There was an ever tiny break between me reading this issue and the last. The reason for this is mostly because life gets in the way and I had other things to read as well. But I also have to admit that I have an involuntary negative reaction to this issue. It's actually one of the first issues of Spider-Man I ever read. I was introduced to Spider-Man comics through my dad's old collection and he had old Marvel Tales reprints of some classic Spider-Man issues, including this one. And I just never really liked it? Having just finished it for the first time in years, I have to say I'm not sure why I'm so involuntarily negative about this issue.

This issue doesn't do a ton for the ongoing Spider-Man narrative. Betty and Peter get closer to dating, but not much and Liz Allen falls for Spider-Man, thus breaking it off with Flash and Peter. That's it. And I'm not even sure that last bit lasts beyond this issue. Most of the issue takes place down in Florida and that makes for a very straightforward issue. It has to be quick and to the point. This may work in the issue's favor, as it keeps the pace very brisk. You want exciting comics, not boring ones, and because of how Marvel comics were written back then, those were kind of your onky two options.

The best thing about this issue is J. Jonah Jameson. I love how on the nose Spider-Man is about getting Jameson to hire a photographer to go down to the Everglades. It's just so blunt and you have to question how Jameson didn't connect the dots. And at the end, Jameson asks Peter where he got the photos of the Lizard. And Peter has apparently forgotten their deal that JJJ never asks him that because he instead tries to explain it away by saying he got them from an native guide near the everglades. Not only would Jameson be unable to use those pictures, but he also immediately assumes they're fake and tears them up, meaning Peter doesn't get paid. Good going, Peter. Great going, Jonah.

Quote of the issue: "Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue... I'm Still At Large, So Phooey to You!" more

(Cover date: November, 1963)