Comments on: Nostalgia November Day 14 — Amazing Spider-Man Annual #23

By: Neal K

Neal K — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:04:45 +0000

I have very fond memories of the Atlantis Attacks annuals. I got a lot of them (though not all) and really enjoyed them a lot. I spent many an hour that summer poring through those books and taking advantage of all that extra free time afforded by summer vacation.

I do remember being kind of frustrated that I couldn’t get ALL the annuals, since my only regular source of comics at the time was the local 7-11, and I was limited to whatever books they happened to carry. I still remember making breathless trips to that 7-11 to see what arrived that week, and being very excited at rare out-of-town trips that allowed me to scrounge through other stores to see if they had anything different. As much as I love my local comic shop and the ability to reserve or pre-order books at will, I can’t help but feel a little bit of that magic is lost on the current crop of comics-reading youngsters.

By: Paul O'Brien

Paul O'Brien — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:56:54 +0000

According to Marvel Index #7, it’s actually the second Aunt May solo story (the first being a back-up strip in Amazing #220).

By: Mary Warner

Mary Warner — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:17:38 +0000

Actually, Peter Parker did drink on at least a few occasions as far back as 1988. He got (accidentally) drunk at a party and then had to fight the Macendale Hobgoblin. That was the first story that I’m aware of by Fabian Nicieza. I know he also had some champaign a year later at some party hosted by Silver Sable.

By: Rob Ocelot

Rob Ocelot — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:03:03 +0000

Chad, I find your comment about Peter drinking alcohol interesting. One of the longstanding things about Peter as a character is that he has been written as a tea totaller — I don’t think it’s been specifically stated, more implied that he never drinks alcohol (or other intoxicants) lest he lose control and injure someone. Add to that MJ’s alcohol related family problems and Harry’s experimentation with drugs and you have more than enough reason for Pete to always stay sober. It’s only in recent issues of ASM that they have explicitly shown him drinking and waking up with a hangover (among other things — gee thanks Brand New Day)

As for May getting upset over someone suggesting that Pete drinks, I believe it was retconned at some point that a relative of May’s was a notorious bootlegger in the 1930′s (it was related to a storyline about the history of the house Ben and May lived in). I’m sure anyone suggesting that a relative of a Riley (even not blood related) was a drinker would be quickly and shaprly corrected.

By: Mary Warner

Mary Warner — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:55:05 +0000

I skipped the annuals that year since I’m not much interested in Atlantis, but I did try to get the Evolutionary War annuals the year before. I only ended up with four, though. (I now have nine; I’m still missing the first two.) Annuals were difficult for me to acquire in those days, because they came out in the Summer and I was home from college, which meant there were no stores anywhere nearby that still sold comics. (I missed Kraven’s Last Hunt for that reason, after buying the first issue. I’m still upset over that.)

Was that really the very first Aunt May solo story? You’d think they would’ve had one before that sometime. An earlier Spectacular annual (#3, I think) had May’s photo album, but I guess that’s not the same as a story. What about her team-up with Franklin Richards? Would that count?

I wish they still did old-fashioned annuals, too. The newest Spider-Man annual wasn’t too bad, though last year’s was better. But they were single stories. No back-ups.

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By: Chad Nevett

Chad Nevett — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:44:27 +0000

“What was better than a Slurpee, a ballgame, and a giant honkin’ comic book?”

What IS better than a slushy (as I call them), a ballgame, and a giant honkin’ comic book? Not much. But I’m a kid at heart…

By: Adam

Adam — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:39:29 +0000

I remember buying this annual at a 7-11 after a Phillies game. Ah, youth. What was better than a Slurpee, a ballgame, and a giant honkin’ comic book? I no longer have a my copy of this book, so I don’t know how well a read of it would hold up today. Back then? This book was friggin’ awesome.

Honestly, I wish Marvel would release more giant-sized titles like this. I’ll honestly give them credit for KING-SIZE HULK #1 released last summer. Despite being written by Jeph Loeb, it had three stories, some preview pages, and THREE reprint comics. I really felt like I got my money’s worth for that book.

One other note: while a nutso Abomination made a really interesting villain for Spidey, this title did screw over Hulk readers. The Abomination just…showed up…again in the Hulk about a year later. Peter David had to make a throwaway reference to what happened in this Annual. But otherwise, the Abomination hadn’t been seen in Hulk in almost a decade (he reappeared in a Hulk annual referenced in this story). If you were a Hulk reader who hadn’t read this Spidey annual, you’d be like, “Huh?”

By: jazzbo

jazzbo — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:58:23 +0000

I also was a big fan of Marvel’s annuals. The year before was the Evolutionary War storyline, which I really liked. I didn’t get all the annuals, but I got a lot of them. I think I got most of the Atlantis attacks annuals. I thought it was an even better idea when they switched to just 3 or 4 annuals being one storyline. So for example the X-annuals were one storyline that was complete between those 4 annuals. That way if there was a family of books you weren’t interested in you could skip that whole storyline and not miss anything. And all the extras were great, too. They need to put back-up stories into more annuals.

By: The Crazed Spruce

The Crazed Spruce — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:22:35 +0000

Y'know, I think Liefeld is the only artist whose work grew steadily worse with practice. (Not counting those who developed a medical condition that affected their work, of course.) I loved his work in the Hawk & Dove mini, and his early stuff on The New Mutants, but he started going downhill when he left Marvel's editorial control. And somehow, I doubt that's a coincidence.... You're right, Marvel did a hell of a job with their annuals back then. DC tried with their "Private Lives" features and the Who's Who pages, but Marvel really loaded theirs with extras. Totally worth the extra buck.

By: Chad Nevett

Chad Nevett — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:07:22 +0000

Eh, lay off him. It’s something that’s been done to death. The first ten years or so of it was funny, but that time has passed.

By: Ellis Wyatt

Ellis Wyatt — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:04:42 +0000

If someone could provide a link to the above-mentioned Enchantress piece, it’d be appreciated. I need a good companion pic for the “Why God Why?!” Captain America Liefeld pic.

By: Wraith

Wraith — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:51:27 +0000

Ah yes, I think I recall an infamous Liefeld drawing (of the Enchantress, maybe?) from Heroes Reborn, in which the woman’s legs were about 75% of her entire body’s height.

I have X-Factor annual #4. That one’s the bomb!

By: mrjayberry

mrjayberry — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:36:57 +0000

I just reread all my loose issues of Altantis Attacks the other day. Good times. I agree I much prefer company wide crossovers to be done this way.

By: Nostalgia November Archive | Comics Should Be Good! @ Comic Book Resources

Nostalgia November Archive | Comics Should Be Good! @ Comic Book Resources — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:27:28 +0000

[...] Day 12 — Transformers #63 Nostalgia November Day 13 — Adventures of the Super Mario Bros. #5 Nostalgia November Day 14 — Amazing Spider-Man annual #23 The Reread Reviews — The Death of Superman The Reread Reviews — World Without a [...]