The Amazing Spider-Man Meets Sally's Superheroes

Background

Back in the early '90s for a week or two, Marvel Comics was owned by the guy who owned Revlon (yeah, the beauty products). During that time period, there was at least one promotional giveaway that was produced that tied the two companies together. This is it, a four-page comic that consisted of a cover, a two-page "story" and a back cover that consisted of an ad for several Revlon products.

Story Details

According to the caption in panel one, it is nighttime in "Anytown, USA" and shots have been fired. A burglar (who looks like an odd cross between Kraven the Hunter and The Punisher) is waving his pistol around in an ally when Spider-Man (quite literally) drops in on him, overpowers him, and webs him up.

Upon examining the contents of the sack he was carrying, Spidey discovers that it is filled with Revlon beauty products. Realizing that there could be only one place that the thief could have stolen it (from the great beauty supply place that Mary Jane (his then wife) is always raving about), Spidey heads over there to return the products.

Once there he meets up with a costume trio who turn out to be Sally's Superheroes of Beauty, who point out all of the brand-new Revlon products that the beauty superstore stocks.

General Comments

As stated, this is nothing more than a flyer to promote Revlon products, so there truly is no "story" here, other than to tie Spidey to the Revlon products themselves. Still, in spite of that there really is a full story here. A robbery, Spidey's arrival and triumph over the villain of the piece, and the resolution where the owner of the loot receives back their stolen items. Action, adventure, pathos, and drama, what more could you ask for in a comic?

Overall Rating

True, there is no story, and the whole thing is 4 pages long, but it is a "lost" Spidey comic and thus very cool to have in one's collection. Plus the art is truly amazing, rendered by Arlen Schumer, who is not only a student of Neil Adam's Continuity Associates, but a first rate graphic artist, who has spent his professional career painting comicbook-style art for main-stream magazines and newspapers.

Footnote

In addition to being a very talented artist, and a really nice guy, Arlen is also an extremely knowledgeable comicbook historian, who not only lectures on the subject of comics (and the Twilight Zone), but also wrote the wonderful book "The Art of the Silver Age of Comics." You can find Arlen's website at www.arlenschumer.com.