#gerry conway

Daredevil and the Black Widow #94 (Conway/Colan, Dec 1972). I can’t believe Matt and Nat face a giant villain and don’t at least acknowledge the original giant DD villain… Justice for Stilt-Man!

Daredevil and the Black Widow #93 (Conway/Colan, Nov 1972). After a brainwashed Natasha attacks him, Matt confronts the mastermind behind the conspiracy: Damon Dran, the Indestructible Man!

Werewolf by Night #2 (Conway/Ploog, Nov 1972). A dying man deduces Jack Russell’s “terrible” secret, and tries to harness the power of the werewolf transformation to survive. We saw a very similar tale play out recently with the Hulk, but Russell feels so specifically plugged into this wave of ‘70s horror that it feels like a distinct story to me.

Marvel Team-Up #5 (Conway/Kane, Nov 1972). Pete finds The Vision, reeling from the reassertion of Simon Williams’ brainwaves. Together they foil the Puppet Master’s latest ploy.

Amazing Spider-Man #116 (Lee & Conway/Romita, Jan 1973). Deja vu! With some clever dialogue edits and a fresh coat of paints, Gerry Conway recycles pages from Spectacular Spider-Man #1.

Thor #206 (Conway/Buscema, Dec 1972). Loki and the Absorbing Man finally return to Midgard, but Thor’s real foe this month is windows.

Marvel Team-Up #10 (Conway/Conway, June 1973). Spidey escapes back to 1973 and conscripts the Torch to help fight their future foes. But when the quest leads them to the Inhumans’ Great Refuge, Johnny flames out to avoid his former flame.

Marvel Team-Up #9 (Conway/Andru, May 1973). Zarrko the Tomorrow Man whisks Spidey and ol’ Shellhead away to the 23rd century. But where time travel and the Avengers are involved, surely Kang the Conqueror can’t be far behind…

Marvel Team-Up #8 (Conway/Mooney, Apr 1973). Okay, the politics haven’t aged great — the villain is a misandrist named Man-Killer, whose murderous rampage threatens to unravel the small progress of the women’s lib movement. But I’m still enjoying these early appearances of the Cat, simply ‘cause she’s bringing a new energy to this story that’s already a decade deep.

Marvel Team-Up #7 (Conway/Andru, Mar 1973). Pete is swept up into a time-bending, reality-warping adventure with Thor! Secret identity be damned — Pete eagerly drops trou for this.

Marvel Team-Up #6 (Conway/Kane, Jan 1973). After years of Spidey’s lone wolf routine, this book finally lets him bond with other heroes. Here, he meets Alicia and realizes Ben must not be such a brute. Really looking forward to seeing Pete eventually become an extended member of the First Fam.

Amazing Spider-Man #120 (Conway/Kane, May 1973). Gil Kane taps in to finish this showdown. Pete’s investigation into Aunt May’s telegram ends abruptly when the Canadian sender is assassinated. Reader, I gasped.

Amazing Spider-Man #119 (Conway/Romita, Apr 1973). Pete goes to Montreal, tracing a mysterious telegram sent to Aunt May. But General Ross is in town, still pursuing the Hulk…

Amazing Spider-Man #118 (Lee & Conway/Romita, Mar 1973). In the year of our Gourd Twenty Twenty-Two, it’s a real bummer to read that any meaningful strides in progressive politics are undermined by the ambition and foibles of individuals.

Amazing Spider-Man #117 (Lee & Conway/Romita, Feb 1973). The remake of that Spectacular Spider-Man tale continues.

Daredevil and the Black Widow #96 (Conway/Colan, Feb 1973). The Man-Bull’s gunsel puts Matt in the hospital. Ivan’s busted up too, so Nat’s covering a lot of San Fran’s heroic needs. But everyone underestimates how much Matt loves suffering. He loves it so much.

Daredevil and the Black Widow #95 (Conway/Colan, Jan 1973). The Man-Bull escapes prison and treks to San Fran for his revenge.

Thor #212 (Conway/Buscema & Perlin, June 1973). Thor and company defy their exile and finally return to Asgard. They find the city occupied by lizard creatures, and their fellow gods enslaved by aliens. Kinda seems like the Asgardians should’ve been powerful enough to deal with a bug infestation, but okay.

Thor #211 (Conway/Buscema & Perlin, May 1973). Thor briefly sets aside his search for Sif and Balder. Reclaiming Mjolnir from a hellfire pit, the God of Thunder fights his way back to Midgard and stops Ulik’s invasion in its tracks. I like these stories where enchanted armies of trolls, elves, or demons invade Earth.

Thor #210 (Conway/Buscema, Apr 1973). Ulik returns, managing to not only part Thor from Mjolnir but cast the mystic hammer into hellfire!

Thor #209 (Conway/Buscema, Mar 1973). The search for Sif leads Thor to England, where he blunders into the path of a Druidic alien on his way back home… An intriguing allusion to Woden goes unquestioned. Wondering if we’ll discover more secrets in Odin’s past…!

Thor #208 (Conway/Buscema, Feb 1973). The God of Thunder is pretty cranky that Sif ran off with Karnilla. Conway’s bringing some fun human drama to this saga of ancient gods.

Thor #207 (Conway/Buscema, Jan 1973). An awesomely macabre tale! After striking the Absorbing Man into a lake (where Creel melts?!), Loki unleashes a pair of demonic wolves and an enchanted flaming sword upon his half-brother. His wrath finally goes too far and Loki is blinded by a lightning flash. Meanwhile, the Marvel Bullpen’s road trip weaves through the Beast’s story in Amazing Adventures. Their appearance bothers me less here (it’s kinda neat seeing how they structure the crossover) but the actual narrative of their trip is a mess.