, and Spider-Man says he’s got his own lesson to teach this time, and Ox is all for it.
Another dumb Bob Gale story comes to its merciful end. This era is so weird. Who would be writing next issue? Who will be drawing? I have no idea. Marvel was insane for this. In a time were following creators was becoming much more normal than following characters, at a time when a writer’s name alone can sell a book, there’s no telling who will be making your next issue of Spider-Man. I feel more justified than ever skipping this mess back then. I hate Bob Gale’s terrible writing so much, and he isn’t even following the 3-issues-per-writer model, with his one before Slott and 2 after. I would’ve needed a spreadsheet to keep track of which issues not to buy…