Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S01E13 – Review

By: Lauren LeFranc & Rafe Judkins (story)

The Story: S.H.I.E.L.D. on a train.

The Review: I don’t know about you, but my favorite part of any spy story is when everyone goes undercover.  Perhaps real spies will disagree—and if you do, feel free to tell us!—but I imagine this is the fun part of secret agent life: taking on new identities, exploring new settings, using low-key gadgets, etc.  From a fictional standpoint, all of these things afford characters the rare opportunity to improvise, which is always exciting, even when it doesn’t go so well.

It’s sad that it’s taken the show this long to deliver a fully committed undercover episode, where everyone is in the field, and it’s even sadder when you realize how much more fun it makes the show.  You can just tell there’s a lot more energy from the actors than usual, probably undercover stories are such an inherent acting challenge: you’re playing a character who is playing a different character, and you have to be committed to that secondary identity without subsuming the primary one underneath.

Starborne #2 – Review

By: Chris Roberson (writer), Khary Randolph (art), Mitch Gerads (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters), Bryce Carlson (editor) & Stan Lee (Grand Poobah)

The Story: Benjamin Warner starts to lean WHY it seems that a science fiction story he has had in the back of his mind for years is coming to life around him.

What’s Good: This is a cool little story.  In the last issue we saw the first bits of Benjamin’s sci-fi story coming to life around him in a scene that was very reminiscent of The Matrix or Wanted or A New Hope where suddenly this nothing-special cubicle worker finds out that he may be a part of something bigger than he can imagine.  Only…he did imagine it, because the people and aliens showing up all around him are from a novel/story that he has been trying to write since he was a kid.  WTF is going on???

I really enjoy stories that just toss you into the action and then dole out little bits of background as the story unfolds.  So, here we learn that [SPOILER] Benjamin’s imaginary world is real and that he (and all the other humans) have somehow ended up on Earth (as in BSG) with a big memory wipe.  The reason he has been writing his story is that his memory blocks are falling apart.

Adding to the fun is his protector: Tara Takamoto.  Benjamin has had a crush on her his entire life and now we learn that she has been assigned by some secret society to guard him, so she has a vibe like the Fox in Wanted or 355 in Y the Last Man.

All of this action unfolds against what looks like a huge cosmic backdrop of warring alien races that seems yanked out of any number of space operas.  What is really neat about this issue is that although many (all?) of the plot elements borrow from other fictional works, the result is pretty slick.  It just goes to show that there aren’t really any new ideas, but you can certainly do an excellent job of putting a unique spin on stories we all know.  Not to mention that when a story reminds me of Wanted, The Matrix, Y the Last Man, Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica that means I enjoyed the story.  This is really what Stan Lee does well: Take other folks’ concepts and polish/repackage the hell out of them to make a fun story.

Soldier Zero #1 – Review

By: Paul Cornell (writer), Javier Pina (art), Alfred Rockefeller (colors) & Ed Dukeshire (letters)

The Story: A handicapped U.S. Army veteran gains the powers of alien being who has fallen to Earth after being wounded in a cosmic battle.

What’s Good: The story is pretty serviceable and has promise.  This issue is entirely set-up as we meet Stewart, who is a wheelchair bound U.S. Army veteran and start to learn about his life as a recently handicapped guy.  All the predictable stuff is there and Cornell handles it quite well: Stewart’s desire to be treated normally, flash backs to his injury, problems with dating, girl’s finding him cute but wondering if his man-parts work, etc.

This is interspersed with snippets showing Soldier Zero engaged in a big cosmic battle.  Nothing is revealed about who Soldier Zero is or who he is fighting, but that will clearly become a major focus of the series.

Pina’s art serves the story well.  Boom! seems to encourage their artists to stay within the story because you never see attempts (even failed attempts) to create grand splash pages and Boom!’s devotion to story seems to be their differentiating factor (compared to Marvel/DC).  You never have any wonder what is going on in a panel because Pina has chosen some weird perspective or lighting source.  It’s just clear and straight forward comic art.

Amazing Spider-Man #645 – Review

By: Mark Waid (writer), Paul Azaceta & Matthew Southworth (art), Javier Rodridguez (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

The Story: It’s Spidey on a rampage after he thinks that Menace’s baby (who he’d tried to protect) has died.

What’s Good: This issue is a good example of trusting quality creators.  Mark Waid has written a lot of enjoyable comics over the years, so when the first few issues of this story arc weren’t that good (too much of Spidey being monotonously chased around NYC), it was easy to get discouraged.  However, we should have just sat back and trusted that Waid had a decent story to tell because it turns out that he does (even if the ending part seems a lot better than the beginning).

It is also very welcome to get a GOOD issue of ASM.  Honestly, it has been awhile.  The Grim Hunt had some good issues, but ended on a stinker, OMIT just stunk out loud and the first few issues of this arc were so-so.  Nice to wash the bad taste of OMIT away.

What is so good in this issue?  Well, for one thing we get to see Bad-Ass Spider-Man.  This isn’t a new thing.  Bad Ass Spider-Man pops up every once in awhile, but Spidey/Peter Parker is often so down on his luck (lost job, no web fluid, etc.) that he seems kind of a sad sack.  This issue reminds you of why he is on the Avengers because when Bad Ass Spider-Man shows up, he pretty much goes through the villains like a hot knife through butter.  And that is what happens here after Spidey learns (he’s mistaken it turns out) that Menace’s baby is dead.  The dichotomy between seeing (a) Spidey swinging through town with the baby under his arm and being helpless to do anything but dodge attacks (can’t fight when you are holding a baby) and (b) this appearance of Bad Ass Spider-Man is very effective.

Amazing Spider-Man #640 – Review

By: Joe Quesada (writer), Paolo Rivera (primary artist), Quesada, Danny Miki & Richard Isanove (pgs 1 & 24) & Joe Caramanga (letters) and Spidey Sundays by Stan Lee & Marcos Martin

The Story: So, you thought that Peter saved Aunt May with his superpowered CPR technique, huh?

What’s Good: Paolo Rivera’s art is very nice and he handles the bulk of the art in the troublesome issue.  It’s a shame about the story, because the art is quite good.  It is very clean and efficient and never tries to be inappropriately flashy.

The story has a few moments.  I did think the moment where Peter pulls up his shirt to show the hospital orderly his costume to get his cooperation was pretty cool.  (BTW…the fat orderly was pretty clearly Spidey-editor Tom Brevort)  I also thought that the overall pacing of the story was pretty good and I enjoyed the chase/fight between MJ and the luchador-masked hit man.  And the final reveal [SPOILER] of Peter asking Dr. Strange to give him his secret identity back has me mildly intrigued about how the next issue will wrap up.

Too bad the plot for this issue was screwing things up.

Amazing Spider-Man #638 – Review

By: Joe Quesada (writer), Paolo Rivera, Joe Q., Danny Miki & Richard Isanove (art) & Joe Caramanga (letters)  Spidey-Sundays by Stan Lee & Marcos Martin

The Story: Marvel wants to do more Peter Parker and Mary Jane stories in the future and that means they think they need to reconcile some inconsistencies in the continuity that occurred during One More Day.

What’s Good: This issue is very strong from an editorial art standpoint.  We are given a mix of new pages that happen “now”, old pages from ASM Annual #21 (from the late 1980’s) and new pages that are adding additional information to ASM Annual #21.  So, it is impressive that editorial managed to get this all to come off from a technical standpoint.  It reminded me of watching the re-released Star Wars movies in the late 1990’s and trying to guess what elements were new CGI stuff and what was old.

The art teams also do a nice job throughout.  I like how they’ve made MJ look like the girl next door and not some super-model like some artists.  I also think they did a pretty good job of aping the art style of ASM Annual #21 with some of the newly added interstitial pages.

I also think it’s nice that they clearly have some interest in doing some Peter-MJ stories.  As a kid who grew up in the 1980’s, I’m too young to really remember Gwen Stacey as an active girlfriend.  And, I was out of comics in the 1990’s and early 2000’s, so seeing MJ & Peter together just feels “right” and has been missing of late.

Amazing Spider-Man #637 – Review

The Grim Hunt by: Joe Kelly (writer), Michael Lark, Marco Checchetto, Stefano Gaudiano, Matt Southworth & Brian Thies (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors) and Joe Caramanga (letters)

Hunting the Hunter by: J.M. Dematteis (writer), Max Fiumara (art), Fabio D’Auria (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

Spider Sundays by Stan Lee & Marcos Martin

The Story: Spider-Man becomes the hunter!  Enraged by the death of Kaine and others from the Spider-family, our webslinger goes after the Kravinoffs with a vengeance (or as much vengeance as Marvel editors will let him have).

What’s Good: This is a mostly satisfactory conclusion to the much anticipated Grim Hunt story line.  I have a number of quibbles with this issue, but I don’t want their sheer volume to make people think I didn’t like the issue.  It is more that this could have been epic and it just wasn’t.

One thing that I loved in this issue was getting to see Spider-Man kick ass.  We’re so used to seeing him getting beat up and having weird relationships with his roommate, that it’s easy to forget that when Spidey really applies himself, he is pretty much hell on wheels.  Parts of this issue almost had the feel of a Wolverine comic (without the claws) as Spidey ambushes the Kravinoffs from the shadows while wearing the black suit.

Oh yes… He is back in the black suit.  Partly that is out of necessity since we know that Kaine stripped him naked (which causes a weird mental image, now that I think of it), but part of it was to emphasize that Spidey “is out for blood”.  Frankly, the way this story arc had been unafraid to kill people, I thought we might see something interesting so seeing the black costume built my anticipation for a dramatic ending.

You also really get your money’s worth with this comic.  It should almost be priced by the pound.  The main story is 35 pages long and there are 12 pages of back-up material.  This book actually has some heft to it although I was tired enough by the time I read the main story that I only skimmed the back-ups.

Amazing Spider-Man #636 – Review

The Grim Hunt, Part 3 by: Joe Kelly with Zeb Wells (writers), Marco Checchetto, Michael Lark & Stefano Gaudiano (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

Hunting the Hunter by: J.M. Dematteis (writer), Emma Rios with Max Fiumara (art), Fabio D’Auria (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

Spidey Sundays by: Stan Lee & Marcos Martin

The Story: Surprise!  Peter Parker isn’t really dead, but that doesn’t mean that someone didn’t die as part of the sacrifice to bring back Kraven the Hunter.  However, if the Kravinoff’s didn’t sacrifice the real Spider-Man, isn’t the reincarnation going to be kinda screwed up?

What’s Good: I’ve never been a big fan of all the clone garbage polluting the Spider-Man universe, so I was genuinely surprised to see that the death of Kaine touched an emotional chord in me.  It really wasn’t that big of a surprise that he was dead.  I didn’t see it immediately when I read/reviewed ASM #635 (blame reading it and immediately reviewing it), but in hindsight it was pretty obvious that it was going to be Kaine who died in the Kravinoff’s sacrifice.  But, seeing the poor guy looking really quite dead hit me (and there is NO doubt that dude is dead).  It was kind of like seeing and ignoring a panhandler on the same street corner every day.  You know the poor dude has it rough, but he’s annoying, smelly and in your way.  Then one day you learn that he died and you feel like crap because you were never nice to him.  That’s who Kaine was for me: the smelly bum who I just wanted to leave me alone.

The rest of this issue unfolded in pretty average super-hero fashion: Peter Parker wakes up, shakes off the cobwebs (pun intended) and has to go off chasing the Kravinoffs.  That’s a nice bit of role reversal and I like how the creative team handled it.

Amazing Spider-Man #635 – Review

The Grim Hunt, Part II by: Joe Kelly (writer), Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano & Matt Southworth (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

Hunting the Hunter back-up story by: J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Max Fiumara (art), Fabio D’Auria (colors) & Caramanga (letters) and additional untitled back-up by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin

The Story: The Kravinoff’s continue their quest to catch Spiders, believing that sacrificing them on the altar of Kraven the Hunter will bring their patriarch back to life.

What’s Good: I’ll ask that you please run out and read this issue before reading this review.   This is the type of issue that deserves to be unspoiled for true fans.

That warning out of the way…  Holy crap!  I didn’t see that coming!  This issue kept me off balance from start to finish!  The Grim Hunt has really evolved at a break-neck pace since getting started in the last issue and I give a lot of credit to Joe Kelly for covering a lot of ground efficiently.  This issue had it all…  Fights, big-time villains, damsels in distress, a major bit of plot misdirection and a very shocking ending that builds for about 3-4 brutal pages.  As comic book fans, we’re trained to see our heroes get into dire circumstances but escape in the nick of time.  In a way, those miraculous escapes make us understand what it must be like to be a superhero: You can just wade into danger and somehow, someway…the good guys will escape.  But, this issue ramps that danger up just a little beyond the comfort zone and leaves us with a big payoff.

There…. Hopefully I’ve extolled this issue enough without spoiling it. Go read it twice!

Of course, you cannot have a spectacular issue without some really sharp art.  The overall style is a bit on the muddy side (which isn’t my favorite), but you cannot beat the storytelling and the expressive faces and body language.

Amazing Spider-Man #634 – Review

By: The Grim Hunt, Joe Kelly (writer), Michael Lark & Stefano Gaudiano (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors) & Joe Caramanga (letters)

Hunting the Hunter, Part One (backup story), J.M. DeMatteis (writer), Max Fiumara (art), Fabio D’Auria (colors), Joe Caramanga (letters)

Back-up Number Two, Stan Lee (writer) & Marcos Martin (art)

The Story: The Grim Hunt finally gets off the ground after ~30 issues of build-up and countless in-comic teases.  The Kravinoffs have a sinister plan in mind for the webslinger and his colleagues!

What’s good: I LOVE comic stories that have lots of build-up.  Sure….many of those stories don’t turn out to be anything hot, but cracking open the first issue of a story that has been building for a long time is a little like Christmas morning: It’s finally here!!!

In this case, the Spider-Man team has been building this story since issue #600 last summer.  When we saw Madame Web get abducted by the Kravinoffs.  Then, the Kravinoffs kept showing up throughout the Gauntlet story line (including hiring Deadpool to distract Spidey so they could kidnap Mattie Franklin).  They weren’t around all the time, but they were around enough to make it clear that they were pulling some of the strings behind this stream of baddies who were giving Spidey such a hard time.  Before getting into this issue, let’s give an editorial tip of the cap to the Spider-Man team.  It can’t be easy to keep a story tight across 30 plus issue and multiple creative teams.  Bravo!

Batgirl #4 – Review

By Bryan Q. Miller (writer), Tim Levins & Lee Garbett (pencillers), Dan Davis, Aaron Sowd & Trevor Scott (inkers), Harvey Richards (assistant editor), Michael Siglain (editor)

The Story: As always, Miller makes his themes (in this case, the title “Field Test”) do double duty. Stephanie Brown is field testing her new high-tech Batgirl costume. Barbara Gordon is helping monitor the suit while giving advice, but when she has to deal with something, Batgirl herself is field tested against someone well out of her league.

What’s Good: If there’s one issue that can vouch for Miller’s writing, it’s Batgirl #4. The plotting and thematic ideas are always tight, but my hat remains off on his character work. His characters are just fun to follow. The back and forth between Barbara and Stephanie is solid, as Miller packs his dialogue with personality. Stephanie’s running self-deprecation could get tiresome in another character, but when put together with her natural exuberance and fun, it works, with lines like “And this Batgirl doesn’t sing – not in front of people anyway” and “I’m almost fifty percent sure nothing could go wrong.” I’m also waiting to see where this romantic tension between Batgirl and the young detective is going to go.

Art team has changed a bit. Tim Levins has replaced Scott and Hope in the driver seat with Lee Garbett. The art is clear, the expressions tell the story and the poses are more natural. The layouts also seem to be evolving positively. The final battle page between Batgirl and the villain is a funny and well-told stack of panels.

What’s Not So Good: The superhero skeleton of the story is nothing original. Batgirl’s encounter with this super-villainess is pretty forgettable, but I’m wondering if the search for something truly field-expanding is what Batgirl readers are looking for when they buy this book. Would something truly original to the field (think the teen angst of Lee/Ditko Spiderman, the gritty noir of Miller’s Daredevil or the soap opera of Claremont’s X-Men) fit within a book whose focus is the fun of watching a flighty, occasionally quixotic teenager turn herself into a real superhero? But if ground-breaking work is not in Batgirl’s future, will the series survive? Sales estimates for issue #3 from Diamond are around 37,000, which is pretty respectable for a new book, so Michael Siglain has some flex before making any serious decisions, but Miller has got some work ahead of him to convince readers that Stephanie Brown matters, without losing the fun of what makes her great.

Conclusion: Batgirl is an entertaining book and very accessible to the new reader. This is what mainstream comics do well. But I hope that Batgirl does not get lost behind a lot of other books that are also delivering mainstream stories.

Grade: C+

-DS Arsenault

Comics for 4-Year-Olds

X-Men #1

By Stan Lee (writer), Jack Kirby (artist), Paul Reinman (inker)

A few comments before the review: I started sharing my love of superheroes with my 4-year-old son a few months ago. At a recent comic con in Toronto, I bought him the X-Men Omnibus Volume 1 (collecting issues #1-31 of Uncanny). He loves it and we are reading one issue each night. We’re doing reviews for all those other dads out there that want to share the magic with their children.

The Story: The book opens on Professor X and the four first X-Men heading into another training session. Then Jean Grey arrives and the boys go gaga (except for Iceman) and the team is complete. In the meantime, Magneto is misdirecting and stealing rockets and finally attacks the missile base of Cape Citadel. Then comes the X-Men’s Baptist of fire.

What’s good for my 4-year-old: This is a great action story that leads into hours of conversation and a few laughs. I get questions like “Why does Marble Girl lift Beast in the air?” My answer: “Because he didn’t ask before he kissed her.” We talked about what magnets do, and army men, and why ice melts. He laughs when Beast blows on his hands after Bobby frosted them up. Joshua gets up out of bed and runs around the room to show me how fast Angel can fly.

What’s good for me: I obviously don’t read Lee’s text to a 4-year-old (even in 1963, he was writing to pretty advanced teenagers), so I really have to work at bringing the story and concepts to a level that Joshua will enjoy. We laugh over the slapstick moments, like Cyclops shooting through Iceman’s ice-wall in the danger room. Joshua delights in the Beast walking on his fingers or spinning on a wire. He also loves to see Angel fly really fast. That’s a real eye-opener for me. I never would have expected the Beast to be the most popular, but to a 4-year-old, Hank McCoy is the funniest one. What was also great was looking back at issue #1 with 46 years of history between now and then. The X-Men have come a long way from the seven mutants in that first issue. It was also great to read this issue and compare it with the hindsight perspective that Scott had in UXM #138, just after Phoenix died.

What’s hard to explain: The whole concept of unconsciousness (a common thing in the superhero world) is difficult, but I get through by explaining it as sleep. The larger question of ethics (“Why is Magneto not nice?”) is tougher, but I keep telling him that when Magneto was a boy, he didn’t listen to his papa. That explanation will actually hold water for another 149 issues…

Conclusion: I went back in time to get something I could share with my son. Uncanny X-Men #1 in the X-Men Omnibus turned out to be a great choice. I can get into it for nostalgic reasons. Joshua gets into it for high adventure. The conflicts are simple, no one gets hurt, and the comic code reigns supreme, all of which is perfect when reading to a 4-year-old.

Grade: B+

X-Men #2

By Stan Lee (writer), Jack Kirby (artist), Paul Reinman (inker)

The Story: “No One Can Stop The Vanisher” This issue opens with a bang as the X-Men race across their splash page to an emergency summons by Professor X. Beast hops on a train to get to Westchester. Angel carries Marvel Girl and after saving some workmen, Cyclops and Iceman ride in the back of an ice cream truck. At the mansion, the professor shows them a projection of the Vanisher. We see the very first session of the X-Men in the danger room, before they go off to stop the Vanisher from stealing top-secret defense plans from the Pentagon. The Vanisher really is unstoppable and finally makes an advance on the White House after defeating the X-Men. I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s great (half deus ex machine, half classic X-Men character development).

What’s good for my 4-year-old: Iceman stole the show as far as my audience was concerned. Joshua laughed at Iceman freezing a workman’s glove and at Bobby and Scott riding in the back of the ice cream truck. He loved the rapid-fire snowballs Bobby shot around and laughed out loud again when Bobby slid an icy horse underneath Scott and Jean when he found their conversation a little too mushy. This issue, I tried to point out a lot of faces and see if Joshua could tell me what the expressions were. He loved Hank’s look of surprise when the Vanisher swiped back a stolen briefcase and he loved the series of Vanisher expressions at the climax of the book.

What’s good for me: I got to see once again what makes my son laugh out loud and conceptualizing a modern fairy tale for a 4-year-old once again brought me closer to where he is.

What’s hard to explain: Explaining what Professor X and Marvel Girl can do is always a challenge. The source of the Vanisher’s power was slightly easier (he was born different).

Conclusion: Thanks Stan and Jack for a great read for me and my boy. I highly recommend the X-Men Omnibus Volume 1 for just this purpose and now that I’ve seen how Joshua reacts to it, I might look for the Lee/Ditko Spiderman Omnibus. Pricey, but worth it.

Grade: B+

Amazing Fantasy #15

By Stan Lee (writer), Steve Ditko (artist)

The Story: Peter Parker, the sad, friendless boy at school goes to the science center to hear a talk on radioactivity. A spider, creeping down its thread, gets irradiated in the experiment and falls onto Peter’s hand, and bites him. Peter feels strange and leaves the center, ridiculed even by the scientists, not looking where he is going. A car honks and he leaps high out of the way and sticks to the wall. Peter finds he has the abilities of a giant spider and decides to cash in on them by winning $100 in a wrestling match and appearing on TV, as Spiderman. However, when a policeman calls for help with an escaping thief, Peter does nothing. This fateful, selfish decision comes home to haunt him with tragic consequences.

What’s good for my 4-year-old: For pure slapstick adventure, it doesn’t get much better than this. Joshua loves to see Peter jump, stick to walls and crush the metal pipe on the rooftop by accident. Joshua loves seeing Uncle Ben waking up Peter and his mouth waters over the stack of wheatcakes Peter gets for breakfast. The wrestling match is a laugh-out-loud hoot, especially when I do a special voice for Crusher Hogan, the unlucky wrestler.

What’s good for me: The first appearance of Spiderman is a great modern fairy tale, but is also a great morality tale that I can use as the meat and potatoes on talking to my son on how people should be treated and valued. The way Flash Thompson and crew treat Peter is just plain wrong as are their reasons (he’s not very fast, he’s not very strong). Peter asking out Sally is an opportunity to talk about girls and boys. Finally, this was the first time I read it to him including the death of Uncle Ben and why, which is an opportunity to talk about responsibility towards everyone, not just the people who love you.

What’s hard to explain: Joshua asks repeated, probing questions about why getting bitten by a radioactive spider would give someone powers. He also asks why a boy would ask a girl out. The second is easier to answer than the first.

Conclusion: It’s hard to believe that Stan and Steve delivered this iconic story just as filler in a book that was being cancelled. It is a classically crafted story that works well for 4-year olds and for me. I can’t grade it any less than an A+.

Grade: A+

-DS Arsenault and Joshua

Amazing Spider-Man #600 – Review

By Dan Slott, Joe Kelly, Mark Waid, Zeb Well, Stan Lee, Bob Gale (writers) John Romina Jr, Marcos Martin, Mario Alberti, Derec Donavan, Max Fiu mara, Coleen Doran, Klaus Jansen (art)

The Story: It’s the comic book event of the decade as Aunt May gets married to JJ Sr.! Well, not really, but they finally tie the knot in this six centennial issue of Amazing Spider-Man. Behind the wedding is a extremely solid Spidey story that reintroduces Doctor Octopus and features a who’s-who of marvel heroes taking cameo roles. Additionally, there is several back-up stories that are all good, especially a tear-jerker by Mark Waid featuring Uncle Ben.

What’s Good: This isn’t a comic; its a novel. Seriously– its the size of a small town phone book. And here is a shocker: its worth the 5 bucks! Every story here is good and features great writing and artwork by a slew of creators. Plus, there is a fake cover gallery paying homage to different eras of ASM that was actually funny. But the best part is that there are no reprints of “memorable” past ASM issues.

Let’s start with the art. I wasn’t a big fan of John Romita Jr.’s last showing on ASM during the tepid Character Assassination arc, but here, in a 65-page story no less, he is spectacular. First of all, he draws the best Human Torch I’ve ever seen, which is an infamous and common character to botch. But that is just one gem in his outing here as everyone and everything looks stellar. Thought Doc Ock was lame, cheesy-looking villain? Not anymore.  JRJR has recreated him into a powerfully evocative villain.

Dan Slott crafts a great story here and you can tell he’s loving the extra pages afforded to him to tell this tale. There is a lot happening and the story develops at a great pace. He made Doc Ock into a truly menacing and dangerous villain that your heart will break for. There was one scene when he was watching Spidey and the Torch on a security camera as they were busting on him where I instantly started to root for him. I don’t want to give too much away, but he is a victim in a certain sense.

Last point on the Slott/JRJR tale is that the wedding scene was surprisingly very good. I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed so it’s not saying much, but I was genuinely surprised with the surprise arrival at the end of the story.

As for the other tales, the best of the lot was Mark Waid’s Uncle Ben story. Not often do I fill-up during a comic (read: I Kill Giants), but Waid pulled the tears out of me in this one. Stan Lee actually writes a decent story in the collection too. However, the one I found least satisfying was Joe Kelly’s. I know it was supposed to be a collage of what’s to come in ASM, but perhaps it was too mysterious. However, seeing him re-team with the great Max Fiumara was awesome. Also, Zebb Wells writes a really funny story that busts on all of Spidey’s campiness.

What’s Not So Good: Nothing of note. This is the way an over-sized, 5-buck special should be.

Conclusion: I came into this with high expectations and they were all surpassed. If you’re looking to get back into Spidey after the Brand New Day debacle, get in now. Creatively, everything seems right in the new ASM continuity and I’m looking forward to see what the “brain trust” is going to do with all this momentum.

Grade: A

-Rob G.

Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko – Review

By Blake Bell

Blake Bell’s history of artist Steve Ditko’s career begins with a seemingly prophetic story from Fantastic Fear # 5 (1953). Lawrence Dawson is a bed-bound invalid whose meager self-worth cripples him into hatred for the world. When a new drug allows him to live a normal life (which subsequently imbues him with super-elastic powers), Dawson chooses to seek revenge on the world and take the fortunes that are apparently “owed” to him. His elastic condition, however, becomes too much to control, leaving Dawson to steal the only cure and impetuously killing the only man who can help him. In the end, Dawson, because of his haste, avarice, and egocentricity, literally liquefies himself. This is Ditko’s very first published work.

Many argue that Ditko’s departure from Marvel Comics in 1965 was the result of a man tired of not getting recognition for his work, and who sought, disastrously, to attain the fortune “owed” to him. Bell elucidates the situation and takes the reader back to a time before red and blue tights and big city lights, to a small Pennsylvania mining town and bespectacled young man. The Ditko family was a modest but loving home, filled with encouragement for the family talent: drawing. From an early age, Steve Ditko was raised on comics that were cut from the newspaper and sewn together into a clothe-bound book by his mother

Despite this love and encouragement, Ditko remained shy. Bell relates a story where Ditko returned home for the holidays after moving to New York City as a illustrator. Always committed to meeting his deadline, he worked in his parent’s kitchen on a breadboard, basking in the company of his immediate family. Yet, when one of his cousins or other relatives would enter the room, he would become noticeably uncomfortable.

Bell notes other awkward reactions. While sharing a studio with fetish artist Eric Stanton from 1958 to 1968, Ditko inked a few of Stanton’s seedy stories. If it weren’t for Ditko’s immeasurable inking style, no one would be the wiser. Whenever he would be confronted with the Stanton material, which was unaccredited, the artist denied his affiliation with it outright. On one occasion, Ditko rebuffed an inquiry made by fellow artist Joe Rubenstien, saying: “No I didn’t… There’s no proof.”

Ditko’s rejection of the erotic work may simply be out of embarrassment or possibly his Objectivist beliefs. Heavily influenced by the works of Ayn Rand, Ditko reasoned that his work at Marvel Comics in 1965, namely the incredibly successful Spider-Man, was insufficiently respected and compensated by the company. He demanded, as Bell notes, for proper creative credit and more pay even before the “King of Comics”, Jack Kirby, dared to do so. His departure from the company was intended to find better pay and greater autonomy in comics; he found the latter, but at the cost of the former.

Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko is an effervescently written history about this peculiar and tremendously talented writer and artist. With additions of reprinted strips and un-inked pages, Bell strips away the heavily shaded corners of this man’s life and helps the reader better understand him. Unlike his first published character Lawrence Dawson, Ditko hasn’t melted into the carpet; through his amazing comics and struggle for artists’ rights, he is far from dripping away into nothingness. (Grade: A)

–Steven M. Bari

San Diego Comic-Con 2008 – Report!

* I decided not to attend many of the TV or movie panels due to extremely long lines and waiting time. I knew that most of the footage would appear online in some way or another. NBC, SCI-FI channel (amongst others) have complete panel videos. Xbox Live has clips and I set my DVR for the G4 2-day special. If any of you couldn’t attend this year’s show, be sure to check out those venues.

* I saw the last 10 minutes of the Stan Lee and Grant Morrison panel. I’ve never listened to any of these guys before, but they are extremely funny. I’m still not reading any Marvel superhero stuff though.

* Doctor Who Panel: Davies couldn’t attend the panel. Moffat & Gardner showed an extended trailer for the new Christmas episode. Can’t wait!

* Torchwood Panel: Gardner, Barrowman (Harkness), David-Lloyd (Ianto) and Mori (Toshiko) were there. Somebody asked if Barrowman will be auditioning for role of Captain America movie, at which he said he’d love to do it. Near the end of the panel, Barrowman and Mori sung a duet – surprisingly really good voices.

* The Middleman: Strangely, a packed crowd for a show on ABC Family. Watch the series. It’s fun.

* One hour in the sun to see the Spaced panel. Luckily, I got tickets (after waiting in line) for the autograph session afterwards.

* I missed Josh Whedon panels, but I’ve seen him a couple of other times, so no worries.

* Image Comic panel. Image United, big announcement, not much of a surprise because they had a 700 feet cover art in their booth (in Kirkman own words).

* IDW Publishing panel: several first looks at future covers. Locke & Key is going to be 30 issues, plus a graphic novel to end it. Ted Raimi was there for a minute to promote the new series 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust

* Tried to get an autograph ticket for Dean Koontz but it was impossible, too much people in line.

* Aspen Comics: They are planning a tribute issue (80 pages) with materials from Turner and other artists. DC & Marvel are planning their own tribute books for Turner. Talking to Mastromauro, he confirmed me there will be Absolute/Omnibus type of books next year.

* I talked with Brian Denham (X-Files‘ artist) and he told me (an exclusive!) that Frank Spotnitz is writing the next 4-5 issues, and then other writers from the TV show will follow with stories. #1 will be out in November 2008.

* Top Cow: The cast from the new Magdalena movie was there. Milo Ventimiglia was there to promote a new comic. Seth Green is a little annoying.

* Joe Hill: He’s a cool guy. Down to earth, he talks to you not looking down.

* Michael Turner Tribute: Family, friends, artists and fans talking about Mike and remembering him. The room was full.

* Wildstorm: There were at least 15 or more artists on the panel… and 40-50 attendees. Sad… I was there for X-Files and it seemed like I was the only one.

* I told Brian Lynch (writer of the new Angel comic) that I didn’t like the story, but if he could sign my books anyways. He asked me what he can do to improve it. I said, “Well now is a little too late, but I wanted to know what happened in the alley at the end of Season 5.” He told me that he needed to write the characters first so the story would build up to that. But, argh I’m an impatient bastard. I told him I’ll keep buying them but if I don’t get a satisfying resolution, I’ll put the comics on eBay. He then said he wanted to go to parties with me. I love this guy!

News: X-Men Omnibus Coming!

Amazon.com is now taking pre-orders on the X-Men Omnibus from Marvel. Magneto and the Sentinels may be the X-Men’s deadliest enemies, but there were plenty more in the mutant team’s earliest adventures! Lucifer! The Maggia! The unstoppable Juggernaut! Plus: See the first appearances of Ka-Zar and the Banshee! The tempestuous X-Men tenure of the Mimic! Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch’s journey from evil to good… and vice versa? Guest-starring Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch, and the Avengers! Collects X-Men #1-31.

Personally, I’m dying to get this!

Comic-Con 2008: Thursday Programming!

Wow! Lots and lots of things to do this year at Comic-Con San Diego, and this program is only for Thursday. Can’t wait for Friday & Saturday announcements.

Featuring panels with Stan Lee, Grant Morrison, J. G. Jones, Eddie Campbell, Geoff Johns, Bill Willingham, Ed Brubaker, Jim Lee, Robert Kirkman, Mike Mignola and Kevin Smith among others. I’m personally salivating for the Doctor Who & Torchwood panels!

Check the complete programming here.

Spider-Man: With Great Power #1 (of 5) – Review

By: David Lapham (Writer), Tony Harris (Pencils), Jim Clark (Inks), J.D. Mettler (Colors)

Make no mistake, I’m a huge fan of David Lapham’s body of work – especially his earlier Valiant work. The Batman story he did a couple of years ago? It was pretty good. His Terror Inc. mini-series is fun. And being that Spidey’s my favorite character, I was really anticipating this storyline.

Alas, Spider-Man: With Great Power reminds me of something John Byrne did about a decade ago with Spider-Man: Chapter One. Honestly, who’s idea was this? How many times must we read a different take on Spider-Man’s origin. The fact that this story takes place now (with pop culture references to Jay Leno and Dave Letterman), makes this story more dismissible. Yes, it’s the classic story of Peter Parker and Lapham doesn’t miss a beat on who he is and what happens to him – but it’s all just a retread. Sure, Lapham adds some new story bits with Flash Thompson, Liz Allen, and Peter’s wrestling career, but because this story isn’t true Spider-Man canon, it’s completely useless.

There is one thing that shines in this book, however: the art. I’m not sure if I’ve seen Tony Harris’ art before, but good lord, this guy can draw. No, really, this guy can really draw! J.D. Mettler also adds a lot of depth with his colors; this is one beautiful book!

I suppose if you’re new to Spider-Man or new to reading comics, this could be a nice introduction to the character, but it just feels like another origin story forced down our throat. I mean, didn’t we just get Mythos: Spider-Man last June (yet another re-telling of Amazing Spider-Man #15)?

The biggest insult is that this book is $3.99! Who decides this stuff?! I’m sorry, despite the gorgeous art, I can’t recommend this book. We’ve read this story too many times. It’s time for something new. (Grade: C-)

– J.Montes