Gerry’s run on Spider-Man is remarkably uneven. We can get some of the best-written and plotted books ever, and then we can get a two-issue story about Man-Wolf that’s just terrible.
It’s also when Ross Andru comes aboard, and I’m not a huge fan of his, either. He’s also very uneven. So maybe that’s why they paired him with Conway.
Gee, I actually liked it. And I’ve never been too keen on Marvel’s quasi-vampire and werewolf characters. I just thought they were written well. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Gerry Conway was the Shakespeare of the comics industry. His stuff was always intelligent and eloquent, as if he were deliberately not trying to write for kids. ( on the one hand, I respect that, but on the other hand, without kids in the buying market, there is no comic-book industry ) I particularly enjoyed the several page sequence in #124 where Parker is trying to return to his day-to-day routine following Gwen Stacy’s murder and funeral, and finding that he cannot. Very realistic, and very, very good drama, of which Conway excelled at. Conway may not have been your cup of tea, but he was certainly mine. I will agree with you, however, that Ross Andru makes for a poor man’s John Romita Senior. ( but he tried hard ) I would give this two-parter a “B+”, ( issue#124 ) and a “B”, ( issue#125 ) respectively.