Comic Book Review:Spider-Man: The Spider’s Shadow

After enjoying Spider-Man: Life Story, I was optimistic to see what Chip Zdarsky might do for an encore. The result is the fairly disappointing extended “what if” story The Spider’s Shadow.

What if instead of giving up the symbiotic black costume when Reed Richards warned him about it, Peter Parker kept it and gave himself over to its dark nature?

Well, according to this collection of five issues, Peter Parker would become public enemy number one, slaughtering multiple members of his rogue’s gallery along the way because the Hobgoblin kills Aunt May. There’s always been a bit of a dark undercurrent to the story of Spider-Man, though many writers haven’t really explored that side of things. Zdarsky did that over the course of Peter’s life in Life Story and maybe part of my issue here is that the timeline is simply too compressed to make for a satisfying story like the original collection was. Seeing Peter slowly descend into darkness makes sense and the question of “what if” Spidey had a really bad day and was pushed too far is an intriguing one.

But this could be one of those stories where it goes too dark and possibly too far. I get that Venom is a violent, dark mirror of Spider-Man — a creature that is the bonding of two entities that hate Peter Parker. And the idea the alien costume might feed into some of Peter’s internal self-doubt and loathing is an intriguing one. But honesty, the concept of Peter going dark was better realized in the animated series from the 90’s when the dark suit was brought into the story. I guess I wanted to see Peter do more than just become a violent sociopath who kills or hurts everyone around him before getting a bit of redemption and an obligatory happy ending.

Like a lot of modern comics, this feels like a story that was expanded a bit too much for its running time. Life Story had each issue focus on a decade of Peter’s life. This one just seems to run along from violent point to horrifying cliffhanger.

I wanted to enjoy this a lot more than I did. A bit of a disappointment.

Comic Book Friday: Symbiote Spider-Man

I’m guessing this limited series hit shelves when Spider-Man: Far From Home was hitting theaters to tie-in to Mysterio featuring in that movie.

Set during the time when I was really into Spider-Man comic books and written by one of my favorite authors, Peter David, Symbiote Spider-Man should be right up my alley. And yet, I can’t help but come away from it feeling that it was good, but not necessarily great.

Set in the time before Spidey knew his alien costume was a symbiote looking to bond with him for life, this five-part storyline has Spidey squaring off with Mysterio and the Kingpin. Mysterio is determined to find out as much as he can about Spidey’s alien costume and to be seen as a bigger foe of our web-slinger than maybe many (including the reader) believe he actually is.

It’s a decent enough little story arc, slipped into the main storyline of the time. I will admit that the part that intrigued me the most was Felicia Hardy and Aunt May meeting and discussing Peter at the cemetery with Uncle Ben is buried. David makes these scenes alone worth the price of admission.

But the rest with Mysterio blackmailing Black Cat to get a sample of the suit and becoming symbiote Mysterio — I could take or leave. It was intriguing but you know it’s not going to all go anywhere in the long run.

Review: Marvel-Verse: Venom

I should preface this review by saying I’ve never been the biggest fan of Venom. The character is an interesting idea, but I honestly think he’s been overused and overexposed by Marvel since his creation.

So why, then, would I pick up this collection of stories focusing on Venom?

Call it an impulse check-out from my local library.

After reading this collection of five comics, I find myself wondering just who the target audience is for this collection. Is it young readers to introduce them to the character of Venom (in case you’ve just discovered comic books, I guess)? Or is it older readers to give a quick overview of Venom’s origin? I don’t necessarily think it’s anyone who has only seen the big-screen, live-action version of Venom with Tom Hardy because that storyline doesn’t include Spider-Man as part of Venom’s origin.

Comic Book Review: Spider-Man: Bloodline by J.J. & Henry Abrams, Sara Pichelli, Dave Stewart

Well, it appears that J.J. Abrams’ son Henry has inherited his father’s ability to start off a story well but has no idea how to stick the landing.

This five-issue mini-series event is a bit of a disappointment on the writing side. A new villain called Cadaverous kills Mary Jane and a bunch of other superheroes, sending Peter Parker into exile. A decade or so later, Peter is estranged from his fifteen-year-old son Ben and has left Ben in the hands of Aunt May as he travels the globe for the Bugle. But Ben is starting to have strange occurrences in his life, like sticking to walls and the ability to take out bullies with a single punch. Before you know it, Ben has discovered he’s got Spidey powers and Cadaverous is alerted that Spider-Man is back on the scene and can be used to complete whatever the hell plan it is that Cadaverous has dreamed up.

Bloodline feels like an extended mini-series based on the MCU more than the comic-book storylines surrounding Spider-Man — and that’s not a bad thing, per se. If there’s one thing Into the Spider-Verse showed us, it’s there can be multiple variations of Spider-Man without necessarily wrecking things.

But as I started out saying, the big issue here is Henry Abrams’ writing. It’s all over the place, pulling in things like Tony Stark, the Avengers, and other MCU items without necessarily thinking things through. If you’re all about a big reveal that doesn’t require much thought or internal continuity, this is the mini-series for you. However, Spider-Man has always been about something more than just big reveal after big reveal for me — it’s about investing in the character of Peter Parker — or whoever is taking up the Spider-Man mantle. And that’s where this mini-series ultimately fails. Yes, Ben Parker is Peter and MJ’s son, but beyond that, there is little or any character arc in play to give us a reason to care about. And since Peter turns into a distant father, there’s little, if any reason, to invest much in him either.

The story does try to go for a huge emotional twist in the final issue with mixed results. Again, I hadn’t invested enough in the characters to really feel anything more than a shoulder-shrug when said reveal takes place.

And the ending is all over the place. So, maybe J.J. wrote this with his son.

Putting the plot aside, the artwork for this miniseries is superbly done. I grew up reading reprints of the Steve Ditko and John Romita eras, and those will always be my favorites when it comes to Spider-Man. But the art by Sara Pichelli for this mini-series event evokes the best of Ditko and Romita. It’s colorful and easy to distinguish each character over the course of the five issues. There are a few striking panels in here that made me pause to just enjoy them before turning the page and continuing to roll my eyes at the plotline.

Comic Book Friday: The Amazing Spider-Man Volumes 5 & 6 by Nick Spencer

I loved Spider-Man comics growing up. I still do, but I’m not quite devoted enough to keep up with the comics on a regular basis. Hence, I love the opportunity to check in on my favorite superhero when my library gets the latest collect editions of The Amazing Spider-Man.

Recently, I picked up three new collections featuring Nick Spencer as the head Spidey writer and featuring cover blurbs about how great his work was on Marvel’s flagship title. And after reading “Hunted,” I could see what the positive buzz was about.

Then there came the next two collections.

Review: The Amazing Spider-Man, Volume 4: Hunted by Nick Spencer

While reading through the Marvel Masterworks reprints of The Amazing Spider-Man, I encountered the first appearance of a lesser-known Spidey foe, the Gibbon. The Gibbon wasn’t exactly what you’d call even a B-list or C-list level of villain for Spider-Man. Beyond the hook of the Gibbon wanting to be an ally to Spider-Man (mirroring a bit Spidey’s attempts to join the Fantastic Four back in the day), I’d argue there wasn’t much memorable about the character.

So, imagine my surprise when reading this story arc, “Hunted,” when I found myself getting a lump in my throat when the Gibbon is killed off in the issue focusing on him. Somehow Nick Spencer took what was a minor villain in the Spidey-verse and not only made me connect with and care about him, but he actually made me get a bit weepy when he died.

That alone has to be worth an extra star when it comes to rating this arc in the current run of The Amazing Spider-Man.

Review: The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection, Volume 7: The Goblin’s Last Stand

Like classic Doctor Who, comic books published during the Silver Age don’t necessarily hold up well to being binged.

Collecting two years of issues from the run of The Amazing Spider-Man, this volume has some of some series highs and some series moments that may leave you scratching your head a bit. Of course this collection includes the pivotal and comics changing “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” arc, seeing us lose not only Peter Parker’s love interest but also the original Green Goblin over the course of two pivotal issues. This story and the one after it stand out as some of the most intriguing from this influential run, as does a multi-issue run with Doc Ock battling Hammerhead to become the crime boss of New York, all with Aunt May caught in the middle.

There’s also a sojourn to Canada to battle the Hulk and track down and trace down an old family mystery to add to the intrigue.

But then there’s a couple of forgettable enough stories in there as well. While the return of Flash Thompson from the Vietnam War and the implications this has for the character and his friendship with Peter Parker still echo today, there are a few moments that haven’t aged as well and are less than politically correct today.

And then there’s the Gibbon. This multi-issue arc sees a character who wants to be Spidey’s partner in crime fighting only to be humiliated by Spider-Man and then taken under the wing of Kraven the Hunter. It sounds silly and it doesn’t come across much better on the printed page. Odds are they won’t be raiding this arc for future Spider-Man movies. And there’s probably a reason that the Gibbon doesn’t make the upper pantheon of great or even so-so Spider-Man villains.

Comic Book Friday: The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows Volumes 0, 1 & 2

A decade ago, the controversial “One Day More” storyline saw the Spider-universe hit a ginormous reset button and remove the marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson from the continuity. Years later, another huge crossover event would, the second (or is it the third) Secret Wars storyline saw the creation of a parallel universe where Peter and MJ are still married and raising a daughter.

Their daughter, May, has similar powers to those of her father. In the wake of an evil overlord named Monarch who seems intent on collecting all the super powers he can get his mitts on, Peter is hopping to stay one step ahead of the latest detection devices for himself and his daughter. But when they get noticed and rumors of the Spider-Man’s return begin to surface, Peter finds himself fighting to defend his family — and now the family wants to join the fight.

The resolution of that storyline encompasses volume 0 of this series and then things really get going on volumes 1 and 2. Written by long-time Spider-writer Gerry Conway, these collection of arcs is a lot more fun than they have any right to be. Having recently revisited Conway’s tenure on Amazing Spider-Man, I wasn’t sure what, if anything, I should expect from these issues. But after trying to read much of the current storylines taking place in the Spider-Man universe, I found these refreshingly easy to digest, straight-forward and welcoming to readers who haven’t memorized every detail of comic book continuity for the past decade. Seeing Peter try to juggle his secret identity along with the demands of the two women in his life to be part of the crime-fighting team gives the story some much needed depth. The second collection even raises the stakes a bit by having MJ become motivated to contribute to the team (tech left over from Monarch lets her share Peter’s powers) and turning to Liz Allen for a new version of the Venom symbiote.

These three collections are some of the best recent Spider-Man stories I’ve read and they reminded me of what it was that I initially loved so much about my favorite wallcrawler.

 

Comic Book Friday: The Infinity Gauntlet

While I still haven’t seen Avenger: Infinity War yet, I’m still curious about the source material that led to what I’ll (eventually) see on-screen. (It hits home theater on physical disc in August and I plan to pick it up then)

So, I checked out a copy of The Infinity Gauntlet from my library’s digital collection and started reading.

The first thing I noticed was this six-issue mini-series was written by Jim Starlin, whose work I previously encountered in the much-hyped Batman mini-series A Death in the Family. You may recall I wasn’t a huge fan of that work, so I will admit I approached this one with a bit of caution.

I need not have worried too much. The Infinity Gauntlet feels like the next big crossover event after they were put on the map with Secret War in the 80’s. All of Earth’s heroes are brought together to take on Thanos, who is trying to impress Mistress Death and win her heart. To do this, he’s assembled the Infinity Gauntlet and trying to show her why he’s the baddest guy in all of the cosmos.

And while Thanos takes on a lot of the Marvel cast and crew, he still never quite wins her heart. An epic story, I can see why Marvel Studios chose this as the culmination of ten years of cinematic storytelling. At times, the story feels cinematic and like one that would work well as a movie. I’m going to assume there are some big differences between what I’ll see on-screen and what’s on the page. But that it’s interesting to see how this will be the jumping off point for an epic film.

Comic Book Friday: Spider-Man/Deadpool, Vol. 0: Don’t Call It A Team-Up

With Spider-Man and Deadpool ranking as two of the quippiest characters in all of comics, it was probably only a matter of time until the two crossed paths (just don’t call it a team-up!).

Collecting a dozen or so various issues, Spider-Man/Deadpool: Don’t Call It A Team-Up has some good stories, so so-so stories, and one that is a great technical achievement but at fifty pages overstays its welcome.

Sending Deadpool back in time and having him inhabit the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #47 is an idea that should have a lot of fun. Between imitating the classic styling of John Romita to wholesale digitally inserting Deadpool and other characters from his universe into the original panels, there’s a lot to admire from an artistic point of view. However, like too many Saturday Night Live skits, the story stays long after the joke has stopped being interesting or amusing. Running at close to 50 pages, I kept hoping this wasn’t an indication of what was to come for the rest of this collection.