Peter Parker has a book! But J. Jonah Jameson gets all the money for it! But Peter can get big bucks for book signings! So….Peter goes on a book tour to California, where…
The burglar Black Fox moved so that Spider-Man wouldn’t interfere with his business anymore.
I love the irony in this, but it continues to be astoundingly stupid that wherever Peter goes, even when he’s going there very publicly on a book tour, Spider-Man also shows up. And nobody connects it. (And speaking of connection, last issue there was a cliffhanger that someone had connected Peter to Spider-Man based on his Bugle photos—it turns out, it was the guys who wanted to publish the book.
This is actually covered, though, when the quick-on-her-feet Mary Jane explains that Spidey agreed to come along on the book tour. That’s a little facile, though, since (a) he’s not getting paid and (b) he’s supposed to be a superhero, whose entire identity is based on duty and not making money, because demanding money is what indirectly killed Uncle Ben.
But we, the readers, know that. The citizens of the Marvel Universe don’t. So it’s all good.
And at the end of issue #304, the action starts. Prowler (a black guy) is in Cali, too, and both he and Black Fox (who is a white guy) are after the same loot. Before you say “I thought he had gone straight?” let me tell you that it’s revealed later in the issue that Prowler is actually trying to catch Black Fox’s fence—he’s working for a security company.
Anyway, it’s great that issue #304 is almost entirely Peter Parker, but as a reader you don’t even notice it. David and Todd are knocking this series out of the park!
Also, Spidey signs an autograph for Glenn Close, so there’s a celebrity appearance—but we never see her in frame. It’s a P.O.V. shot. Johnny and Ed McMahon, however, do appear…
And on the letters page…
Editor Jim Salicrup explains that the book is now coming out twice-a-month, so they’ve recruited a “Magnificent 7” set of inkers to ensure they make the deadlines.
Note: “The Spider’s Web” is both a lame name for the letters page, and a weak-ass logo. Marvel usually did a lot more interesting stuff with the letters page banners.