FW Presents: Find Your Joy: PETER PARKER, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #58

Continuing the Fire and Water Network's resolution to find its joy (even in another hemisphere), Ryan Daly welcomes podcasting legend Andrew Leyland to discuss PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #58!

Let us know what you think! Leave a comment or send an email to: RDalyPodcast@gmail.com.

Check out Andy's podcast The Palace of Glittering Delights and other shows at: http://twotruefreaks.com/shows.php?show=37

This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK.

Or subscribe via iTunes as part of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST: http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-fire-and-water-podcast/id463855630

Music this episode: Theme to Spectacular Spider-Man; "Single Ladies" by Beyonce.

Thanks for listening!

19 responses to “FW Presents: Find Your Joy: PETER PARKER, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #58

  1. Great episode! I could listen to Andy talk Spider-Man all day. Great Spidey Quiz there, Ryan!

    My Spectacular Spidey buying was sporadic. I missed most of Stern’s run there, but I was all in when he came over to Amazing. I need to go back and read these. I do think Stern is Spidey’s best writer this side of Lee. I don’t have the Spidey knowledge or history Andy does, but I think he got the character and his world like no other. “Sins Past” kicks JMS out of any running, because it’s the worst thing ever done to the character. And Marvel has done some BAD things to that character in the past 20 years. Yes, I think it’s worse than “One More Day”.

    I do think Ditko did a near full-figure shot of half-Spidey/half-Peter once. I recall it being a worm’s eye view and you saw everything but his lower legs and feet, but seeing the whole body here is quite different. I loved the faint praise of “Hey, Vinnie didn’t screw this one up for once”. That’s the sad fact about Colletta. He was a great artist. He just often couldn’t be bothered to slow down and do a good job.

    More please!

    Chris

  2. Really enjoyed the episode, in part because it covers an issue that I really enjoyed back in the day. It’s nice to see that others appreciate it as much as I did, and still do. Yes, Byrne’s art was spectacular as usual, and Colletta’s inks worked surprisingly well over his pencils.
    Otherwise, I completely agree with Andrew’s view of Stern’s run on this title, and his work with Spider-man in general: while I’ll never say he’s absolutely the best Spidey writer (kind of the same way I have trouble saying who’s my absolute favorite Spidey artist), he’s one of my very favorites, in a pantheon with Lee, Conway and Wein.
    For a time, from about the 20s until the end of Stern’s run, I actually liked Spectacular Spider-man better than the main Amazing Spider-man series. Mantlo’s first run as writer on the series was pretty solid as well, but it really hit a groove when Stern took over. I think Andrew’s right that the lack of a consist art team may have kept it from becoming more beloved and popular among fans.
    By the way, another reason I’m really fond of this issue is that Mike Doonesbury and Zonker Harris make a cameo appearance on the lower right-hand side of the splash page. The 13 year-old me, also a big fan of the Doonesbury comic at the time, spotted this right away, and I was so proud of myself that I sent a letter to the editor to boast about it. It never got printed, of course…

  3. Great episode, gentlemen. This was my first encounter with this issue of Spider-Man, and it sounds like a fun one. Though, I have to admit that, by the end of the episode, I found myself feeling really sorry for the Ringer. I think I empathize with him, because I suffered through some 15 years of orthodontic work, starting at the age of 7. So, I understand the value of good teeth.

  4. Great to hear Andy on Spider-Man. I’m all about the passion. We should do a Marvel Team-Up or something some time.

    I got into PPSSM rather late, nearer issue 100, and a guy at school bought them off me to complete his Spider-Man collection. I think this is where a lot of the Black Cat romance was going on. Now you’ve made me want to read the earlier run. Cuz yeah, Roger Stern is totally boss. One of the great superhero writers of all time.

    Fun needle drop, Ryan.

    1. The sense I’ve gotten from other people in our community is that WEB OF SPIDER-MAN is resented for being the book that replaced MARVEL TEAM-UP. That’s nothing to do with the quality of the book, though.

    2. Other than the first issue and any crossovers (like the Kraven’s Last Hunt chapter or the Clone Saga stuff) WEB OF is largely forgettable. David Michelinie had a decent run early on but for a book that ran for so long, its really inconsequential.

  5. You guys sounded like you were having a really fun time, which is always enjoyable to listen to.

    I agree, Roger Stern is really underrated as a writer. His AVENGERS run was, of course, great, I don’t think I ever knew he write SSM, nor did I know Byrne ever drew it! I cringed at the idea of Byrne being inked by Vince Colletta, but from the pages you posted you’d never know it. I wonder if Byrne’s pencils were so tight that it didn’t leave VC much room to interpret/change, leaving a final product that looks very Byrne-like.

    I’ve always wondered at the creative decision to start a second Spider-Man title as opposed to simply making AMAZING twice a month. I guess that allows a lot more freedom in terms of storylines and creative teams, but I wonder if it was ever discussed.

    Looking forward to Ryan and Rhys taking over the HEY KIDS, COMICS! podcast in ten years or so.

  6. Impressive pod Cast. Most Impressive. Was cool till hear Andy on this one. Weird seeing Betel again. Use to him being Moch 2. And dating Screaming Mennie e Song Bird. But, cool. Wait what? Some one married the Ringer? Now there’s a woman with low expectations. The art in this looks cool. And a great story. I did like the Ringer when he fought Night Hawk. In an issue of the Defenders. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back when. I liked Spidey back in the day. Though I still stand with Spidey is dead. He and MJ gave birth to May Day Parker and he died when the Vampire of an ault Universe Spidey. And May Day helped beat him. I disagree and find MJ as the perfect girl friend for Pete.

    Gween is fine, but mostly JR SR run is mostly ware her good run came from before her death. She was mostly a Liz Allen stand in till JR gave her the new look. I like Gwen as Spider Woman. And Gwen Pool. But, for Pete I see him with MJ. Mostly Defalco and P.A.D. I think. And latter runs made he perfect for Pete. I grew up with her and yeah the back issues made me like Gwen, but after re reading those back issues. Meh. I just don’t like her as the main Girl friend of Petes. Oh My fave Co star of Spider Man is Robbie Robertson’s.

    Always liked him as an almost second Father figure for Pete. And DeWolf. Who sadly died to soon. Yeah this is kind of fun. A Spidey story that’s just fun. No real big punch I Pete’s life. Just a fun time. Yeeeah what Pete did to Home girl was kind of bad. She even helped him once when he fought Gold Bug. Can’t wait to hear the next pod cast.

  7. Wonderful episode, I especially enjoyed the general chat about Peter and his world.

    Love the splash with the Spidey title box and the classic, classy half-Peter half Spider-Man. I also can’t think of another instance of the full-figure ‘Composite Spider-Man’. Byrne and Colletta were a surprisingly good combo.

    ‘TA at 12 o’clock?’ Says Spidey. What the heck does that mean?

    I liked the teaching assistant set-up, I wish they’d kept it for a while longer. Except for Deb Whitman. What a whiner.

    How cute that Peter takes a break from a fight for a date. You’re right, this is something that would only happen in Spider-Man… proper Spider-Man stories, not the gimmick-filled ‘epics’ we get these days. But what is this disgraceful talk of overnight naughtiness? They made popcorn (I believe some people claim this smelly, squeaky, tasteless Styrofoam substitute is a food) and she went home to paper her padded cell with photographs of Peter and bits of his dandruff she’d sneaked into her purse.

    Didn’t Marvel make a thing in some lettercol about this being the issue in which everything went right for Peter. Or was that another around this time? Anyway, I loved that aspect of the story. Andrew is right, this Roger Stern run is sorely underrated.

    I wonder If Peter’s ‘Date with Debbie’ reference was a deliberate not to DC’s Binky-style book of the similar title, ‘A Date With Debbi’.

    And again, Andy is is right about clues to Foolkiller being there – another would be his characterisation of Peter’s lecture as ‘poetic’… Foolkiller demanded poetry in his non-fools.

  8. I presume “TA at 12 o clock” was Peter telling Greg that there was a teaching assistant right in front of him. Good catch on the other Foolkiller clue. I missed that one.

  9. I really enjoyed the show. Due to my love of Tresuries, Treasury Cast has always been my favorite Fire & Water show, but Find Your Joy is giving Treasury Cast a run for its money.

    I didn’t remember for sure, but I checked my handy-dandy Spider-Man omnibus and Ditko did the full body Pete/Spidey split on the splash page to Amazing #9. I knew Ditko had done one, but I couldn’t remember just of the top of my head.

    If you guys remember, previously, writers would be given one of the “other” Spider books before they took over the flagship Amazing. Gerry Conway and Len Wein wrote Marvel Team-Up before they took over Amazing as Stern was on Spectacular. I consider Stern to be the best Spider-Man writer other than Stan Lee. Stern was one of those unique talents that seemed to have a “feel” for every character that he wrote and never had a “bad” run. The only other writer I feel that way about is Len Wein.

  10. Boy, oh boy, what a memorable comic! Byrne’s take on Spidey was so fresh! We thought he was going to be the regular penciller. Oh, well.
    Almost everything Andy said about Peter/Spider-Man lines up with my thinking. He explained it very well.
    I started with this title right at the beginning. PPTSS #1 came out within a few months of the beginning of my collecting. A Spider-Man first issue? Oh, yeah, I’m buying that! I wouldn’t even start buying Amazing for almost a year. I almost always enjoyed the stories in this series, but there seemed to be such a disconnect with the “main” book. It was tough to reconcile them. I didn’t buy Team-Up, mostly because the guest stars did not interest me, but the few issues I did get appeared to have yet another Peter Parker! The art on PPTSS was okay, not thrilling, so the occasional issue like this, or the Frank Miller ones, really stood out. This biggest problem, for me, was the supporting cast. It felt so inorganic. “welcome to grad school, Peter, here, in one panel, is your new supporting cast!” They were really more caricatures than characters, and Debra Whitman was a whiny, boring drag. Why was Peter attracted to her?
    One thing I take issue with Andy, Razorback! Don’t you dis Razorback! He was awesome! The Tony Stark of Arkansas!
    One more thing. You took great delight in the the element of Spidey walking away from a fight he didn’t want to have. You then said something to the effect of “imagine Batman doing that.” You don’t have to imagine. That’s in the first movie. Batman fights Joker at museum. Batman’s love interest is threatened. Batman rescues girl, they get in the car and drive away. Leaving the Joker at the museum. Boooo! (That’s just one of the reasons I don’t like that movie.)
    Back to joy and PPTSS! Ed Hannigan drew a series of absolutely captivating covers for this title! Check ’em out!

  11. So I’m running on the treadmill, enjoying the episode when I start to wonder,”Why does this issue sound so FAMILIAR?!?” I end my workout, get home and pull up the website and to my surprise, I owned this issue! It was bought at Pat’s Deli, the neighborhood corner store, sans cover. (The same place I bought New Teen Titans # 2, also without the cover, the first appearance of Deathstroke!). Anywhoo, great episode about a great issue, this is MY Spidey, the late 70’s to late 80’s, college age Spidey, with/without the black costume. As has been stated, Roger Stern is an underrated Spidey scribe, he had such a strong feel for Spidey, his worls and his cast of characters. Thank you guys for sharing your joy and bringing some to me!

  12. Whew, Andy really gets Spider-Man. That was so excellent to hear. Well said, sir.

    This issue came out when I was starting to collect comics. Definitely buying Amazing Spider-Man, and can’t say why I didn’t pick up Spectacular at the time except that it was probably hard to find on the spinners. Later it was easier, and I got hooked. When my collecting was in full force, it was all Spider-titles all the time. These sound like excellent issues, so I’ll keep an eye for them, or add them to my Marvel Unlimited reading list when they’re available for sure.

    Wow, lots of Roger Stern fans here! I’ve said it before. We need a podcast for his comics. I even posted a name for it on Twitter. Ready?

    “Bow to Stern.”

    You’re welcome.

  13. Thanks to everyone who commented. I had a great time talking about this comic with Ryan and I’m glad you enjoyed listening to it.

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