Aaaand we’re back with ASM. And for me, it’s been a really long time, as I have let my long lead on these posts lapse due to life getting busy, medical issues, and not having time to draw drawings. It happens. anyway, we’re back for The Gauntlet, a seemingly endless story pitting Spider-Man against all his biggest foes. Why? How? I don’t know. I only know 2 things about this. One is that they got Roger Stern back for some of it, and that’s exciting. The other is… the opposite of exciting. But, for now, we’ve got Mark Waid on deck, joined by line artist Paul Azaceta and the legendary Dave Stewart on colors. Azaceta would be most familiar to people as the artist of Outcast, which is now a TV show or something. Right? Haven’t read it, haven’t seen it. Anyway, his art looks cool.
Alrighty! That’ll be one of those Kraven ladies monologuing.
We’ve seen Electro in better shape. What’s his deal right now? Should I remember? Anyway, that’s a lot of pages, but this is a Spider-Man comic, so…
A real rough and tumble art style. Naturally, the owner of the dog leans out the window, irate that Spider-Man is trying to steal it. Our frustrated hero thinks he better try to find a pattern to the blackouts, and heads over to The DB! to ask Betty about it. And also about the people picketing the building outside. Turns out, Dexter Bennett has arranged a government bailout for the DB(!), and people are upset that the paper is getting special treatment. Meanwhile, Electro’s telling his origin to The Thinker, and say his power seems to come and go now, uncontrollably.
This comic is really hammering on the 2008 financial crisis. Electro walks out into the street, causing problems with his unreliable powrrs, saying it’s the fat cats who deserve to suffer not him, and that he’s got a plan to do it. But now it’s time to go see the mayor.
Weird angle. Weeeeeird angle. For the character and for the comic. So now, people are only more upset about The DB!, and we see Dexter Bennett worrying about all the angry people massing outside.
We’re back to that.
Soon, Spider-Man is on the scene at the protest Michele tells him is happening at the stock exchange. Electro: Folk Hero is so weird! He spots Electro, and decides to end the revolution wearing rubber gloves, as he has in the past, but hitting Electro blasts him into the distance and burns right through his glove.
This is the weirdest Electro story of all time. But we’re not done! For some reason, this extra-long issue features a Black Cat backup story by Joe Kelly and artist/letterer JM Ken Niimura. So the only question to ask is, how racist is this gonna be?
So, it’s been a long time since my last ASM in this period, and it took me… a while into this to realize it’s not a flashback. I forgot they put Spider-Man and BC back together. Ha. Later, Spider-Man is trying to make Black Cat jealous by saying he saw an ex today, as she insists she doesn’t care, but probably does, all while they’re beating up some guys who were apparently assaulting a woman in an alley. Such a Joe Kelly thing, to have Spider-Man being an idiot during the worst day of this woman’s life. Ugh.
Hey, what’s happening? What is this page? Because the next page…
Seems to follow the one before the Norah Winters page. What?
What? Felicia is, what, undercover in the mayor’s office? Ok, fine. Whatever. Why is Norah even there, if he’s at work? Hey, I just remembered, I don’t care! The art on this was interesting, at least. Certainly not typical for Marvel.