Issue(s): Spectacular Spider-Man #152
Cover Date: Jul 89
Title: "A wolf's tale..."
Credits:
Gerry Conway - Writer
Sal Buscema - Penciler
Sal Buscema - Inker
Glenn Herdling - Assistant Editor
Jim Salicrup - Editor

Review/plot:
When i opened up this issue, i thought maybe i missed an issue.

It's actually a dream sequence, but in my defense, the Spider-Man story is bouncing back between Gerry Conway's Web and Spectacular, so it was entirely possible i grabbed the wrong book to read first. Also, why would Glory Grant dream about Spider-Man rescuing J. Jonah Jameson?

But it is Glory's dream.

While Eduardo, still in wolf form, just stares at Glory, we cut away to reporter Joy Mercado outside the window (too far away to see any wolves), who is uncomfortable about spying on Glory but not happy that she is dating a gangster. Joy then sees Spider-Man swing by, on his way to attack some of the Lobo brother's goons, who are unloading a weapons shipment.

Spider-Man is acting on information supplied by the Arranger, trying to stop things from blowing up into a full scale gang war. He's attacked by the other Lobo brother, Carlos, while on the scene.

Spidey gets dumped into the nearby river during the fight, and when he gets back the gang and the guns are gone. And he finds that JJ (really the Chameleon, and not seen on panel) won't even buy the photos he took of the fight because they make Spider-Man look too vulnerable. But he gets a morale boost when he finds out that Flash Thompson is trying to reinstate the Spidey Appreciation Society, and Harry Osborn is on board with the idea.

Meanwhile, in prison, it looks like Robbie and Bruiser have already consummated their "special" friendship, and Bruiser defends Robbie against Tombstone's goons.

Bruiser gets sent to solitary confinement, but according to the unwritten rules of the prison, Tombstone can't make a move until he's out.

Back to Glory, we see Eduardo explain his origin to Glory (basically, he's a werewolf), and then he reveals that he can't bring himself to kill her like he's supposed to because he's in love with her.

And Peter continues to debate the merits of helping the Arranger, while Kristy, who "fell in love with Peter Parker as only a sixteen-year-old can" looks on. We're told we'll learn Kristy's "secret" in Web of Spider-Man #53.

You'll also notice in the first scan above that Mary Jane's hair has changed. People were writing in to Amazing complaining that MJ's hair looked nothing like her old classic self, which is how it's been appearing in this book and Web. So they've responded by changing MJ's hair in these titles to match McFarlane's.

Nothing spectacular here (except the series name, ha ha) but it continues to be a good slow steady build of the gang war plot that Conway has been setting up for a long time now. If i didn't find the Glory/Eduardo romance to be somewhere between creepy and corny, i'd say this was pretty good.

Quality Rating: C+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: Glory is waking up after seeing Eduardo Lobo turn into a wolf "last night". The MCP have a number of Spider-Man appearances between last issue and this one. But i am placing this soon after Spectacular Spider-Man #151 and letting those issues fall between this and the next part of the new gang war story in Web of Spider-Man #53.

References:

• The Arranger asked Spider-Man to help him (and the Kingpin) against the Lobo brothers in Web of Spider-Man #51.
  
• Harry owes Spider-Man a debt after Spider-Man helped him during, well, the footnote just says in Inferno, but you can work backwards from Amazing Spider-Man #312.
  
• The gang war is the result of the Kingpin and the Arranger sending a brainwashed Punisher down to kill the Lobo brothers, and Spider-Man stopping him, in Spectacular Spider-Man #143.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A