Thunderbolts #164 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Kev Walker (pencils), Terry Pallot (inks), Fabio D’Auria & Frank Martin (colors), Joe Caramagna (letters) & Tom Brennan (editor)

The Story: A team of Thunderbolts, trapped in WWII, fights Nazis alongside the Invaders.

Review: It’s all good with this comic right now.  I’ve never had a huge affinity for most Golden Age stories, but this is different because we’re seeing our modern Thunderbolts trying to blend in with the “natives” in terms of their speech and attire.  And, they’re not just any Thunderbolts, it’s pretty much the more villainous part of the roster.  Luke Cage and Songbird would’ve had no problem interacting with Captain America and Namor, but these guys are a really nasty bunch, who are just trying to play it cool until they get their bearings in WWII.

The central premise is pretty neat too.  As you can imagine, Baron Zemo plays a role in the story.  So the Thunderbolts are going to face some challenges: Do they play along with the Invaders and maintain their cover?  Or, do they worry that helping Cap curtail Zemo’s activities might screw up the timeline which would be kinda a bummer given all the influence that Zemo has had on the villains’ lives?  Fun stuff….

This issue is also loaded with fun little moments.  You’ve got Cap making an awkward comment towards Centurius (who is African American) about how great “negro soldiers” are doing in the war effort.  Makes you wonder what kinda of awkward comments he made when he got unfrozen…  There’s Satana coming onto Namor, Boomerang getting a patriotic themed costume, Hyde and Troll being too unpresentable to be around the Invaders most of the time, Hyde catching Nazis to feed to Man Thing’s swamp….and about 4-5 other fun times.  And the abundance of these little moments is what makes the issue so great.  That’s really Parker’s formula on Thunderbolts: come up with a basic scenario that puts the characters in a weird position, don’t dwell on anything too long and then focus on how the characters would behave and the funny things they’d say.

It’s almost impossible not to have fun reading Thunderbolts.

Thunderbolts #163.1 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Declan Shalvey (art), Frank Martin, Jr. (colors), Joe Caramagna (letters), Rachel Pinnelas (assistant editor) & Tom Brennan (editor)

The Story: Luke Cage’s remaining Thunderbolts try to track down the escaped members of the team.

Review: Even though this is one of the dreaded Point One issues from Marvel, it quite well.  I don’t think Marvel Editorial really needs to make Jeff Parker do Point One issues because all of his issues are decent jumping on points in that he covers enough ground in each issue that a reader is “caught up” within an issue or two.  A better approach might be to just advertise every issue as “No jumping on point needed.”  Or examine why writing for the trade has created a perception that you cannot just jump into a story…

As always, our story is romping along.  The interactions among the remaining Thunderbolts are fun as Luke, Songbird, Ghost and Mach IV try to find the escapees, especially a page where they’re discussing how to take them down when they find them.  Luke’s plan consists of “hitting ’em all in the head until they cry” and when it is suggested that Ghost would “probably” be able to take out Centurius (the escapees’ science guy), Ghost counters, “QUITE probably.”  I love cocky Ghost.  And, speaking of Ghost, it’s interesting that he’s hanging around with the team given that all the other questionable members have escaped because it just shows how Ghost is kinda his own dude: not really a villain, but not devoted to the Thunderbolts cause either, you just know he’ll leave the second it suits his anarchist/anti-corporate code.

The ending of the issue is also pretty cool as it promises some development of the Troll character that Parker introduced ~20 issues ago.  Parker’s so good at that: Introduce a new character, make him/her cool, possibly get some fan feedback about whether they like the character, tease us with little appearances here and there and then finally offer some development.  Hating to compare to “normal” comics, but it illustrates why Thunderbolts is so special…. A “normal” comic would have introduced Troll and then immediately have a 6-issue arc where she is fleshed out and introduced to the team.

Thunderbolts #163 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Kev Walker (artist), Frank Martin, Jr. (colorist), Joe Caramagna (letterer), Rachel Pinnelas (assistant editor) & Tom Brennan (editor)

The Story: The Underbolts have escaped.  Now what?

What’s Good: This series continues discovering ways to keep it fresh.  Jeff Parker and company have found a nice way to run this comic by keeping the action churning.  So far I (personally) have enjoyed almost everything he’s tossed out since this title began anew after Siege, but even if I didn’t enjoy something, it wouldn’t really matter because that odorous idea would probably be gone in about an issue.  Everything is in a constant state of flux with Parker.

The way he’s flinging ideas around also gives lots of confidence to the reader because you feel like the comic won’t get stale.  I honestly think there are some guys writing for the Big 2 who don’t have that many good ideas.  They might have 3 ideas that need to carry them though 2 years on the title.  Parker has about 3 ideas in each issue and because he’s churning through them so quickly, the ideas have a non-preciousness to them and he isn’t afraid to move on.

This issue shows the aftermath of the Underbolts big escape.  When these guys first showed up 6-7 issues ago, I wasn’t too sure I liked them, but Parker has built them up to the point where they’re just as fun as his team of Thunderbolts-proper.  We also saw at the end of the last issue that Fixer has betrayed the team and ran off with the Underbolts.  That’s the beauty of picking your characters from the scratch-and-dent bin: It is doubtful that there are any HUGE Fixer fans out there in internetland who are going to scream at Parker for this “totally out of character” moment.  These guys and gals are blank canvases onto which he can paint whatever character traits he wants.

Thunderbolts #161 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Declan Shalvey (artist), Frank Martin, Jr. & Fabio D’Auria (colors), Albert Deschesne (letters), Rachel Pinnelas (assistant editor) & Tom Brennan (editor)

The Story: The Fear Itself version of Juggernaut seems to have gotten away from, but there is no rest for the wicked.

What’s Good: As with Hulk #38 (also out this week), Jeff Parker has really risen to the challenge of crafting a Fear Itself tie-in smack in the middle of his ongoing stories.  We comic fans should really give him a big round of applause for this because every other Marvel writer has just surrendered to Fear Itself and written a 2-3 part story that had almost nothing to do with their ongoing material.  All of these writers have clawed their way to the upper echelon of the profession and should be able to do the same thing.  But, Parker did it, they didn’t.  So, bravo to Parker for flinging his Thunderbolts into a new mission that grows very organically out of this Fear Itself story.

It’s also been really enjoyable watching this team of Thunderbolts grow closer together.  They’re actually starting to gel into a team and care about the well-being of each other and care about completing their missions.  This run of Thunderbolts really started with the characters doing the supervillain equivalent of putting on an orange reflective vest and picking up trash on the side of the road under the watchful eye of a sheriff’s deputy, but they are quickly evolving into anti-heroes.  There’s nothing really wrong with that either.  Gail Simone got almost 40 issues out of a similar concept on Secret Six and was running full steam ahead when DC pulled the plug on that incredible series.  I’d love to see Marvel let Parker continue this work with the Thunderbolts until the story collapses (just because these characters are villainous and will have to double cross the team eventually).

Declan Shalvey continues to throw fastballs and is just great in this issue.  There are really a lot of fussy characters to draw in this series.  Juggernaut is huge and hulking.  Fixer has a fussy uniform with all his tech pieces.  Ghost must be very time consuming to draw because of all his tech, and he is a completely non-standard body-type.  You’ve got Man-Thing.  And then there are characters like Moonstone who you would think is just a “standard” female character, but is actually drawn much more lithe than most female superhero characters (like Satana).

Thunderbolts #160 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Declan Shalvey (art), Frank Martin, Jr. (colors), Albert Deschesne (letters), Rachel Pinnelas (assistant editor) & Tom Brennan (editor)

The Story: Juggernaut has escaped the Raft and has one of those Fear Itself hammers.  You’d kinda expect his Thunderbolts teammates to try to bring him back, right?

What’s Good: I know that some comic fans hate events because of issues like this one: Jeff Parker and the two-headed monster of Declan Shalvey & Kev Walker were telling great Thunderbolts stories every issue for the last year.  Now their momentum is broken by Fear Itself, and the fans are furiously venting in the message boards.

I like events and you can’t have events that feel “important” unless you tie-in your ongoing series.  I read a goodly sized chunk of the Marvel Universe and right now, the series that aren’t tied into Fear Itself just feel weird and disconnected.  And….given that one of the important events of FI is the Raft getting destroyed and Juggernaut getting a hammer, Parker had to find a way to connect the Thunderbolts in this story arc.

Given those constraints, he does a really nice job.  It isn’t a great issue, but it accomplishes some key things.  For one thing, if you wondered how Juggernaut got from the Raft (which is near NYC) to San Francisco in Uncanny X-Men #540, this issue explains that.  If you wanted something connected between what is going on with Man-Thing in Fear Itself: Fearsome Four, well, this issue fills in those gaps too.  Granted, those are things that only pay off for readers who are reading the WHOLE Fear Itself series, but it is still nice to see that Marvel is capable of being organized at that level.  We also get an interesting view of “The Serpent” in this issue.

Thunderbolts #158 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Kev Walker (art), Frank Martin, Jr. (colors), Albert Deschesne (letters), Rachel Pinnelas (assistant editor) & Tom Brennan (editor)

The Story: Fear Itself comes to the Thunderbolts.

What’s Good: Well, it makes more sense why Juggernaut got booted off the team a few issues ago, huh?  I have to hand it to Parker for handling this so effortlessly because I’m sure he didn’t say, “Why don’t you just take one of my main characters for your little event?  Great idea!” but he came up with a very seamless way to make Juggernaut available to Matt Fraction and the main Fear Itself story.

In addition to the tight integration with Fear Itself, this is another fun and solid issue of Thunderbolts where you get a LOT of bang for you buck.  In just this issue, Parker wraps up the “Underbolts” mission to Iraq, recaps the Juggernaut centric bits of Fear Itself #2 and establishes the problem facing the Thunderbolts/Underbolts team up when they return to the Raft.

Parker does a great job of maintaining the dynamic of tension on this team.  This title would lose its appeal pretty fast if you ever forgot that these characters are villains.  Now suddenly, Songbird, Mach V and Fixer are facing the prospect of leading this team of criminals into battle on the Raft when they may have very questionable control over them.  The Underbolts clearly appreciate that if they’d just stayed in jail, they would be free right now.  What’s ironic is that it makes the reader think that the Tbolts like Ghost and Moonstone are somehow “reliable”, but I’m sure they’ll be pretty tempted to pick up and run too.  Can’t wait for next issue.

Thunderbolts #157 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Kev Walker & Declan Shalvey (pencils), Jason Gorder & Shalvey (inks), Frank Martin, Fabio D’Auria & Simpson (colors), Albert Deschesne (letterer), Rachel Pinnelas (assistant editor) & Tom Brennan (editor)

The Story: The Thunderbolts battle mystical Nazis in Germany with their new (and questionably loyal) team member – Satana – while the “Underbolts” get started on their training.

What’s Good: This issue is typical, romping, 100 mph Jeff Parker story telling goodness.  If you’re read much of Parker’s writing, you know that he is going to keep the story moving along very rapidly and constantly renew his status quo.  This shows a lot of confidence as a writer because he doesn’t seem to let any one idea become so precious that he can’t move on.  It also has the benefit that if you don’t like something in a particular Parker issue…you know it’ll be long gone in a month or so.  It kinda reminds one of comics before the publishers learned about trade paperbacks in that the story is just a constantly running soap opera: even when a story begins or ends, you’re also in the midst of other stories.   He seem to really eschew the traditional 6-issue story arcs.

So what’s cool in this issue: Well, the Thunderbolts fight magical/mystical Nazi zombie-things.  That’s kinda cool.  Along the way they face an enemy who makes them face their worst fears.  That’s kinda cool.  We get to see a bunch of the Thunderbolts being very unsure of themselves and acting all vulnerable and that’s kinda cool too.  Meanwhile, back on the raft…the “Underbolts” B-team of villains is getting ramped up and we get some character development on Gunna, the Troll.  She’s really neat and I want to know more.  And….in typical comics fashion, the Underbolts are going to get sent on a mission before they’re remotely ready and that will be a lot of fun to read about next month.  Cool story stuff all around.

The art is a bit of a mixed bag this month as Walker and Shalvey team up on the issue with Walker handling the mystical Nazi battle and Shalvey doing the action back on the raft.  I really like both of them individually as artists, but think that Walker with Gorder inking really shine in this issue.  Love all the half-tones the duo uses and I’m not sure who is coloring what pages in this issue, but whoever is coloring Moonstone in the Nazi scenes does a wonderful job of making her look soft and lithe compared to characters like Cage, Juggernaut and Ghost.

Thunderbolts #156 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Kev Walker (pencils), Jason Gorder & Walker (inks), Frank Martin & Fabio D’Auria (colors), Albert Deschesne (letters), Rachel Pinnelas (assistant editor) & Tom Brennan (editor)

The Story: While the Thunderbolts head out on a dangerous mission with their new magic user, Songbird tries to recruit a B-team of “Underbolts” from the inmates on the Raft.

What’s Good: A common problem with team superhero comics is that they get stale: “We’ve seen this team tackle that bad dude before!  Yawn!”  Jeff Parker isn’t taking any chance of that happening to Thunderbolts as last issue he introduced a new magic-based villain to the team (Satana) and in this issue he has Songbird trying to recruit a B-team of villains to serve as a minor leagues of sorts should any of the Major League Thunderbolts need to go on the disabled list (whether it is the 15 day DL or the more permanent kind).  So, this issue has all the fun of “first mission with the new team member” and “getting the new team together”.  Seriously, how does Parker jam so much into his comics?  I think this is his 12th post-Siege issue of T-bolts and we have covered 4-5 stories.  Pretty amazing when you consider there are a LOT of other superhero comics that can’t do more than 2 stories per year.  Bravo!

The mission for the A-team is pretty cool.  It’s basically just some kinda thing that Parker made up (I think) where there has been a mystical fortress that popped up in eastern Europe and the hero community has known about it for awhile, but was letting the problem wait until some team had (a) time and (b) an appropriate magic-based team member.  It kinda gives the impression that in Steve Rogers office, there is a big “To Do” list on the wall and this problem has been festering because Dr. Strange is busy and Brother Voodoo is dead, so he keeps tasking the various Avengers teams to tackle some other problem.

Satana is a neat addition to the team.  For one thing, the first scene we see her in, she is climbing around on Man-Thing (heh) and covering him with glowing, mystic tattoos.  This causes Cage to yell, “Woman, what are you doing to that Man Thing?”  (heh)  It’s also cool to see how uncomfortable Satana makes Juggernaut, Ghost and Moonstone.  They’re the “core” villains of the team and as readers, we’ve kinda gotten to like them, so having a new teammate who may be tempted to betray them will be fun.

Kev Walker and the rest of the art team really do a bang-up job.  The style of the book is very unique, but I’ve really grown to enjoy it during his tenure on the book because he does such a good job emphasizing the differing natures of the characters on the team.  When you thing about it, this book has to be a bitch to draw because of the character types: Juggernaut (hulking, but w/o muscles ripping through his clothes), Cage (hulking, but WITH muscles rippling through his clothes), Ghost (small, spectral & skinny), Moonstone (basically a lithe female nude with colored-on uniform), Mach V (a mech/tech type character) & Man-Thing (hulking shambling plant).  Tell you what: There are a LOT of artists working in mainstream superhero comics who would struggle with this title because they can’t manage one of those character types, but Walker seems able to draw anything and his versatility allows Parker to put whatever characters on the team he wants to.

Thunderbolts #155 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Kev Walker (art), Jason Gorder (some inks), Frank Martin (colors), Albert Deschesne (letters), Rachel Pinnelas (assistant editor) & Tom Brennan (editor)

The Story: The Thunderbolts need a magical member and recruit Dr. Strange to help find someone with a checkered enough past to be a true Thunderbolt.

What’s Good: Jeff Parker’s superhero comics are so bouncy and that’s one of the things that really defines him as a good writer.  He can do a lot of different styles and genres (as you know if you’re read any of his creator-owned stuff), but when he does superheroes, Parker clearly knows to make it fun and make it fast.  His issues almost remind me of old Bronze Age Marvel comics in how much story he crams into a 22-page story.

Spinning out of last issue (the outstanding one-shot about Man Thing), we had the government raising some concerns about the lack of magical firepower on the team and that’s a fair enough complaint since we’ve all read comics where our supposedly bad-ass heroes get flattened by a magical villain.  So, Luke Cage and Dr. Strange take Man Thing out to find a sufficiently morally-gray-area magic user.  I love who they found and it should be fun watching this person get integrated into the team.  Parker also does some very cool things with the magic itself.  Of course, the selected magic user fights with Dr. Strange, causing Cage to say something like, “Hey! I thought you were more powerful than _______!”  Strange basically says that magic isn’t like physical power because it is knowledge-based, so a character who has been out of sight for some time, could have been studying and developing new magic.  This was a really neat concept.

For most comics, this magic story would be a 3-issue mini-arc, but it all happens in one issue. But Parker also still has time for a B Story by having a new Thunderbolt team leader name AND having Fixer get heckled by the randy women inmates.  These ladies are definitely “frustrated” if they’ll hoot at Fixer.  “What kinda attachments you got for that arm!”  “Yoo Hoo, Fixer!  I’ve got something you can fix right here!”  Some of the funniest things I‘ve read in a while.

Thunderbolts #154 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Declan Shalvey (art), Frank Martin (colors), Albert Deschesne (letters), Rachel Pinnelas (assistant editor) & Tom Brennan & Bill Rosemann (editors)

The Story: A done-in-one story focusing on Man Thing.

What’s Good: When the “new” Thunderbolts were announced last summer, none of the members was a huge surprise except for Man-Thing.  Huh, wha?  How was that going to work?  Man-Thing isn’t really a villain who needs to work off his crimes by being a member of the Thunderbolts.  But, Jeff Parker has really made it work.  In just about every issue so far, Man-Thing has gotten involved in the action.  He doesn’t talk and doesn’t take direction. He’s just kinda there in the background, pitching in here and there without being instructed to.

But, all along the question has been: Why?  Why would Man-Thing want to work with the Thunderbolts?

This issue digs into Man-Thing’s origins and possible motivations by way of a stand-alone story that sees him whisked back to the swampy Everglades that birthed him in the first place.  By focusing on his magical nature, former life as a scientist and his relationships with sorceresses much is (kinda) explained: If the scientist is still lurking in there behind those big red eyes, wouldn’t he want to travel and learn and hang out with pretty ladies with magic based powers like Moonstone?    We even learn a little bit about the “zoo” under the raft where Man-Thing lives.

We should all be keeping an eye on Declan Shalvey who draws this issue.  I became a big fan of his on the Boom! series 28 Day Later (and have a piece of original art from the series) and he’s carried that tight linework over to his work at Marvel.  His characters are all lifelike and vital and he draws a mean giant lizard (what is it with Jeff Parker and the oversized monsters the last few months?), but he also puts in all the other little touches that sell a scene taking place in the Everglades by drawing craggy old trees with Spanish moss, boats, outboard motors, etc.  He also looks like he works really well with Frank Martin on colors.  They seem to have a good sense of who is going to shade what aspects of the art and the end product is really nice.

Spider-Girl #4 – Review

By: Paul Tobin (writer), Matthew Southworth & Paul Azaceta (art), Chris Sotomayor & Andres Mossa (colors), Joe Caramanga (letters) & Tom Brennan

The Story: Anya Corazon settles into her new life without her Dad and Spider-Girl get’s her first villain.

What’s good: After an opening arc that was very ambitious and laid out a lot of groundwork for who Anya Corazon/Spider-Girl is, we see her get her first real villain.  Tobin manages to pack a lot of action into a single issue as we see Spider-Girl taking down regular criminals and having another run-in with Speed Ball before getting to the main course: Ana Kravinoff.  What a good nemesis for Spider-Girl!  One of my biggest complaints with the smaller characters of the Marvel U is that they often are tangling with villains who are way too big for them.  Spider-Girl shouldn’t be fighting Dr. Doom or Doc Ock.  Heck, she shouldn’t even be messing around with Kraven the Hunter, but his nasty and gleefully vicious daughter Ana?  Well, that’s just perfect because Ana is capable enough to be threatening but you also feel like all the other Marvel U heroes in NYC might actually be busy with bigger villains and let Spider-Girl tackle Ana on her own.

There is an art change for this issue as we drop the bevy of artists who worked on the first story arc and pick up Matthew Southworth and Paul Azaceta.  I really enjoyed Southworth’s work on Stumptown with Greg Rucka last year and he’s doing a lot of the same kind of work here.  It is stylistically a big change from last arc, but a change in a good way.  Southworth’s art tends to be a little darker than you might think would be appropriate for a teenage-girl-superhero title, but from all appearances, Tobin isn’t afraid to go to dark places so it should work.  They also continue the practice of keeping Anya/Spider-Girl looking like a small teenage girl and that is so key.  We shouldn’t have any heaving bosoms or curvy hips in this book.  I also really like how well Southworth manages buildings and architecture, which is important for a title, set in NYC.  His art feels like it is in the city.

Thunderbolts #153 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Kev Walker (pencils), Jason Gorder (inks), Frank Martin (colors), Albert Deschesne (letters) & Tom Brennan (editor)

The Story: The Thunderbolts wrap up their battle with the Scorched Earth dino-monsters and an evil Hyperion.

What’s Good: It never ceases to amaze me how much exciting stuff Jeff Parker can cram into one of these issues.  Whereas some writers nowadays think that it is suitable to blow an entire issue with the hero talking about themselves (exciting, huh?), Parker just makes the story move from scene to scene to scene.  Nothing is belabored.  He usually cuts from scene to scene at just the right moment, but always errs on the side of leaving us wanting more instead of thinking, “Good lord.  Why doesn’t that character shut up!”

Parker is also very adept at handling a team book.  Everyone gets a little bit of time in his stories.  Again, he never overdoes it.  And he usually has a story that really gives the characters something useful to do.  I’d love to see Parker get a shot at one of the in-continuity X-books at some point.

So, overall, this is a hopping fun story that even works in some solid humor.  Who knew that Ghost was so expert on lifesaving techniques?

Of course, Kev Walker’s pencils and the efforts of the entire art team really bring Parker’s vision to life.  What I really enjoy about Walker’s style is that it has the cartoony elements that I enjoy for the freedom they give the artist, but he also mixes in some softness and realism in areas like Moonstone’s musculature.  And, that makes sense because Moonstone is a softer character, so she shouldn’t be as angular.  He also capture’s the raw power of Juggernaut very well.  Another neat element is that we get some non-scripted storytelling as Man Thing appears in the background of many panels.  I love it when there are story-elements in the panel that have nothing to do with the word balloons because it shows a dedication to a finished artistic product that goes beyond the mere script.

Spider-Girl #3 – Review

By: Paul Tobin (writer), Clayton Henry, Tim Seeley & Sergio Cariello (art), Chris Sotomayor (colors), Joe Caramanga (letters) & Tom Brennan (editor)

The Story: Spider-Girl continues to deal with the death of her dad.

What’s Good: Marvel is really doing some ambitious stuff with Spider-Girl.  I would LOVE to know if Marvel has made some kind of 12+ issue commitment to the title because Paul Tobin isn’t starting this story in a very predictable place.  What you might expect given that Anya Corazon/Spider-Girl is a spunky teenage girl hero is a rollicking fun 6-issue fight against some D-list villain like Speedball while she juggles high school and boys.  But, Tobin has tossed both us and the character right into deep waters by having her father (and Anya’s only parent) die in the second issue.  Suddenly, she’s an unpowered hero who is also a teenage girl who will have to be responsible for paying the rent and feeding herself.  This issue watches as we deal with Anya’s issues and her attempts to reach out through her support network to find anything she can hold onto during this trying time.  All you people out there demanding “diversity” in comics should be checking this title out because it promises to be unafraid to deal with some very human issues with a character who is relatively unexplored.

The superhero aspect of the title isn’t neglected either, even if it takes a back seat.  How will Spider-Girl react to seeing Red Hulk again?  She’s clearly going to be very angry with him, but what would a 90 pound teenage girl do when she is angry at a SUPER-level character?  How will Red Hulk react to this?  You’ll have to read to find out but it promises to be an interesting story.

In short, this is a really good series that could become something special if Marvel gives it a chance to grow.

The art works.  I’m not going to gush about it because it does look like the art was done by three different artists.  But, if you want your books to ship monthly, that’s the kind of stuff that’ll happen sometimes.  There’s nothing about the art where you think “bad art” and there are a few really nice panels throughout the issue (e.g. the Red Hulk – Spider-Girl panel on page 5 is really nice).

Spider-Girl #2 – Review

By: Paul Tobin (writer), Clayton Henry (art pps 1-13), Ray Anthony Height, Walden Wong, John Livesay & Paris (?) (art pps 14-24), Chris Sotomayor (colors), Joe Caramanga (letters) & Tom Brennan (editor)

The Story: Red Hulk runs amok….what’s a Spider Girl to do?

What’s Good: This comic succeeds mostly at what (I think) it is trying to do: Show what it is like for a teenage girl with no powers to be a super-hero and deal with personal loss.

When we last left Spider-Girl, she was coming to her father’s rescue as the Red Hulk went rampaging through Manhattan.  Mind you, her Dad knew she was Spider-Girl and encouraged that behavior giving her a very different vibe than a young Peter Parker or any number of young heroes/heroines in Gotham City (Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, etc.).  What follows is a pretty big punch in the gut.  I’m just going to SPOIL it and say that……….. her Dad dies as a result of Red Hulk’s rampage.  To say that I was really surprised would be an understatement and I’m very intrigued to see what impact this has on young Anya and her desire to be a superhero.  For starters, where will she even live?

I also thought that Tobin did a good job handling the central conflict between Red Hulk and Spider-Girl.  Red Hulk’s obviously demented and not in his right mind and while it is unclear what he is after, it has something to do with Spider-Girl.  Tobin handles this nicely because she needs to show some spunk (because even unpowered heroes cannot squeal, spoil their pants and run when chased by a Hulk), but you can’t have Spider-Girl taking down Red Hulk in issue #2.  There is a story-arc for these sorts of heroes and they don’t get to take out Hulk-class opponents until around issue 20-30.

Amazing Spider-Man #649 – Review

By: Dan Slott (writer), Humberto Ramos (pencils), Carlos Cuevas (inks), Edgar Delgado (colors), Joe Caramanga (letters) & Tom Brennan (Associate Editor)

The Story: Hobgoblin is back, but is it the Hobgoblin we’ve been expecting.

What’s Good: This Thanksgiving I’m thankful for good Spider-Man comics.  My comic happiness meter is somewhat tied to the quality of the Spider-Man comics.  When they’re good, I’m happy and enjoy the hobby.  When they’re not so good, it really just bums me out.  So, we should all be very thankful for what Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos are feeding us right now.

A vital element of good Spidey stories is the emotional roller coaster.  The guy has a hectic life, so the story needs to keep moving like an overcaffinated jackal.  Slott does a great job with this as he rarely spends more than a page or two on any particular story element.  It is just a wonderful job of pacing that allows him to make great use of the 30-page format to tell a LOT of story. We cover a lot of ground: we learn who the Hobgoblin is, see Spidey & Black Cat save Norah from some bikers, touch on Peter’s love life, see Peter’s first day on the job at Horizon labs, Captain Steve needling Jonah, the saga of Mac Gargan and a great cliffhanger.  Through it all, it hits all the emotional notes that you want in a Spider-Man story.  There’s even a great emotional high for Aunt May in here.  So there!