Superior Foes of Spider-Man #7 – Review

by Nick Spencer (Writer), Rich Ellis (Artist), Lee Loughridge (Colorist)

The Story: How does one become a super villain? Beetle sure seems to know the answer as we see her secret origin.

The Review: In ensemble books, there will always be characters delegated to the background, some that will receive less spotlight than others. It’s something that is fairly common, with books like Hickman’s Avengers and even some issues of Morrison’s JLA run being culprits when it comes to putting a certain focus on certain characters over others. Writers can usually overcome this by either pushing forth with some stories or a single issues featuring them heavily, to balance things out for readers who might start to question the reason behind the inclusion of one of the cast members.

In this month’s issue, Nick Spencer does this by putting the spotlight on the new Beetle, who had been some kind of mystery in the issue of Superior Spider-Man in which she was first introduced. Mostly there to add some tension and to provide humor, we didn’t know much about her, as she shared the same fate as Overdrive in mostly being there without being particularly active, with being reactive being mostly the case as far as character work goes. She wasn’t absent so much as merely there most of the time.

This issue changes this sad status, however, as the rather big reveal of the last issue is not only fleshed out, but it also acts as a character piece revealing just how Beetle grew up to become a member of the Sinister Six. This is told via the relationship between father and daughter, as a very different Tombstone is shown here, presented as a loving and rather doting paternal figure instead of a relentless mob boss. The way both Janice and Tombstone interacts is rather fascinating, with the certain cruelty he is known for mixing with his attitude toward someone he genuinely cares about. It is both funny and rather cute to read at the same time.

Captain America #607 – Review

By Ed Brubaker (writer), Mitch Breitweiser (pencils), Butch Guice with Mitch Breitweiser (inks), Dean White and Elizabeth Dismang (colors), VC’s Joe Caramagna (letters and production)

The Story: Zemo continues his nefarious campaign against Bucky, this time by taking over his very mind and causing very dangerous and destructive hallucinations.

What’s Good: This was a fun story—the most fun I’ve had with this book since Steve Rogers passed on his shield. Bucky’s mind being taken over isn’t exactly the newest plot device Brubaker and company could have pulled out, but the fact that it’s not just Bucky that’s being controlled, but Captain America himself being controlled gives the situation the extra weight it needs to effectively resonate. It’s quite clearly intended to link this new chapter of Cap-history to the early success of Brubaker’s “Winter Soldier” storyline, and I’d ordinarily be more than a little bit cynical about that sort of thing (“trying to sell me on Bucky-Cap by resurrecting an old Steve Rogers storyline, eh?!”), but in this instance it really does work well.

I’d also like to mention how much I like this art team. The angles and colors give the whole book a very brooding, almost noir-ish look that is very appealing. (And again, it’s worth noting that this style is more than a little reminiscent of “Winter Solider.”) My only quibble is that, while Breitweiser’s pencils are very gritty and expressive (especially when it comes to action and motion), the roughness doesn’t lend itself well to facial expressions. The more emotional a character is, the odder the pencils seem to make his or her face.