The Amazing Spider-Reboot

So there were a lot of announcements made at San Diego Comic con International, and many that I want to comment on, but, as always, the uncertain state of the Spider-Man comics is my top priority. And the Spider-Man announcements were big and plentiful, but far more interesting was the stuff that was all but confirmed. Here are some comments from Newsarama's roundtable discussion with the new "thrice monthly" Amazing Spider-Man writers:

Bob Gale: "(Also - Joe assured me we would not be bringing Gwen Stacey back to life. That would have been a deal-breaker for me.)"

Dan Slott: "But now it's time for some pure, New York City, can't pay the rent, can't get a date, crackin' wise, kickin' butt Spider-Man. And taking that Spidey to new and surprising places."

I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that if Slott is talking about Spidey not being able to get a date and Gale was worried that Marvel intended to bring back Gwen Stacy, we've got our confirmation of a mystical reboot, which conveniently only wipes out Spider-Man's marriage, Aunt May's probable death, and possibly the whole secret identity reveal. Is it too much to ask that it wipes out all the Civil War crap. Why not just turn the whole Marvel Universe back to 1986? That would be awesome. We could have Jean Grey back.

*sigh*

At least they aren't bringing back Gwen Stacy. I was really afraid they were going to do that, and the fact that Bob Gale had to be assured they weren't going to do that makes me think that my fears weren't unfounded. I bet it was under serious consideration. Please note that if they want to bring Harry Osborne back, I'm okay with that. Why yes, I am a total hypocrite, but 1) Harry's death was hardly the groundbreaking and character defining event that Gwen Stacy's death was; and 2) I'm still bitter that everyone but Harry got a resurrection in House of M: Spider-Man.

I'll admit that I am really happy about a lot of the things the writers are talking about, like an increased focus on supporting characters, the creation of new characters, and new villains. I just don't really get why they need to completely undo years of continuity in order to get that. They didn't even try to do any of that without rebooting the character. That pisses me off, because I've been saying that they needed to do that for years, and without once ever thinking that the Spider-family dynamic needed to change. As any regular reader well knows, I love Peter and MJ's marriage.

Anyway, I am pretty lukewarm about the writers that have been announced. I don't know Bob Gale's work. Dan Slott's Free Comic Book Day issue was good, but didn't rock my world. I don't think I've liked anything by Guggenheim that I have read (and the fact that he continually reinforces the idea that Wolverine is nigh unkillable in that series will always piss me off about him), but he apparently quit a career in law to write comics, so at least he has good common sense. Finally, the only thing I have read by Wells is Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways. It was okay, but I think I will enjoy anything with those characters. My no shot in hell picks were Jeff Parker and Matt Fraction. I wanted Parker because I now believe he should write everything (at least he's doing Spider-Man Family), and Fraction because the Sensational Spider-Man Annual was the best Spidey comic in years. Of course, the Sensational Spider-Man Annual was all about how great the Peter and Mary Jane marriage is, so that alone probably ruled him out.

The artists are way cooler. Jimenez was something we already suspected because of the Free Comic Book Day issue, but it's nice to have that confirmed. Bachalo and Larroca had preview art leaked prior to the announcement, so that was already out there. As far as I know, McNiven was a surprise though. His preview art looks amazing. Look at this:

I'm really happy about the artists. And at the end of the day, whatever misgivings I have about a reboot, if the stories are good, the art is good, and I feel like I am getting my money's worth, I will keep reading. It is Spidey after all.

I still have a lot of fears though. I don't know what to make of Jackpot, other than Jimenez's version is a lot prettier than Larroca's. (It's the hair. I love the hair.) I have no doubt that Mary Jane will continue to be the primary love interest in Peter Parker's life, even if we get a lot of him dating other people for a while. Unfortunately, I don't really like the idea of Peter being with a superhero, at least not in the long term. He belongs with a civilian. He's just that type of character. If they plan on making Mary Jane a superhero permanently, I'm not going to be happy. She was already a really cool character. She didn't need superpowers. Also, I think the story would have been a lot more fun if it was done with a married Peter and MJ. I am still hoping it's all some goofy Silver Age Lois Lane kind of riff (Basically, there are two ways I would buy Mary Jane suddenly getting powers and becoming a superhero: 1) to completely freak out, try to avoid it, but finally embrace what she knows, that with great power comes great responsibility; or 2) to just make a goofy costume and treat the whole thing like a lark. Look at that costume. She totally went for option 2.), but Larroca's preview art seems to indicate more broodiness than crack:

Also, if they are going to do a reboot that wipes out the marriage and the secret identity reveal, I would really like them to do some stories where Mary Jane knows that Peter is Spider-Man, but he doesn't know she knows. I doubt this will happen, since they will probably wipe out MJ's knowledge of his secret identity too. (Writers seem to be far more inclined to clueless females needing to be told as opposed to figuring things out for themselves lately, which sucks.) According to Parallel Lives, which was supposed to be official canon, Mary Jane had known since the night Ben Parker was killed, but since that was a retcon, we never got to see what that really meant for her character. There was one really great issue of The Untold Tales of Spider-Man, but that was it. There's good stuff to be mined there. Unfortunately, there's not many single Spidey stuff I can think of that I haven't seen before.

Finally, what's the deal with Dan Slott's "can't get a date" comment? Did he actually read the Lee/Ditko and Lee/Romita eras? Is he talking about before the spider bite? Betty Brant and Liz Allen. Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson. Dude had girls fighting over him. It was keeping the dates that was the problem.

Hey, do you think they will get rid of the organic web shooters? I could get down with that too.

Scout Attacks! week 20: Still Catching Up Part 2

I think I'm almost caught up now, but I noticed that I still haven't talked about how awesome X-Men First Class #1 was, and #2 is coming out on Wednesday. Uhg! I'm going to do and X-edition of Scout Attacks. It's the only solution.

Fables #63: It's hard to review this book just because it is so consistently good. That doesn't really leave a lot to say. I will say that I felt like this arc was going to be the best storyline ever, and I'm just not feeling that, but it's still really great. Also, Prince Charming has developed into really effectual character and I never expected that at all. I did think that the sequence where Beast is buying out all those sniper, or whatever, training schools was kind of scary, just because of the implication that all of that is being done and it is not tipping off any non-Fable authorities. Maybe it will though. Who knows where Willingham is going to go with all this.

Green Arrow Year One #1: I really enjoyed this. I like the art a lot, and the writing does a good job of giving hints of the genuinely good guy that lurks under the douchebag exterior. The fact that Ollie idolized Robin Hood as a boy says a lot on its own, but even his drunken speech, when he says that "If any of us really gave a rat's ass about the poor little druggies, we'd be down in the ghetto handing out needles right now -- instead of swanning around here in our thousand-dollar monkey suits!" he shows that he does know the right thing to do. (It's also kind of funny when you think about what happened to Speedy.) I really appreciated the Howard Hill reference too. Kudos to them for using a real reference, instead of deciding it was too out of date. Anyway, this isn't the greatest thing ever, but it's really very good.

Superman #664: I really loved this issue. There are just so many little moments to enjoy, like the interaction between Lois and Jimmy, the Prankster, or an entire splash page devoted to Superman getting hit with a giant pie! The bigger reasons why this issue was so great is that the story in general. It has really gone from being something that I wasn't really sure what to make of to being genuinely intriguing. And I love how Superman has to deal with the fact that, while everyone loves him, there is always this underlying fear of his power. He does get mind controlled often, and it is good to see that he has found ways to deal with that. They send in every flying member of the JLA and the JSA to stop him too, which leaves Batman out, but even he was on the case. And there's Squad K too, which actually just makes a lot of sense. It just illustrates how catastrophic a bad Superman could be. Another great character moment was how Superman was so frustrated about losing Arion that he went and took down the Prankster just so he could feel like he accomplished something. That's such a normal, relatable impulse. It's clear that everything is building to something, and I can't wait. I'm annoyed that the story is being interrupted for a Countdown tie-in issue. So disappointing. Anyway, this was a really great issue and I think that Busiek is doing a wonderful job of telling a meaningful story while also keeping things exciting and fun. Pacheco's art is great too. Did I mention that the Prankster hits Superman with a giant pie? Because he does and it is awesome.

Superman Confidential #5: Another great Superman comic. I actually thought this was the weakest issue of the series so far, the reveal that the Kryptonite's sentience had taken over Anthony Gallo's body and was not going to explain everything to Superman seemed a little too easy to me. It's still so good, and such an original story though. Also, I'm willing to give Cooke the benefit of the doubt that he's going somewhere with this, and with Lex Luthor showing up at the end like that, I am excited to see what happens in the conclusion. I don't think I need to repeat my feelings about Tim Sale's art either. It's gorgeous. I'm going to be sorry when this is over.

Supernatural Origins #3: Things are starting to tie into the show a bit more now as Harvelle's Bar is introduced and we see when John first met Ellen. Jo gets a mention too, and my only problem with that is that I can't really believe that she is supposed to be as old as Dean, or even Sam. We're also starting to see these characters become more like the versions of themselves we know from the show.

Deadpool GLI Summer Fun Spectacular: HAHAHAHAHA! That's my review. I will also add that Tippy-Toe's interjection was awesome. You can't not love this: "Yeah, that's right. Squirrel Girl totally pwns Doc Doom? Know why? 'Cause of somethin' that happened in a story by Steve - freakin' - Ditko! That's so in continuity. So just deal with it, fanboy." You cannot argue with that. It was pretty amazing that Marvel poke fun at emo-Speedball like that though. They literally point out why there was no need for him to go all creepy self-cutter, because it wasn't his fault. P-Cat, the Penitent Puss is simultaneously hilarious, depressing and horrifying. Ah, Squirrel Girl, you made a noble effort and we love you for it.

The New Avengers #32: The problem with this issue isn't that it wasn't entertaining, it was, despite the fact that it was just the team talking on a plane. It wasn't that it was explaining why we, the readers, should care that Elektra was a Skrull. It was that it was necessary to explain to the readers the significance of Elektra being a Skrull. As I've said before, I like the concept behind what Bendis is going for here, but this reveal just wasn't good enough. It wasn't shocking. It didn't sell the implications that are talked about in this issue. It was only Elektra. If it was revealed that key leading members in Shield were Skrulls, that would have sold it. Maybe. I'm not even sure. I just think this needed to be a lot bigger to have real significance. Aanother problem with this issue was that the plane is going down, and for no apparent reason, Dr. Strange can't use any magic to help. That was dumb.

Just Some Stuff

I'm still catching up. I've been trying to work on some stuff for another project. Hopefully, I will get another batch of reviews before I start reading The Deathly Hollows, but I don't know how long my willpower can hold out. Also, Say Anything was on, and that's never conducive to work. Anyway, just a few things I wanted to mention.

KryptonSite has a first look at Smallville's Supergirl, Laura Vandervoort. I'd say she looks pretty much exactly as I expected her to look. She's a pretty girl, but mostly she looks like every other skinny blond girl in Hollywood, or Vancouver, whichever. Is it wrong that I wish she were wearing more clothing? I should just be happy that she's wearing incredibly short shorts instead of an incredibly short skirt.

Also, Wolverine has a director, and it's not Brett Ratner. I'm kind of optimistic now. I haven't seen Tsotsi, but pulling directors out of the indie worlds has worked really well for comic book films in the past though. Now if we can just make sure it doesn't include three scenes of him crying, we'll be OK.

I did, however, think that it was weird that the Variety article on the announcement (via The Beat), states:

Using several resources that include the Marvel Comics lore, along with the more recent Weapon X graphic novels by Barry Windsor-Smith and work by Frank Miller, "Wolverine" mixes action with an origin story about how Logan emerged from a barbaric experiment as an indestructible mutant with retractable razor-sharp claws.

Did I miss something? I do not remember any Frank Miller Wolverine comics. Nothing about Wolverine is mentioned on Miller's Wikipedia page either. It looks like the article was changed too, since it is quoted at The Beat as reading "Using several resources that include the Marvel Comics lore, along with more recent Weapon X graphic novels by Frank Miller." So, am I just unable to find these comics, or , after Sin City and 300, are they just saying that everything is written by Frank Miller these days? I think I'd be interested in reading a Wolverine comic by Frank Miller. Logan's already just ridiculous enough for it to not make too big a difference.

Finally, there's the news about Seth Rogen writing and possibly staring in a Green Hornet movie. I don't know how I feel about that. They better cast someone who totally kicks ass as Kato though, because I don't really have a lot of faith that Rogen can pull off the action.

Is Spider-Man Supposed To Look Like the Red Skull?

It's not just me right? I'm digging the concepts behind these covers, but the execution is kind of ugly.

Anyway, here's the description that went along with the cover:

SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #41
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Pencils & 50/50 Cover by JOE QUESADA
50/50 Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
“ONE MORE DAY” Part 3
The most-talked about – and controversial – comic event of the year continues, brought to you by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada! Brace yourself, Spidey fans, after this, nothing will be the same for Peter Parker!
The stakes have never been higher. At his darkest hours – and he's had plenty – Peter has always had one shoulder to lean on, one person who'd remind him who he is, who he was, and who he can be. Now he's about to lose that person. What would he do...what would you do, if you only had "One More Day?"
48 PGS./Rated A …$3.99

I really think it's Aunt May who is going to die. I suppose that the lesser of two (three if you count Black Cat) evils, since a) she's roughly 900 years old, and b) there's not nearly as much of a point to having her around not that she knows everything. I was digging the family dynamic with Peter, MJ and Aunt May though. Also, like Mary Jane, Aunt May has already died once, so it's hard to believe it's going to stick this time. As a matter of fact, I don't believe any of this is going to stick because Ii really think there is going to be a magical reboot at the end of "One More Day." Then, in a few years, they will have another big event to reverse the reboot and pretend it never happened, just like every other time they have tried to reboot the character in a ridiculous attempt to end the marriage that no one cares about but Joe Quesada.

If Aunt May does die, and it does stick, I'll mostly be upset about the fact that it was ultimately pointless that they brought her back. I love Aunt May like I love all members of Spidey's supporting cast, but I was fine with her being gone. I thought her death was really well done the first time. I know this is an unpopular opinion, but as much of a mess as the Clone Saga was on the whole, there were some very good individual stories told in that time, and this was one of them. Also, it wrapped up a plot thread that had been going on for years where it was hinted that Aunt May did know that Peter was Spider-Man. I thought this was far better than the way JMS handled the revelation. (Don't even get me started on the fact that I don't think it has been acknowledged at all since the unmasking that Robbie probably knew Peter was Spider-Man. Cutting Peter off from the Daily Bugle was such a huge mistake.) Anyway, hasn't enough changed in Peter's life lately that nothing was going to be the same whether someone dies or not?

As for the other Marvel solicits for October, I think they are trying to make me hate zombies. Conscious effort is the only possible explanation. And the New Avengers cover with Wolverine as Venom? I think it's a brilliant idea to just go ahead and combine Marvel's most overrated and overexposed hero with it's most overrated and overexposed villain. Bendis is a genius.

The Spider-Man/Red Sonja solicit looks promising, if only because it seems to confirm that Mary Jane will be turning into Red Sonja just like she did in the original Marvel Team-Up story. How can Joe Quesada hate a character who periodically turns into Red Sonja?

Also, it looks like X-Men: First Class is going to continue to be awesome, and, while I wasn't even sure if I was going to pick up the second issue, I am so in World War Hulk for the long haul. A Hulk/Sentry smackdown is going to be awesome!

Scout Attacks! week 19: Still Catching Up

Eventually, I will be all caught up on these reviews. Unfortunately, I have no idea when that will be.

Action Comics #851: I'm still just really excited that I got to read a 3-D comic book. I think that's so cool. It really worked well too. It was a bit of a strain to look at, but I think that was an intentional attempt to try and create the same effect that being in the PZ was having on Superman. It's worth noting that I enjoyed Adam Kubert's art much more here than I have on any other issue, so maybe 3-D just agrees with him. I enjoyed the story too, even if it did seem a bit like filler. My heart really went out to Mon-El, and I am enjoying everything with Zod and Christopher. Way to step up, kid. Did Ursa mean that she killed all the other female Kryptonians when she said that she was the last by her choice? That's a bit extreme, even for crazy, killer types. Finally, I really did not see that development with Luthor at the end coming at all, and I can't wait to see the team up in the next Annual.

All Star Superman #8: While I wouldn't say this issue wasn't as good as the rest of the series, it loses points for just being really depressing. There's some amusing stuff with the Bizarro-JLA (I especially likes "Bizarro-Batman am no shot dead by him parents!") but everything was dragged down by the Zibarro's plight. His desperation to get off Bizarro world was so strong, and things like him asking Superman to look at his writing were so pathetic, it was almost uncomfortable to read, especially when Superman's later comments about said work seemed somewhat condescending. I think it would have been more palatable if I understood what Morrison expected the reader to take away from the encounter between Superman and Zibarro (Morrison's Superman, always so sincere in this series, really just seems like he's placating Zibarro in order to get back to Earth, and Zibarro may or may not be intentionally sabotaging his attempts), but it's all very ambiguous, making it an odd fit with the rest of the series as a whole.

Black Canary #1: This mini-series has a lot going against it, like the fact that it's built around whether or not Dinah will accept Ollie's proposal of marriage when we already know that she will, but despite that, it manages to be pretty entertaining. It helps that it is peppered with a lot of amusing little touches. I especially liked the Elvis impersonator assassins, which are second only to monkey assassins in awesomeness, and Merlin's extensive Green Arrow collection. The whole flashback to Dinah and Ollie's first meeting was great. It's so easy to see why Dinah would feel the way she did about him. Bedard also writes Dinah well, and you can't say that Siqueira doesn't make her look good. A few things did bug me though. It seems like Sin's first meeting with Ollie would be fairly important given so much of Dinah's response is supposedly weighted by her wanting to make sure she does what is best for Sin. (Where was Sin during the Ollie/Dinah 40 hour sex marathon from Green Arrow a few months back anyway? Did Dinah just leave her in the motel?) Also, after all we know about Sin from Birds of Prey, it seems odd to see her crying after an altercation with some other kids. I thought not crying was sort of her thing. This issue was by no means great, but it was fun and I'm looking forward to reading more.

Spike: Shadow Puppets #1: I picked this up because Brian Lynch was writing it. Of bought the first issue of almost every Angel or Spike mini-series that IDW has put out, and have thought them all to be fairly awful, written by people who didn't seem to get the characters at all or were just plain bad, except for Spike Asylum. Lynch did a really good job on that series, so I wanted to pick this up despite the fact that I think the concept is dumb. Don't get me wrong. "Smile Time" may just be my favorite episode of Angel's entire run. I just don't think revisiting the concept, this time with Spike, is a particularly good idea. Of course, then I get to the final page, with Spike being overwhelmed by and onslaught of puppet ninjas, and I am completely sold.

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America: Iron Man: I didn't pick up any of the other issues in this series, but I had to get this one if only for Cassaday's art. Fortunately, it did not disappoint. I would even go so far as to say that, while Loeb did not do a bad job on the writing, the words almost detracted from the sheer beauty of the images here. There was just no way they could have matched the impact. I thought The Falcon's eulogy, which made up the bulk of the narrative, especially did not have the impact it should have. It didn't matter though, because the art was so gorgeous it bolstered the whole thing. I'm not ashamed to say that, in the end, I was a bit choked up. Also, I didn't want to punch Tony Stark in the face once. I think I'm making progress.

Loners #4: This month John Hughes cover homage is to Pretty In Pink, and I am just now wondering if the fact that it features three female characters, instead of a female character and two male characters like the original movie poster, is supposed to be a clue, as this issue all but says that Julie Power is a lesbian. I'm curious to see whether it is ever going to be explicitly stated or it will be left ambiguous. Considering the crux of the issue is Julie coming to terms with who she is and not wanting to pretend to be something she's not anymore, it seems like her coming out is inevitable, but in the world of comic books, one never knows when that sort of thing would be deemed acceptable or not. As the book is rated T+, the same rating as Young Avengers, it seems like there shouldn't be a problem. (Personally, I do not see why it wouldn't be acceptable even in an All Ages title, but I doubt the people at Marvel feel the same.) Anyway, this was another really entertaining character study, and I am really enjoying the way the relationships between the characters are evolving. Cebulski is capturing the John Hughes movie vibe quite well. I would love to see this series become an ongoing, but I seriously doubt that will happen. Hopefully, we will at least get some more mini-series with these characters.

The New Avengers/The Transformers #1: I don't know what I was thinking when I picked up this book. I think I was still on a high for seeing the movie the day before, and a bit excited by the idea of Optimus Prime and Captain America interacting. This really sucked though, and not in the cheesy bad, but fun way. I realize that the story needed to be set up, but the writer really should have found a way to get to the robot and superhero action a lot quicker. Is anyone really picking this title up for the story anyway? As it was, most of the issue consisted of the New Avengers (Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine and Luke Cage) bickering with eachother, while we barely even get to see the Transformers until the end. That's just not going to cut it. A series like this needs to deliver on at least one solid, giant robot fight per issue to even begin to be worthwhile.

This Is Going to Be So Awesome!

October 2007 DC Solicits from Newsarama:

WONDER WOMAN #13
Written by Gail Simone
Art and cover by Terry Dodson & Rachel Dodson
An electrifying new era begins for the world’s greatest superheroine! Gail Simone (BIRDS OF PREY, SECRET SIX) joins the phenomenal art team of Terry and Rachel Dodson for what promises to be one of the most exciting Wonder Woman stories ever!
What exactly is the Circle, and what deadly secret do they hold about Diana’s birth? What familiar face from Wonder Woman’s past returns with a mission to spy on Special Agent Diana Prince? Why is the Department of Metahuman Affairs on a collision course with the wounded remnants of the Society of Super-Villains? All this plus monkey assassins in a story that spans the globe and shakes Diana to her core!
On sale October 10 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

You got that? Monkey Assassins, as in multiple. There is no way this isn't going to be the greatest thing ever. Also, the Dodsons are still on the title. Monkeys, Gail Simone and Dodson art - it's like Christmas and my birthday rolled into one. Also, October has Wonder Woman and Power Girl teaming up in Brave and the Bold and the Bizarro Batman on the cover of Action Comics looks like he's going to be a hoot. October is going to rock!

Jason Lee Is Officially on Notice

Jason Lee has gotten a pass on a lot of things for a long time now. I've overlooked things like being a Scientologist, naming his son Pilot Inspector, and making some truly awful movies like Kissing a Fool and A Guy Thing, because the good always outweighed the bad. My Name Is Earl, is hilarious and one of my favorite sitcoms. He's awesome in his Kevin Smith movies. I still quote Brodie, and Azrael rocks. He was also great in Almost Famous. Part of me still wants a Jeff Bebe t-shirt. And we absolutely cannot forget that he was the voice of Syndrome in The Incredibles. I'm just not sure if any of that awesomeness can withstand the coming onslaught of suck he's about to heap upon an unsuspecting public.

and

[via The Beat]

The horror! The horror!

Seriously. Look at what they have done to our beloved cartoons. Those are our childhoods they are defiling. How can he live with himself?

Scout Attacks! week 18: Comic Reviews for the Week of...Whenever the Hell They Came Out

Everything got all messed up because of the holiday and me not being able to get all my comics, and then I had to go to a wedding. Anyway, I'm just going to review a bunch of comics tonight, and then I will review a bunch of comics tomorrow night. Then I will be almost caught up. On the plus side, this week I have pictures!

Amazons Attack #3: This comic book is just bad. Will Pfeifer, if I want crappy political comentary, I will re-read Civil War or pick up some of Marvel's Initiative books. Worse than that though is that, none of this stuff seems to line up with what happens in Wonder Woman #10, or even with the events that lead up to the whole event. Clearly DC editors are too busy trying, mostly in vain, to get their creators to make their deadlines to actually read any of the books. There was one thing I liked in this issue though:

Superman throwing a dumpster at an Amazonian who is about to kill Batman. He then carries the dumpster away, presumably because it would have been disrespectful to leave it on the Korean War Memorial. Seeing Batman sneak around the Memorial is fairly amusing as well.

Detective Comics #834: This issue was a bit of a let down after the last one, but, overall, another entertaining issue. It had some clever gags. We get an explanation for how Joker came to impersonate Loxias, and I am just going to assume that everything that has taken place in Detective Comics during Dini's run takes place prior to the events of Batman during Morrison and Kubert's run. This saves me from having to criticize the editors again. The success of this story, and the real point of it, is the reconciliation of Batman and Zatanna. It's a credit to Dini that he made me care about this relationship to the extent that I do, in the span of just two issues, considering I could not have cared less about it prior to issue #833.

Wonder Woman #10: The best thing I can say about this issue is that it brought us that much closer to Gail Simone's run. This issue just feels like a mess, like there are all sorts of conflicting ideas going on. I mean, what the hell is this?

The tone of that scene is completely off from the rest of the Amazons Attack event. It's so random. Also, Jodi Piccoult should never be allowed to write Batman again. The thing is, I'm still seeing some interesting stuff in what Piccoult is doing. She's trying to bring Wonder Woman to a more emotional place. I think that, had it not been for this editorially mandated event, there might have at least been an interesting and entertaining take on superhero comics here, if not necessarily specifically an interesting take on Wonder Woman. I'm still wondering why DC would go to the trouble of getting a big name novelist to write this title and then impose a story on her that seems so at odds with what she wants to do. Also, what the hell is up with the killer bees? Seriously? Killer bees? Wasn't Wonder Woman being held captive in order to get some advanced piece of weaponry that the Amazons had? On a final note, I really don't think Nemesis is going to die, which is why I am so surprised that they had him figure out Wonder Woman's secret identity so soon. Maybe I'm wrong though. I was completely confused by his monologue though. Did he not get to choose his own name? At least the cover was cool:


Runaways #27: Leave it to Joss Whedon to make the always tricky, and rarely successful, concept of time travel work. He isn't just telling some story where the kids have a wacky adventure in the past, and considering the revelation at the end, it almost seems surprising that it has taken so long for Runaways to have a time travel story. Not only are the pieces falling into place with regard to the events that happened while they were still in the present, but complexities are being added to the characters and the relationships. Even Leapfrog might be more than it seems. Also, this entire page was just priceless:

I think I have a new favorite character. I still miss Vaughn and Alphona, but Whedon and Ryan are doing a bang up job. Finally, while I don't think I have ever met a Jo Chen cover I didn't like, this one is probably her best ever:


Sensational Spider-Man #38: I stopped reading this title during Aguirre-Sacasa's first story arc (and after sticking it out through the entirety of Hudlin's run too), but decided to pick this issue up because I was curious to see what he could have planned for an Eddie Brock story now that Brock isn't Venom. After reading this issue, I think I may have made a mistake. It's not the best writing, but there is a lot of interesting stuff going on and he has a really good handle on these characters. There's a good flow to the narrative, as it shifts perspective from Brock, to MJ, to Spider-Man, and then back to Brock. Brock is losing his mind here, and it is genuinely creepy. I'm enjoying Lee Weeks' art as well. I don't think he was the artist the last time I picked up this title, because I recall the art being one of my major complaints with it. It's also nice to see the original Venom design again. As much as I have always thought he was an overrated villain, he was always cool looking. The new Venom, in addition to being less interesting, just looks dumb (it's the eyes). My favorite part though is probably MJ's speech to the comatose Aunt May. It's no secret that I love MJ, so I naturally like when she's given some real moments of her own to shine. Again, the writing here is not the best (I'd like to think that it was intentionally written as overly melodramatic, because, well, she's MJ), but the sentiment is. I have always been fond of the relationship between MJ and Aunt May, and the speech highlights that bond, as well as showing how much she has taken Peter's own feelings about guilt and responsibility onto herself. From dingbat, party girl who wanted nothing more than fame and fortune, to this. Peter and Mary Jane really are a lot more alike than a lot of people seem to understand.

Spider-Man Fairy Tales #2: While the first issue of this series, was, in addition to being one of the most adorable comic books I have ever read, clearly identifiable as being about Peter and, even more so, Mary Jane, the connection is a bit harder to see in this issue. However, the story here, which is based on African folklore (I couldn't tell you if it is a real folk tale or not), is very much about power and responsibility - the issues at the core of any good Spider-Man story. It's also about the power of friendship, which is odd to me, since Spider-Man is more of a loner, but I guess it's about him joining the New Avengers, much like the Red Riding Hood story was about Peter and MJ's marriage. Maybe the next issue will be a fairy tale version of "Sins Past" and then the mini series will wrap up with a Native American folklore rendition of "The Other." Then we will have JMS's whole Amazing Spider-Man run in the far more entertaining fairy tale form. Kidding aside though, the thing that makes this issue worthwhile is Niko Henrichon's art.

X-Men: Endangered Species: I'm not a fan of the fact that the mutant population has been cut down to only 198 (and now less). I think it ruins the metaphor of mutants as a minority group. (Quite frankly, if there are less than 200 of them in the world and there cannot be any more of them born, they're basically irrelevant on a societal scale.) I also didn't think that a lot of the things that happened to the mutant population in the wake of House of M made much sense. (I guess Marvel was going for an analogy to Native Americans being put on reservations, but it really didn't work because the issues leading up to it were so completely different.) All that considered, I was surprised to find myself actually interested in where Carey is going to take this. While I do think the essence of what Marvel's mutant population has always been representative of has been completely undermined, the population dilemma that the X-Men are facing is an interesting one. (I'll also add that it's long overdue for the X-books to be dealing with it.) Carey also handles the characters quite well here, providing several good moments, particularly the conversations between Professor X and Sebastian Shaw and Cyclops and Wolverine. All this adds up to me having to start reading X-Men comics again, which really, really sucks. Also, how skanky is it to wear fishnet stockings to a funeral?

I Don't Want To Say Marvel Hates Women...

But it sure as hell seems like it. I'm a bit behind on my comic book news, so I just saw this item at Newsarama on a report from Previews about Spider-Man One Day More:

“HEADED FOR THE CHOPPING BLOCK?

“Black Cat, Mary Jane, and Aunt May?

“Is it one of these ladies that take a dirt nap in the upcoming storyline ‘One More Day’? You heard it here, folks. A re-assuring voice and shoulder-to-lean-on is going to be taken out permanent-style in this four-issue storyline, which kicks off in Amazing Spider-Man #544 and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24. This body check is whipped up by war horses J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada. Pain is promised. No tissues will be issued!

“Who next gets thrown under the bus like the long-lost Gwen Stacy? Details are hard to come by, but what we do know is that there ain’t much joy in Mudville. Spidey’s gonna get left out in the rain again, and oh, how the tears will flow.”

Nice, right? It basically sums up everything that's wrong with the way female characters are treated in comics, while really amping up the disrespect. The Gwen Stacy reference adds a dose of "haven't we read this story before?" vibe. I think it's the "Who next gets thrown under the bus like the long-lost Gwen Stacy?" line that's my favorite. It says it all, and it's badly worded. Seriously. Who wrote this crap? It's possible it was Diamond and not Marvel, but since Diamond would have to get any information about the story from Marvel, I'm going to guess it was Marvel. This is worse than that solicit for the last issue of Daredevil that basically said that every woman Matt Murdock ever talked to has died and another one was going to be added to the list. I'm exaggerating, but not by much. (I don't read Daredevil. Did his wife get killed?)

I'm actually not sure if this shows more contempt for women, or just readers in general. I'm actually one of the first people to say that the most interesting thing that Gwen Stacy ever did was die. I'll also say that I think stories where the loved ones of superheroes are put in danger are a necessity, and that sometimes characters need to die. I think the problem lies in the lack of equal treatment. One rarely sees male characters being killed or otherwise victimized in order to further a female character's journey. Also, any character that is put into these situations should be treated as a person, and not merely as a meaningless object that the hero and villain fight over. The character should be treated with respect and his or her death should be meaningful and impactful. Otherwise, it's just carnage for the sake of carnage, which is something that I do not even think suits the superhero genre well. It's certainly not why I read superhero comics. It's worth noting that, while Gwen Stacy was afforded little agency in the events of her own death (at least until Sins Past, but that's a discussion for a different post), there has never been a lack of respect, and the fact that her death had a huge impact cannot be argued against. I think her legacy is a bit too revered at times, as she's become more saint than person, but I would hate for her to ever be completely forgotten.

Mostly, I think what Marvel fails to realize is that a lack of respect for a character is the equivalent of a lack of respect for fans of that character. I guess I can understand that connection not being made. I just don't understand how they can be so publicly dismissive of what seems increasingly frequent claims of misogyny. On the contrary, it's like they are using it as a selling point now. I get them laughing this stuff off in private, but on a corporate level, that doesn't make sense to me. DC gets a lot of criticism too, but, as clueless as they are, I at least get the impression they are trying. Does Marvel lack a PR department?

Happy Independence Day!

(Eric Wight cover to Captain America 65th Anniversary issue)

I'm posting this because I couldn't find any clips from 1776 on YouTube. I think it's pretty awesome though. I was just hoping for something more musical.