It's the first appearance of Hobie Brown, The Prowler!
POINTLESS TRIVIA
BEN: Future star artist John Romita Jr. gets a shout-out for suggesting Hobie Brownm the Prowler, who makes his first appearance here.
DUY: I've always liked Prowler.
BEN: He looks cool.
DUY: He was featured in a backup in one of the 30th anniversary Spidey issues. I immediately wrote in asking them to give him a mini series.
BEN: You wrote in? You're old.
WHAT'S AGED THE BEST?
BEN: Jameson for trying to tip Hobie off that his boss is watching, trying to cover for him, and chastising the racist for being a racist. Prime Jonah. This series must have been so revolutionary at the time.
DUY: This is four years after Spider-Man and the Hulk are named to Esquire for an article on College Campus Heroes. Superheroes at their best have always had something to say socially.
BEN: Are you suggesting that comics have always been socially aware?
WHAT'S AGED THE WORST?
BEN: She would never!
DUY: Somewhat related, in today's comics, it's more likely the bystanders think that that's just a guy dressed like Spider-Man. But the way Peter treats Gwen, I don't think Gwen can be blamed for talking to his friends. Hell, I'm not sure I'd blame Gwen if she just decided it was over.
BEN: He has the crime photographer excuse sitting right there for him, but yeah, even the most dedicated boyfriend or girlfriend can stop caring if they never see the person they’re dating.
NITPICKS
BEN: It's kinda sucky that the first place Hobie would look to hit is the office of the guy who stood up for him. But if we're talking nitpicks, this unique perspective through the window wins.
DUY: Why is Flash Thompson always on leave? You tell me. You're the military man.
BEN: He shouldn’t have even accrued any leave yet.
FAVORITE PANEL
FAVORITE PANEL
DUY: You already posted this, but it's my favorite scene:
BEN: Here's what comes after:
WHO WON THE COMIC?
BEN: Once again, it’s progress. We get a sympathetic look at how someone could become a new “villain” with Hobie, and Jameson speaking out against bigotry.
A FASTER PACE
DUY: I must say these three issues after the Stone Tablet Saga have felt like a big pickup. But why was the Stone Tablet Saga so revered?
BEN: Was it simply because it was a multi-part story? Maybe it felt like an epic back then. By the time of Bendis, fans were begging for one-and-done stories again.
DUY: Yeah, I just thought Romita's art looked slightly different. But the earliest example of what we're talking about is Shazam and the Monster Society of Evil, which is not even good stuff for the Golden Age, but is a landmark storyline just because it ran over two years. It also gives me an excuse to mention Carl Barks, who was the first one in American comics to do long adventure stories (though in his case it was 20 pages, coming from 5 to 8). with beginnings, middles, and ends.
DUY: That's it for Spider-Rama this week.
BEN: Thank you, Stan Lee and Steve Ditko—
DUY: —for telling us we aren't the only ones.
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1 comment:
Kudos for mentioning Carl Barks, the greatest American storyteller, ever!
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