Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham # 15
Writer: Steve Mellor
Penciller: Joe Albelo
Inker: Pierre Fournier
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Julianna Ferriter
(Cover Date: May 1987)
Rating: 
On this week’s Review Corner, I’ll once again dive into the abyss of the truly bizarre and take a look at Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham # 15 which is the second to last issue before this series got canceled and Ham got relegated to the backup feature in “Marvel Tales” that ran from 1987 to 1991
and this issue was, in my opinion, the true highlight of this series, and being a longtime Spider-Ham fan I just couldn’t’ resist reviewing this issue (I geeked out BIG-TIME when Ham appeared in “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse”) so here we go. We get an inside look at Spider-Ham’s origin that had May Porker cast as a genius who created the world’s first-ever atomic-powered hairdryer and after wetting her hair and testing it out herself, the dryer exploded, leaving May with radioactive energy and she bit Peter (Who started out life as a simple spider- complete with clothes, glasses, and sneakers- Weird huh!) in the head, transforming him from spider to full-grown pig and the energy transformed to him. I got to say that the humorous twist on Spider-Man’s classic origin was just brilliant and humorous.
I really got a good chuckle out of the sequence of Peter discovering his spider-powers (A great parody from Amazing Fantasy # 15) and soon Peter designs his web-shooters and becomes Spider-Ham. Peter then comes to a decision to give it all up and just have a normal life but what was so cool about this comic is the J. Jonah Jackal (The anthropomorphic version of J. Jonah Jameson) actually becomes a superhero with help from the Beagle Brigadeers and this was a great way in terms of making this version of Jonah very interesting. And you’ll definitely get a chuckle out of The Hobgobbler (A really cool parody of The Hobgoblin, who was the number one Spidey villain back in those days); But like any Spider-Man story, it seems like Peter can’t shrink his responsibilities as he changes into Spider-Ham and dukes it to with The Hobgobbler. The backup feature showcases The Scavengers (The anthropomorphic version of The Avengers) in a very wacky story that will no doubt entertain any Marvel fan.
This issue of “Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham” was very zany (The past fourteen issues were absolutely zany) for the most part but it also served as a love letter to Spider-Man himself and that most of the character’s personality traits are on display in Spider-Ham’s form and I’ll always remember how great this series was, never taking itself too seriously but always a joy to read.
Next week, I’ll review another comic (Vintage or Current) so thanks for sticking around and I’ll see you all next time.
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