Spider-Woman #26
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeSpider-Woman #26 introduces both Rupert Dockery — a tabloid-press villain whose manipulation of a superhero's public image gives the series its sharpest social satire — and the Grinder (Brute Bashby), a manufactured costumed criminal whom Dockery literally creates to generate headlines for his struggling Los Angeles newspaper. The issue kicks off a multi-issue story arc built around the corrosive relationship between celebrity heroism and sensationalist media, a thematic thread that runs through the Fleisher era of the title. It also features a cameo by Spider-Man, set in continuity shortly after the two characters' first meeting in issue #20, which reinforces the cross-title connectivity Marvel was cultivating in its early 1980s line.
In "The Blades of the Grinder!", Spider-Woman faces off against a mechanical menace unleashed by paper magnate Dockery, who’s determined to make headlines by pitting her against increasingly dangerous threats. Written by Michael Fleisher and illustrated by S. Leialoha with inks by M. Esposito and colors by Gaff, this 1980 issue delivers a sharp, action-packed showdown with a cover by John Byrne and Joe Sinnott that captures the chaos in bold, dynamic lines.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
Issue #26 was released on February 5, 1980, with a May 1980 cover date, scripted by Michael Fleisher — best known at the time for his work on DC's Jonah Hex and Spectre — with interior pencils by series regular Steve Leialoha and inks by Mike Esposito. The cover was penciled by John Byrne and inked by Joe Sinnott, a notable creative pairing separate from the interior team. Denny O'Neil served as editor, though the Grand Comics Database also credits Mark Gruenwald as having a script-related contribution — a detail not reflected in other sources and worth noting as an unresolved discrepancy. The issue opens the 'Rupert Dockery' story arc that anchors Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Woman Vol. 3, which collects issues #26–38.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Rupert Dockery (Earth-616), a British-born tabloid newspaper magnate and recurring antagonist who drives the multi-issue arc beginning here.
- First appearance of the Grinder (Brute Bashby), a petty criminal outfitted by Dockery with a flight-capable armored suit and rotating blades to manufacture superhero news for his paper, the Los Angeles Courier.
- Story title: 'The Blades of the Grinder!' — released February 5, 1980; cover date May 1980.
- Interior creative team: writer Michael Fleisher, penciler Steve Leialoha, inker Mike Esposito, colorist Carl Gafford, letterer Jim Novak; editor Denny O'Neil; editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.
- Cover art by John Byrne (pencils) and Joe Sinnott (inks) — a different team from the interior artists.
- Spider-Man appears in a Manhattan-set cameo, reading about Spider-Woman's exploits and reflecting on the irony that Los Angeles papers treat her more favorably than New York papers treat him — a continuity note explicitly tied to their first meeting in Spider-Woman #20.
- The Grinder later reappeared as a foil for Nova in Nova Vol. 3 #1 (May 1999), written by Erik Larsen — his only other Marvel Universe appearance.
- The issue has been reprinted in: Essential Spider-Woman Vol. 2 (Marvel, 2005); Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Woman Vol. 3 (Marvel, 2023); the Dutch Juniorpress Spiderwoman #12 (1982); and the French Editions Lug Nova #55 (August 1982).
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↩ Reprints [Marvel Hostess Ads] #46 (1980)
Reprinted in Nova #55 (1982), La Mujer Araña #26 (1982), Essential Spider-Woman #2, Spiderwoman #12
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