The Comic Book Time Machine
Exploring comic books past and present
The Comic Book Time Machine
Navigation
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Support
    • Amazon
    • My Comic Shop
  • Other Podcasts
You are here: Home › Ben › SPIDER-MAN: FEAR ITSELF – Ben’s Horror-Comic-Athon October 2018 #14

SPIDER-MAN: FEAR ITSELF – Ben’s Horror-Comic-Athon October 2018 #14

October 14, 2018 | Filed under: Ben, October Horror Comics, Review

In the spirit of Halloween, Ben is reading one horror comic every day. Will they keep him up? Or will they put him to sleep? We’ll find out…

It’s October 14th. I’ve done a Superman story. It’s Marvel’s turn, now. So Spider-Man teams up with Man-Thing in what just may be one of my favorite Man-Thing stories that’s not by Steve Gerber . . .

ENTRY FOURTEEN:

SPIDER-MAN – FEAR ITSELF: Marvel Comics; Stuart Moore, writer; Joe Suitor, artist; published 2009

Man-Thing is one of my favorite characters, although it might be more accurate to call him one of my favorite story-telling engines. He’s not much of a character, even in his own stories. Instead, he’s a disruption. A lumbering force of nature with very, very little agency of his own, he enters other characters’s stories, drawn by strong emotions, and throws everything into chaos, forcing the characters to face a new reality (one that includes a monster) and confront their problems with this new element in their life.

Oh, and if you’re scared, well, “whatever knows feel burns a the Man-Thing’s touch.”

And so this story. It’s a meditation on fear, what it is and what it does and why it can be good.

It also falls into the body horror sub-genre, as Peter Parker gets infected and begins transforming into . . . a Spider-Man-Thing?

And then, it’s a poignant look at one of the worst fears of all. Losing your loved ones and being alone. It has a wonderful and touching and tragic twist ending that is able to give the mindless swamp creature a meaningful character arc.

It’s a great little horror story, where Spider-Man’s life is disrupted by the monster . . . and Man-Thing’s life is disrupted by the man.

PREVIOUS                                                                               NEXT

You can read the rest of this series here: Ben’s Horror-Comic-Athon October 2018

While Ben’s not podcasting daily for the entire month, The Comic Book Time Machine will be going daily for a week at the end of October. Don’t miss our WEEK OF WEIRD, as we explore some weird comics from October 25-31!

Did you like this article? Share it with your friends!

Tweet

Written by BenAvery

Visit my Website

2 Responses to "SPIDER-MAN: FEAR ITSELF – Ben’s Horror-Comic-Athon October 2018 #14"

  1. HAUNTED LOVE #5 – Ben’s Horror-Comic-Athon October 2018 #13 – The Comic Book Time Machine says:
    October 15, 2018 at 8:01 pm

    […] PREVIOUS                                                                               NEXT […]

    Reply
  2. HELLBOY: THE CORPSE – Ben’s Horror-Comic-Athon October 2018 #14 – The Comic Book Time Machine says:
    October 15, 2018 at 9:05 pm

    […] PREVIOUS                                                                               NEXT […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • About
  • Podcast
  • Support
    • Amazon
    • My Comic Shop
  • Other Podcasts

Recent Posts

  • THE COULSON CHRONICLES: The Infinity Watch (2024) #1 and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1
  • CLAY FOOTED GIANTS Graphic Novel by Mark McGuire and Alain Chevarier (Ben)
  • THE COULSON CHRONICLES 2: The Death Stone Saga & Battle Scars (Ben)
  • The Final Marvel LOGAN’S RUN Comic: Bizarre Adventures 28 – MCC127
  • TRANSFORMERS & FINAL FACTION – Dollar Store Comics (Ben)

Tags

2001: A Space Odyssey Action Comics Archie Goodwin Avengers Batman Bill Mantlo Cabal Carmine Infantino Crisis on Infinite Earths daredevil dc comics DC Universe Rebirth Devil Dinosaur Doug Moench fantastic four Godzilla Green Lantern Herb Trimpe Howard Chaykin Human Fly Illuminati Jack Kirby John Carter John Carter: Warlord of Mars Jonathan Hickman justice league Logan's Run Machine Man Man from Atlantis Manhunter Mark Shaw Marvel Marv Wolfman New Avengers Roy Thomas Scarlet Spider secret wars Silver Surfer Spider-Man spider-verse Star Wars superman Time Runs Out ultimate marvel What If

Archives

  • December 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • October 2023
  • August 2023
  • March 2023
  • December 2022
  • October 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • November 2019
  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • January 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014

Categories

  • 2001: A Space Odyssey
  • Battlestar Galactica
  • Ben
  • Ben's Bullpen Bulletin
  • Between Disney
  • Comics
  • Crazy Magazine
  • Crisis on Infinite Earths
  • Crossover
  • Daniel
  • DC Rebirth
  • Events
  • Featured
  • Gatchaman
  • Godzilla: King of the Monsters
  • Grab Bag
  • Group Episodes
  • Human Fly
  • John Carter: Warlord of Mars
  • Journey into the Mysterious House of Terror's Vault of Astonishing Suspense
  • Justice League: Gods and Monsters
  • Logan's Run
  • Man from Atlantis
  • Marvel Classics Comics
  • Marvel Movie Specials
  • Marvel Sci-Fi
  • Marvel Sci-Fi and Fantasy
  • Marvel Super Special
  • Marvel Team-Up
  • Matt
  • New Star Wars
  • October Horror Comics
  • Podcast
  • Review
  • Secret Wars
  • Shogun Warriors
  • Spider-Man
  • Spider-Verse
  • Star Wars
  • Swamp Things
  • The Micronauts
  • The What If Challenge
  • Uncategorized
  • Week of Weird
  • What If? & Elseworlds
  • What If/Elseworlds

Recent Comments

  • Marvel vs DC: PREDATOR VS. WOLVERINE Versus JUSTICE LEAGUE VS KING VS GODZILLA (Ben) – The Comic Book Time Machine on PREDATOR VS WOLVERINE Verses JUSTICE LEAGUE VS KONG VS GODZILLA (Ben) – CBTM186
  • Adventure into Fear #10 (Man-Thing 50 Years Later) – SWAMP THINGS Ep. 23/CBTM184 – The Comic Book Time Machine on MAN-THING’S ORIGINS (Savage Tales #1 and Astonishing Tales #12 and 13) Swamp Things Ep. 2 – CBTM103
  • GHOSTS #46: A Flea Market Challenge (Ben) – CBTM176 – The Comic Book Time Machine on GHOSTLY HAUNTS #31: Flea Market Challnge Pt. 2 – SWAMP THINGS Ep. 21/CBTM 177
  • GHOSTLY HAUNTS #31: Flea Market Challnge Pt. 2 – SWAMP THINGS Ep. 21/CBTM 177 – The Comic Book Time Machine on GHOSTS #46: A Flea Market Challenge (Ben) – CBTM176
  • GHOSTLY HAUNTS #31: Flea Market Challnge Pt. 2 – SWAMP THINGS Ep. 21/CBTM 177 – The Comic Book Time Machine on MAN-THING’S ORIGINS (Savage Tales #1 and Astonishing Tales #12 and 13) Swamp Things Ep. 2 – CBTM103

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

© 2025 The Comic Book Time Machine

Powered by Esplanade Theme and WordPress