From Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #358 (1992)
Every story is someone’s first.
Such was the case with the Round Robin story found in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #353-358. In the pages of those issues, a character named Midnight reentered Spider-Man’s life. The former sidekick of Moon Knight, Midnight was coming back to cause all kinds of trouble. Spider-Man got involved in the case alongside 1990s-era Marvel heroes Punisher, Night Thrasher, Nova, Moon Knight, and Darkhawk.
I was 9 when this six-part story was released. I had no relationship with any of these characters aside from Spider-Man and even then it was only due to my having seen a handful of old cartoons. Somehow, these comics made their way into our house and landed in my bedroom. They were voraciously devoured over the course of weeks and months. This was my entryway into the Marvel Universe as these characters coordinated their efforts in an attempt to undue the damage caused by Midnight and his Secret Empire allies. Seeing this random group of heroes together on this page still gets me jazzed as I think about how revolutionary this story was for me as a kid.
Written by Al Milgrom, the story was a wonderful gateway for readers interested in the greater Marvel Universe. Mark Bagley supplied the pencils for this story, which showed off just how well he drew Spider-Man. It was his involvement with Ultimate Spider-Man many years later that drew me to that tale but it was here that he first cut his teeth.
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Ah yes. I remember my first big intro page like this. An issue of Uncanny X-Men, a big two-page spread that was a battle with the X-Men and Starjammers on one side, the Shi’ar Imperial Guard on the other. Everyone had the little name box next to them. Jim Lee I think, must have been circa Uncanny X-Men #275. Fun stuff.
I got into comics and in particular Spider-man shortly after this story, Mark Bagley is still my favorite Spider-man artist and drew the best Venom in my opinion as well.
Wow. It’s fascinating how an artist evolves over time. I never would’ve guessed that was Bagley, but now that you mention it, it seems so obvious.
The issue before this was the first comic I ever read. I had no idea what was going on, but I loved it!
I have that story in boxes somewhere. I was a huge fan of ASM between issues 230-415. Not so much these days, but I have from time to time wondered if Midnight ever came back. I always thought that he was a cool villain.
I have this issue signed by BAGLEY!
This was awesome and it was bi-weekly. This man is one of the best artists ever. Take that Jim Lee and EVS!
This story arc was my entry into Spider-man. It also gave me an affinity for all of those heroes. Yes, even Darkhawk.
Couldn’t the covers be joined together to make this giant image? Or am I thinking of something else?
It’s 1992, so it’s a pretty safe bet.
This issue had a tri-fold cover that was pretty neat. But no, this six-parter all had separate covers.
I actually have this! Got it randomly at one of those Baseball Card/Comic Book shows at a Mall a few years back.
Even seeing that page it’s such a random team up of heroes. Funny you don’t see Nova and Spider-Man team up more since they have personalities that mesh well together.
I have all those issues. Such a cool, random story line.