The cover is awesome, depicting J. Jonah Jameson and Spider-Man fighting demons together. If you know these two characters and their traditional relationship, this gives the idea that something really serious must be going down if these two are actually joining forces for something.
"When the Bugle Blows"
Writer: Gerry Conway
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inker: Sal Buscema
Colorist: Bob Sharen & Wilcox
Letterer: Rick Parker
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
The story begins with the Hobgoblin (the Jason Macendale Jr. one), flying around New York City, grumbling about how unfair things are.
You see, in Amazing Spider-Man #312, he got beaten by Spider-Man teaming up with Harry Osborn, who was using his father's Green Goblin equipment. Hobgoblin is furious about it as...well...his equipment and experience as the Hobgoblin was superior to Harry. He sees himself as the true heir to the Goblin legacy, not Harry Osborn. However, the Hobgoblin has other problems.
Yup, a bunch of demons erupt from a billboard and attack the Hobgoblin. I can imagine they're also not happy about this guy running around dressed like one of them. An angry Hobgoblin blasts them away and basically hands them their butts. He rants that he doesn't care about the demonic madness of Inferno as long as he's left alone. He grumbles about the demons taking umbrage to him dressing as one, but then he gets hit by a bolt of inspiration as he glances at the demonically-mutated Empire State Building...
Across town, Spider-Man is witnessing the demon invasion in shock. Last issue, he dealt with a living fan vent and Osborn's factory trying to kill him. He swings towards the Daily Bugle so he can check on his co-workers. He also plans to visit Mary Jane who is doing a photo shoot at a studio. A strange wind blows out of nowhere. Spider-Man's Spider-Sense couldn't detect the dangerous wind, so it's able to catch the web-slinger and slam him into the a building hard. A groggy Spider-Man is able to catch a gargoyle. But the gargoyle turns into a monster and instead of taking a bite out of crime, it decides to take a bite out of the crimefighter.
Spidey falls to the ground and goes unconscious. He wakes up and finds himself near the Daily Bugle building, so he staggers towards it. Inside, J. Jonah Jameson has got the Daily Bugle staff preparing the building for another demon attack. He's got Kate Cushing making barricades, and Ben Urich putting out fires. Heh. Just last issue, he was going on about how all the reports of the craziness of Inferno was all just cranks looking for attention. Life comes at you fast, JJ.
JJ orders Joy Mercado to organize a first aid group to help any injured, as it could be a while before they could get anyone to a hospital. Jonah is turning out to be a surprisingly good leader when the Bugle staff need one, but he's also trying to cover up his own fears. After all, he's not dealing with criminals or corrupt politicians here. However, JJ's fear gets replaced with rage when he sees Spider-Man stagger in. However, he calls for Mercado when the injured webhead collapses in front of him.
Back in Manhattan, Mary Jane Watson is affected by the chaos, too. The photography crew are barricading the door. Despite this, a demon bursts in. He attacks one of the crew, but MJ is able to fight it off by beating it with a pipe. She notes that the demon seemed to be fragile, as it shattered under a single blow, like it was made of glass. She and the crew get back to work rebuilding the barricade, but she worries about Peter.
In the skies over New York, Harry Osborn, having once more donned the gear of the Green Goblin, is heading home to his family. He's amazed that he managed to beat the Hobgoblin. A water demon erupts from the ocean to attack Harry, but he's able to easily destroy it. He then decides to take a detour to May Parker's house to check on her.
In Queens, the streets are running with madness, as people are fighting demons...and each other. A crazed man with a chainsaw attacks Joe Robertson.
Robertson is able to dodge, which makes the man drop his chainsaw. The weaponized tool then shatters when it hits a wall. Joe feels something is rotten in the state of New York, and it makes his own legal troubles seem unimportant. His son Randy and daughter-in-law Amanda arrive. They want to take Joe and Martha home so they'll be safe with them during this craziness. However, Joe refuses. He's done running. There's a mob coming, and he's going to fight back. Yeah, maybe now is not the best time, Joe.
In the city, the Hobgoblin approaches the eldritch-mutated Empire State Building. He tries to sneak into this building, but the sidewalk demons have something to say about that.
They think the Hobgoblin will make a tasty little snack. However, he is able to convince them to let him see their master. He wants to make a little deal. The demons agree, as their master N'astirh will find this amusing. And the man...or more appropriately, the demon of the hour arrives. Hobgoblin offers his soul for the power of a demon. The sidewalk demons' prediction turns out to be dead on, as N'astirh bursts out laughing. What would he want with the Hobgoblin's soul? Keep in mind, Jason Macendale Jr. is the Hobgoblin at this point. He was an amoral man with a violent nature. He was a mercenary who also previously operated as the supervillain known as the Jack O'Lantern. His soul is not exactly pure.
However, the Hobgoblin did manage to make N'astirh laugh, so he figures that the former mercenary should be given something. He blasts the Hobgoblin, sending him flying. Back at the Daily Bugle, some demons burst their way into the building, and the Daily Bugle staff valiantly try to fight them off. One demon tries to attack Ben Urich, but a waking and injured Spider-Man is able to save him with some webbing and a Mighty Punch.
Spidey is able to get up to see J. Jonah Jameson fighting off some demons. Spidey is able to even the odds for the old man, and this does lead to a rather funny moment when JJ is forced to team-up with the Wall-Crawler.
Spidey and the Daily Bugle staff are able to fight the monsters off. It helps that the demons are very fragile. Spidey jokingly asks if they won. The veteran newsman looks like he's trying to keep every blood vessel in his body from undergoing rage-inducing explosions. Jonah notices that Spidey's wound is bleeding, and the Webhead faints.
Meanwhile, the Hobgoblin wakes up from his little trip, and notices something is wrong. His eyes seem to be screwed up. He can barely see, and what he can see looks all wrong. The story ends with the Hobgoblin's face revealed.
Yeah, all the plastic surgery in the world isn't going to make you pretty again, Jason. The Hobgoblin has paid a price for his little deal with the devilish N'astirh. He got the power of a demon, alright. He actually ended up merged with a demon, who would eventually get separated from the Hobgoblin and become the Demogoblin.
This issue is pretty good. I loved seeing the Daily Bugle gang fighting demons. It was also neat seeing Hobgoblin attempting to make a deal with N'astirh, and paying for it. The demons that the Bugle staff were fighting did seem awfully fragile, though. I mean, Spider-Man has superhuman strength, so his being able to shatter a demon with one punch is more believable. To be fair, it can be argued these demons aren't meant for combat. I also wish that we did get a scene of the aftermath with MJ. Sal Buscema's art is spectacular, and he's very good at making the demons look freaky. I also loved that full page of the Hobgoblin's demonic face. I highly recommend this comic for Halloween!
Hope you all enjoyed this little Halloween bonus! Next time, we see Captain America being forced to give up the shield...
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