The Real "Black Spider-man"

The Internet is abuzz with Donald Glover's Twitter campaign to become the first black Spider-man. Peter Parker is a kid that lives with his aunt in Queens, New York. Why isn't he black?

Seriously, Stan Lee has said in more than one interview that the charm of Jack Kirby's costume design is how any kid can wish to be Spider-man, as the hero is covered head to toe. Just like President of the United States, perhaps now their wish will come true.

Phoenix Comic Con Coverage: Stan Lee Reveals, "I'm My Biggest Fan!"

Stan Lee had a busy weekend.

Stan Lee's Rock'n Comic Con is Pasadena, California launched last weekend, but that didn't stop Stan "the Man" from visiting the Phoenix Comicon, as well, where he answered questions for a ballroom of thousands of fans. Among the usual questions about how his characters were created, Lee answered inquiries about breaking into the industry, Disney's purchase of Marvel, and which of the numerous comics he's written is his favorite.

"I honestly don't know how to break into comics as a writer nowadays," he confessed. While artists can show editors their portfolio at conventions, he explained, writers just have pages of text. "If you want to write for comics today, get something else published first," Lee recommended, commenting on novelists and screenwriters becoming comic book writers, too. Regarding Disney's acquisition of Marvel, Lee said, "No company is better at marketing than Disney . . . and no company tells better stories than Marvel . . . It's a perfect marriage."

When a fan thanked Stan for helping him overcome his autism, Lee replied humbly, "I never took it that far. I created a blind superhero, and a superhero with a heart problem . . . but I'm going to take this back to the guys at the office and see what we can do!"

Finally, when asked of his favorite personal work, he said, "Fans ask me this all the time, and sometimes I say, the issue of Daredevil where he has to protect a blind cop, I'm really proud of that one . . . Then I think, oh, the coming of Galactus in the Fantastic Four was a really good one . . . and the truth is, I'm my own biggest fan! I like everything I've done!"

No kitchen is complete . . .

. . . without an autograph from Stan Lee! Thanks to my buddy Konrad for scoring this one!

Spiderman: Grim Hunt

For several months, Marvel has distributed free comics to tease significant upcoming events or titles. I haven't collected a Marvel comic in at least a year, so I appreciate the glimpse into what's going on, even if it doesn't entice me to make an actual purchase. A few months ago, a Spider-man preview comic revealed that the web-head would soon be up against some of his most classic foes, some of whom had been revamped with a modern look (I guess Electro's mask is a little dated -- like it was "cool" back in the '60s!), and I admit a tug toward the wallcrawler, a hope that the return of villains like Vulture and Mysterio would hearken a simpler age . . .

Of course, I was wrong.

Apparently, Spidey's foes returned as agents of Kraven the Hunter's family, seeking revenge for their long-dead patriarch. In the latest free offering, Spider-man: Grim Hunt, Peter Parker experiences a hallucination via a captured Madam Web, as she tries to show him the Kraven family's scheme. While Michael Lark's art is clean and dramatic, this teaser chapter only inaugurates another unnecessarily dark chapter in the web-head's life. Okay, yes, Stan Lee decided to make Spider-man a hard-luck superhero that faces every day problems like his young readers. Parker's world was never meant to be as cheery as, say, Superman's, or even the Fantastic Four's. Still, ailing aunts and bouts of unemployment are a far leap from tackling identity-threatening clones and deals with the devil. I can't relate to a Spider-man battling forces on a spiritual level, or that falls victim to intricate ancestral conspiracies. Where's the "neighborhood" for that "friendly neighbor Spider-man" -- hell?

Spider-man's ongoing problems, while heart-wrenching, shouldn't dominate the otherwise wise-cracking hero he was intended to be. If the problem is too dark for a quip, it's too dark for Peter Parker, period. It doesn't jive with his world -- and if it ever did, he'd never face it without the help of a mystical partner, like Dr. Strange. Also, those original tales never choked the life out of months' worth of story. Sure, Aunt May was in and out of the hospital -- but at least she made some pies in between! How long did that "clone saga" last? Years?! Now, how long has the Kravens' plot been brewing under our noses? How long will we be subjected to it before "everything you knew about Spider-man will change -- again?!" It's a tiresome, unimaginative circle. For this True Believer, the grimmest hunt of all is a modern, effective single-issue Spider-man story. You know, something I can show the kids -- the kids that inspired Peter Parker in the first place.

Marvel Comics has made Spider-man: Grim Hunt available on-line, too.

New Reese's/Iron Man Commercial

My girlfriend and I visited Southern California last weekend so A Comic A Day took a brief hiatus. Before we left, I quickly posted my amusement about the latest Iron Man 2/Reese's campaign, and when I tried to look up the commercial on-line today, I found this press release. Apparently, there's no wrong way to take a stab at fifteen minutes of fame!

While I still can't find the commercials on-line, I'm sure you'll catch 'em (especially the Dr. Pepper one featuring a Stan Lee cameo) during prime time until the beginning of May, but in the meantime, Reese's Iron Man site is amusing in itself.

Putting the Super Back in Superbowl Sunday

DC Comics Presents Superman #1, by Stan Lee, Paul Levitz, Darwyn Cooke, J. Bone, Al Milgrom, Dave Stewart, Jared K. Fletcher, Ken Lopez, and Lovern Kindzierski

Continuing the Superbowl Sunday tradition I kicked off (heh heh) with my reviews of NFL Superpro #3 and Strange Sports Stories, I'm pleased to review DC Comics Presents Superman #1, a football-oriented comic book remembering the dearly departed Julius Schwartz's impact on the medium. In this issue, a dream team of writers and artists tells two tales inspired by the Schwartz-helmed cover of Superman #264 originally illustrated by Nick Cardy.



Firstly, Stan Lee, Darwyn Cooke, and J. Bone tell the story of Professor Harold Gorky, who, fed up with society's glorification of muscleheads like superstar quarterback Tank Torgan and charitable-guest referree Superman, creates an invisible robotic football player to best them both in the field and win the heart of his secretary Tiffany. He succeeds, and when Superman gets to the bottom of things, he decides no punishment is better for the borderline mad professor than letting him win the vapid vixen of his dreams. Darwyn and Bone's definitively retro art is the perfect compliment to Lee's cooky script, creating a nostalgic yarn that respects the power of the mind -- in the midst of a game that celebrates getting one's skull bashed in.



The second story is pretty heavy by comparison, as a washed up football player ups his dose of experimental steroids to become an energy-crackling juggernaut, but fortunately Superman is in the neighborhood and uses his cosmic treadmill to run the wayward runner's energy out. Levitz and Giffen tell an engaging tale, with campy Silver Age staples that shine under an otherwise potentially dark fable about faded glory. I suppose any of us are just a washed up career away from becoming the phantom quarterback.

In conclusion, Wanda Sykes mentioned me on her Fox talk show last night, describing folks like me that watch the Superbowl for the commercials "like someone that orders pizza for the box." Hey, the game itself is really just one long commercial for spandex-clad team-ups . . . and we comic books geeks certainly understand that.

The Mighty Thor #138

The Mighty Thor #138, March 1967, Marvel Comics
writer: Stan Lee
penciller: Jack Kirby
inker: Vince Colletta
letterer: Artie Simek

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: when you review a different comic book every day, sometimes the stars align and offer an uncanny insight into the medium's undeniable synchronicities. Consider The Mighty Thor #138 and The Last of the Viking Heroes #5. I found both issues in the same dusty old box in an antique store in Pomona, California. Both issues feature the work of Jack Kirby in some way or another, and both star Norse warriors. Most specifically, both issues feature a villain using a damsel in distress to bait the ever-suffering hero, so much so that I'm now wondering if Michael Thibodeaux was inspired by this titanic tale by Stan "the Man" Lee. By Odin's beard, indeed!

Yes, in The Mighty Thor #138, the god of thunder must rescue the goddess Suf from Ulik, "deadliest and most powerful of all the trolls!" While Thor and Ulik rumble in the streets, the troll king Gierrordur summons the power of the demonic Orikal to strengthen his forces against Asgard, where Odin himself must take up arms for battle. This issue's cliffhanger is incredibly perilous, as all seems lost on the Asgardian front, and, what's worse, Thor has lost his hammer and will resume his human form any second! Fortunately, an adventurous back-up story lightens the mood, as Thor, Fandral, and Hogun battle Ogur, the one-eyed guardian of the cave of Wazir, the Prophet, whom our heroes seek to learn the location of the Mystic Mountain. This issue is a Marvel masterpiece, plain and simple, boasting Stan Lee's consonant-cornering creature creations, Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta's dynamic drawings, and Marvel Comic's frivolous faithfulness to its frantic fanbase. 'Nuff said.

(Why even bother running a spell check on this review, I wonder.)

Reading and reviewing this issue reminds me an anecdote I've been meaning to share for a few months now. Several weeks ago, I attended a comic book convention in Yorba Linda, California, a small affair with an emphasis on retailers selling Golden through Bronze Age back issues. I found a few tattered "reading copies" of World's Finest, Justice League, and some other strange titles, but more importantly I wore a Mighty Thor T-shirt I'd purchased from Steve & Barry's, an excellent source for such inexpensive geek wear. While I was flipping through a back issue bin, an older gentleman approached me and asked, "So, what do you think about Thor coming back?" Now, I know he was referring to Thor's recent resurrection and the new title written by J. Michael Straczynski, but that's it, so I sheepishly answered, "Oh, I don't read Thor, so I don't really know . . ."

"I see," the guy responded flatly. "You just wear the shirt." He promptly turned heel and walked away.

I wanted to call out, "Wait a minute, Sir! I've been reading comics for over fifteen years! I just haven't gotten around to Thor yet! Please! I read and review a different comic a day! I'm not a poser . . .!"

I thought wearing a Kirby-drawn Thor shirt was solidarity enough. I was wrong. Hopefully this weekend's immersion in Nordic mythology begins to make up for it. Maybe someday I'll finally become a real fan, based on that critical gentleman's judgment. He certainly dropped the gavel and rendered a hasty verdict, 'tis for sure. Zounds, hath the hammer of Thor no mercy for e'en the lowliest of mortals?!

Wha . . . Huh? #1

Wha . . . Huh? #1, 2005, Marvel Comics
writers: Brian Bendis, Mark Millar, Ed Brubaker, Brian K. Vaughn, Marc Andreyko, Nick Thompson, Mark Waid, Tom Peyer, & Stan Lee
artist: Jim Mahfood
colorist: Shaughn Struble
letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
associate editor: MacKenzie Cadenhead
editor: C.B. Cebulski
EIC: Joe Quesada
publisher: Dan Buckley

That’s it. What . . . Huh? #1 is the most self-indulgent comic book I’ve ever read, and its shameless sense of self-promotion and indulgence, which takes the concept of “comics contributor celebrity” and elevates the industry’s biggest names to unapologetic divas, has turned me off to the medium altogether. That’s right. I’m finished with comics. This blog is officially over.






























Happy April Fools.

After some of the garbage I’ve subjected myself (and consequently, you) to over the past year and three months, did you actually think that a little Marvel mayhem would be responsible for my throwing in the towel? Oh, don’t get me wrong -- I meant what I said in my description of this issue, but fortunately the writers retained just enough self-degradation and satire to keep What . . . Huh? just this side of literary decadence. Actually, it’s Jim Mahfood’s art that sweetens this pill, and he’s the reason I picked up this issue in the first place. Only he could pull off what these writers sought to accomplish. After all, Mahfood’s hip hop sensibilities are already engrained with a sense of self-promotion, so a comic book that stars the very writers that dabble in comic books is the perfect project for him (aside from Image’s Felt, which sucked me into his career in the first place).

Uhm, the thing about reviewing Wha . . . Huh? is, there’s no right way to do it. Imagine every train of thought your favorite contemporary comic book writer has ever had, completely derailed into the ditch of Bronze Age Marvel camp. Most of the issue explores such critical inquiries and subsequent alternate realities as “What if Black Panther were actually white?” and “What if the Avengers all had beards?” and “What if M.O.D.O.K. had an itch?” A few of the concepts are interesting, like “What if the Identity Crisis happened in the Marvel Universe?” in which, midway through, many heroes realize they didn’t know the Thing’s Aunt Petunia that well anyway. The most ambitious gag in the whole ish is “What if Stan Lee was the writer of Ultimate Spider-man?” Spoiler alert: What follows is the beginning of a straight Amazing Fantasy #15 reprint. Great gag, man, and indicative of the lack of originality plaguing many mainstream comics today.

Well, if this blog has proven anything, it’s that I’m in this whole comic book thing for the long haul. My girlfriend can attest to that. In the meantime, if your faith in comics ever wavers, find What . . . Huh? It’ll remind you of everything you love to hate.

You’d be a fool to feel any different.