PETER PARKER, SPIDER-MAN Annual ‘97 - March 1997

Dead Men Walking

Credits:  Glenn Herdling (writer), Glenn Greenberg (story assist), Shawn McManus (artist), John Kalisz (colors), Comicraft (letters)

The Plot:  Spider-Man encounters Ramon, a man drugged to act like a zombie.  The next day at the Daily Bugle, he learns Ramon is Glory Grant’s cousin.  After taking Glory to visit Ramon at Ravencroft, Peter discovers federal agent Shotgun at Glory’s apartment.  Shotgun is investigating Glory, since she was one of the survivors of a cruise ship that recently sank.  Shortly, Spider-Man is caught in a fight between Shotgun and the Zombie, who has arrived from New Orleans.  Glory saves Shotgun’s life, proving her innocence to him.  However, while later investigating the ship’s wreckage with Shotgun, Glory turns on him and leaves him to drown.  Glory, now dressed as Calypso, breaks Ramon out of Ravencroft and summons the Zombie to help her dig up Calypso’s grave.  Spider-Man arrives and allows Calypso to resurrect her body in order to save Glory.  Calypso escapes and Glory returns to normal.  The Zombie leaves after Glory gives him Calypso’s talisman.

The Subplots:  MJ and Peter spend a night watching movies at home.  When MJ falls asleep, he changes into Spider-Man to check on Glory again.  Drugs shipped from Haiti have turned Glory’s cousin into a “zombie.”  Shotgun claims that the latest shipment is on the cruise ship that sank.  While possessed by Calypso, Glory acts on her attraction to Shotgun and seduces him when he spends the night at her apartment.  Later, she’s relieved when Dr. Kafka revives Shotgun after his near-drowning.  Dr. Kafka also administers a cure to Ramon.

*See _________ For Details:  Calypso claims her physical body has been recovering since her death in Web of Spider-Man #109.  Her spirit resided in the Talisman of Damballah, which once controlled the Zombie.  One of Calypso’s agents knew to give the talisman to Glory during her Caribbean vacation because he sensed their mutual hatred of Spider-Man, which is a reference to the conclusion of the Lobos Brothers arc in Web of Spider-Man #55.

I Love the ‘90s:  Peter and MJ check out movies at a video store before their night at home.

Review:  You might recall that “Torment” was based on an idea by Glenn Herdling, who returns this issue to revive Calypso after her utterly pointless death in Terry Kavanagh’s Web of Spider-Man run.  Herdling was also the assistant editor on the titles during the extended Lobos Brothers arc, which ended with Glory Grant perfectly willing to kill Spider-Man for the werewolf mobster she loved.  (Yup.   Check the archives.)  That scene was casually ignored after the story ended, as Glory disappeared into obscurity as soon as Gerry Conway left the books in the early ‘90s.  I have no idea if Conway had any concrete plans on what was next for Glory following her relationship with Eduardo Lobo, but I kind of doubt he intended for her to be possessed by the spirit of Calypso.  

Unfortunately, what we have here is another case of a Daily Bugle cast member defying all odds and somehow getting dragged into a scheme involving one of Spider-Man's established villains.  Never one of Iron Fist's villains, oddly enough.  Glory just so happens to be on a cruise ship that takes in a boat of Haitian refugees, one of which is a servant of Calypso, who is able to discern that Glory has a subconscious hatred of Spider-Man going back to a story that hasn’t been referenced in years.  Simultaneously, the cruise ship is also carrying drugs from Haiti; drugs that will soon turn Glory’s cousin into a zombie back in America.  Those are just too many coincidences to accept in one story, and that’s before we even get to the fact that Ashley Kafka happens to be the doctor treating Ramon.

Now, for some reason, the story goes out of its way to differentiate between the “Zombieastral” (zombies created by chemicals) and “Zombiecadavre” (a resurrected corpse).  Both are used in the story, and neither adds much of anything.  The basic idea of Calypso possessing Glory Grant and using Glory to resurrect her original body has problems, but at least there’s nothing fundamentally convoluted about it.  For some reason, Herdling feels the need to complicate the plot with the old ‘70s Zombie, political strife in Haiti, a new street drug that zombifies people, Glory’s cousin, and, oh yeah, Shotgun.  You might remember Shotgun from practically any Marvel title drawn by John Romita, Jr. in the ‘90s.  (Romita, Jr. was even supposed to do a monthly Shotgun series during the heyday of Big Guns & Attitude, but it never materialized.)  This might just be Shotgun’s first appearance not drawn by Romita.  And the artist turns out to be Shawn McManus of all people, doing a job that’s just as polarizing as his Sensational Spider-Man annual in the previous year.  Initially, I had to wonder why Herdling felt the need to use Shotgun during the story, but eventually decided to shrug my shoulders and go along with it since Shotgun works about as well as any other government agent character.  Then again, Shotgun’s only here due to the inane “zombie drug” plot thread, the one that adds zilch to the plot, so he stands out as another distraction.  

All this said, I have to admit to some affection for this issue.  I love the original Lobos Brothers arc from Web, so any attempt to pick up on a loose thread and follow up on Glory Grant is appreciated.  And as much as “Torment” has become a source of ridicule over the years, it did reestablish Calypso as a real threat, so it’s nice to see the mistake of killing her off rectified.  I’m also impressed that Herdling somehow found a way to drag in two obscure characters from distant corners of the Marvel Universe like Zombie and Shotgun and put them into the same story.  It felt like a story grafted onto another story that didn’t need it at all, but still, that’s a decent quota of forgotten Marvel characters.

SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN ‘96 - November 1996

Kraven’s First Hunt!
Credits:  J. M. DeMatteis (writer), Shawn McManus (artist), Atomic Paintbrush (colors), Janice Chiang (letters)

The Plot:  Kraven responds to the Chameleon’s request and heads to America to kill Spider-Man.  Eventually, the Chameleon realizes that he subconsciously sent Kraven to America to be killed by Spider-Man in retaliation for the abuse he endured at Kraven’s hand as a child.  Spider-Man ultimately defeats Kraven and the Chameleon, and the villains are deported.

The Subplots:  Peter Parker works to reconcile his two identities.  He’s initially envious of Kraven’s free spirit, but realizes how power has corrupted him.  Eventually, Peter recognizes his values are Spider-Man’s and that no mask can hide who he truly is.

Web of Continuity: 

• This annual is a retelling of Amazing Spider-Man #15, the first appearance of Kraven, with numerous added scenes.
• For some reason, gas surrounds Chameleon when he switches identities throughout the issue.  I don’t know if this has ever appeared in any other Chameleon story, but I know at this point in continuity Chameleon was merely ripping off masks to change identities with no real mystery attached.
• This story establishes that Kraven gives the Chameleon small doses of the potions that keep him young.
• I believe this is the first story to reveal that Kraven’s fear of spiders is rooted in seeing his mother covered in them after she was institutionalized.
• Aunt May drops hints that she knows Peter’s secret identity.  At this point in continuity, the Aunt May who finally confessed to Peter before dying in Amazing Spider-Man #400 was not an imposter, and even if most people disagreed, J. M. DeMatteis seemed to be convinced that she figured out Peter's secret identity early on.

Review:  The theme of the 1996 Spider-Man annuals was flashback stories, so here we have J. M. DeMatteis fusing his take on Kraven the Hunter with the original Lee/Ditko story that introduced him.  Sometimes it’s an awkward fit, but DeMatteis is able to find a lot of material in the twisted relationships between Spider-Man, Kraven, and Chameleon.  I think the major failing of the issue is Shawn McManus’ art, and not simply because he isn’t Mike Zeck.  McManus’ human figures are often far too caricatured to work with the story.  His Peter Parker, for instance, resembles Clay Aiken after receiving a bad batch of Botox.  I don’t mind his monstrous Kraven, and some of the background extras have a charming look, but overall there’s a mismatch between the story and the art that’s just distracting.

It’s not hard to view this as a prequel to “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” and as a foundation for the themes of that story, it works quite well.  DeMatteis dances around the original comic this is based on by presenting all of the main plot points, but with three levels of narration that add a psychological edge that wasn’t there in the original story.  I’m not personally a fan of Chameleon as the scarred child of abuse that can never grow up, but I think DeMatteis’ take on Kraven and Spider-Man is intriguing.  Spider-Man envies Kraven for bravely living his life without a mask, unaware that Kraven is so deeply repressed that he’s descending into insanity.  While Kraven’s façade begins to crack, Spider-Man begins to reconcile the fact that he truly is Peter Parker and isn’t hiding behind a mask at all.  This is an exploration of identity I can get behind; thankfully DeMatteis isn’t giving us “I AM THE SPIDER” this time.


The Return of Spider-Woman
Credits:  Mark Gruenwald (writer), Pat Broderick (artist), Mark Bernardo w/Malibu (colors), Comicraft (letters)

The Plot:  Jillian Woods casts a spell that allows Spider-Woman II and Lindsay McCabe to travel to a strange dimension and rescue Spider-Woman I.  After Spider-Woman returns to Earth, her replacement wonders if she’ll want her name back.

The Subplots:  None.

Web of Continuity:  Jillian Woods is the secret identity of Sepulchre, a Mark Gruenwald character who occasionally still makes appearances.

*See _________ For Details:  An editor’s note says this story will be resolved in an upcoming issue of Spider-Man Team-Up.  I had no idea Spider-Man Team-Up was still being published at this time.

Review:  I never expected to be reviewing a Mark Gruenwald comic, given that his path rarely intersected with Spider-Man or the X-Men in the ‘90s.  I doubt this story was originally intended for any of the Spider-titles, but hey, it stars someone with “spider” in her name and it’ll eat ten pages just as easily as anything else.  I imagine I would’ve enjoyed this story more if I knew anything about the continuity surrounding it, yet there are no footnotes or helpfully detailed recaps to explain what Spider-Woman I is doing in this black void.  (The last I knew, she was depowered and living in Madripoor as an occasional supporting cast member in Wolverine.)  So, as the resolution to a story I know nothing about, it’s hard to have strong feelings about this one.  However, I guess fans of the original Spider-Woman were happy, assuming they knew she had been sent into limbo in the first place.

GENERATION X ’95 – November 1995

Of Leather & Lace

Credits: Scott Lobdell & Jeph Loeb (writers), Wood & McManus (breakdowns), Lightle/McManus/Sienkiewicz/Panosian/Russell/Chaloner (finishers), Comicraft (lettering), Moreshead/Kalisz (colors)

Summary

Cordelia Frost, Emma Frost’s teenage sister, meets with Shinobi Shaw in Boston. She’s kidnapped Mondo, and demands a place in the Hellfire Club in exchange for him. Suddenly, armed men working for someone named Barrington take Mondo’s unconscious body away from Cordelia. Soon, Cordelia arrives at Xavier’s School, looking for Emma. She tells her that she came to America with her friend Mondo to enroll at the school, but he was kidnapped. Emma is suspicious, but agrees to send the team on a mission to find him. Meanwhile, Mondo escapes from Barrington’s men and wanders throughout Boston. Emma and Generation X arrive to help him as the armed men chase him down. After Mondo easily defeats a group of the men, Barrington monitors the situation and decides to end their mission. The men teleport away, leaving Mondo with Generation X. Cordelia decides that she came too close to being found out, and decides to leave Mondo with the team. Mondo says goodbye to her, not realizing that she was the one who kidnapped him from their island in the first place.

Continuity Notes

This is the first full appearance of Cordelia Frost, who made cameos in previous issues as the girl living on an island with Mondo. According to Cordelia, Emma Frost’s telepathic powers don’t work on her (which of course makes it easier for this issue’s plot to work).

Barrington is the name of the mystery man Maverick was working for in his first appearances. He makes an appearance in this issue, but he’s kept in shadow. The men working for him have armored suits that resemble Maverick’s.

“Huh?” Moment

Jubilee is drawn without any feet on page twelve, which is pretty noticeable since this is a giant splash page of her diving into the pool.

Approved By The Comics Code Authority

This issue opens with sixteen-year-old Cordelia lounging in skimpy lingerie, smoking a cigarette and drinking wine.

Review

I did buy this issue when it was released, so I guess I’ll do a full review of it. The story can’t be described as typical annual filler, since it involves a new member actually joining the team, but the art is typical of the haphazard messes that double-sized issues often turn out to be. Aside from needing so many finishers their names can’t fit into one credits box, the editors have also assigned incompatible artists like Bill Sienkiewicz and Dan Panosian to work on pages right next to one another. One scene has moody pages drenched with ink featuring expressionist characters, while the one next to it has poorly formed figures made out of super-thin lines standing around in awkward poses. It’s such a disorganized mess, Cordelia looks different on almost every page. In some scenes it’s impossible to tell her and Jubilee apart. The dark, moody pages stand out as the best-looking ones, even though that style really doesn’t suit the story at all. The story itself is mostly fluff, but I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if the art was more consistent. Mondo isn’t that bad of a character, and his extremely laid back attitude can be amusing. Cordelia is sharply written, getting some good lines in during the first scene (“You want me. You want me so much that it bores me”.). Bringing back Barrington, one of the numerous mystery characters introduced during the pre-Image era, would’ve been a nice payoff, except that the story doesn’t offer any answers about him and keeps everything involving him (literally) in the dark.

The Very Personal and Very Private Journal of Monet Saint Croix

Credits: Scott Lobdell (writer), Jeff Matsuda, Vince Russell, & Rurik Tyler (artists), J. Babcock (lettering), Dana Moreshead (colors)

Summary

Skin reads M’s diary, which is filled with child-like drawings and descriptions of her early days with Generation X. M figures out that he’s read the diary, but is confident that he won’t be able to deduce her family’s secret.

Production Note

This back-up story is hand-lettered, which stands out now that all of the titles are using computer fonts.

Continuity Note

M’s draws an image of her saddened father in a twins’ bedroom. M is pleased that he’s sad because “it is his fault, after all”.

Review

It’s a very short back-up story so there’s not a lot to say about it. It reinforces a hint from an earlier issue that M writes and draws like a small child, and offers a very vague clue about her past. Most of the pages consist of a recap of Generation X #1, which seems excessive when you consider that this issue was only a year old at this point. Some of the cartoony drawings are fun, but there’s really nothing going on here.