Spectacular Spider-Man 85

Spectacular Spider-Man 85

The Hobgoblin May Be A Green Goblin Rip-Off But I Like Him A Lot

I love how this issue begins. The shadow-filled lab of the man who would become Hobgoblin evokes a strong mood of menace and mystery.

The Hobgoblin makes his appearance here in the midst of an excellently portrayed romance between the Black Cat and Spider-Man. I'm a huge fan of Felicia Hardy being better for Peter than MJ, by the way. Getting back to the Hobgoblin, this villain may be a rip-off of the original, but he's wonderfully presented - i don't mind the obvious rehash at all.

Al Milgrom handles the art chores this time around, coming from under the shadows of the much superior Ed Hannigan. Milgrom's art is better than Mooney's but its still unexceptional. Although some panels do stand out, like the one where Spiderman hangs upside down on the ledge to look into the Black Cat while she takes a bath (you read that right). The pinup-style panel of the Cat and Spidey jumping off to the New York night is also very good and the one of the Hobgoblin I picked as a sample below.

This issue is carried into four star territory by Bill Mantlo's writing chops. Subplots segue into each other seamlessly and the story moves along at just the right pace.

We leave the story with an interesting new villain and a new wrinkle on the relationship between Black Cat and Spider-Man.

Al Milgrom Hobgoblin art from this issue :

Bill Mantlo, the writer of this comic, met with an accident in 1992 and has been in institutional care ever since. Find out what happened to him here. Ways to donate to Bill Mantlo's care are all over the web. If you can, please help him out.

Posted by Pete Albano - July 24, 2011

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