Written by Dan Jurgens
Art by Dan Fraga; Lary Stucker; Jon Sibal; Livesay; Norm Rapmund; Richard Starkings; Comicraft/KS & AD; & Extreme Color (Don Skinner, Ron Rife, Tanya Horie, Jeff Voeltner, Brett Evans, & Andy Troy)
Variant Cover Art (as seen below) by Stephen Platt
SUMMARY:
Teaming up, Marvel Comics & Maximum Press released the conclusion of their Spider-Man/Badrock two-parter for March 1997. It’s entitled simply as “Crossing Over, Part 2 of 2.” In a New York City ambush, Venom has downed this makeshift duo. Fighting back, Spider-Man & Badrock face a continuing gauntlet of Spider-foes: Carnage, Green Goblin, Hobgoblin, and the Vulture.
Readily annoyed, they must then backtrack their suspicions re: the elusive culprit playing head games with them. Meanwhile, J. Jonah Jameson’s exclusive photo shoot with the Youngblood squad is held up by some extortion from his least-favorite staff photographer. With Mary Jane’s help, Peter passes on a rare Battlestar Galactica souvenir to Badrock.
Note: Two covers were produced for this comic. The other cover artist is Dan Fraga.
REVIEW:
Think of it as a Maximum Press homage of the old Marvel Team-Up series. In that sense, Spidey & Badrock sport surprisingly good chemistry together, such as a propensity to instantly recuperate from seemingly severe injuries. Including a barrage of A-list Spider-foes, an amusing Daily Bugle sequence, and a sweet last page courtesy of Peter & Mary Jane, this issue supplies a surprisingly good read for all ages. Dan Jurgens’ reliability writing Spider-Man in more of a lighthearted vein carries much of the load. To Jurgens’ credit, he welcomes Badrock with near-equal screen time.
Impressively, the Maximum Press crew conveys the likable visuals (including the cover) in a consistent manner that lives up to Marvel production values. Even if the plotting is just business-as-usual, the satisfying Spider-Man/Badrock # 1B is worth adding to any comics collection.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
None.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 7 Stars
