Friday 19 October 2007

The Death Knell of The Tarantula





It was a cracking, if not slightly silly, story in issues 233-236 of The Amazing Spider-man.

I've always liked the Tarantula as a Spidey Villain - probably for nostalgic reasons as much as anything - and it's a shame that he dies at the end of this 4 part epic. Still what a way to go - being transformed into a proper spider and going mad as a consequence.

The story also featured Will-O-The Wisp and the Brand Corporation who have been in the background in a number of stories recently. A number of the plot lines from a number of stories over the last few years (considering this was written in 1982) were tied-up. The Brand Corp were exposed and The Wisp finally got his revenge on the people responsible for making him what he is.

Although the story was pretty action packed, writer Roger Stern, still manages to fit in Pete's personal problems and he meets femme fatale Amy Powell for the first time.

One highlight was the clever way that Stern describes in issue 235 all the shenanigans that Brand have been up to in the past. I reckon that I have most of those issues!

John Romita Jr. drew all 4 parts and he's getting better all the time. Interestingly, his art looks better when not inked by Mooney. Both Dan Green and Frank Giacoia are better suited to his style.

Rating 8/10



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