Thursday, September 16, 2021

Pre-Twilight, it was considered good form to tell someone if you thought they were dating a werewolf.

Not Jack Russell or that dreamy John Jameson, it's still yet another werewolf or two hassling Spidey, in today's book: from 1989, Web of Spider-Man #53, "Wolves in the Night" Written by Gerry Conway, pencils by Mark Bagley, inks by Keith Williams. 

Spidey gets a tip on a truck full of stolen army guns, and makes short work of some of the Lobo Brothers' boys. Questioning them, En EspaƱol, he learns they were declaring war on "el hombre gordo," the fat man, the Kingpin. Spidey passes the news back to his tipster, the Arranger, but also advises that was their problem. The Arranger had tried to get the Punisher to kill the Lobos, but that had panned out, and grudges may have been held. 

Later, Peter Parker visits the Daily Bugle, currently under J.Jonah Jameson as publisher and editor-in-chief since Robbie Robertson was in jail awaiting appeal. Unsurprisingly, JJJ is generally being a dick to everyone, and on another of his usual anti-Spider-Man tirades. Actually, perhaps that should be 'crusade' rather than 'tirade,' as he seems more restrained, less chatty. (I may be misremembering, or confusing this with another time, but I suspect JJJ has been replaced by the Chameleon.) Peter is a little depressed at JJJ's giving him the brush-off: he had earned city editor Kate Cushing's trust, but of course things can't go too easy for him. Waiting for the elevator, Peter is stopped by Joy Mercado, who wants to talk to him about their mutual friend, Glory Grant. Joy was worried about Glory's new boyfriend, Eduardo Lobo; one of the aforementioned Lobo Brothers! Peter takes that on, pretty sure that was going to be a problem. 

The next page, oh, maybe that's why I thought JJJ had been replaced by the Chameleon: because the Chameleon reveals just that in a meeting with Hammerhead! Next, as promised on the cover, "What's the matter with Kristy?" Kristy who? MJ's young cousin, staying with the Parkers and Aunt May. I'm not sure she had been around long, but she had a crush on Peter and bulimia at this point. Mary Jane probably should have seen both of those coming, in retrospect. 

Meanwhile, at Glory's apartment, Spidey finds shredded men's clothes, with an 'L' belt buckle, and a receipt for an aircraft hanger rental. Since a wolf-creature had attacked him a few times around the Lobos, Spidey's starting to put it together by the time he swings to the hanger and faces off with the usual gunmen. He wasn't expecting both brothers to be werewolves, though! He makes a good effort, but is unable to stop the Lobos from taking off in an assault helicopter, on their way to the Kingpin's, and Spidey ends up ditched in the river!
And back at Aunt May's, Kristy is passed out in the bathroom...to be continued, in Spectacular Spider-Man #153! Wait, looking at that cover, is that right? Maybe the Lobos' helicopter attack did not go well at all. And Kristy's bulimia storyline is probably a bit rote, but I'm going to give Conway credit for trying to present it as a legit problem and hopefully not hopping on a bandwagon...

2 comments:

Mr. Morbid's House Of Fun said...

1st time seeing MJ's cousin. What ever happened to her? Did she ever appear again once her storyline got wrapped up?

I believe The Chameleon/Jameson one wrapped with Jameson eventually escaping right?

googum said...

I don't think anything horrible happened to Kristy; she may have just gone on to college after her bulimia storyline wrapped.

The Jameson one, I'm not sure; especially since some of these plots but not all went from title to title.