Spider-Man #67 Pg 9 (1996) with Ben Reilly as Spider-Carnage by John Romita Jr. & Al Williamson

Ten year old me would have lost his mind, knowing I'd one day own this original page. I'm now 31 and I still do.

It's no secret that Ben Reilly has been my favorite character since my childhood (just check my gallery...). A highlight of his adventures were the darker, edgier stories featuring Ben being taken over by the Carnage symbiote. Suddenly, "Spider-Man" (or Spider-Carnage) was a horror comic. And I loved it.

How did we get here? Through a pop-up and some quick checking, I bought this via an Italian collector (as apparently, most pages from this run are in Italian hands). I did my due diligence (checking the buy/sell history throughout the years of the seller, as well as the piece; the Premium profile on 2D Gallery; talked to other European collectors who knew him). And then pulled the trigger in about an hour or so.

Then I reached out to Al Milgrom, as he was credited next to Al Williamson, as to who inked what exactly. Al told me that this page was inked by Williamson (and you can definitely see it, but I'd rather be sure as to who to credit).

Now, this page. It's part of the 4-part Spider-Carnage story during the Clone Saga. It's the peak period of John Romita Jr. to me, inked by the best one to ever do it: Al Williamson.

I'm a big fan of JRJR's storytelling choices here, constantly switching perspective and showing both Peter and Ben's (twisted) way of looking at the situation. Especially panels 4 & 5 (with Peter looking rather grim in Ben's perspective; while in the next more neutral panel, he's shown to be more concerned). But paranoia Spider-Carnage won't have any of that, as we can see in his glare in panel 6.

The highlights of the inks here are the heavy shadows, doing so much of the storytelling, as well as the close-ups conveying a lot of emotion. Oh, and there is a panel with a full body Sensational Spider-Man!

Lots to love here! And I sure do love it all; the pencils by JRJR; inks by Al Williamson, in an iconic Clone Saga storyline!