Spider-Man, Power Pack #1
“Secrets”
Writer: Jim Salicrup
Pencils: Jim Mooney
Inks: Mike Esposito
Colors: Ken Feduniewicz
Letters: L.P. Gregory
“Runaway”
Writer: Louise Simonson
Layouts: June Brigman
Pencils: Mary Wilshire
Inks: Bob Wiacek
Colors: Glynis Wein
Letters: Joe Rosen
Cover artists: John Byrne; and June Brigman & Bob Wiacek
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Publisher: Marvel Comics
As someone who started reading comics in the late 1970s and grew into adolescence in the 1980s, I’d read about this giveaway, public-service comic, published in 1984, and I’ve always been curious about it. When I saw it at a big flea market recently, I plunked it in the growing stack of old comics I was amassing at the show. This unusual footnote in comics publishing was one of the first of those 60 comics I read, and I was struck at how earnest and direct it was about its subject matter.
The first story features Spider-Man coming to the rescue of a young boy in a neighboring apartment who was about to be sexually abused by a babysitter, and about Spidey sharing his own trauma of being molested as a boy. And in the second, A friend of one of the members of Power Pack, four young siblings empowered by alien energy, runs away from home after her mother disbelieves her when she reveals what her father has been doing to her.
The two stories cover three different sexual-abuse scenarios that are, sadly, fairly common. One might think the notion of a female babysitter targeting a young boy might be practically unheard of, but it’s not. I was surprised that writer/editor Jim Salicrup dared to give Peter Parker his own traumatic flashback to allow him to connect with the boy he saves, but I’m pleased he and Marvel went for it. It bolsters the message that these sorts of crimes can happen to anyone.
Including the relatively new and unknown Power Pack characters in this story was a smart move as well, as Louise Simonson’s plot shows an abused child sharing her secret with kids her own age, and thereby she finds the help and refuge she needs. The message that a victim can turn to a friend his or her own age is a valuable one, but it’s also great to show kids they can help those in need. While Spider-Man didn’t need much of an introduction, even three decades ago, Power Pack wasn’t as established in Marvel comics, but Simonson delivers a thoroughly accessible yet simple script.
Now, the tone of the writing here is clearly aimed at a younger audience. Adult readers looking for something more nuanced and mature shouldn’t look to this freebie PSA comic for that fix. While I was once, I’m not the audience for this comic, but I do appreciate what these creators accomplished here. What’s most striking about this comic is that even 34 years after its production, it still works. My wife and I have already had a couple of important talks about these situations with our elementary-school-aged son, but I think I’m going to put this artifact before him, just to ensure the message is ingrained in him. 7/10