Spider-Rama: Amazing Spider-Man #145

Welcome to Spider-Rama! Every Monday and Wednesday, Ben and Duy will look at a Spider-Man issue from the very beginning, in chronological order, and answer questions for various categories, inspired in large part by one of our favorite podcasts, The Rewatchables by The Ringer. Our goal is to make it to Amazing Spider-Man #200. Will we make it? Grab your Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus or crank up your tablet to Marvel Unlimited, and then tune in every Wednesday to find out!

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #155

Spider-Rama

by Gerry Conway, Ross Andru, Frank Giacoia, and Dave Hunt

As if the Tarantula weren't enough, Spider-Man now has to deal with The Punisher!

POINTLESS TRIVIA

 

BEN: Villain appearance count:

• Doctor Octopus: 17
• Green Goblin: 13
• The Kingpin: 12
• The Vulture: 9
• Kraven the Hunter: 8
• The Lizard: 7
• Mysterio: 6
• Professor Smythe/Spider Slayer: 6
• Hammerhead: 5
• Sandman: 4
• Molten Man: 4
• The Jackal: 4
• Electro: 3
• The Enforcers: 3
• The Rhino: 3
• Man Mountain Marko: 3
• Silvermane: 3
• The Chameleon: 3
• The Schemer/Richard Fisk: 3
• Scorpion: 3
• Ringmaster: 2
• Shocker: 2
• The Beetle: 2
• Morbius: 2
• The Gibbon: 2
• The Man-Wolf: 2
• Jonas Harrow: 2
• The Kangaroo: 2
• Tarantula: 2
• Green Goblin (Harry): 2
• The Grizzly: 2
• Mysterio 2: 2
• Cyclone: 2

DUY: This is one of my first comics ever.

BEN: You have such random first comics.

DUY: So in the Philippines in the 80s, there was maybe a couple of comic stores, Filbar's and Comic Quest. But other than that, comics would just be sold in random book sale stores. (One chain itself was called Book Sale.) There would be no rhyme or reason as to which comics were available, but a lot of them would be the same comics. And this was one of them, for some reason. This is where I learned about Gwen Stacy. This issue was my actual introduction to Gwen Stacy, and it's her clone, because Gwen is dead. I must have been 7 years old when I read it, so you can always jump in in the middle of a story, everyone.

BEN: Shhh, it's the real Gwen.

DUY: And it wasn't actually this issue, but the 1980 reprint in Marvel Tales 122, where the cover was very creatively changed by being flipped horizontally.

BEN: This is, believe it or not, the Scorpion's first appearance in this title since #29, when Ditko was drawing (and co-plotting) the book. Romita never pencilled him in his very long run. That makes this only his third appearance in Amazing Spider-Man (fourth if you count his appearance as Mac Gargan in #20)... which means that he actually at this point has more appearances in Captain America (122, 150, 151, 152).  150 is actually just a one-panel appearance, so you could say it's the same number of appearances.

DUY: He's also shown up in Daredevil a couple of times, because I guess Gene Colan enjoys drawing him.

WHAT'S AGED THE BEST? 

DUY: This is a pretty good offbeat take on doing a recap.

BEN: We know a lot about clones now, but how much was known in 1975? This must have been one hell of a cliffhanger.

WHAT'S AGED THE WORST? 

BEN: May.

DUY: Dude, I get it, but calm down..

BEN: Yeah, he poured it on a little too much.

NITPICKS

DUY: Scorpion gets out of jail, opens his bag to reveal his Scorpion suit... and did they just give him his suit back?

BEN: No way it fits in a suitcase either.

FAVORITE PANEL

DUY: This is an iconic image in my mind, even if there's never been any reason for me to think it is:

BEN: That's my pick too.

DUY: Something about the Scorpion's tail makes for great visuals, and the way Spidey dodges him, very well-drawn:

BEN: Look how cute and small his tail used to be.

WHO WON THE COMIC?

DUY: Gerry Conway and Ross Andru. No frills, just solid, good comics.

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Leave us a comment below or on our Facebook page. And be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel! Go watch our Spider-Rama videos!

Jeff Smith Interview: 30 Years of Bone, and TUKI: Fight for Fire

Straight out of Boneville, Jeff Smith talks to Duy Tano about Bone (pretty much the whole interview), Carl Barks' Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge (1:56), Walt Kelly's Pogo (6:50), self-publishing in the 80s vs now (11:20) and how Bone has stood the test of time, the status of the Netflix show (28:36), Shazam and the Monster Society of Evil (32:18), RASL (38:12), and his new graphic novels, Tuki: Fight for Fire (39:55). The Kickstarter is here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tuki/tuki-fight-for-fire?

ref=m88imj

   

 And here's the official word on TUKI: Fight for Fire: For Immediate Release

 

Jeff Smith’s TUKI: Fight for Fire Makes Debut on Kickstarter!

Creator of BONE and RASL Launches Third Self-Published Comic Series During 30th Anniversary Celebrations

 

 

Key West, FL – May 3, 2021:  Jeff Smith’s third creator owned and self-published comics project, TUKI, is making its graphic novel debut on Kickstarter on May the 4th! TUKI, some may remember, was a short-lived online comic experiment in color, but now Smith has completely rebuilt the world of two million BCE into two full blown original black & white graphic novels set to ship this Summer and Fall. This Summer also marks the 30th anniversary of the first issue of BONE #1. View the Kickstarter campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tuki/tuki-fight-for-fire

The story takes place at the dawn of the human race, and pits Tuki against a rival species of humans, the Habiline, who view the making of fire as a dangerous blasphemy and hunt those found using it.

“I’ve always been fascinated with human evolution, especially the point two million years ago when more than one species of human existed at the same time,” said cartoonist Smith, “this was also the moment we conquered fire. Definitely our best party trick!”

“I started to play around with TUKI before COVID hit,” he continued, “but once the lockdown happened, I decided to dive in and focus on straightening out the story. I ended up with enough material for two books! It was friends from the old self-publishing days, the Tucci's and the Pulido's, who turned my wife Vijaya on to Kickstarter and persuaded us to give it a go. If all goes well, this could be the beginning of a new series! Come check us out! We have rewards that are super high on the neat-o scale!”

The Kickstarter campaign covers both graphic novels. The first book, TUKI: Fight for Fire, if the campaign is successful, will ship to supporters in July, 30 years to the month the first issue of BONE was released. The second book, TUKI: Fight for Family, will ship in October. 

Both volumes will be oversized, and landscape formatted (11.375” x 8.875”) with approximately 144 pages each with a bonus material stretch goal. The return to black & white line art is in keeping with the initial runs of both BONE and RASL. The first book is 100% complete and ready to go to the printer.

 

About TUKI: At the dawn of humanity, during a period of tremendous change and drought, three lost children meet a mysterious traveler named Tuki. Together, their search for the Motherherd of all Buffalo leads them far north through the dangerous territory of a rival species called the Habiline. The Habiline hunt and kill anyone found using fire. Tuki's reputation precedes them and soon they find themselves at the center of unwanted attention not only from Habiline warriors, but of gods and giants!

 

About Jeff Smith: Jeff Smith is the writer & artist of comics and graphic novels like BONE, RASL, SHAZAM: The Monster Society of Evil, ROSE and Tall Tales. Both BONE and RASL were self-published and are New York Times Bestsellers. BONE won 41 national and international awards including 10 Eisner Awards and 11 Harvey Awards, and has been translated into over 30 foreign languages. RASL won an Eisner for Best Graphic Novel. The short lived webcomic version of TUKI won the National Cartoonists Award for Best Online Comic in 2014.

 

For more information or if you would like hi res images, contact 

Kathleen Glosan

 e-mail:  kathleen@boneville.com

 phone:  +1.614.224.4487

The Comics Cube Channel Recap: May 2, 2021

Tom Peyer broke into comics working with Roger Stern in the 80s and has worn many hats since then! We talk about why he loves comics (1:30​), working with Roger Stern (10:35​), working on Vertigo with Karen Berger (14:56​), editing people like Neil Gaiman, George Perez, and Jill Thompson on Sandman and Wonder Woman (17:43​), working on Batman 1966 and The Simpsons (31:06​), kicking off Ahoy Comics (32:15​), Second Coming and Mark Russell (36:54​), and The Wrong Earth with Jamal Igle (45:50​). Jeromy Cox has colored comics starting with Paul Smith on Leave It to Chance (9:30​), and is probably best known for his work on Alan Moore and JH Williams III's Promethea (11:26​). He talks Promethea #12 (where every page connects to the next) (23:30​), working with Jose Villarrubia (25:15​), Todd Klein (26:46​), and his current kids' comic, Skink and Skunk (34:34​)!

Spider-Rama: Marvel Team-Up #33

Welcome to Spider-Rama! Every Monday and Wednesday, Ben and Duy will look at a Spider-Man issue from the very beginning, in chronological order, and answer questions for various categories, inspired in large part by one of our favorite podcasts, The Rewatchables by The Ringer. Our goal is to make it to Amazing Spider-Man #200. Will we make it? Grab your Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus or crank up your tablet to Marvel Unlimited, and then tune in every Wednesday to find out!

MARVEL TEAM-UP #33

Spider-Rama

by Gerry Conway, Sal Buscema, and Vince Colletta

Spider-Man and Nighthawk vs. The Looter!

POINTLESS TRIVIA

 

BEN: Holy shit it’s the Looter. Or Meteor Man, whatever.

WHAT'S AGED THE BEST? 

BEN: Not only is his costume great, he has a balloon in his backpack. He’s Ditko’s greatest villain creation.

DUY: To be fair, TO BE FAIR, that silent sequence with the balloon reminds me of "Silent Interlude," the legendary silent issue of GI Joe.

BEN: Nighthawk is a Batman analog, so this is basically a team-up with Batman.

DUY: This is in fact very Batman.

BEN: I’m pretty sure if I ever got powers I’d immediately become a supervillain, just like Ditko’s greatest villain.

WHAT'S AGED THE WORST? 

BEN: Buscema has done better work than this, so I’m blaming Colletta, who is a controversial inker as it is.

DUY: For those unaware, Vince Colletta was one of the go-to inkers of the legendary Jack Kirby, and was known for taking shortcuts.

BEN: Colletta imposing his own style on Buscema’s Spider-Man is... odd.

NITPICKS

BEN: I think if you’re capable of thinking about how groggy you are, you can also move your fingers to save yourself.

DUY: Spider-Man jumped Nighthawk because his spider-sense was triggered. Why was his spider-sense triggered?

BEN: Nighthawk is lame?

FAVORITE PANEL

BEN: I love that balloon:

DUY: That's mine too, you know I'm a sucker for those layouts.

WHO WON THE COMIC?

BEN: Ditko’s greatest creation, the Looter, or Meteor Man, whatever.

DUY: Here's Ditko's greatest creation punching out Batman.

BEN: The Looter is like combining Snake Eyes with Ditko and he’s punching Batman.

Leave us a comment below or on our Facebook page. And be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel! Go watch our Spider-Rama videos!

The Comics Cube Channel Recap: April 25, 2021

 Robb Pratt is an animator who has worked on Elena of Avalor, New Looney Tunes, Pocahontas, Tarzan, Hercules, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and more! But the character he really loves is Superman, and he's even made two Superman shorts, Superman Classic (https://youtu.be/T2WVlmNqMMs​) and Bizarro Classic (https://youtu.be/lSIlr2-mw-w​). In this interview, he talks to Duy Tano about what makes Superman so special, what he thinks of Christopher Reeve and the other actors who have played Superman, the Fleischer Superman cartoons, and more!

On Night 1 of WrestleMania 37, Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair made history by being the first two black women to compete in a one-on-one match for a championship, and being the first two black people to main event a WrestleMania. In this interview, WWE Artist in Residence Rob Schamberger talks to Duy Tano about WrestleMania. At 12:50​, we talk about the historic main event and the painting he made to celebrate it. You can buy prints of the painting (and more) at Schamberger Labs: https://schambergerlabs.com/products/sasha-banks-vs-bianca-belair-wrestlemania-37

Paul, Justin, Duy, Ben, and Lizzy talk about The Falcon and The Winter Soldier!

The Comics Cube Channel Recap: April 18, 2021

 Mark Russell has only been working in comics for 6 years, but he's already established a unique voice with his subversive takes on the Flintstone and Snagglepuss, as well as his work on Ahoy Comics, such as Second Coming! Hear him talk about his influences, his journey of faith, how much he loves Superman, and his plans for Fantastic Four: Life Story.

Tony Schiavone is a longtime pro wrestling commentator, having worked in WWE and WCW and now in AEW, who has a comic coming out about his life in comics! Butts in Seats: The Tony Schiavone Story, is written by Dirk Manning and can be backed at http://www.buttsinseatscomic.com​. In this interview, Duy Tano asks them how they worked together, how stories from life can be adapted to comics, what Tony's most memorable call ever was, and also, Duy marks out, just a liiitttle bit.

Mick Gray has inked some of the greats of the comics business, and talks to Duy Tano about working with Jack Kirby on Phantom Force (7:07​), Ron Lim and Mark McKenna on Spider-Man: Friends and Enemies (18:11​), JH Williams III on Promethea (30:25​), Ryan Sook on Seven Soldiers: Zatanna and more (53:54​), Barry Kitson on The Liberty Brigade and more (56:26​), Lee Bermejo on Joker (1:00:40​), and Patrick Gleason on Batman and Robin and Superman (1:09:30​). He also talks about how he'd ink Gene Colan (1:15:45​), what he's up to now - hosting KMIC Radio and doing a comic about The Who's Pete Townshend (1:17:17​), and interviewing musical guests on The Deep Cut Podcast (1:22:45​)!

Paul, Duy, and Ben talk about the greatest team from 1000 years into the future: The Legion of Super-Heroes! Then we picked our favorite members. Long live the Legion!