Issue 27 is the first time Frank Miller draws Daredevil. That's notable, but I mainly rated these issues on the strength of Miller's linework - neither the slightly washed out coloring of 27 or the too heavy inking of 28 could prevent the beautiful art from shining through.
That said, issue 26 should never have made it with this rating because of the Mooney art - usually solid but nothing to rave about - but something happened to Mooney in 26. His layout is spot-on with tighter panel shots allowing him to show character details - it's a shame he didn't continue with this for the rest of his run on the comic. The story arc actually started with issue 25, but keep away from that issue - Mooney's art is simply not up to par. I assure you that the story line will not suffer for the loss of that issue.
Another big draw is that Spider-Man gets blinded by the Mask Marauder in this tale. I've always had a great fear of blindness. I love to read and I like looking at art so I was very emotionally invested in the story. Bill Mantlo, starting with this arc, begins a series of wonderful tales, the tension he builds on this one is just wonderful. Peter's reaction to his situation and Matt's reaction to Peter is simply spot-on.
Bill Mantlo, the writer of this comic, met with an accident in 1992 and has been in institutional care ever since. Find out what happened to him here. Ways to donate to Bill Mantlo's care are all over the web. If you can, please help him out.
Posted by Pete Albano - July 17, 2011
Did you like this post?
My Comic Shop Prices
Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) comic books
Other Spectacular SPIDER-MAN Stories
1-3 : Tarantula, Lightmaster, Kraven
7-8 : Morbius the Living Vampire
47-48 : Belladonna and the Prowler
80 : J. Jonah Jameson - Reporter
87 : Spider-Man unmasks before the Black Cat
113 : Thugs break into the Parker house
114 : The Spider-Man costume gets stolen