Geek Stuff

So much stuff to catch up on. First up, GEEKTRESS launched weeks ago and I never posted to mention it. I suck. Go read. It's cool. Dane and Brenda have excellent recaps of Star Trek: the Original Series and Sarah Connor Chronicles respectively, and I highly recommend them. Dane's ST:TOS recaps especially. They are probably my favorite thing about the site.

Of course, Brenda, Rania and I are still doing the podcast thing. You can get the most recent episodes through the site too. If you listen to the podcast, and you like it, I highly encourage you to let us know. We are desperate for feedback. If you are so inclined, you can do so at PodOMatic , by email at comments[at]geektress.com, or by calling the voicemail number that Brenda gives in the podcast.

Speaking of podcasts, I have been listening to a bunch of comics ones, and I have fallen in love with Comic Book Queers. They are awesome and hilarious. And when I listened to their Jean vs. Emma podcast, I totally came out of it liking Emma. It only lasted until the next time I opened a comic book with her in it, but I am definitely more tolerant of her now. Considering my desperation for feedback, I should probably email them to tell them how much I love their podcast. Hmm...I'll look into that.

Comic Thoughts:

Uncanny X-Men: Schmoopy Scott and Emma kind of make me want to vomit, but aside from that, I'm digging what Brubaker is doing here. The Kurt/Piotr/Logan stuff is a hoot and the next issue looks like it is going to be trippy...and that's not just me using outdated slang like I am known to do. The art is gorgeous as well. Everyone looks smokin' hot. I wish there was another female carachter on the team though. Brubaker said Storm would be popping up now and then, so I guess that's something. Grrr...now I am even more pissed at Whedon for maybe, possibly killing Kitty off. I was totally serious in the podcast about never forgiving him. Never.

Buffy, Season 8: Issue #10 was like a sucker punch to the kidneys, and this one was just totally wow. I didn't even know I cared who was under that mask until that fake out (a perfectly Whedon moment, I might add). Damn you, Joss! I also think that Whedon is really finding his stride as far as scripting these characters for comics. In the first couple of issues, there was a problem with them not really sounding distinctive, which I chalked up to Whedon not being used to no being able to rely on actors to provide a unique voice, since it is not a problem he has on other comics. That's not a problem any more at all. Next up is a werewolf arc scripted by Godard. So cool! And I bet Oz will be back. Even better!

Nightwing: I have never read this comic before in my life, but I 100% approve of the character's new direction. As a matter of fact, the whole being the curator at the Cloisters thing is why I picked it up. (Well, that and seeing how beautifully Rags Morales renders NYC.) It may seem a bit improbable, but rich people pulling strings is pretty much how people get those jobs. I heartily approve of the new love interest too, since she's a history geek who is also a Mets fan. That's good people right there. Tomasi is also telling a pretty cool story in his first arc, but it's Dick's interaction with various members of the DCU, particularly Bruce Wayne, that has been the real treat so far. I am so loving this.

Manhunter: I just read Volume 4 and it was great. When is DC going to start publishing this book again? I was pretty content reading the trades, but I would be willing to switch to floppies just to support it. It is so good. Everyone run out and get the trades so DC will get the hint.

Birds of Prey: I'm pretty happy that Bedard is going to be the new writer on this title. His fill ins were great. I didn't hate McKeever's issues, and I'm sure given time, he would have improved, but Ii think Bedard is the right man for the job.

Trinity: Damn you DC for announcing a weekly comic I actually want to read. Bastards! This is so not going to be good for my wallet.

Spider-Man Family: According to the latest Lying in the Gutters, this title is going to become the place for married Spider-Man. This makes me happy. Not because I'm getting my Spider-Man back. He's still the ass who passive agressively forced his wife into doing the decision making on the Mephisto deal and then didn't say a word while she made some sort of side deal so that he could have a chance at happiness (jerk!). I miss Mary Jane. She's still awesome. I just hope they do it right. I have an idea in my head about what I want them to do with it, and I know I will be disappointed if they don't do it. Uhg! I am so going to be disappointed.

Spectacular Spider-Man: We've got episode descriptions for the premier episodes airing March 8th. It's nice that someone remembers Liz Allan.

That's it for now. I'll see you when I see you. Don't forget to visit Geektress.

Why "OMD" Makes No Fucking Sense

Apparently, the problem is that no one on the Marvel staff has seen the Gweneth Paltrow movie Sliding Doors:

Close to two years ago at one of our creative summits, the seeds of that idea began to blossom. Those ideas were then taken and a two week long e-mail chain began where we started to throw around ideas until we got the story kind of where we wanted it to be. The guys involved in all of this from the beginning were Joe, Bendis, Millar, Loeb, Tom Brevoort, Axel Alonso and myself. It then all carried over to the next summit, at which Ed Brubaker and Dan Slott also had some stuff to add. It was at one of these summits that JMS said the methodology we were using was more akin to the movie "Sliding Doors" than "Back to the Future." Rather than a single incident not happening that causes a huge domino effect across the timeline, he explained it was more like one door that wasn't taken or opened that only changed the subtlest of things.

That's just not how I remember the movie at all. I'm pretty sure that the movie was about how one subtle little change to the timeline, like making it on one train instead of having to wait for the next, can have huge implications on your life, like ending up getting hit by a bus and dying, or not. And aside from the whole dead thing, everything in the two timelines was completely different. Also, that movie made sense. Really, I never would have thought that a writer's understanding of a fairly mediocre, though far better than "OMD," romantic melodrama would have such a huge effect on my superhero comics. Trippy.

This interview, part 2 of 5 with Quesada over at CBR, also reveals that I was totally right about them wanting to bring Gwen back. In a way I wish they had. It would have ensured this whole thing would get undone sooner rather than later.

Actually, bringing Gwen back might have made more sense, now that I think about it. It would have been like saying that it was the only way to ensure that Peter and MJ never got together was if Gwen hadn't died. Had Gwen not been dropped off a bridge, MJ wouldn't have been there to help him get over Gwen's death, and therefore would never have seen that there was more to MJ than just the ditzy party girl. (This would have also neatly stuck a pin in the idea that had Gwen lived, she and Peter would have lived happily ever after, which would have made me pretty happy and a lot of other readers I know.) It also would have opened up the potential for Norman Osborn never dying, thereby making it so Harry never went nuts, becoming the second Green Goblin, and ultimately dying from the serum. That means that it would make some amount of sense for Harry to have continued his druggie lifestyle, never marrying and having a son.

Instead, we inexplicably have a Harry Osborn who is a lush and has no wife, and apparently no child, both of which he obtained before Peter's marriage to MJ, and a bunch of friends who don't care enough about him to not let him drink when he has just come out of rehab. (Peter Parker: worst best friend ever!) Peter's also living with Aunt May, which he hasn't done since the early college years (aside from some brief periods where he and MJ were lacking in funds) and has his original webshooters back, both of which are also changes that had nothing to do with his marriage. And I still fail to see how either version does anything but negate 30 years of comic book history. Now I know what it must be like to be a life long Superman reader after each Crisis. It makes my head hurt. A lot. How does Superman retain any readers this way?

Also, in the interview, Quesada keeps mentioning the "science" that JMS wanted to use (which is apparently what necessitated all the rewrites), and I just really don't think that word means what he thinks it means. I am, however, willing to bet that JMS's version made sense, because while he has written some startlingly bad Spider-Man stories during his run, he has always written them well. Some ideas are just crap.

I would also like to point out that Quesada, for all the "the buck stops here" talk about the delays, spreads the blame for this story pretty widely around the Marvel offices, and I have subsequently lost some respect for Brubaker. I'm sure that will last until I read the issue of Captain America that came out on Friday. (Damn you, Brubaker, and your scary talent making it impossible to hold a grudge!) The fact that so many creators, albeit of varying levels of talent, talked about this for so long and it didn't occur to them that maybe the hero shouldn't be making deals with the devil just so he doesn't have to feel guilty, especially ones that amount to a mystical abortion, boggles the mind. I guess Marvel heroes can get by being good role models as long as they don't smoke. That's the important thing.

I wasn't going to post any more about "OMD," but now that I have opened the flood gates, more posts are sure to follow.

IT WAS A JOKE!

Remember back when I said they should bring back Harry Osborne? I was joking. It was a joke. I was throwing out some ridiculous thing. I love Harry. I would love to have him back. That doesn't mean that I thought bringing him back was actually a good idea. Marvel already brought back Norman.

Anyway, do I tell the guy at the comic book shop that I'm dropping Amazing Spider-Man from my pull list tomorrow, or should I wait until the first issue of "Brand New Day"?

I <3 Jeff Parker

Jeff Parker is awesome, and there is an interview with him up at Newsarama. Here's an excerpt:

JP: Because the suggested line-up I was originally given mentioned only one woman (I think I suggested Storm) and assumed Giant-Man would be in there. I knew the Wasp had gone gigantic before, so I originally suggested her as being able to go tiny or giant. The editors and VPs thought it might be too confusing, so we opted for her as Giant-Girl only. My thinking was, if I only have two women on this team, then I'm going to make one of them really hard to miss. I'd still rather it be three women. Just like if I were magically in the Marvel offices in the 60's I would beg Stan and Jack to make Angel a girl so the X-Men would have had a different dynamic from the beginning.

I love Giant-Girl, so I am really glad she's there, but I do not understand why having her be able to go tiny or gigantic would be too confusing. That's just dumb. I also love Jeff Parker for wanting to put three girls on the team. That would have been awesome. I wonder who he would have wanted them to be. Good for him for making her stand out as much as possible too. I don't know about making Angel a girl though. (When I was a little girl, I had a crush on him. He was blue then, and I thought the whole blond hair, blue skin and wings combo was really pretty.) That explains the X-Men First Class, vol.2 #1 story with Marvel Girl and the Invisible Girl though, as well as the friendship between Jean and Wanda, both of which I am so grateful for. It's so rare to see girls bond in comic books. It's even more rare to see a mentor relationship between two female characters. As a matter of fact, I don't know that I had ever seen that before. What he did there was so fresh and awesome, and yeah, it really is a very different dynamic.

Anyway, so much love for this man. Go read all his stuff, especially the Spider-Man/Fantastic Four story he did with Mike Wieringo, because it's a totally fun Spider-Man and Fantastic Four story drawn by Mike Wieringo. I can't wait for all his upcoming stuff too. I didn't read any of the 1602 stuff after the first miniseries, even though I liked it a lot, but I am all over this one.

Oh, and the Hulk screaming "Earth just want to be friend!" is my favorite part of "Ego the Loving Planet" too.

Also, 150th post! Woo Hoo! And it was about something positive. Yay for unintentional celebration.

Scout Attacks! Sensational Spider-Man #41

Uhg. I have responsibilities now. There are more important things that need writing, but "One More Day" is so bad that things just need to be said. So, let's just start at the beginning.

The one good thing I have to say about part 3 of "One More Day" is that the art has gotten a lot better. Quesada's got his weird noses under control. However, the covers are still the same covers.

That red haired troll looking thing sandwiched between the "Who are they?" and "What deadly secret do they share?" That's supposed to be the little girl from the story, who is actually kind of cute, if creepy. That thing is just stringy haired and ugly.

Speaking of the little girl, there is some alternate version on Peter and Mary Jane that are terrible parents.

First of all, they let her go off by herself just because she's smart? Yeah, being smart is totally enough to save her from predators. Also, she's smart, but she'd rather be pretty like her mother? Whatever. Stupid comic book.

Let me just say this, I have a hard time believing that any daughter of Peter's wouldn't take at least some pride in being smart. I also have a hard time believing that any daughter of Mary Jane's would be self-conscious about her looks. Also, Peter, if a little girl expresses insecurity about her looks, you assure her of how beautiful she is. You do not tell her she will grow up to be beautiful. I am not surprised that some alternate version of you is an awful parent. You obviously suck at dealing with kids.

Moving on to the less trivial and nit picky complaints and getting on to the more serious reasons to hate this issue:

I hate the fact that everything this little girl is saying is true. That is exactly how JMS and Quesada have been characterizing him since "Civil War." It's like they are saying "Look! This is what Spider-Man has become. Don't you want us to change that? Oh, and by the way, he's only acting this way because he's married. It's all the marriage's fault."

But that is not what Spider-Man has become. That is how they are currently portraying him in order to justify this crappy story arc. This is the worst kind of writing - making your characters fit your stories instead of your stories fit your characters. It is everything a writer is not supposed to do.

I am not even going into those alternate versions of a powerless Peter that he runs into, because they are just too dumb and insulting. I just want to point out the naked girl in the champaign glass.

I'm probably reading too much into this, but I'm just getting this vibe. This vibe of them retconning the Lee/Ditko era to make it more like the freaking movie. I have no words for this, if my suspicions are true.

Back to the bad writing:

I was trying to think of what could make this worse. What could possibly be more random than JMS pulling Mephisto out of his ass as a deus ex machina in the penultimate issue of this arc? All I could come up with is if JMS had actually written the Marvel editorial staff into the comic book. But then, at least, that would be honest. Mostly, this is just stupid because Mephisto's whole motivation for caring is literally that he is the devil. That's it. How does this even count as a story anymore? Also, on the final page, Mephisto says there's a part of their soul that will remember and scream out in pain for what they have lost. What's stopping them from meeting again, and getting married again? So dumb.

I was going to post the last two pages too, but it doesn't matter. The whole "I want your marriage" thing is so ridiculous that it seems pointless to go on. I will say this, though. What they did by having MJ be the one to want to hear Mephisto out is significant. JMS did the same thing when Peter was deciding whether or not to unmask. Both times Peter has dismissed the huge status quo changing decision out of hand, while Mary Jane has been the one to think it over. Basically, JMS is laying the blame at here feet, while simultaneously writing her as if she's the reasonable one so that the reader will be duped into thinking that the decision that is made is well thought out, and ultimately the right one. Well, not wanting her husband to abandon her and Aunt May to become a fugitive does not make her a villain. Neither does wanting to do anything to save Aunt May. It also doesn't mean that the decisions that are made are the right ones, especially when the writer fails to have the characters thoroughly explore all the reasons why the characters shouldn't make the decisions that they ultimately end up making. (I will, however, point out that during JMS's run, he has had Aunt May learn that Peter is Spider-Man and retconned Gwen Stacy's death so that it is the result of her own actions rather than Peter's, thereby removing two of the biggest reasons for Peter keeping his identity a secret. That doesn't really change the fact that Gwen Stacy's death should have at least been brought up in that particular conversation.) But, while none of this makes Mary Jane a villain, it does make Peter a coward for never really being an active participant in his own life. As long as he's not at fault though, right? Because that is what would ruin the character.

I've written all this without even going into the fact that all this magical, mystical crap is completely inappropriate for a Spider-Man story. After six years, that's kind of a moot point.

On a final note, if the next issue doesn't have Peter and Mary Jane giving it some thought, and coming to the conclusion that taking Mephisto's deal is the last thing that Aunt May would want them to do, it will just prove everything I have had to say about this story, and about the whole "Back in Black" story. For once, it would be nice if Peter would actually consider what she would think of everything he is doing.

Wasn't This Initially Supposed To Be Weekly?

MARVEL ANNOUNCES ONE MORE DAY DELAYS

And we're supposed to believe Marvel will be able to make the thrice monthly schedule on Amazing Spider-Man.

Because People Loved It So Much In Spider-Man 3

Marvel gives us a 5 issue mini-series of Spider-Man acting like a douche.

Was This Supposed To Scare Me?

Because it totally did. I think it's her head. It's too big or something. Also, I don't know if this was intentional or not, but her popping up at the end like that and telling Peter she could help reminded me of the little girl in Last Temptation of Christ, the one that turned out to be Satan.

Spidey Cartoon!

Blog@Newsarama has some stuff on the upcoming Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon, like Sean Galloway's character designs from his blog (above). (There's a link to an interview with director Victor Cook.) Pretty cool looking, right? I'm super excited about this cartoon. Yay! for new Spidey cartoon. Okay, I'm calming down.

Anyway, I think they all look really cute. Peter's possibly too cute, but it's so hard to make guys look geeky anymore. If they put him in a sweater vest, like Ditko did, he'd look like a hipster. I'm guessing his geekiness will come across more in how the character is written. Harry's got Osborn hair. I'm very happy about that. Osborn hair makes the character. I would believe anyone who had that hair would go insane. His pant legs are too baggy at the bottom though.

It looks like, in the latest attempt to reinvent Gwen Stacy so that she doesn't completely suck, they've turned her into a geek-girl. I guess that works. Actually, since I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that Mary Jane is going to be the primary love interest as that's just what people are more familiar with, I wonder if they aren't going to go with characterizations similar to those in Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane for Gwen and MJ. That would work, I think. I hope we won't get a movie-MJ characterization. That MJ sucks. Also, I hope Liz Allen, Flash Thompson, and Betty Brant are going to be in the cartoon. I want to see as much of the supporting cast as possible.

I cannot wait for this cartoon, and it's gotten picked up for 26 episodes already. Saturday morning is going to be so awesome, with Legion of Superheroes, The Batman, and Spectacular Spider-Man. It'll be like the '90s when FOX had Spider-Man, X-Men, and The Tick, except, I actually think Spectacular Spider-Man is going to be better than the '90s cartoon. I've read a bunch of interviews and stuff and the creators say all the right things and really seem to get it. I hope I'm not disappointed. I can't take any more Spidey related disappointment.

Peter Parker Was A PIMP

THE WIZARD RETROSPECTIVE: SPIDER-MAN AND MARY JANE:

JOE QUESADA (Marvel Comics editor-in-chief 2000-present): I liked MJ being the girl out of [Peter’s] league. That’s something we can all identify with at some point or another.

Couple of Quick Questions:

How many girls did Peter date that weren't out of his league?

• Betty Brant - the older woman
• Liz Allen - the popular girl dating the quarter back
• Gwen Stacy - scientist/beauty queen
• Mary Jane - model/actress
• Felicia Hardy - the Black Cat. You've seen her. I don't think I have to say more than that.
  
• Deb Whitman - OK, I'll give you this one. She was normal.
  

And the kicker, they fought over him! That was despite the fact that most of them were being chased by guys who, at least on the surface of things, had a lot more to offer them, like actual time to go out on dates and stuff. So, I guess this is my follow-up question:

If a girl actively pursues a guy, is she really out of his league?

Basically, Peter Parker got any girl he wanted once he bothered to show them a little attention, and MJ may have actually pursued him more than most (aside from Felicia, who was needy an obsessive), as she continued to flirt with him even after he and Gwen became a couple and she started dating Harry. The fact that she got all commitment phobic later on is a separate issue.

I'm just getting really confused over where this idea that he was some sort of sad sack who couldn't get a date has suddenly cropped up from. Dan Slott mentioned it in an interview too. Sometimes I get the impression I read different comics than these guys did. Did they change something when they reprinted them? Is there some version out there where Peter was the Urkel to MJ's Laura?

Also From the Retrospective:

BENDIS: I was a youngster when the marriage took place and I received an invitation drawn by Bill Sienkiewicz in the mail from Marvel. I didn’t send [Peter and Mary Jane] a present, but it was marketing gold.

I want it! It's so 80s, with MJ's frosty blue eye shadow. Now I'm upset that my Mary Jane Barbie, who is sportin' the wedding gown, doesn't have frosty blue eye shadow. The irony, of course, is that I hate weddings in real life. Comic book weddings are fun though, probably because there are super villains and I don't have to buy a new dress for them.

Ah, well, I will probably have more to say on this at a later time, because I am me, but I'm done for now.

Scout Attacks! Amazing Spider-Man #543 and Sensational Spider-Man #40

I'm finally getting around to some reviews that I found really difficult to write. There's this one, and, hopefully, an Astonishing X-Men #22 one coming up soon. We'll see.

To be honest, I could not even finish reading Amazing Spider-Man #543. It just becomes increasingly obvious that the people at Marvel have not even been trying to tell good Spider-Man stories in years. They have been intentionally driving the character into the ground so that when the inevitable reboot happens, we will cheer and thank them for getting rid of this crap.

So, the blood transfusion that Peter gave Aunt May didn't work and a reverend is coming around asking MJ if any thought has been given to what arrangements May would want made if she died. This is the first thing that pissed me off, because Peter's reactions to all this were completely selfish. For starters, I find it hard to believe that, as practical, not to mention old, as May is, she would not have let Peter know what she wanted when she died. What would Aunt May want done if she died, Peter? Well, what about whatever you did the last time she died? (As an aside, I wonder if they ever did anything about the fact that they buried an actress as Aunt May.) Also, considering the fact that Aunt May has been shown to be a Church-goer within the pages of JMS scripted comics, the whole conversation about what May believed in was just really bad.

Then we get to the part where the detective is investigating May's shooting. This is where Peter's actions went from selfish to nonsensical. It was just a lot of overreaction. For starters, I don't understand how knocking the police officer out so that he and Mary Jane could get away didn't still fall firmly into the category of breaking the law but knowing that he was right. It was tying the cop up that really crossed the line. Also, why the hell did he take May? If he had left her there, the hospital would have had to continue to give her medical attention. She might have been transfered to a cheaper hospital, but since he's transferring her anyway, it doesn't really make a difference. Anyway, it was when he started counting off his felonies that I had to stop reading. I tried going back to it later, but the best I could do was skim through the last few pages. When I first read this issue, or part of it, I was really upset. How could they do this to Spidey? Thinking about it now though, I realize that really, all these lines that he's supposedly crossing is just a huge overstatement of what is actually happening. This storyline just grows increasingly idiotic with each issue.

I enjoyed Sensational Spider-Man #40 a lot more. It's really just another story just another story where Peter realizes that for all the bad things that have happened, being Spider-Man was ultimately worth it because of all the good he has done helping others, this time by having a little chat with God in the guise of a homeless man who looks like an uglier Iggy Pop. I liked when Peter asked if he had really saved thousands upon thousands of people and God answered "Well, I'm counting team-ups, but...yeah. At least." (If God's counting team-ups, then Peter's helped save the entire world as recently as the Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four miniseries "The Silver Age.") This issue also began with a nice little recap of Spider-Man's history. Bonus points for remembering Liz Allen's existence and having Peter count Harry among all the people that he has lost. I could have done without the "His first, and some say truest love, Gwen Stacy" line though, and not just because of my personal feelings about Gwen Stacy. The story is being narrated by God. If Gwen Stacy was Peter's truest love, he would know. He wouldn't need to comment on what "some say," and since it is narrated by God, and not just an anonymous narrator, it makes it sound like people within the world of the comic book, as opposed to the readers, are sitting around debating the point. What do I know though. Maybe that's how Betty and Flash spend their dates. (I now realize that I just devoted several lines to a very minor quibble, but it's like they can't mention Gwen Stacy in a comic book without saying "his first, and some say truest love" like it's her full name. It's irritating, and especially so when it doesn't belong.) This issue also gets points for the fact that Clayton Crain made Peter Parker look like Billy Crudup. Looking like Billy Crudup is never a bad thing.

Peter and MJ make for a ridiculously hot older couple.

What I liked most though was that this issue left us off with some hope for Peter's future. That's not something we get a lot of in Spider-Man comics anymore, and it was certainly something I needed after Amazing Spider-Man #543. All in all, this was a nice wrap up for what has been a pretty uneven series.

I Am So Proud of My Italian Heritage

Scientist suggests super-sticky Spidey suit

Also, I so want one of these things. Next, these Italians need to apply their magnificent brains to creating some web shooters. Or would I have to come up with that myself, y'know, like Spidey did?

Hells Yeah!

John Romita, Jr. Returns to "Amazing Spider-Man" in 2008!

Finally something to be happy about.

Seriously?

I found this Livejournal entry via When Fangirls Attack. In it Kate Willaert gives more specifics about the Spider-marriage related discussions that went on at the various Marvel panels (including the X-Men panel - apparently X-fans support MJ too) at Wizard World Chicago, which was only hinted at in the Newsarama and CBR reports. The whole thing is interesting, but this is the meat of it:

I didn't hear any "boo"ing from the crowd at the Mondo Marvel panel, but the MJ marriage once again dominated the Q&A portion of the panel, though you wouldn't guess from the three-sentence summary it gets in Newsarama's report. The CBR report actually mentions a few of the specific questions/answers addressed, but misses what I thought was the money-quote of the hour, which at least Newsarama paraphrases in their aforementioned three-sentence summary. When asked why we need Spidey unmarried in the regular books, when you can read new young-unmarried-Spidey stories in Ultimate Spider-Man, Joe responded that there are all sorts of things you can do with regular Spidey that you can't do with younger, Ultimate Spidey, because younger Spidey can't do things like "have sex, or download porn."

Yes, have sex, and download porn. That is an exact quote...I am not making that up. My roomie crazy_elf_girl turns to me in disbelief and whispers "those are the stories he wants to tell...??"

After he's finished answering the next question (a non-MJ one), I decide to raise my hand, hoping to get him to elaborate on the sex/porn thing. Joe points right at me, but there were two guys in front of me and slightly to the sides, and one of them launches into his question, thinking Joe was point at him...oh well. After that question has finished up, I raise my hand, and Joe calls on me again. My question goes like this:

"One of the things I really like about the way the Spider-man books is set up, is that with Ultimate Spider-man you can read about younger, single Spider-man, and in Amazing Spider-man you can read about the older, mature, married Spider-man, which allows you to be able to tell a greater variety of different stories. So I'm confused, are there really stories you want to do with an older unmarried Spidey, that couldn't be done with Ultimate Spidey-- [Joe tries to start his answer, but I briefly cut him off to finish the rest of my question] --because I don't think "having sex" and "downloading porn" make for real interesting..."

And then I trail off to let Joe start his answer. Which is basically once again asserting that, yes, there are all sorts of stories you can only tell with an older unmarried Spidey, but without being able to cite any more convincing examples.

Y'know, I remember being a young girl, reading reprints from the Lee/Ditko and Lee/Romita eras. More than stuff like Spider-Man's first battle with Doctor Octopus, or anything like that, what I really responded to was when Peter would sneak those porn mags or screw Betty Brant in the Daily Bugle's supply closet. Yeah, those were the good old days.

Kidding aside though, isn't that precisely the kind of question they should be prepared to answer for the fans in all seriousness? Don't they owe the fans that? And I don't mean fans that are upset at how MJ is treated as a character by this editorial regime, or fans that are just opposed to anything that messes with the status quo, though I probably fall into both categories. I mean the fans as potential consumers. Shouldn't they get some assurance that they will be getting a unique product and that it will be worthwhile to buy both comics in the future?

Quesada and company is supposed to be trying to sell us on a concept so that we will want to read their comics, and they are doing a piss poor job of it. Right now, people are so pissed that I'm not sure they will buy whatever Marvel has planned for Spider-Man even if it's the best thing ever, unless, of course, that this is all just an elaborate misdirection. I really don't think that's the case though, and if it is, that's lame. The only thing worse than manufactured controversy for the sake of sales, is false manufactured controversy for the sake of sales.

Anyway, wasn't the whole point of making Spider-Man single again to make him more relateable to nine-year-olds, or some such nonsense? It would be so much easier to be more reasonable about proposed changes to the status quo if the powers that be could actually get there heads out of their asses and provide actual logical and consistent reasoning for wanting the changes to be made. Quesada seems to be getting upset that fans are getting so upset over this issue, but he created the issue in the first place, and if he hasn't been able to speak about it in any rational manner, I don't see why he should expect it from the fans. I feel the same way about when he complains about the personal attacks towards himself and other creators. I personally think that's wrong. It's something I try to avoid, though I am sure I fail on occasion, but I also think that you reap what you sew. When you intentionally bait the fans ire, you are not going to get pleasantries, or even respect, in return. That's just how it goes.

To try to spin this in a positive direction for a second, as a long time fan of Mary Jane, it's gratifying to see so many people vocally supporting the character and the pairing. It's a bit odd, but she may be the most high profile female character in the Marvel Universe right now. It's sad that so much of that attention has come out of negative things, like the statue, all this Spider-marriage controversy, etc., and I'm not really happy that she's probably best known as the character Kristen Dunst portrays in the movies (a character that is so totally not the Mary Jane I know and love), but hey, at least now the word is out there that a lot of people think Mary Jane Watson is awesome.

Whatever happens in "One More Day" and "Brand New Day," at least we have the good times. Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane will still be there, albeit without Sean McKeever, and they can't take away our copies of Spider-Man Fairy Tales #1:

or the Sensational Spider-Man Annual:

And while the marriage might be over, there's always the hope that the new comics will feature significantly more dancing!

Scout Attacks! Spider-Man/Red Sonja #1

So, I wanted to to a post tonight, and it was seriously running the risk of being another whiny "But the Spider-marriage is so wonderful" post. I didn't want to do that. It's coming, I'm sure, because it's all consuming lately. I think I might have to change the name of this blog to Peter & Mary Jane Matter. (I'm just giving Quesada what he wants and I hate myself for it.) I wanted to do something more positive, though. I have an X-Men post that I want to do too, but that's going to require more energy than I generally have, and when I do have that much energy, I have more important things I have to do. Anyway, this is still a Spidey & (sorta) MJ post, but it is one that's made of awesome. This is about the super fun Spider-Man/Red Sonja #1.

Let's start with the cover:

Ah, Michael Turner, your awfulness never fails to entertain. I just want to point out the, uh, pointy-ness of Red Sonja's ears. I almost think that I'm being too hard on his inability to render a realistic human figure when it is so clear that he isn't even trying to draw a human. And in the spirit of being kinder to Michael Turner, why won't somebody write the epic lesbian elf porn that he was so clear born to illustrate? This is actually one of his better covers though, possibly because Sonja's feet are obscured. In the variant cover she is literally standing on the tip of her toes, as if she were a Barbie doll whose feet are permanently molded to high heels. That's a pretty decent Spider-Man he's got going on there though.

The interior's a lot better. First, there's an amusing phone conversation between Spidey and MJ:

First, the nitpicker in me needs to point out that she would never say she is doing MacBeth. She's an actress, and she is in a theater. It's "The Scottish Play." Calling it by it's name is a bigger no-no than wishing someone good luck. Clearly, whatever happens in "One More Day," Mary Jane has brought it on herself by tempting fate like that. But it's Peter's behavior that is more troubling. He likes it when she dresses up like a cat? I'm sure MJ is the fun, adventurous type, but a girls got to draw the line somewhere. If she's dressing up like a cat for him now, next he'll be having her don a blond wig and a miniskirt and directing her to play dead.

Enough about Parker's kinks. Let's get to the wacky, but first, one of the cool things about this issue is that it has more Robbie than possibly JMS's entire run on Amazing Spider-Man. Look:



Two whole panels! And hey, do you think Venom's going to show up at some point?

I've read some complaints this issue was all set up, but I didn't mind, not when that alone is fun to read. If you don't already know, this story is a follow-up to the awesomely cracktastic Marvel Team-Up #79, where a museum exhibit causes a bunch of wacky creatures to pop up in New York and people to get possessed. Naturally, Mary Jane gets possessed by Red Sonja, while some random guard gets possessed by Kulan Gath, the bad guy. Well, all that happens again, except this time the whole city gets transformed, even Spideys cell phone:

Frankly, I think Parker made out pretty good here. Even a small sack of gold has got to be worth more than any cell phone he could afford. Where does Spidey carry his cell phone anyway?

Another cool thing about this issue has got to be the continuity with the earlier story. Kulan Gath is determined not to let Spider-Man and Red Sonja team up and spoil his plans again.

Turning Mary Jane into Red Sonja and pitting her against Spider-Man makes so much more sense than just keeping her away from the sword and thereby leaving Red Sonja out of the equation altogether. Kulan Gath is a genius! You can't argue villain logic though, especially when the final outcome is as awesome as this:

MJ's not even really possessed. She's just pissed. I'm not getting the impression that Peter told her that she's turned into Red Sonja before. Oh, and let's not forget the cat costume thing. As a matter of fact, I think it would be awesome if this was the real lead up to "One More Day." Not that MJ's pissed at Peter about it, but that after turning back into herself, MJ decides that she rather likes carrying around a sword. Imagine how much cooler your average Mary Jane plot point would be with a sword. Sure it was awesome when she beat the crap out of the Chameleon with a baseball bat, but it would have been awesomer if she had chopped off some limbs. And the next time she has a stalker, she could just impale him. Unfortunately, Spider-Man just can't be married to someone who goes around chopping off people's limbs. Mary Jane has to choose, Peter or the sword. Mary Jane chooses the sword, and all Joe Quesada's problems are solved.

Anyway, the series can only get wackier from here. I can't wait.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive

From Newsarama's interview with new Amazing Spider-Man writer Zeb Wells:

What I’m most excited about is bringing back the feeling that Spider-Man (and Peter Parker) can make mistakes. When a hero’s been around as long as Spidey there’s a tendency to make him too perfect, too confident. Our Spidey often makes the wrong decision in trying to do the right thing. I think the classic Spidey stories always revolve around these situations, and it’s an important facet to bring back. Oh, yeah... and web shooters!

OK, first of all, Spidey doesn't make mistakes anymore? Uh...I think he's made some pretty friggin' huge mistakes lately. Kingpin didn't call him a chump for nothing. Mostly though, there will be web shooters.

Don't get me wrong, I think organic web shooters make sense. I got over my fannish objections to their inclusion in the movie a long time ago, probably before the first movie even came out, but giving Spider-Man organic web shooters in the comics after so long did not make sense. I mean, using magic to fundamentally change a character - how dumb is that?

I'll give Marvel credit for one thing though. A while back, Quesada and Breveroot made a comment at a con that the Spider-marriage was an example of the carriage pulling the horse. It wasn't done for story related reasons. It was done so that all versions of Spider-Man would be the same. I thought this was pretty hypocritical coming from the guys who oversaw the web shooter change, so going back to mechanical web shooters means they aren't total fucking hypocrites. Well, I guess they sorta still are since Quesada has been bitching about Mary Jane forever. However, they are correcting themselves, so that's got to count for something. Good for you guys!

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.

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 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?

Scout Attacks! week 17: Michael Turner Is Just Bad

This past week, UPS failed to deliver a bunch of boxes to the comic shop I frequent, so I missed out on the X-Men: Endangered Species one shot, Sensational Spider-Man, Spike: Shadow Puppets, and The Tick Twentieth Anniversary Special. How much does that suck? Hopefully I will be able to get them this Wednesday.

The Brave and the Bold #4: This issue seems like filler. While there is some amusing interaction between Supergirl and Lobo, their storyline seems irrelevant and unnecessary. However, this is still an entertaining read, so while I would normally complain about wasting my time and money, I won't. Sometimes being entertaining is more than enough. Also, the half-Batman/half-Cyborg is awesome.

Justice League of America #10: Apparently, DC reduced Power Girl's breast size from the version of the cover that was previewed. That's a nice gesture and all, but it's still an ugly ass cover and Power Girl still looks like a deformed elf who is completely stoned. I look forward to the day when we can all move past the "Michael Turner covers are sexist" debate and onto the agreement that Michael Turner is just a really bad artist. The story inside isn't much prettier than the cover. Basically, what we learned in this issue is that everything we read for the past however-many-issues-this-crossover-was was pretty pointless. They could have condensed it to two issues and it wouldn't have made any difference. The JLA and the JSA meet up with a bunch of time traveling members of the Legion of Superheroes who are getting together to bring back the Flash. There was no need for all the amnesia and searching and all that stuff. It wasn't interesting or entertaining enough to warrant all the time put into it - just a bunch of issues of the JSA and the JLA on a wild goose chase and ultimately not doing anything. I would have preferred and extended six issue story arc about the game of capture the flag from the first issue ending with Wally West walking into the Hall of Justice saying, "Hey! What did I miss?" All the interesting stuff that hinted at greater conspiracies and events, like the fact that the Legion of Superheroes appeared to bring someone else back in addition to Wally and his family or the white gorilla born in Gorilla City or the Ultra Humanite stuff, is apparently going to be dealt with elsewhere, presumably Countdown. That's just wasting my time, and not in a good way, especially since I have dropped Countdown with no intention of buying it again (until Ollie's bachelor party, anyway).

Highwaymen #1: This was entertaining enough, if fairly generic. Two over the hill adventurers come out of retirement to deal with something from their past. Old guys with guns is practically a genre in and of itself, and it's one I'm fond of, but this story doesn't do anything to set itself apart. Also, it seemed to be trying too hard to be clever in parts (like the whole "President Clinton...no, the other President Clinton" thing), and, in the end, it was somewhat forgettable.

The Amazing Spider-Man #541: My first reaction when I finished reading this issue was "There are seriously going to more issues in this storyline? Is the next issue just going to be page after page of Spider-Man getting his ass kicked by the inmates?" On top of that, this just isn't very interesting. The outcome is a foregone conclusion, mostly because we know that Kingpin isn't dead from other Marvel comics, but also because of the simple fact that this is Spider-Man. It's just tiresome. It's also not very believable. I don't think I really buy Spidey having these reactions, unless it had been one continuous tear between May being shot to Kingpin. The more time he takes, whether it be to call MJ or to sit at May's bedside, the less likely his actions seem. This also marks the second storyline in a row where it would actually seem relevant for him to be thinking about Gwen Stacy, and yet he isn't, so I had to sit through House of M: Spider-Man for nothing.

Captain America #27: This is another comic where not a lot happens in this issue, but it doesn't matter because it's so well done. Basically, it's just more of everyone dealing with Cap's death, while Bucky continues to be bad ass. He goes to the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian, sees that the shield on display there is a fake and sets out to get the real one because he doesn't think Tony Stark deserves to get to keep it; he fights the Black Widow and we learn that they used to have a relationship; the Falcon and Sharon are sent out stop him, but get there too late; Sharon wears an interesting but cool white cat suit; and Black widow informs Tony Stark that Bucky is out to kill him. Ultimately, that's the most interesting thing about this issue as I am intrigued to know what Stark is going to do about it. Also, I don't think I've mentioned this before, but part of what makes this title so much cooler than the other ones I read is, in addition to the amazing work by Brubaker and Epting, it has flying cars. They're just cool.

Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four #3: I've been enjoying this series, but this issue was made infinitely cooler by an appearance from Dr. Doom. He makes everything better. Also, this issue has anthropomorphic animals as an added bonus, and Wieringo makes them look adorable. This mini is just fun., and that's enough. I know it's a long shot, but I think it would be cool if Jeff Parker were one of the new Amazing Spider-Man writers.

Spider-Man Mythos: The world probably didn't need another retelling of Spider-Man's origin, but it's such a good story, and I am so partial to Spidey, that I am rarely able to resist them. Fortunately, this one features some pretty solid writing and some really beautiful art. I thought the appearance by Conan O'Brien was a bit weird though. I prefer the pro-wrestling.