Comic Review -- Amazing Spider-Man #698: Dying Wish prelude: Day In the Life

Okay, I needed a couple days to write this review.  The big development was a lot to absorb, and I wanted to be sure I came at this piece with a clear head.

I know most fans have read the issue by now, and while I'd love very much to talk plainly about the plot of this issue, I don't plan on spoiling anything until at least next Wednesday.  So, with that in mind, I'll launch into what I hope is a mostly spoiler-free review.

The cover is a picture of Doc Ock, on his deathbed, and truly looking like he's at death's door.  He has two words on his lips that you know are going to mean big things for the issue: "Peter Parker."  Paolo Rivera does a great job of making Octavius look both sinister and pitiful, as the condition of his body clearly shows the abuse he's endured (and, it could be argued, inflicted) over time.  What do these words mean, coming from this man, at this time?  It's a compelling hook, and grabs the reader's interest from the get-go before you even open the issue.  Excellent job here.

It is the writing of this issue that will take center stage, as things are laid out in the form of a typical slice-of-life vignette from Spidey's point of view.  He starts off web-slinging through the city in a carefree manner, moves to intercept a small-time crook robbing a business, and then glides into the non-superhero aspects of Peter Parker's life.  We see that Aunt May, Mary Jane, and Horizon Labs occupy the lion's share of Peter's time, and he moves smoothly through each of them with newfound boldness and confidence until he receives a distress call from his teammates on the Avengers.

He meets them at the Raft, a prison for super-powered inmates administered by S.H.I.E.L.D.  When he's told that Doctor Octopus is moments away from finally dying, Spider-Man asks for a private moment with him.  In the final pages and panels of the issue, they have a brief exchange that changes the entire dynamic of the story and suddenly makes for a harrowing, if not outright horrifying realization.

This is one of those stories that will send you scurrying for your back issues, re-reading and searching for clues as to where the seeds of the current plot were planted.  That's a fun treat in and of itself, but what makes this issue even more noteworthy is that it truly is well written, and would function ably as a "day in the life of" story by itself, even without the big reveal at the end.  It's fluid and versatile, moving effortlessly through the myriad touchpoints in Peter Parker's life and making each of them important without getting clogged by any particular one.  There's humor, heart, and plenty of action that would make it a worthy glimpse into the web-slinger's life.  Dan Slott has always been good with Spider-Man, and it shows here, on several levels.

I'm very happy with the artwork on this issue.  Richard Elson does a remarkable job of matching Slott's storytelling style.  The lines are clean, and convey a kinesthetic confidence that makes it easy to imagine the action in between panels.  Costumes and characters look classic yet fresh, realistic yet dynamic.  Fabela's colors succeed in making both the characters and their environments vibrant and compelling, and round out an amazing visual depiction of a memorable issue.

If you've kept abreast of what's going on and what will be happening in Spidey's universe, you knew this issue would be the start of a harrowing ride.  For me personally, that still did nothing to help me prepare emotionally for the revelation that pops up here. With the #700 finale just around the corner and the new Superior Spider-Man title coming out soon, this final arc has my full attention.  I'm sure the rest of Spidey's readers will agree.  Highly recommended.

I'll have a more spoiler-y video review/reaction next week.

Photos of my Spider-Man Costume!

I know these are about a month overdue, but this is one of the costumes I got delivered to me, the day before Halloween, and of course it's the one I chose to wear to work.  Black suit Spider-Man was well received by co-workers and the general public alike at my library, and it was great fun to wear.

It's a full-body zentai suit, for anyone curious.  I specified that the mask be removable, so I was able to take it off when needed (like whenever I was eating).  Another zipper was also put in so I could use the restroom without too much trouble.

Typing through the gloves was

interesting.  Not something you 

want to try every day though!

Strike a pose... at the library!

One thing I ended up asking myself at the end of the day was, how does Spidey make it through all that web-slinging and wall-crawling and crimefighting without any shoes on?!  Seriously, by the end of the day, my feet were not happy with me!

In any case, I can guarantee you I've got plenty of cosplay material for future cons now--not to mention, future Halloweens!

Hey, who's this dude in the
poster next to me?

Why Norman Osborn Is Peter Parker's Greatest Love

If this article seems hastily written, my apologies.  I'm perpetually short on time, and on deadline.

I recently read a pair of articles on ComicVine that make arguments for why Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy are each the best romantic interest for Peter Parker (aka Spider-Man).  The MJ article really pissed me off, as I could list off a multitude of reasons why I think she was a lousy match for Peter.  Needless to say, I'm none too pleased at the direction the comics are currently taking with them, as they seem to be angling to put them together post-One More Day travesty.  The Gwen Stacy article, while I have fewer issues with it, still seems a little too mired in the sentimentality of the past.

Still, the comments section of any article is either a source of great humor or angst, and in reading the replies to both articles, I was inspired by one of the commenters to respond with one of the more hilarious takes on this topic.  Namely, why Norman Osborn is Peter Parker's greatest love.

Don't believe me?  Step up to the stage, skeptic! :-P

Norman Osborn, in case any of you don't know, is the Green Goblin, one of Spider-Man's most iconic and long-standing foes.  It's easy to say that he's obsessed with Spider-Man, in much the same way the Joker is obsessed with Batman (and vice versa).  So like MJ and Gwen, he's been in Peter's life for a very long time.  And unlike one of these potential true loves, Norman's come back for the dead for him!

He's the father of Peter's best friend, Harry Osborn, and has on multiple occasions lamented how much better a son Peter would have made for him than the unmotivated, underachieving Harry.  On more than one occasion, Norman has indicated an obsession with making Peter his surrogate son in Harry's stead, an offer which Peter always refuses.  So in that sense at least, you have Peter playing hard to get, and Norman always pursuing him.

Even when he knew Peter's secret identity as Spider-Man (or vice versa), he's never actually spilled the beans to the public, something Peter did himself in the Civil War.  Sure, he may have manipulated, threatened, and driven him crazy, but at least he never killed Aunt May or put her in any kind of terminal condition--which Peter essentially did do. So in a warped sense of irony, he knows Peter better than Peter knows himself, and treats Peter better than Peter often treats himself.

Then there's the storyline Sins Past, where we find out that way, way back in the past, Norman Osborn actually slept with Gwen Stacy and fathered children with her.  Now clearly, Norman had no real feelings for Gwen--he certainly didn't think twice about killing her--and was much more interested in furthering his obsession with creating a worthy heir, but by this point in their history, he had to realize he wasn't going to get anywhere with his other obsession, Peter Parker.  But given Peter's closeness with Gwen, what better way to feel close to the object of your affection (short of killing his girl, which he succeeded at doing) than nailing his love and getting her pregnant with twins?

If he wasn't able to have Peter, he could at least make himself a permanent fixture in his life.

Finally, there's the letter.

You know what I'm talking about.  From the story arc The Last Stand.  Spidey has just defeated the Goblin after being put through a specially taxing series of gauntlets, managed to rescue his Aunt May, and finally earned himself some rest.  And what do we see going in the mail as this happens?  A letter, from Norman Osborn to Peter Parker, thanking him for providing challenge, structure, and purpose for his otherwise boring and humdrum life.  He wishes him all the best, and hopes for a speedy recovery so they can eventually meet again.

If that's not obsession...

Peter may not love Norman Osborn, but he has in his way obsessed over him just as much as Norman has obsessed over Peter.  You can't dispute that he's an enormously important figure in Peter's life, and as time and writing have shown, he'll never leave him the way Gwen did--never mind the technicalities of him killing her, which I would argue is yet another result of his obsession with Spidey.  They give each other meaning and purpose, and definitely strive to be at their best when they get together.

I'm not saying it's a perfect love, and I'm not saying it isn't more than a little twisted, but it is for the reasons above that I believe Norman Osborn, more than Gwen and MJ, is the number one love of Peter Parker's life.

This article is, in case anyone freaks out, intended as a joke.  I don't really think Norman is Peter's greatest love, though this did arise from a sense of discontent from the ComicVine articles.  Comparing Gwen an MJ is really not fair, so I figured another unfair comparison was, ironically, fair game.

Posters from Comicpalooza

Tonight's post will be a short one due to unforeseen circumstances.

Here are some quick photos of the art I picked up at Comicpalooza last month.  I will be putting them up when I make a space for my video reviews space.

Artist Miguel Zamora did this poster, along
with the Nightwing and Batgirl to the left.

This Tentacle Kitty poster is a gift for my
girlfriend...

... but I had to get one for myself, too.

Very nice Wolverine done by Houston comic
creator Mark Nasso.

Another Pleasant Pictorial: Comics Items In My Office and Workplace!

My love of comic books and graphic novels being what it is, I obviously have a lot of trinkets, memorabilia, and keepsakes that reflect this.  While I'll eventually get around to showing off all the stuff I have at home, I figured I'd start a pictorial featuring all the stuff I have at my office, and also some other neat comic related items featured at my workplace.  As any of my co-workers will tell you, it's pretty easy to tell I like comics by just spending a few minutes with me.  Well, if you step into my office, it becomes pretty obvious too.

Enjoy!

My mother couldn't ever get me to decorate my walls in my room or house, but my supervisor was able to get me to 

decorate my office.  I was like, "Okay, bring on the comics stuff!"  Note the calendar over the printer, which is still set to May and features Rogue.  It will have another picture later. 

I'm trying to spread the love around, but currently the Iron Man lithograph is currently off on its lonesome.  I'm not too worried, though.  Stark can afford a little time in solitary.  He'll get wall-mates soon enough.

Okay, so not only do I favor superhero comics, but I'm also partial

to Marvel heroes.  This New Avengers poster was purchased in

direct reaction to my supervisor's demand for office decoration...

... as was the Spider-Man bobblehead.  He wasn't particularly lonely, but a coworker thought he was, and brought me the Spidey thimble (which I love!), and the Spidey food container.  They hang out regularly, and for the most part get along.  Except when the thimble gets all smarty on the bobblehead, who then just stomps on him. :P

Even my corkboard isn't immune to comics-related memorabilia.  

Call it excessive pride, but I've pinned a flyer from an event I put 

together earlier this year, the Houston Comics Talent Panel.  It was

a learning experience, and a lot of fun.

This preservation bookmark is from the Library of Congress, and 

is specifically about the preservation of comic books.  This kind of 

thing makes me happy!

The Green Goblin will be trying to pumpkin-bomb me on a daily

basis this month, according to my Marvel Heroes calendar.  The

Green Goblin on a Marvel Heroes calendar... so very wrong.

Stark may be alone in this photo, but again, I'm not too worried...

... for he is the Invincible IRON MAN!  And besides, he loves

himself too much not to like some time alone once in a while.

Now we're gonna move to the Teen Room in my library (note: I LOVE the fact that we have one!).  A context shot of the

comics and manga collection, which are always circulating--the area is constantly in need of shelving and straightening.

These posters are about the merits of reading graphic novels,

which all too often are subjected to unfair criticism from some 

parents and customers, who don't think they are "real" reading.  

They are!

Another such poster on the other side of our manga collection.

For my part, I read a lot of graphic novels and comics, and find the

stories, artwork, and overall experience an amply rewarding on an

intellectual, entertainment basis.  

Final poster shot, and end of this pictorial and my impromptu 

soapbox.

Comic Review -- AvX VS #2 / Steve McNiven, Kieron Gillen, John Dell, Salvador Larroca, Morry Hollowell, and Jim Charalampidis

I like the illustrations on this cover.  Colossus looks out of his mind with rage as swings at a nimble and no-doubt quippy Spider-Man, while Gambit and Captain America both look like serious business as they struggle against one another.  While I'm not crazy about the large title in the center of the cover, it does make for a nice divider.  Not bad.

These two match-ups go a little more in line with what I expected in terms of an outcome, with plenty of action, name-calling, and destruction, along with a peppering of more AvX Fun Facts.  Though they eventually end up proving pointless within the context of the larger story, it's fun to see these match-ups with some detail and dynamics, as opposed to the brief gloss-overs you tend to see in the larger story.  A fight will start, and then move to another fight, and so on, before getting back to the main story, and such a sprawling narrative really needs a companion series like this, where things can really get exposed a little more in-depth.

Gambit may be one of my favorite X-Men, but watching him get his butt kicked by Captain America was actually very satisfying.  Theirs was actually a good fight, and Gambit got in an especially clever move by charging up Cap's uniform and making it explode while it was on him.  While I was a little surprised at how quickly Cap got up from that, I wasn't at all surprised when it came down to a fistfight, and Cap royally beat the crap out of Gambit.  I mean, for pure melee combat, there aren't many heroes that I think could stand toe-to-toe with Captain America.

And while I'm a big Spider-Man fan--you've seen my picture, right?--I'm not too surprised about how the Spidey-Colossus fight turned out, for two reasons.  First, Spidey was very cocky and presumptuous towards Colossus-Juggs, which is never a good way to go into a fight.  I don't know enough about Colossus since he acquired Cyttorak, but I'm betting he's even tougher than Cain Marko's Juggernaut.  So I'm willing to concede he may have an edge over Spidey.  Second, though, I don't think they'll do an issue where there are two Avengers or two X-Men wins in the same issue.  Just not gonna happen, as you'd risk alienating Avengers or X-Men fans.

When Cap won, I figured Spidey was going to lose.  And so far, my logic's worked.  We'll see if it stands up over the run of these issues.

Artistically, I like Dell's art in the Cap/Gambit match-up better than Larroca's in the Spidey/Colossus fight.  It's more realistic, less cartoony, and nowhere near as overdone.  Cap and Gambit both look like actual people within their uniforms, and while Spidey looks good in his story, Colossus looks too extreme, particularly with his facial expressions.  It's not bad art, but there was a noticeable difference between the two.

It almost makes me wonder how they would look if the artists would switch stories and draw their own versions of the others.  That'd actually be kind of cool to see, now that I think about it.

Overall, I am enjoying this mini-series, and can't wait to see more match-ups.  Are they great storytelling?  No.  Are they witty?  In places.  Are they full of action and destruction as two heroes beat the snot out of each other?  YES.  And that's what this series promises.  Successful delivery.  Highly recommended.

Comic Review -- Amazing Spider-Man #685: Ends of the Earth, part 4: Global Menace! / Dan Slott, Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, and Edgar Delgado

While I like the idea of this cover--Spidey and the two gorgeous superheroines Black Widow and Silver Sable posing all badass on a rooftop--it seems to fall flat.  The line work is good, and the composition's not bad, but it doesn't really seem to fit with the level of intensity the narrative demands.  The casual-ness of the rooftop scenario suggests they're in NYC, which is clearly not where the action takes place.  I also think Spidey should be depicted in his current costume now, and that the colors could have been a little more vibrant.  It's not bad, but it left me wishing it could have been more.

Spider-Man, Silver Sable, and Black Widow have taken out Sandman, but the odds are even more stacked against them.  Doc Ock has turned the world against the heroes, stepped up production of the parts for his lenses, and called out super-villains to help defend his factories.  Even S.H.I.E.L.D. tries to arrest them after they defeat the Rhino in North Korea.  Only Horizon Labs is working along with them, and Spider-Man reluctantly allows Sable to torture Sandman to get more information about Doc Ock's plans.  The remaining members of the Sinister Six, meanwhile, wonder if they should simply take the money Ock got for them and go their separate ways, but decide to remain with Ock when he demands they see the mission through to the end.

Spider-Man makes a counter-call to any and all superheroes who are willing to trust him, pleading for assistance in hindering Ock's plans, to which there are a number of responses across the world.  He and his team tackle a base in Symkaria, where they find a wealth of bad news: the factory is abandoned, Ock's satellites are finished, and he is about to implement his plan, which is not the friendly one he advertised to the rest of the world.  Bitter at his impending demise, Ock uses the satellites to deep-fry the world like he did in his first demonstration, starting with the portion that's currently facing the sun.  He intends to take the world with him when he dies.

Well, I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed that Peter turns out to be right about Octavius, but I can't say I'm very surprised about it.  Doc Ock has typically been a very spiteful and petty character (though there have been exceptions to this depiction), and I would imagine having to finally face down the endless maw of his impending death wouldn't do much to improve his disposition.  I think Slott took a good handle of the reins with this portrayal of him, and has set up a denouement that makes me want to see how Spidey can possibly beat him this time around.

I also like the scale on which Spider-Man is set in opposition to the world, thanks to Ock's manipulations.  He, Sable, and Black Widow are alone, with only Horizon Labs and a handful of heroes across the world agreeing to trust and help them.  It really ramps up the drama and the action, forcing Spidey to desparate actions like "acid-boarding" Sandman for information and using a pretty vicious detonation against Rhino.  Ock has clearly thought about the lengths to which he must go to finally beat Spider-Man, and at present, it looks like he's succeeding.

You REALLY think he didn't kiss
her back? (from ASM 679)

On a minor note, it looked like Silver Sable was about to admit she had feelings for Spider-Man, and while I wasn't a fan of the idea in the midst of a high-stakes global struggle, I was also let down that Peter essentially shut her down for Mary Jane.  I've always had issues with how Marvel ended their marriage, but I've never been a huge MJ fan, and have often felt that Peter should have a significant other who could hang in superhero circles (which is why I was a fan of the Black Cat's reunion with him).  Sable would definitely fit this bill, and I have to admit I was kind of wanting it to happen.  Oh well.

Artistically, things continue to look good, though I do wonder about some of the panels.  It seems some of the details get minimized or glossed over as Humberto Ramos continues to churn out page upon page upon page during this run.  It's not enough to make the issue look bad, though perhaps not as good as other issues I've seen leading up to this one.  Note to Marvel: please don't overburden your artists on your flagship titles.

Overall, this has been a good story, and I'm eager to see how it ends.  I'm not sure how much is left, but it feels like we're approaching the endgame soon--if not next issue, then the one after.  The story is compelling, and the artwork is good.  Highly recommended.

Comic Review -- X-Men #28 / Victor Gischler, Will Conrad, Guru eFX

While I'm these days more than a little sick of Skrull covers, I will say that this is one gorgeous cover.  Of course, I'm also probably a little biased in favor of just about anything Will Conrad does.  The dark tones and foreboding leers of the Skrullified X-Men makes even the presumably light-hearted presence of Spider-Man take on an air of intensity and desperation.  Very well done.

We start off with Pixie teleporting a man into the Baxter Building to steal something from the Fantastic Four, because of a bluff he told her that they have Franklin Richards held hostage.  The Fantastic Four quickly subdue him, and the X-Men show up to take Pixie and the Skrull away, after pointing out that the Skrulls are accomplished shapeshifters and never had Franklin.  They go to Horizon Labs, looking for something in their equipment, when Pixie figures out that the "X-Men" she's with are the same Skrulls who sent her to the Baxter Building in the first place.

After they subdue and gag Pixie, we find out that these Skrulls are soldiers from the Secret Invasion, trapped behind enemy lines after the war was over.  They're looking for a way home, and are raiding high-tech facilities looking for a captured Skrull ship so they can do so.  Horizon Labs, however, is the second home and workplace of Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, and he happens to see what's going on and surprises the thieves.  The fight moves to the sidewalk outside of Horizon, where one of the Skrulls activates their ship--a War-Bringer, a ship of destruction.  As the Fantastic Four and X-Men arrive on the scene, Pixie, Spider-Man, and three of the Skrulls look on in horror as a drone marches out of the ship, intent on destruction.

This is my first real exposure to the character of Pixie, and since we've just seen Jubilee's departure from the X-Men for at least a little while, it's hard to avoid the feeling that the writers just can't bear the thought of not having a young inexperienced team member for the others to watch over.  Pixie certainly fills that role in this story, berating herself for making a series of presumably rookie mistakes in front of her "teammates" and several other superheroes.  Still, it's understandable that she'd be deceived by experienced Skrull soldiers desperate to get home--deception is what they're good at, after all.

I also like the use of guest stars in this issue, as it fits well with the plot.  The Baxter Building and Horizon Labs are logical-sounding locations to house Skrull equipment, and make the FF and Spidey's appearances credible and relevant.  Being a Spider-Man fan, I wish he'd been used a little more, but it looks like he'll get more mileage in the next part of the story.  Everyone's characterization is spot-on when given the opportunity, from Spidey's quips to Reed and Susan and Ben's dialog and reactions.

Art-wise, I can't help but enjoy Will Conrad's work.  It's realistic and distinctive, and he seems to instinctively know the most recognizable look for each character and delivers it in a consistent, beautiful package with each illustration.  I remember once saying that if I could draw like anyone, it'd be Jim Lee.  I'd say if anyone else could share the stage with him, it would be Mr. Conrad.  Everyone and everything in this issue just looks fantastic.

Overall, I'd say this makes for an interesting start to a multi-part storyline that has plenty of promise.  The setup is amusing and intriguing, the art is fantastic, and the resolution is one I actually care about and want to see in the next issue.  Highly recommended.

Comic Review -- Amazing Spider-Man #684: The Ends of the Earth, part III: Sand Trap / Dan Slott, Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, and Edgar Delgado

Spidey's trials and tribulations just never seem to end, for him and his allies in this case.  This cover shot of him, Black Widow and Silver Sable all caught up in a titanic fight with a desert-powered Sandman really drives that point home and pulls readers in for this issue's story.  The colors here are great, the action is intense, and Black Widow continues to do an excellent impression of Felicia Hardy by leaving her cleavage exposed by black leather.  She'll definitely need a shower later.  At the very least, I'm amused.

Spidey and the Avengers have just been defeated by the Sinister Six in a stunning turnabout.  Silver Sable, who has tailed Spider-Man this far, rescues Black Widow from the downed Quinjet and sets an explosive charge on it.  She uses the distraction caused by its destruction to mask herself, Spider-Man and Black Widow before Doctor Octopus can destroy Spider-Man.  The Sinister Six leave, with the rest of the Avengers in tow, leaving the three heroes to rely on each other to undo Ock's evil plan.

Locating a production facility for Ock's satellites, Spidey uses the down time for their travel, the collective genius of the workers at Horizon Labs, and a little of his own ingenuity to combat the likely threat there: Sandman.  When they find him there, Spidey and his teammates manage to defeat him using the improvised tech he's come up with, and take Sandman off the playing field.  But Ock has already planned for this, and uses his bully pulpit on the world stage to deem Spider-Man a terrorist and demand the nations of the world take him down at any cost!

One thing that I'm glad never changes during these Sinister Six storylines is that Spider-Man always, always needs help from other superheroes to defeat Doctor Octopus and his allies.  Thus far, the escalation between him and Ock has evolved in a believable manner over the years, with Spidey's new tech and Ock's meticulous planning heightening the stakes for each.  That Spidey is also relying on his civilian colleagues at Horizon Labs as well as Black Widow and Silver Sable shows that the game has changed between these two, and that firepower of all types is needed: stealth, brains, brawn, and ingenuity.  It all makes for a story that is both intriguing and amusing, in places.

I mean, come on: Project Pink Hippo?  It's both ingenious and over-the-top cheesy.  In other words, vintage Spidey.  And to whoever created Grady Scraps: kudos.  I really like his character.

Artistically, I continue to enjoy Humberto Ramos's pencil work for this series.  While his characters tend to have slightly bigger eyes than I'd prefer, you can't argue that it makes plenty of room for expressions, which he uses deftly in conveying the story visually.  I also find myself gradually warming to the new costume for this storyline, but I also find myself fretting that it'll soon be discarded once this story is over.  The fight with Sandman was appropriately epic, and, once we see the strategy they employ, quite amusing as Sandman gets manipulated.  Excellent work.

Overall, this was a fun issue.  It had plenty of action, an amusing premise for taking down Sandman, great artwork, and plenty of spot-on dialog for the main characters.  I'm enjoying the story very much, and waiting eagerly for the next part of the story.  Highly recommended.

Comic Review -- Amazing Spider-Man #683: The Ends of the Earth, part 2 / Dan Slott, Stefano Caselli, and Frank Martin, Jr.

Whenever I look at cover, I basically ask myself two things when determining whether I like it or not: would I wear this on a shirt? And, would I want this for a poster on my wall?  The answer in both cases is a resounding yes for this cover.  It's a dynamic pose of Spidey and the Avengers, along with his new costume.  While I'm still a little iffy on that, I'm pretty impressed with all the new tech he's put in it to combat the Sinister Six.  Overall, a definite thumbs-up.

While Ock has the Sinister Six out stealing artifacts, Spidey and the Avengers crash an emergency gathering of the world's leaders to persuade them not to go along with assisting in the creation of Ock's Octavian Shield.  Spider-Man brashly punches Al Gore during the discussion, revealing him to be the Chameleon in disguise.  Ock sees this, and in response reinforces the effects on his lens, blocking out all harmful effects of ultraviolet rays.  Meanwhile, Mayor Jameson shuts down Horizon Labs, even as they're trying to help the world leaders with new information about Ock's lens.  Ock requests the Chameleon's release, which is granted, with Spidey tagging him with a tracer so the Avengers can follow him.

In the ensuing battle, it looks like the Avengers initially have the overwhelming advantage, but Ock has prepared his men for this.  Using a combination of the stolen artifacts and solid tactics, the Sinister Six manage to down the Avengers handily, with Doctor Octopus forcing Spider-Man to kneel before him in front of his knocked-out allies.  It seems Spidey's given Ock the greatest gift of all: his complete and utter destruction.

Wow.  I have to admit, I was pretty blown away by this issue.  From the Stephen Hawking and Al Gore cameos to actually seeing the tech Peter created to deal with some of his greatest foes, there's plenty in here to enjoy.  I'm on the fence about the new costume, looks-wise, but I do think the forethought Peter's put into its gizmos makes for some really neat and useful ways to combat his foes.

The battle between the Avengers and the Six was pretty awesome too, though I did think Electro's taking down of two Avengers and a Quinjet to be a little much.  Thor shooting him into the sky, however, was pretty funny.  I'm not sure how Ock is able to get his hands on Stark tech from the future, but whatever.  It's not like Cable didn't use a similar strategy to beat Iron Man recently.  He really should look into that.

I'm pretty sure Spidey and friends aren't down and out yet, though.  Black Widow remains unaccounted for, and Silver Sable was talking about keeping an eye on Spidey in this issue as well.  I'm sure we'll see them in the next chapter.  And, of course, I can't wait to see how the crew at Horizon shows up a power-tripping Jonah in the segments to come.

The artwork was really good in this issue, as well.  I enjoyed the cameos of Hawking and Gore, which looked pretty accurate, and was especially surprised when Spidey punched out "Al Gore." The beach-side battle was well portrayed, action-packed, and very vicious in places.  Seeing Rhino impale Thor from behind threw me a little.  Very solid work all around!

Overall, I enjoyed this issue very much.  Compelling story, excellent artwork, and still more to learn and ascertain about Ock's final motives.  A definite must-read for Spider-Man devotees, especially if you're currently collecting.  Highly recommended.

GN Review -- Spider-Man and the Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do / Kevin Smith and Terry Dodson

I've never made any secret that I think Black Cat is one of my favorite characters among Spider-Man's supporting cast.  Not only is she beautiful and sexy and witty, but she can actually function and fight on Spider-Man's level.  She has the skill sets and, occasionally, the power sets to hang with him in the crime-fighting arena, which is one of the reasons I keep wanting to see them get together more permanently.  By this point, I've resigned myself to the fact that it'll likely never happen, but my admiration for the character remains high.

When I read The Evil That Men Do, I got knocked on my ass in a way that I simply hadn't been expecting.  Even better, every revelation made sense, given what I knew about Felicia's backstory.  She went from being a fantasy in black leather to... well, still a fantasy in black leather, but one whose occupation as a criminal-crimefighter now felt like it had very real roots and reasons, the most solid of which stemmed from a trauma she'd suffered long before she ever met Spider-Man.

Felicia is brought back to New York City to investigate a friend's mysterious disappearance and death.  It turns out she was one of a string of unexplained heroin overdoses where the victims had no visible signs of shooting up.  She runs into Spider-Man, who's also investigating the situation, and they decide to team up to track down the enigmatic Mr. Brownstone, who is apparently able to spontaneously drug his victims at a moment's notice.  Narrowing their leads down to a philanthropist named Garrison Klum, they argue over pursuing him until Felicia gets the drop on Peter, overpowers him, and goes to Klum's penthouse to question him herself.  Before she can get very far, he drugs her, explaining that he has the ability to teleport small amounts of liquid, an application he uses to get the rich and famous high with no tell-tale signs--and which he uses to incapacitate Felicia as he starts to rape her.

Thing fast-forward to Felicia being in jail, where she's being held for Klum's murder.  The story seems to be that, while under the influence, she murdered Klum in a rage.  In reality, his younger brother Francis, who also is a teleporter, teleported and reappeared in Garrison's body, exploding him from the inside.  It turns out Francis, a victim of sexual abuse from his brother for years, had tired of seeing Garrison victimize yet another person, and stopped him before he could rape Felicia.  He comes to Ryker's Island to break Felicia out, where he encounters Spider-Man and Daredevil, who are there to do the same thing.  He makes them fight each other, and teleports away with Felicia.

As Daredevil and Spider-Man consult with Nightcrawler to find out more about Francis's teleporting abilities, they learn that he's likely the descendant of a human-mutant hybrid created by Nazi scientists during World War II.  Felicia explains to Francis that she was also raped, in college, and that she trained herself to peak condition just so she could get revenge on her rapist.  When fate beat her to the punch, she put her training to use as the Black Cat.  She and Francis begin to bond over the fact that they are both rape survivors, when Spider-Man and Daredevil show up to rescue her.  In a pitched fight, Francis manages to minorly wound Spidey and teleport away.  Felicia is cleared of all the charges against her, and in the aftermath she tells Peter about the rape trauma she went through during college.

This is the first--and thus far, only--Kevin Smith story I've read, and I've gotta say, the man can write when he wants to.  I believe this story was delayed several times, which must have been frustrating for readers at the time, but given the end product, I've gotta say that it had to have been worth it.  Felicia is given a great deal of depth in this story, and Smith uses some pretty disconcerting scenes to build up Garrison Klum as an evil bastard.  He does this to some degree with Francis as well, but ultimately makes him sympathetic, and a little pitiable, with the story of how his brother used to both defend him and take sexual advantage of him during their youth.

There are also a lot of cameos, which are used to satisfying effect to enhance the story.  From Matt Murdock's involvement as Felicia's new lawyer to Nightcrawler's appearance to explain to them the history of mutants and mutant-human hybrids, we get appearances by cool characters who are also actively enhancing and engaging in the narrative.  The lesser cameos--Kingpin, Emma Frost, and so on--are basically for demonstrative purposes and then go away.  Smith knows when to use the right servings of guest star, and doesn't bog down the narrative unnecessarily.

Art-wise, this story gets a huge thumbs-up.  Terry Dodson excels at making illustrations engaging, lively, and fun to look at.  Several of his illustrations in this story are considered some of the classic or vintage Black Cat poses and depictions.  He does action, intrigue, and drama equally well, and he has a good eye for both perspective and location, making a lot of his establishing shots breathtaking in and of themselves.

Overall, I can't recommend this story enough.  Not only is it about one of my favorite supporting characters in the Spider-Man universe--as far as I'm concerned, this is THE Black Cat story to read--but it's a well-written story with lots of guest cameos and beautiful art by Terry Dodson.  It gives a compelling backstory to Felicia Hardy and gets really gritty in places.  Highly recommended.

Comic Review -- Amazing Spider-Man #682: The Ends of the Earth, part 1: My World on Fire / Dan Slott, Stefano Caselli, and Frank Martin, Jr.

I think this cover is pretty clever, with Doc Ock's arms lashing Spidey over a planet-shaped globe.  It certainly sets up the premise of the story, involving Dr. Octopus's apparent desire to save the planet vs. Spider-Man's steadfast distrust of him and anything he's involved in.  Very dramatic, and a delight to behold.

This story starts off with Peter talking about how many gadgets he's been making for himself as Spider-Man, while he takes out Equinox.  He comes to realize that a significant number of his inventions have been applied by the world at large into beneficial technologies that have had some practical applications.  He's happy about this, until he sees J. Jonah Jameson trying to shut down Peter's place of employment, Horizon Labs, on a number of trumped up charges, the most personal one being that his son was nearly killed recently because of them.

Octavius, meanwhile implements his master plan, using a lens to augment the effects of global warming and starting to fry half of the planet.  He takes the lens offline, and sends his plans for a solution to global warming to the most brilliant minds on the planet, stating that he only wishes to be remembered as the man who preserved the earth for all time.  Spider-Man, upset at Ock's move, listens bewildered as a majority of people seem to agree with what he's done.  He takes some of the equipment he's been working on at Horizon off site, and goes to Avengers Mansion in a new costume to rally the divided Avengers to help him take on Ock and the Sinister Six.

I've kept myself mostly in the dark about this story, and if it truly is Octavius's last hurrah, I find the setup in this issue to be fascinating.  While I'm sure he's committed a crime--I mean, starting to flash-fry half the planet has got to be illegal somewhere--it's arguable that he's doing it for a greater good, and actually does have noble intentions for the world before he dies.  And it looks like he's nailed the solution, as well as swayed popular opinion in his favor: the scientists at Horizon think he's on to something, as does Tony Stark.  People are convinced of global warming's existence now due to his demonstration, and believe Octavius wants to stop it.

Of course, this could all be a ruse--as Spider-Man steadfastly believes.  Even as Captain America starts to make the argument that impending death can bring a person's life into focus, Spider-Man simply does not want to hear it.  If Doc Ock is behind it, it can't possibly be for the greater good--except Ock's own greater good--and it is not to be tolerated.  I'll be keenly interested to see who's right and who's wrong on this question, as this story could actually reverse Spider-Man into the role of the villain if it turns out Ock's intentions truly are on the level.

Artistically, I have to say I'm impressed with Caselli's work. It's very slightly cartoony but with plenty of depth and expression that allows for plenty of versatility.  The scenes of the earth in turmoil due to Octavius's lens were particularly striking, as was the scene of a self-righteous Jonah trying to shut down Horizon Labs.  I'm not too keen on Spidey's new look, but that could just be me wanting to stick to the old staples.  I'm willing to give it some time.

Overall, this is an interesting beginning to this storyline, and I'm eager to see how it unfolds.  There are many directions this one could go, and a lot of possibilities for both the hero and the villain here.  The artwork is excellent, the writing is good, and it's been billed as the Doc Ock story you've been waiting to hear for 50 years.  We shall see.  Highly recommended.

Comic Review -- Avengers X-Sanction #4: Sundown / Jeph Loeb, Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines and Morry Hollowell

Oh, jeez.  Let's get into the laundry list of issues that I have with this issue, and the mini-series.

What was the point of this cover?  It lies, even as it tells the truth.  Sure, Wolverine and Spider-Man "fight" Cable in this issue, but why are they wearing completely different costumes from the cover?  I'm also none too impressed with the artwork, particularly how Wolverine's claws are sticking out of Cable's knuckles with no blood, no torn or strewn metal, and no reaction from Cable to that.  Underwhelming.

We start with an arguably unnecessary flashback to how Spider-Man and Wolverine realize their comrades are missing, and go off to find them.  Then, back in the present, Wolverine tears into Cable, disarming him of his gun, which Hope takes and fires at Spider-Man.  He dodges, pulls the weapon away from her, and then gets blasted by an annoyed Cyclops, not to be seen for the rest of the conflict.

While Cable struggles with Wolverine, Blaquesmith directs Hope to disarm the bomb Cable has planted on the captured Avengers.  With little time left, she yanks the bomb wiring out, with no harm.  The Avengers come to, and Red Hulk burns out the techno-virus Cable porcupined him with in the previous issue.  Against his own techno-virus and them, Cable stands no chance, and is handily defeated as the virus kills him.  Cap agrees to let Cyclops take Cable to Utopia as long as Cable's technology and weapons remain with the Avengers.

Hope visits Cable in the infirmary, where the techno-virus starts to infect her, but she engulfs both herself and Cable in a vortex of phoenix-shaped flaming energy.  It burns out the virus completely, apparently resurrecting Cable, who is now appears to be free of the techno-virus.  Cyclops and Cable have a conversation on the astral plane sometime soon after, and Cyclops promises Cable he'll protect Hope from the Avengers, if and when they try to attack her.

While I will admit this is the best segment of the story, I'll also qualify it with the realization that it's not saying much for the whole story.  As a setup for the upcoming Avengers vs. X-Men storyline (AvX), it is a success: it sets up the coming conflict between the two groups and teases the fact that this all-out fight will be caused by the return of the Phoenix Force as it seeks out Hope.  But it really doesn't do much more than that, the rest of the story feeling all too much like filler material that gives Cable an excuse to fight the Avengers.  Because, you know... that'll sell comics.

It's not due to any failing of the story plot, which is actually very simple.  It's basically due to poor execution, a sense of glossing over some very important details (Cable's continued ability to keep on going and capture prime superheroes, even as he gets progressively worse; Red Hulk's ability to simply "burn out" the techno-virus), and the feeling that many of these characters, who have such history together, simply ignore or miss out some prime opportunities for characterization and development... even as they bash each other's brains out.  And don't even get me started on Spider-Man's brush-off in this issue.  There's no way he would have stayed out of the fight that long.

Art-wise, things look passable, even good in places.  The 2-page splash featuring Wolverine and Cable joining the battle looked really good, and I think Hope's moment of Phoenix scariness looked appropriately powerful and unsettling.  Scott's reaction to her was right on the money.  I did, however, think the floating heads shot of the Avengers as Hope huddled over Cable's body could have been done differently.

Overall, I'll damn this issue with faint praise, since it's the only one of the whole mini-series that deserves it.  It does try to flesh out Cable's reasons for doing what he does, but the flimsiness of his present actions ruin the narrative too thoroughly for it to be truly saved.  If you can be happy with pure superhero slugfest action, then you might like this series.  If you need a little substance, this issue is really the only one that I feel has any of it.  Recommended.

Comic Review -- Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #23: Fighting Words / Peter David, Todd Nauck, Robert Campanella, and John Kalisz

A few years ago, when I was following the events and fallout of Marvel's Civil War feverishly--and not collecting single-issue comics anymore--there was a single issue that made me break that rule.  It revolved around a moment I'd wondered about for years, regarding what would occur between Peter Parker and J. Jonah Jameson once the latter found out that Peter was Spider-Man.  What would Jonah say to Peter, directly, about his years-long deception, about having bought pictures Peter had essentially taken of himself, and about one of his closest associates also being one of his most hated rivals.

We finally get an answer to that question in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #23, which is very aptly titled, "Fighting Words."

The issue begins with a bruised and battered looking Jonah showing up at Joe "Robbie" Robertson's house, asking to speak with him privately.  Jonah, who has bruises on his face and the knuckles of his right hand, had fired Robertson from The Daily Bugle, causing an uproar from his staff and finally catching Spider-Man's ire.  Getting into an argument with another long-time employee, Betty Brant, over the firing, Jonah is stopped in his tracks by a web-strewn ultimatum left in his office by the webslinger, telling him to meet with him privately that evening at abandoned gym so they can talk.

When they finally meet face-to-face, a verbal duel ensues, where each tries to get the other to come clean about why they've come to this point.  Peter tries to get Jonah to re-hire Robbie; Jonah refuses, then makes a counter-offer to either drop his fraud lawsuit against Peter or re-hire Robbie; Peter, knowing Jonah won't keep Robbie unemployed, tells Jonah to drop the lawsuit, prompting a look of surprise from Jonah, who then calls Peter selfish.  Peter then makes the point that Jonah fired Robbie specifically to provoke this confrontation, and then offers to let Jonah hit him, as many times as he wants.

Shocked, Jonah at first won't rise to the bait, but after some goading by Peter, who threatens to tell everyone what a coward he is, Jonah lets loose furiously on Peter, who has unmasked by this point and set his camera up to take pictures of the whole thing.  After Jonah's hand is bloodied and he's exhausted from the effort, Peter gives him one final gift: the film for the whole incident.  He says his goodbyes and leaves an uncertain Jonah at the gym with the film, calling in vain to Peter to talk about this.

The next day at The Bugle, Jonah destroys the film, then walks into a door as Betty Brant comes out of the women's restroom.  We then flash back to the present, where Jonah, injuries and all, has explained all this to Robbie, and lets him know that he did use Robbie to provoke a face-to-face meeting with Peter, and that he will be hiring Robbie back to work for him.  In a final bit of humor, Jonah reaches for more wine and finds it gone, lifted and replaced with a note by Spider-Man, a final slap in the face from the webslinger.

This story occurs during the Back In Black saga, where Spidey has donned the black suit to advertise to the bad guys of the world that he's in a dark place right now.  His wife MJ is in hiding, and his Aunt May has been felled by an assassin's bullet that was meant for him due to his publicly unmasking during the Civil War.  He's a fugitive from the law, and he's got nothing left to lose, he feels.  It's an amazing way to end this series of stories, and if I'm not mistaken, it's a nice resolution to this particular relationship before the tragedy that is One More Day begins.

Amusingly enough, I was looking for the term "bop 'em
bag" for a recent post. I should have checked this issue.

J. Jonah Jameson has long been one of my favorite Spider-Man nemeses, possibly my all-time favorite, simply because of the dual nature of his relationship to Peter Parker.  This issue brought the realization of that duality front and center, and the payoff is nothing short of spectacular.  Jonah's resentment and rage, Peter's insistence on being thanked and steadfast intent to get Robbie re-hired, even as he tries to punish himself for all the bad things that have happened to his loved ones due to the fallout of his decision to unmask --all of these things are touched upon, and Peter David uses the close nature of their relationship to really push Jonah's buttons near the end of the confrontation.  When he finally slugs Peter, you really can feel the years of frustration and anger pouring out from him as he lays into the man he's both loved and hated for so long.  It really does seem to drive home the idea that, in the end, it's only the people close to you who can truly hurt you.

Artistically, I have plenty of good things to say about Nauck's pencils.  There's more focus on Spidey's supporting cast in this issue, and they all look good: both Jonah's comical gruffness and his righteous anger are well-rendered and in character.  Robbie and his family look good as they quietly seethe over Jonah's presence, and Betty Brant looks like Betty Brant: strong, sexy, and brave in the face of Jonah's warpath.  The little we actually see of Peter (as opposed to Spider-Man) is also spot-on.  There are occasional issues I have with some facial expressions not fitting the moment in which they're drawn, but these things are few and far between.

Overall, I have nothing but good things to say about this issue.  It's a wonderful story that serves as an example of what could have been if they hadn't rebooted Peter Parker's life with One More Day / Brand New Day.  The art is good, the pacing and character development is wonderful, and this is simply one of those big moments that any true Spider-Man fan has to have in his collection.  Highly recommended.

GN Review -- Wolverine & Black Cat: Claws / Joe Linsner, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray

Beware, weekend redneck game hunters with more money than brains: if Kraven the Hunter offers to set you up with the opportunity to hunt Wolverine and Black Cat on a deserted island, chances are that something is not on the level.  You're very likely caught in a snare by the insane villain Arcade in some permutation of his Murderworld assassination parks.  If by some miracle you manage to survive that encounter, please don't expect a refund of your money, a ride back to civilization, or even the means to call for help.  You've clearly given up your rights to those thing by buying into this endeavor in the first place.

At least, that's the level of contempt I feel for the creation that has been given the title Wolverine & The Black Cat: Claws.

I won't say this was a difficult read, and I won't say it wasn't fun in a very few places, but this installment of lore between these two Marvel characters left an overall bad taste in my mouth.  So many poorly handled plot elements and visual decisions combined to give me an overall distasteful impression of a story that featured two heroes I actually really like.  I'd say it takes a lot to do that, but really, if you're willing to take any weakly plotted story, slap the poorly rendered skins and labels of a property on it, and call it riveting, creative, must-read material, then Linsner, Palmiotti and Gray really passed with flying colors and made it look effortless.

After a brief establishment of who these two are by interactions with their teammates or occasional allies, they are quickly captured and spirited away to an island, where they are hunted by the aforementioned mouth breathers from earlier.  Despite the many various booby traps and enhanced weapons of their assassins, the due of course prove too much for the amateurs hunting them, and once the fake Kraven is taken out of the picture, Wolverine quickly deduces who the real culprit is: Arcade, an amusement park-themed madman who's menaced the X-Men and other heroes on multiple occasions.

Before Wolverine and Black Cat mount a serious counterattack against him, they spend a good deal of time bickering and insulting one another as they try to escape, giving Arcade plenty of time to take his paramour, the White Rabbit, and flee with little risk.  They eventually catch up to them, capture them, and after regaling them with the story of how they got off Arcade's island, leave them in the Savage Land as payback for what he did to them.  Wolverine and Black Cat then go out on a date at a fancy restaurant, while Arcade pays for the fact that he called White Rabbit stupid as he slowly roasts over a spit, courtesy of the natives.

I think my biggest problem with this story--and there are many of those--is how Felicia and Logan are portrayed.  Simply put, Felicia's nowhere near as friendly as she normally is.  Don't get me wrong, she'll never win any awards for welcoming committee, but her witty banter has always had a limit on the cutting remarks.  She's always been fun, flirty, and a bit of a tease.  Here, the fun is basically taken out of her, she uses far too many mean-spirited insults, and her flirting comes off as far too superior.

Logan, on the other hand, is written like a teenage boy who hasn't yet learned how to properly communicate with others.  He's much worse at handling Black Cat's jibes than his age and experience would normally suggest (as well as how he normally handles similar situations), and instead of riposte any of her subtle gotcha flirtations, he simply grumps and stomps off like a petulant boy.  It's hard for me to escape the fact that Wolverine, much like Spider-Man--the two men who mainly interact with her--are simply juvenile, drooling morons who are clumsily and hopelessly obsessed with hitting on Felicia, and she's all too aware and high-handed about it.

I suppose all the zingers and insults between Logan and Felicia were the writers' attempt at romantically witty banter.  The truth is, it got really old, really fast.

Don't get me started on Kraven.  Or how easily Wolverine and Black Cat got taken.  Or what point White Rabbit served in the narrative.  Or why there had to be a flashback so Logan and Felicia could tell them how they escaped.  Just suffice it to say that there's plenty more about this story that I could have picked apart.

I'm not too impressed by the artwork, either.  Wolverine is drawn too thick, he has no nose, and basically looks like a hunchback.  Felicia's costume--where the hell did that come from?  The mask and cat ears in particular offend me, as she's never been particularly obsessed with looking like a cat to this extent.  I can understand wanting to take a more practical approach to her costume, but to simply slip it all in with no buildup or explanation really toys with the classic look of the heroine, which I found a bit insulting.

Overall, I can't really claim to have enjoyed this piece.  It had all the characters I liked--even Arcade and White Rabbit could have been intriguing--but it all felt to trite, too contrived, and simply lacking in interesting story elements.  While there's an occasional chuckle to be gleaned from the dialog, neither the overall story nor the art satisfy me.  Not recommended.

GN Review -- Spider-Man: Torment / Todd McFarlane

When you're one of the most high-profile heroes of the day, you're bound to make a few enemies.  In Spider-Man's case, there are more than a few.  He has one of the most formidable rogues galleries around.  But what happens when you have a new, mysterious enemy hunting you, attacking you, and you have no idea who she is or what her reasons are for her vendetta?

This is the question he faces in Spider-Man: Torment, in which he is attacked by the Lizard, an enemy he already knows as a vicious and dangerous foe.  What he doesn't realize until later, though, is that the Lizard is being controlled by another person, a dangerous and apparently crazy voodoo witch, who he'll later come to know as Calypso a former lover of Kraven, another member of his rogues gallery.  Using her control over the dangerous beast, she succeeds in poisoning, tormenting, and nearly destroying Spider-Man in a single evening, until he manages to pull a desperate turn-around at the last second and hold them both off.  Calypso brings the building down upon herself, leaving Spider-Man injured, bewildered, and wanting for answers about his vicious assailant.

This storyline is known as the 5-part arc that started the Spider-Man title that artist Todd McFarlane both drew and wrote in 1990, and I think it amply shows some of the problems McFarlane had with writing in the beginning.  Many of the situations, dialog, and overall plotting suffered from lack of coherence, sophistication, and more than a hint of "I'm in charge and I want to do this my way because I can," as opposed to the focus being on telling a good story.  The overall concept isn't bad, but many of the particulars caused me to furrow my brow, rub my head, or otherwise perform gestures of confusion, annoyance, or dismissal.

One example are the thought boxes, which are overused and inconsistent in perspective.  Occasionally McFarlane will use a different color to indicate a shift in perspective or who the thinker is, but more often than not you get no clues or hints as the internal thoughts of Spider-Man go from his own first-person perspective to a third-person omniscient narrator, to a mildly sinister second-person perspective with no rhyme or reason.  It strikes me as a novice mistake, made by a guy whose primary trade until this point has been in illustrating.  It's forgivable in light of this being essentially a rookie writer, but it doesn't erase how distracting it was from the flow of the narrative.

I also found McFarlane's narrative choices to be questionable at times.  More than a few times, I was wondering what the point of having Mary Jane in the story was at all.  She served no purpose, other than to remind the reader that Spidey has a hot, red-headed supermodel wife, who instead of waiting nervously for her superhero husband to return home, buries her worries and goes out dancing without him.  I understand the need to portray MJ as more than just a stay-at-home, hand-wringing loved one, but in the context of this story, she just comes off as, at best, unnecessary, and at worst, self-absorbed.

The overall story--Calypso controlling the Lizard to fight Spider-Man and bring him to her so she could torture him--was actually quite good.  I enjoyed the interplay between Spider-Man, who kept looking for Dr. Curt Conners inside the Lizard, and the Lizard, who only responded on an instinctual, animal level.  There was no Conners for Spider-Man to reach out to in this story.  The brief recounting of Calypso's acquisition of supernatural powers through the sacrifice of her younger sister was also interesting, though if you blink you'll miss it.

Art-wise, I can't claim to be a huge McFarlane fan.  For every time he draws an awesomely posed, dynamic Spider-Man swinging through the air, I see another instance of his work on everyday people that I dislike.  I seem to remember one picture of MJ that makes her look like she has a lazy eye!  The Lizard is done viciously well, often with McFarlane utilizing the black of shadows to emphasize his gleaming fangs.  And Calypso, for all her crazy and malice, looks dangerous and beautiful.  McFarlane clearly likes putting a lot of detail into his work, from long tails to plenty of flowing chains.

Overall, this isn't a bad story.  It suffers from some poor decisions in scripting and narration, but the overall concept is worth checking out.  The art, while it has its flaws, also has its high points, and when McFarlane hits those, he really shines.  Spider-Man and Todd McFarlane fans should definitely know about this story, if not have already read it.  Other readers might enjoy it, but probably don't absolutely need to read it.  Recommended.

Update: Comics New Year's Resolutions for 2012

I figured I'd give a quick update on the comics-related resolutions I made for this year, since I actually have made some progress on one of them and think I have a good shot at pulling both off this year.

A little over a month ago, I posted about New Year's resolutions, and how most of mine have failed miserably whenever I made them.  I decided to tone down the seriousness this year, and made two New Year's resolutions that were specifically comics-related.  They were to attend at least one comics convention that occurred outside my current hometown of Houston, and to construct at least two different cosplay costumes this year.

Nothing too serious, but fun goals for me to reach for in the coming year.  Well, I'm proud to announce that I've started taking the first steps to creating one of my cosplay costumes, specifically Nightwing.

One of the steps I've resolved to take in conjunction with this particular resolution is to purchase or otherwise acquire some part of some costume at least once a month.  At the tail end of January, I put in an order for a black pair of boots that I thought would make good footwear for my Nightwing costume.  I received them a few days later, and present a few choice pictures for your viewing pleasure.  Please forgive any quality issues, I shot them on my phone camera, and am a noob when it comes to photography in general.

These boots were about as close as I could find to approximate Nightwing's look in the footwear department.  They come up to about the middle of my calves, and have a smooth appearance that I think works well enough for the costume's overall look and feel.  In concert with some black tights, I think they'll do a good job of emulating the bottom half of Nightwing's costume--you know, the easy part.

The biggest problem I have with these boots is that their smallest size, advertised essentially as idea for size 8-9 shoe wearers, is still slightly loose for my legs and feet.  I can walk around in them just fine so far, but there's a definite difference from the snugness I'm accustomed to when wearing shoes that fit properly.  Still, there are worse positions to be in, and there are ways to coax a little more mass into them to fit better.  We'll see what happens, but in the meantime, if any cosplayers out there know how to deal with this particular predicament, please feel free to let me know.

One other item of interest: I've taken a 4-ft dowel rod and cut it in half, with the intent of taking black duct tape and wrapping it around both sticks to approximate the appearance of the escrima sticks Nightwing sometimes uses.

The next item on my list would be black tights, both for this costume and for symbiote Spider-Man.  Again, being new to this whole cosplay creation thing (well, to this level of detail, anyway), I'd appreciate any advice from cosplay veterans who've done this before and have any suggestions about where to look, what materials to consider, what retailers have worked best for them, etc.  In the meantime, I'll continue to shop around and muddle about as best I can.

On the convention front, Wizard World Austin remains the easiest way to fulfill that particular resolution for this year.  It's scheduled for the end of October, and I definitely want to go if I can get these costumes off the ground.  In the meantime, Comicpalooza comes to Houston in May, and hopefully I can get at least one costume finished by then.  If not, I can probably go as either a Jedi, the Tenth Doctor, or maybe the Crow.

As always, time will tell!

Comics New Year's Resolutions for 2012

I'm always of two minds about New Year's resolutions.  On the one hand, they're a good way to try to improved and better yourself personally as a new year dawns.  On the other hand, they can serve as a stark reminder of how weak-willed we can be.  According to some studies, only 23 percent of New Year's resolutions are actually kept by resolution makers.  A whopping 35 percent of resolutions are broken by the end of January.

That's right.  Not even a month in, and well over a third of the millions of resolutions made putter into the oblivion.  Not very encouraging.

Most of the New Year's resolutions I've made in past years have dealt with specific issues: writing (I will commit to writing 500 words per day for the whole year, or 182,500 words for the year); exercise (I will develop an exercise routine for muscle tone, strength and endurance, and I will stick with it the whole year); and sleeping (I will get up earlier in the morning and make use of the extra time I have.  I will get by with less sleep than I currently do.).  I've failed at these resolutions in the past, and have basically given up on trying to whip myself into shape over them when the new year emerges.

I have found, however, that time and necessity often do for me what arbitrary resolutions have failed at.  When I was diagnosed with high cholesterol a few months ago, I changed my eating and exercise habits, because my long-term health was on the line.  When I realized I was nearing the limit precipice of my credit cards a few years ago, I committed to paying down all that debt as soon as I possibly could--and, I'm proud to say, I've hacked away the majority of that particular beast.  This blog, of which I'm particularly proud, was not part of any resolution I'd planned for the end of the year, but rather the realization that if I ever wanted to be a writer, then I'd better get off my ass and do some serious, consistent writing, each and every day.

None of those changes required, or even were part of, any New Year's resolution.  They were due to particular circumstances that had emerged in my life naturally, over time.  I am therefore convinced that any meaningful changes I want to make to my life will not be the result of any commitments I make arbitrarily at the end of a year.

So, in light of that realization, why bother with them?  Well, because if nothing else, I think I can use the New Year's resolution to commit to some of the less serious, more fun areas of my life.  Since I've had a few things in this category that I've never tried to work on, I figure it's about time to do so.  And here's the great part: both of the resolutions I've made for myself this year revolve around comic book related goals.  Without further ado, my two resolutions for 2012 are as follows:

1. I will attend at least one comics convention that takes place outside of Houston.  I'm already planning to attend Comicpalooza this year, which is the fastest-growing and most awesome con that Houston has hosted since its inception some 5 years ago.  But it's easy to get to them if you're already living in the city where they're hosted.  I want to go to another town and meet comics fans who've come to somewhere other than my current city, even if it's just a few hours away.  At this point, likely candidates are Austin (Wizard World Austin) and Chicago, but things could change.  We'll see how time, budget, and energy affect where I'll end up this year...
2. I will attempt to construct at least two different costumes for cosplay purposes.  I've already got two that I could use at a moment's notice, a Jedi and a Tenth Doctor getup, both I need to become a comic book character.  My two marks for this year are black-suit Spider-Man, and Nightwing.  Both are characters I've identified with in the past, and still enjoy reading about in the present.  You could also argue that I even look a bit like them.  Can I pull them off?  Probably, but again, I'll need to start looking for costume pieces and start putting them together while I've still got the time.

So, there you have it.  My resolutions for this year are more fun, more comic book-oriented, and nothing for me to feel horribly about if I don't accomplish them (though why I wouldn't want to is currently beyond me). If anyone has any advice or can help me reach either one this year, please don't hesitate to speak up.  In the mean time, I'll wish luck to anyone who's made New Year's resolutions and still stuck with them at this point.  I hope you have as much success with them as I have fun with these resolutions of mine.

See you (hopefully) on the convention scene!