The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #98

 "THE GOBLIN'S LAST GASP!"

Writer: Stan Lee/Penciller: Gil Kane/Inker: Frank Giocoia/Letterer: Artie Simek/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: Gil Kane

Synopsis: As Peter rushes Harry to the hospital after a bad trip, the Goblin devises a new weapon with which to defeat Spider-Man once and for all...

Review: The final issue in the drug trilogy is easily the weakest in my opinion. That's not to say it's bad -it's a perfectly enjoyable read - but it's definitely lacking in some of the rich character moments that we got in the previous two issues. Mary Jane is nowhere to be seen, and Harry spends the entire issue unconscious in bed, so there's no real exploration of him coming down from his trip, or how he feels in the aftermath. Spoiler alert: don't expect that to be addressed all that much going forward, either. What we get instead is a mostly action-based issue, which is fun enough for what it is.

We get another Goblin battle of course, about on par with that of the previous issue, Gil Kane creating lots of exciting moments; I especially love the way he has Spidey leaping and diving all over the place as the Goblin rains pumpkin bombs around him; fantastic stuff. My favourite moment of the entire fight, though, and one of my favourite moments from any Spidey/Goblin encounter, is the moment where Spidey leaps over the Goblin's head and wraps his legs around the villain's neck. That gorgeous panel where Spidey jumps down to meet his target, and those words: "Right here Gobby--just where I wanna be" have stuck in my head for years, and is one of the first things I think of when I think of Spider-Man fighting the Goblin; there's something so exciting, so triumphant, about it; it's one of Kane's best pieces of art.

Whilst the fight itself may be fun and games, there is a real problem that I've always had with this issue, and it's kind of an extension of a bugbear I had with ASM #97, ie. the Goblin being extremely stupid. What exactly is he doing for the middle portion of this issue? In the opening scene, Peter manages to drive the villain away by shocking Norman's brain back to reality - temporarily - when he shows Norman how ill his son is. OK, I'll buy that, fine. But then, the Goblin just sort of...disappears for a good chunk of the issue. When he returns for the grand finale, all he's done is develop a gas that briefly removes Spider-Man's ability to stick to walls. Did he not attempt to expose Peter's secret to the public? Go after his friends and family? Send him some hate-mail? Anything? Like with the last issue, it just calls to question the Goblin's qualifications as an arch-nemesis to have him make bone-headed mistakes like this. Oh well, at least the fight scene is good, and I will admit that the opening moment where the Goblin bursts into Peter and Harry's apartment is brilliantly tense.

As stated above, there's very little character stuff here, but what we do get isn't bad, I suppose. It really offers us a look-in on characters that have been absent for the past two issues, namely Jameson, Robbie, and of course, Gwen. Gwen's scene is nothing much to write home about; it's your typical lovelorn melodrama that comes with the territory at this point whenever she's around, but she does at least make the decision to return stateside to try and reconcile things with Peter. The scene with Jameson and Robbie is much more interesting, and highlights well the wonderful friendship the two have. Jameson being cautious about printing the story of Harry's drug use in the Bugle, and Robbie standing by his convictions makes for a lovely little exchange - short though it is - and the final panel where Jameson demands Robbie get to writing up the story brings a smile to my face; I never tire of seeing the trust these two have in each other.

The commentary on drugs takes a bit of a backseat here in favour of the Goblin action; all we get is the short scene with Jameson and Robbie, and a pretty spectacular moment in which Peter savagely beats up the drug dealers that sold Harry the pills; he's a few rounds of ammo short of Charles Bronson in Death Wish. This actually might be my favourite fight scene in the trilogy, believe it or not; as exciting as it always is to see Spider-Man take on the Green Goblin, there's an invigorating rawness to the encounter between Peter and the drug dealers that you rarely see in Spider-Man comics, and it's always cool to see Peter take on criminals without his costume.

ASM #98 rounds out the Goblin/drug trilogy in reasonable fashion. The drug aspect I think is well-handled, and as said, I love the moment where Pete teaches the dealers a lesson. Oddly, the less successful side of the issue is all the stuff with the Goblin, partly because of how idiotically the character acts, but there's also a sense that we've seen all this before, something I've always felt about the Goblin action in these issues. It's basically just a rehash of the story from The Spectacular Spider-Man Magazine #2: Norman remembers he's the Goblin, goes on the attack against Spider-Man, before promptly reverting to his normal self through some convoluted means. I do quite like the idea of shocking Norman back to himself when he sees his son in the grip of drug addiction, but that still doesn't shake the feeling of a reheated plot. It's probably a good thing that Stan never wrote for the character again after this, because it's clear he didn't really have anything in the way of fresh ideas for what to do with him.

With that said, I do still find it to be a pretty fun issue overall, and hey, it does end on a positive note as Peter and Gwen reunite with a snog for the ages. Things are looking up for our hero for once, but can they possibly last?

Rating: 3.5/5

Next time, we take a stroll through a day in the life of our friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man...

The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #97

 "IN THE GRIP OF THE GOBLIN!"

Writer: Stan Lee/Penciller: Gil Kane/Inkers: Frank Giacoia and John Romita Sr./Letterer: Sam Rosen/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: John Romita Sr.

Synopsis: As Spider-Man must once again do battle with the Green Goblin, Harry is fighting a battle of his own...

Review: One thing I can really commend Stan for on this trilogy of issues is that they are rooted so deeply in established Marvel continuity. This wasn't a series of promotional issues that were given away free with a box of cereal, warning kids about the dangers of drug use; this is all happening in the proper Spider-Man continuity, and it permanently affects the characters we've grown to know and love. Despite the incredibly unsubtle commentary on drug use and drug dealers, I am forever grateful that Stan didn't feel the need to patronise his readers by having something so awful as Spider-Man turn to the 'camera' with finger pointed and giving the Marvel readership a stern talking to (especially given a good chunk of the Marvel fanbase at this point in time had probably been using hallucinogenic drugs for years).

The big development this issue is Harry sinking into drug addiction, and for the most part, it's well handled. As said, I'm glad such a thing happens to an established member of Peter's supporting cast, and not some random guest character created solely for this story. Harry is also probably the most appropriate character to use as well, given his general flightiness and feelings of self-loathing; he seems the kind of guy to turn to drugs to try and forget about his troubles. We're told that Harry has always kept a very well-stocked medicine cabinet full of all kinds of pills, but this is the first we've ever heard of it, so it's something of a retcon, albeit not one I'm bothered by. In fact, I really like this revelation, as it gives us a real insight into not just Harry, but Norman as well. It's another showcase of just how emotionally distant Norman is from his son; instead of talking openly with Harry about his mental health, or getting him to see a therapist, he just encourages him to down a few pills and he'll be fine. This isn't stated anywhere in the issue itself, but it's something I personally have always read in it, and it's firmly entrenched in my head canon.

Another highlight of the issue for me is the scene between Harry and Mary Jane, where she tells him where to stick it. It's easy to paint MJ as unkind or nasty in this scene, but I've always loved this moment, and for me, it's one of the scenes that defines her character. MJ is not perfect. She is frequently selfish, callous and inconsiderate (at least on the outside), and she cares not one iota what other people think of her. Especially given when this issue was published, a young woman saying that she doesn't tie herself to anyone, and that she's happy being a free agent, is pretty monumental, and is a cornerstone of why I love the character so much. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if Stan put this moment in to make readers turn on her a little bit (we know he was always pushing for Gwen to be everyone's favourite), but if so, it has the opposite effect on me. Yes, she may put Harry down a bit harshly, but the meaning behind her words is something I could never judge.

Less successful is the Goblin stuff. The fight scene at the start of the issue between Spidey and the Goblin is great, the usual Gil Kane magic, but there's one thing about it that's always bothered me. The Goblin thinks that Spider-Man is dead after the wall-crawler seemingly plummets to his doom (obviously he saved himself and is just hiding from the villain). Would it have troubled the Goblin too much to, I don't know...check for a body? This is his arch-nemesis after all, someone who has escaped death time and time again; you would have thought he'd be a bit more cautious. It's the typical 'villain doesn't check to see if the hero is dead' nonsense, and is clearly here to explain why the Goblin doesn't just expose Peter's secret to the world after their battle.

ASM #97 is a very good continuation of the setup provided by the previous issue, if not quite as enjoyable; there's not half us much stuff happening in this. We get a pretty fun fight between Spidey and the Goblin, but I can't get past how stupid the Goblin is at its conclusion; this is a far cry from the devious schemer that we were introduced to in the Ditko era. What really makes the issue for me are the moments with Harry and Mary Jane, even if the drug stuff is, like with last time, a bit on the nose. Gil Kane provides top notch artwork as always, though, and that panel of Harry falling into the grip of drug addiction is iconic, probably the defining image of this entire trilogy.

Rating: 4/5

Next time, the Goblin unleashes a deadly new weapon on Spider-Man, and Harry fights for survival in the wake of his bad trip...

The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #96

 "...AND NOW, THE GOBLIN!"

Writer: Stan Lee/Penciller: Gil Kane/Inker: John Romita Sr./Letterer: Artie Simek/Editor: Stan Lee/Cover Art: Gil Kane

Synopsis: As the drug scene in NYC steadily gets worse, Peter accepts a job offer from Norman Osborn, but his new boss might prove more difficult to work with than he thought...

Review: I've mentioned it before in other reviews on here, but if there's one thing that defines the last third of Stan Lee's run on ASM for me, it's the social commentary, and nowhere is that more evident (and arguably, nowhere is it more egregious) than in these next three issues. In the early 1970s, Stan decided to buck the Comics Code for a hard-hitting trilogy about the dangers of drug use, and despite this not seeming like such a big deal from a modern perspective, back when these issues first came out, it was HUGE. The Comics Code was a seal of approval, a reassuring stamp that a comic contained no seditious or inappropriate material. There was a time when, if your comic didn't bear the Code's logo, it didn't get published (outside the underground scene). Stan's gamble paid off, however, as the trilogy was so successful and well-received that it convinced the Code to relax their rules. Part-superhero story, part-PSA, the Green Goblin/Drug trilogy is a landmark in the history of mainstream comic books.

Right, that's the context out of the way; does the story actually hold up today? I must confess that going into this first chapter I was somewhat sceptical, as this three-parter has never been a favourite of mine, for reasons that will become clearer in the following two issues, but honestly, ASM #96 is a real winner in my book, and I loved every page of it on this revisit. Contrary to the past couple of issues, which I felt were average at best, this knocks it out of the park again, and feels so PACKED with content. Almost every major supporting character is here, for one thing, and they each get a great scene. Whether it's Robbie potentially figuring out Peter's secret, Aunt May and Anna Watson going to see Hair (Stan going all zeitgeist-y again), or Randy Robertson turning up to vent his frustrations about how the black community is being affected by drug use, it's all top notch stuff, from the humorous to the dramatic.

The real character highlights for me personally are the Osborns. I don't think Norman has ever been quite so menacing as he is here, and all without really trying to be. Maybe it's Gil Kane's harder-edged art style, or Stan reminding us of Norman's criminal past, but the scene between him and Peter in this issue has always been one of my favourite interactions between the pair; there's this palpable sense of unease as Norman discusses Peter's potential career at the company, the smile on his face threatening to break into a Goblin-esque grin at any moment. Maybe it's just me, but I read so much glorious tension in this scene, and I absolutely love it. Harry also gets some good material when MJ leaves him by the wayside as soon as Peter turns up; it's a nice setup for where the young Mr Osborn will go in the next couple of issues, but even just in the context of this issue, it makes for some good old-fashioned soap opera drama.

Of course, the big thing to talk about with any of these three issues is the way in which they tackle the subject of drugs, and it's these moments that let this particular issue down (but only somewhat). You can clearly tell that this has been written by a middle-aged man who's never taken an illegal drug in his life. Stan seems to be under the impression that smoking marijuana makes you think you can fly, for one thing. The big problem, however, is just how heavy-handed it all feels; Peter literally asks himself, "But how do you warn the kids? How do you reach them?" Why, with a superhero comic, Peter, how else? It all feels a bit after-school-special, and quite dated as a result, despite its admirable intentions. I do find something to enjoy in Randy's argument with Norman, however; there are some valid points made about how the black community is preyed upon more by pushers because of the way society treats them in comparison to white people, and how it's the responsibility of the wealthy to tackle the drug problem any way they can. I like this debate a lot because it doesn't really offer any answers; it's just asking the reader to think, and ultimately, any piece of media that does that is doing a good thing in my book.

But I mentioned the Green Goblin earlier, didn't I? Yes, he doesn't turn up until the very last page, but it's a gorgeous bit of Gil Kane art yet again. He really was the perfect choice for these issues; his rougher, grittier art style really suits the slightly darker tone of the trilogy, and I don't think any Spidey artist has ever depicted New York streets as well as Kane; he populates them with so much life and character, from builders sat having their lunch to the roads strewn with litter. New York feels like a real place when Kane draws it, and his composition throughout this issue is just superb. The panels where Norman begins to remember his Goblin identity really evoke that Ditko hysteria, and as mentioned above, the first sight of the Goblin himself is a cracker.

All in all, ASM #96 is a real return to form for the title after a couple of ho-hum issues. Perhaps it's just my enthusiasm at getting back to this blog (it's been a year since my last post), but I had a blast reading this one again, and I'm looking forward to revisiting the rest of the drug trilogy to see if the whole thing is better than I remembered. As for this particular issue, it's jam-packed with great character drama, well-intentioned (if unsubtle) social commentary, and some sublime work from Gil Kane. Only the heavy-handedness lets it down. Well, that and this creepy bit where Norman practically says that he wants to have sex with his son's girlfriend:

Rating: 4.5/5

Next time, Spidey and the Goblin battle it out, whilst Harry goes off the deep end...