Friday, January 18, 2013

Spider-Man has 99 Problems and the Ladies are 98 of Them!

Dear Ones, we have a holiday on Monday, so there will be no new posts until Tuesday!

Before I get to the point of today's post, I couldn't let this one pass by from Amazing Spider-Man #205:


Now for a little comic relief, these guys bear a deliberate resemblance to Bud Abbott and Lou Costello (making them ineligible for our new Hey... is that?(tm!) feature).

But "Easter eggs" are common in comics, so why would I bother you with this one?

Thusly: 


That, my friends, is a very unfortunate sound effect.  I don't know how long that word has been slang for something else, but it is perhaps one of the most hilarious things I've ever discovered when you consider this is literally a picture of Abbott "fapping" Costello.

Maybe it meant the same thing back then and someone knew exactly what they were doing, but I like to think that isn't the case.

Anyway, not you didn't already get your money's worth with that little exchange, let's take a look at Pete's love life.  In the previous issue, we meet.... I'm sorry, but I refuse to say that stupid name.  Let her introduce herself.



Based on the name and the look on Flash Thompson's face, I justifiably assumed she was an escort.  But no:


Okay, everyone got that?  Next issue:


Way to stick to your guns there, Pete!  

But, as is often the case when we do something we shouldn't, things don't go well:



SLAP HER! SLAP HER!


"In Iran, they execute people for thinking about what you'd like to do to her?"

Hmmmmm.... considering you're a male and she's a female, I think Shirin Ebadi might disagree with your interpretation of the Judicial System of Iran.  Then again, this comic was dated 1980, so it was hot on the heels of the 1979 overthrow of the Pahlavi Dynasty, so Pete's information might have been a bit dated.

Eisner Award Committee, please take note that I educate as well as entertain.

Before we break for today, let me put a bug in your ear because I'm going to bring this up later:


Okay, got that?  The Black Cat thinks she's in love with Spidey, but it's really some mis-placed daddy issues.  So, Pete does the ethical thing.  This time.  I guess that's to make up with the career-killer decision he almost made to date a student. 


Okay, so it would be wrong for Pete to take advantage of Felicia's issues, right?  Everyone got that?  Good, because as we progress in Amazing, I believe we're going to discover that Pete waits until Felicia gets just enough help to take the edge off before he reverses his position and enters into a romantic relationship with her.  Just like he did with Dawn Starr.  

Ick... just writing that stupid name dropped my IQ ten points, and it's not like I've got a lot to spare.


See you Tuesday!

5 comments:

MarvelX42 said...

I like the easy to remember names that sorta fit alter egos and such. Edward Nigma for instance.

Adam Barnett said...

You know, there are some names where it just seems that someone is predestined to have their alter ego. It stretches my willing suspension of disbelief, but I tolerate it. Names that are puns or sound like stage names are just too much for me.

Smurfswacker said...

There's a whole essay in Dawn Starr. Punning and descriptive character names were a mainstay of American comics for generations. Even "realistic" newspaper strips like Terry and the Pirates had characters named Bucky Wing, Happy Easter and Joss Goode. Villains and women usually got the fanciest names. By the late 60s the tradition seems to have faded. But where did it come from? Why did it last? Where did it go?

MarvelX42 said...

I am pretty sure that I remember Stan Lee saying that he did the whole same first letters and or sounds thing just so he could friggin remember the names. But like I said I don't have a problem with it. I mean if you are going to accept that people can juggle buildings, fly, breath underwater, burst into flames, etc than a silly name is just so low on the scale as to what would make something unbelievable as to not even register for me.

Buzz said...

"she loved her father so much... too much."