Roderick Kingsley Archive

The three-part Spectacular Spider-Man “Goblins at the Gate” arc which ran in issues #259-261, is the comic book equivalent of the Wrestlemania 18 showdown between Hulk Hogan and The Rock. In these three issues – which also function as a postscript to the Roger Stern/Ron Frenz Hobgoblin Lives miniseries

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The “Hobgoblin Lives” mini-series certainly goes a long way in setting things “right” about the identity of the Hobgoblin in that writer Roger Stern was finally given an opportunity to explain the story he was building before leaving Amazing Spider-Man at issue #250. But despite the fact that Stern

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Retcons are often the lifeblood of comic book storytelling. I mean, who doesn’t appreciate somebody fixing the mistakes of a previous editorial regime by wiping that older story from existence? While I can understand some hang-wringing regarding how some retcons have been deployed in the Spider-Man universe over the

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For the past eight weeks, I’ve looked at a series of comic books that initiated one of the greatest and most clumsily handled mysteries in the history of Spider-Man. There are tons of scattershot accounts of how the identity of the Hobgoblin was supposed to pay off – including

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After months of planning, plotting and misdirection, Amazing Spider-Man #249 shows an invigorated Hobgoblin who is finally starting to make his master plan of conquest apparent to his intended victims. Beyond the Hobgoblin’s initial introduction in ASM #238, this issue and the two that follow (marking the end the

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Amazing Spider-Man #245 reminds us of a period of the Hobgoblin’s existence where his secret identity was not the source of such hand-wringing and controversy. As he did for the character’s three previous appearances in ASM, writer Roger Stern plants small clues along with some serious pieces of misdirection

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What’s so unique about Amazing Spider-Man #239 is how writer Roger Stern takes his new creation, the Hobgoblin, and expertly crafts the villain as a legitimate physical and psychological threat to Spider-Man, while also exposing the character’s vulnerabilities and weaknesses. In the 20 years of Spider-Man comics that preceded

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I’m a little embarrassed to admit this, but when I started reading Spider-Man comic books in the 1980s, I was a little late to the Hobgoblin party. Trust me, as a long-time collector and enthusiast, I understand why he was a big deal. But since my first comic was

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As I mentioned in my last post, I’m woefully behind in talking about Marvel’s most recent Spider-Man-relevant content, so in an effort to get back on track, I’m going to to attempt to get some posts out in rapid-fire succession over the next week or so, starting with my

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