Mountain Comics #9 – Amazing Spider-Man #222

MOUNTAIN COMICS #9 – AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #222

Rob welcomes fellow Fire and Water Network All-Star Max Romero to the cabin to discuss THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #222, “Faster Than The Eye!”, by Bill Mantlo, Bob Hall, and Jim Mooney!

Check out images from this comic by clicking here!

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6 responses to “Mountain Comics #9 – Amazing Spider-Man #222

  1. Great conversation, gentlemen!
    I also had this issue, but then again, I was a regular reader of Spider-man at the time. And I agree that it’s a fun little issue all around: a good story with some nice character moments for Spider-man/Peter both in and out of costume. And I liked the repurposing of the villain: it’s a really clever idea and Speed Demon is such a cool name, with a really cool costume to boot (of course, when your former name is Whizzer and you’re wearing a yellow costume, pretty much anything is a step up).

  2. Wow, Rob! You read lots of great comics in those mountains! And Max was a good partner for this one. Well done!

    I just remembered that I was getting Avengers and Amazing Spider-Man by mail subscription direct from Marvel during these years. Lots of good issues in that time, and that was the beginning of me collecting comics. Good times!

    The fill-in discussion was interesting. Since Spider-Man had 2 series at the time, Amazing and Spectacular, any story with him automatically works in 2 books, and if there’s a guest star, 3 with Marvel Team-Up. That’s a big win for a single character.

    FYI, Speed Demon was reused quite a bit after this story. He was in Marvel Team-Up against Spidey, Human Torch, and surprise hero, the Frog-Man! (uh, whu???) Then a few years later in Amazing Spider-Man again with a group named Sinister Syndicate: plus Beetle, Boomerang, Rhino, and Hydro-Man. That group surprisingly was the focus of TWO mini-series: Deadly Foes of Spider-Man, and Lethal Foes of Spider-Man. That team was actually the inspiration for the group in Superior Foes of Spider-Man, with yep, Speed Demon again! And of course, Thunderbolts. So he’s possibly been in more books as one of the protagonists than as an antagonist!

    And one of the best and most memorable covers. Ever!

  3. Loved this episode! Sounds like such a fun comic. Your description reminds me of the fun nature of the Marvel Team-Up book (my own Spider-Man title of choice as a kid). Add one more hero and it would have been a perfect fit!

    Tim Price already beat me to several comments on the Speed Demon. I know him best from his lengthy run as a member of the “New Thunderbolts” (a team of villains trying to be heroes). However, he’s definitely known best nowadays for the surprise hit, “Superior Foes of Spider-Man.” Because of the success of that book, there was recently a Speed Demon action figure, which is a quite common peg-warmer you’ll find at Target.

    Regarding Max’s comment about Speed Demon’s costume and the comparison to Blue Devil, I agree to some extent. I don’t see the similarities in colors or design, but more in conception. Both are super-fun, clean, with primary colors, and it just works. Really sharply designed and rendered. Would love to see them face-off!

    Another great episode!! Thanks!

  4. Great show guys. I somehow missed this issue of ASM. I did encounter Speed Demon a bit later in a team-up with Spidey and the Human Torch. I thought he was a neat villain with a really cool look.

    As a defender of Curt Swan, I know this seems a bit hypocritcal, but Jim Mooney is to me what Swan is to Rob, at least during this period. I fully appreciate his long career and solid work, but there is a blandness about his art that overpowers other artists when he inks them. I prefer it when he does his own pencils oddly enough. Maybe it’s because I’m getting exactly what is advertised. I did love his Silver Age Supergirl work, however, and he did some very nice, illustrative Batman work in the 40s and 50s, particularly on Robin’s solo strip in Star-Spangled Comics.

    Max, your aunt sounds awesome. I guess the closest I come to your aunt and Xum’s Uncle Kenzo (sp) is my older cousin “Little” Joe. He was in high school when I was a wee pre-schooler, and would pick me up and take me down to my grandparents every morning on his way to school, while my parents went off to work. Many times he’d stop by the local Convenient Store and get me an Icee and a comic!

    Chris

  5. Thank you for the introduction to Speed Demon. He seems to be a cool villain, and I’m glad to hear that he went on to have a life beyond this issue.

  6. Lovely episode, sorry I’m so late to the party.

    While my own Mountain Comics might be Desert Comics (at least, that’s the version of the show I’d probably do), I too had a kindly aunt who dropped comics on my lap every so often. They were all Archies and Harveys, bundled up in hundreds after she was done with them, and I don’t have a single one left (ditched in one particular move when I was 12), but it’s what taught me to read English. There’s also a grandmother who bribed me with Tintin and Asterix to go to church with her when I was a kid, but our relationship did not survive puberty (it’s not that I outgrew church so much as her racial slurs about my Native best friend). Still, that’s a nice batch of eurocomics to have in the house.

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