Spider-Man Heroes & Villains Collection (UK) #42

Background

This is a 60-part weekly series being pumped into the market by Eaglemoss publications. They don't know much about Spidey, but they know that 60 * $8.99 = quite a lot. And I'm the kind of idiot who will spend that sort of money without doing the math.

There's an original 7-page story in every issue, and collectible trading cards too. Sure, the stories are terrible, the art has been 90% ghastly, and the price is far, far too high. But there's glossy paper, trading cards, and an original Spider-Man comic strip series that 99% of the U.S. collectors will never own!

Story 'The Ghost of Spider-Man'

This magazine has dumped a load from a great height onto many of the classic characters in Spider-Man history. Currently they're working through the modern pantheon of characters, taking a cheap shot at a few JMS creations. This week... Shathra and Ezekiel get the seven-page treatment.

Spider-Man hasn't been seen for a while. But his ghost is popping up around town. Ezekiel is trying to save his fellow spider-buddy. If you don't know who Ezekiel is, well, don't expect any explanations. This issue doesn't give me one, so why should I help you out?

All we know is that 'Zeke and Peter "share the sacred Spider Power". Ezekiel then summons a bunch of spiders to go find Spider-Man in the real world, while he himself heads across to the astral plane. There he finds Spider-Man's spirit just about to be eaten by Shathra, the Wasp Demon!

Spidey explains how he got knocked out while investigating a Hydra laboratory and fell into a vat of liquid chemicals. He woke up all ghost-like and floating in crazy space.

Ezekiel is powerless to save Spidey in the astral plane. But fortunately the spiders Ezekiel summoned back in New York were able to find Spidey, climb into the vat, revive his body, and save him just before he dies for real.

Good guys win.

General Comments

You might imagine that Eaglemoss carefully screens its writers before hiring them to work on a Spider-Man comic.

Q1. Are you a talented writer?

Q2. Do you have any respect for classic Spidey stories?

Answer "No" on both counts, and you have a job!

Overall Rating

Like a fat man chugging down a bag of potato chips and congratulating himself for eating all his vegetables, this magazine presumably believes it really is offering a service to its readers.

I disagree. Half a web.