Issue(s): Amazing Spider-Man #221
Cover Date: Oct 81
Title: " Blues for Lonesome Pinky!"
Credits:
Denny O'Neil - Writer
Alan Kupperberg - Penciler
Jim Mooney - Inker
Tom DeFalco - Editor

Review/plot:
Denny O'Neil's last full issue on the title (after a fill-in last issue) features the stage debut of Lonesome Pinky.

Lonesome's gig is a prominent part of the plot. It turns out that the low level villain Ramrod wanted the gig, and when Pincus got it instead of him...

...he forces an ESU scientist to create some poison that he uses to poison all of the patrons at the bar. Spider-Man has to trek all the way from Brooklyn and back to get a cure, and in the meantime, because the poison makes its victims go berserk, Pincus has to sing to them to sooth their savage breasts.

Spider-Man also defeats Ramrod the only way you should when your opponent's power is he has a metal plate in his head.

For some reason, i really got a kick out of Spidey's zingers this issue. Join the tic-tac-toe team! Hah!

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Peter sees Debra Whitman and Biff Rifkin on a date at the bar where Lonesome Pincus is playing, placing this before Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #59-60.

References:

• Spider-Man fought Ramrod previously in Daredevil #103.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

You know, it's hard for me to pinpoint why I don't like O'neils Spiderman run. He wrote good downtime scenes, tried to introduce different villains to spidey's rouges gallery, tried to give them interesting motivations. A lot of elements i should like.

Just can't put my finger on what i don't like.

Kveto, I agree with you. O'Neil is a talented writer who is a master of the craft, but his main stories don't always grab me. He can be very hit and miss that way. When O'Neil is good, he is very, very good. But that's not consistent in a way that I feel Roger Stern always turns out excellent work.

In an interview at manwithoutfear.com, Jim Shooter said that if O'Neil wasn't interested, he could hack badly, and I think this may be an example of what he meant. O'Neil's work always shows a high level of craft, but a story about a forgotten loser villain upset over losing a gig to Lonesome Pincus shows someone not really putting in a great effort.

All great points Kveto but I too just don't like the run.

STILL! I do appreciate Denny for trying to give some sense of arc and closer to Peter's annoying singing neighbor.

Now I do love his Batman stuff, his climax issue of Batman and Jean Paul is full of substance instead of flash and I love it.

That's funny, because I thought the climax issue of Knight's End was an anticlimax. Jean Paul is blinded, and he just gives up? And this was after a Cap issue a few years earlier where Steve is blinded and is still able to defend himself until he gets his vision back so it's not like the idea of a hero being able to defend himself while blinded hadn't been done before.

For about three straight issues it was nothing but Jean Paul fighting guys. First Batman for two issues and then Nightwing got his chance for a whole issue and gets beaten. Then Bruce and Jean meet back up at the mansion for a confrontation. There is some action but we see Batman analzying the situation, strengths and weakness' with Paul's armor until he comes up with a plan. Does it involve breaking his spine or neck like Frank Miller's Batman? No. Throwing Jean Paul off a high place like all the first four movie Batmen? No.

I liked the symbolism of this dark and gritty Batman being defeated with light and Bruce forgiving him and giving him a chance to redeem himself, some Jean Paul never did, who was a big take that against superheroes getting mean, grim and overly violent with little tact or depth. My action was satisfied with those previous few issues.

I dunno, better than having Bruce and Jean fuse into one creature then put on display. O'neil clearly clicked better with Bruce than with Peter.

Sorry for the DC discussion on a Marvel page.

Got this issue because it said "Crisis on Campus" and I thought maybe it was a sequel or throwback to the issue 68 "Crisis on Campus" issue. My impressions:
1) The cover is a lie! Only a couple pages at the beginning were on ESU's campus, most of it was at this dive bar in Brooklyn.
2) Ramrod? Really, that's the best villain Denny can come up with here? I do like how Peter really rubs it in about how outclassed Ramrod is.
3) This is the first time I've ever seen Deb Whitman and said, "Wow, Deb's looking hot!" Maybe she got dressed up for her big night out at the bar?