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.
Showing posts with label Spider-man. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spider-man. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Monday, May 03, 2010
Spider-man Foils Comic Book Theft!
One of the best stories to come from Free Comic Book Day. Unfortunately, stealing a comic book on Free Comic Book Day seems like a crime with its own built-in defense. "Uh . . . I thought they were free?" Hey, they can't all be Doc Ock knocking over a bank, okay?
This just in: I've read the Flash and some Jedi guard were available to help capture this mastermind. This is turning into a multi-title crisis, for crying out loud!
This just in: I've read the Flash and some Jedi guard were available to help capture this mastermind. This is turning into a multi-title crisis, for crying out loud!
Sunday, April 04, 2010
A Marvelous Easter
Thursday, April 01, 2010
Graffiti Art
Last night's Fox 10 news in Phoenix featured a story about the legitimacy of graffiti art. Keep an eye out for a certain symbiotic Spider-man villain in the background throughout.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Toys 'R Us Spider-man
My girlfriend and I had the exclusive opportunity to watch a homeless man open a Spider-man webshooter at Toys 'R Us today, read the directions, put it on his wrist, and proceed to coat two whole aisles with silly string. His was a moment of pure glee, and we were privileged to behold it. Oh, and it was absolutely hilarious. With great power comes great accessories!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Giant Foam Growing Figures
Thursday, March 11, 2010
The Marvel Tree
A detour to the Dollar Tree today was pretty productive, as far as finding cheap superhero merch goes. So, where's the DC swag? The House of Ideas - 1, the Distinguished Competition - 0.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Happy Birthday, Marvel!
On Tuesday night, comic book shops across the country celebrating Marvel Comics' 70th anniversary with special after-hours sales and events, and I went to two stores in Orange County that celebrated the House of Ideas, and although I passed on the much hyped The Marvels Project #1, I did acquire some completely affordable back issues of X-Statics. To celebrate Marvel's birthday, I've decided to list my top seven most personal, memorable Marvel moments. Disclaimer: The comics on this list aren't necessarily my favorite singular Marvel issues, but they are attached to memories that have enabled me to treasure comics in the mighty Marvel manner today!
7. Daredevil: Born Again. Before he redefined Batman with the beloved The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller deconstructed the Man Without Fear in the Daredevil story arc "Born Again." I read this arc as a whole, collected in trade paperback, and was most impressed with Miller's ability to strip away everything we know of Matt Murdock, from his position as a lawyer, to his friendships, to the very Daredevil costume, yet expose and retain what makes the character relevant to readers and the Marvel Universe as a whole. It truly takes a man without fear to see his life destroyed and still find a way to save the day and win the girl.
6. The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank. I was a fast fan of the Garth Ennis/Steve Dillon collaboration thanks to their work on Preacher, so picking up this Punisher relaunch via trade paperback was a no-brainer. I'll be honest; I wasn't overwhelmed with the story. Sure, the action was fast-paced, and the characters were true to the original spirit of Punisher comics, but the complexity I'd anticipated from the context of Preacher wasn't there -- until the last page. A ragtag group of Punisher wanna-be's catch up with Frank, ask him if he'd like to join their crusade, if a team of gun-toting vigilantes eradicating crime is what the Punisher has always wanted . . . and, gun firing, Punisher replies, "No." The importance is two-fold: Frank prefers to work alone, and perhaps without his war on crime, he'd have no reason to live at all. So why would he really want it to end?
5. The Secret Wars Tower of Doom Playset. I only had eight Secret Wars action figures as a kid, and I certainly didn't know they were attached to a multi-issue comic book epic, but before I enjoyed their adventures on the printed page, Captain America, Spider-man, Iron Man, and Wolverine were my Avengers that battled the likes of Dr. Doom, Magneto, Dr. Octopus, and Kang on the Tower of Doom playset in the living room. That playset had so many cool features, from the elevator to the secret war room, from the jail cell to the hidden compartment . . . I can really go on, but trust me. No five-inch plastic bad guy could ask for a better hideout.
4. Iron Man. By far, my favorite comic book movie to date. Yes, better than Dark Knight. Iron Man simply has it all: action, comedy, romance, significant character development, and two things Dark Knight just didn't have: the staging of a world bigger than its characters, and the upbeat wonder that superheroes should inspire. Think about it. At the end of Dark Knight, Batman is public enemy number one, which is certainly dynamic in its own right, but if he's content to let the people in his world think he's a murderer, what of us? At the end of Iron Man, Tony Stark lifts the curtain. "I'm a superhero, and it's awesome." As a kid, whose boots would you have preferred to fill?
3. The Incredible Hulk #372-#377. Writer Peter David culminates years' worth of subplots in this Hulk story arc that ended up defining the character for decades to follow. Simply put, Doc Samson puts Bruce Banner in a hypnotic trance to confront his inner Hulk selves, and in the end his mind merges with the green and gray Hulk personalities to create "the Professor," a quickly enraged but analytically thinking green goliath. While the emotional subtext of this story was heavier than most comics usually allow, I was particularly moved by #372, in which Betty and Bruce reunite. That last page, where they embrace, is -- pardon the Hulk pun -- smashing.
2. Bret Blevins' Cloak & Dagger Sketch. My girlfriend at the time and I were simply strolling down the main street in Prescott, Arizona, when we went into an artists' gallery on whim and I surprisingly spotted paintings by Bret Blevins, who, among other things, had illustrated two of my favorite Marvel titles, Cloak & Dagger and Sleepwalker. The caretaker of the co-op said that Bret would be in the next day, and sure enough I had the pleasure of meeting him and soliciting a free Cloak and Dagger sketch. I treasure the memory and this sketch almost as much as Bret was totally hospitable and kind -- which is to say, completely.
1. Amazing Spider-man #347. I've told the story before, essentially my origin story as a collector, but I'll summarize it again here. When I was about 10 years old, my dad worked for a moving company, and one of his customers offered him a small box of comics. One fateful Saturday morning, Dad left the box at the foot of my bed, and in it I discovered the beginning of Peter David's run on The Incredible Hulk, Strange Tales volume 2 (starring Cloak and Dagger), and bunch of other titles I still collect to this day . . . but the issue on the top won me over completely. Venom holding Spider-man's skull like Hamlet in the graveyard, and the eerie island chase that ensued within the issue, masterfully choreographed by Erik Larsen . . . it changed the way I look at comics. It gave new ideas about how to tell a story through a cooperative relationship between words and pictures . . .
Which is why Marvel has earned its self-proclaimed title as the House of Ideas lo these 70 years. Marvel Comics have simply inspired countless others to pursue ideas of their own. It's their birthday, but they're the gift that keeps on giving. Happy Birthday, Marvel!
7. Daredevil: Born Again. Before he redefined Batman with the beloved The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller deconstructed the Man Without Fear in the Daredevil story arc "Born Again." I read this arc as a whole, collected in trade paperback, and was most impressed with Miller's ability to strip away everything we know of Matt Murdock, from his position as a lawyer, to his friendships, to the very Daredevil costume, yet expose and retain what makes the character relevant to readers and the Marvel Universe as a whole. It truly takes a man without fear to see his life destroyed and still find a way to save the day and win the girl.
6. The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank. I was a fast fan of the Garth Ennis/Steve Dillon collaboration thanks to their work on Preacher, so picking up this Punisher relaunch via trade paperback was a no-brainer. I'll be honest; I wasn't overwhelmed with the story. Sure, the action was fast-paced, and the characters were true to the original spirit of Punisher comics, but the complexity I'd anticipated from the context of Preacher wasn't there -- until the last page. A ragtag group of Punisher wanna-be's catch up with Frank, ask him if he'd like to join their crusade, if a team of gun-toting vigilantes eradicating crime is what the Punisher has always wanted . . . and, gun firing, Punisher replies, "No." The importance is two-fold: Frank prefers to work alone, and perhaps without his war on crime, he'd have no reason to live at all. So why would he really want it to end?
5. The Secret Wars Tower of Doom Playset. I only had eight Secret Wars action figures as a kid, and I certainly didn't know they were attached to a multi-issue comic book epic, but before I enjoyed their adventures on the printed page, Captain America, Spider-man, Iron Man, and Wolverine were my Avengers that battled the likes of Dr. Doom, Magneto, Dr. Octopus, and Kang on the Tower of Doom playset in the living room. That playset had so many cool features, from the elevator to the secret war room, from the jail cell to the hidden compartment . . . I can really go on, but trust me. No five-inch plastic bad guy could ask for a better hideout.
4. Iron Man. By far, my favorite comic book movie to date. Yes, better than Dark Knight. Iron Man simply has it all: action, comedy, romance, significant character development, and two things Dark Knight just didn't have: the staging of a world bigger than its characters, and the upbeat wonder that superheroes should inspire. Think about it. At the end of Dark Knight, Batman is public enemy number one, which is certainly dynamic in its own right, but if he's content to let the people in his world think he's a murderer, what of us? At the end of Iron Man, Tony Stark lifts the curtain. "I'm a superhero, and it's awesome." As a kid, whose boots would you have preferred to fill?
3. The Incredible Hulk #372-#377. Writer Peter David culminates years' worth of subplots in this Hulk story arc that ended up defining the character for decades to follow. Simply put, Doc Samson puts Bruce Banner in a hypnotic trance to confront his inner Hulk selves, and in the end his mind merges with the green and gray Hulk personalities to create "the Professor," a quickly enraged but analytically thinking green goliath. While the emotional subtext of this story was heavier than most comics usually allow, I was particularly moved by #372, in which Betty and Bruce reunite. That last page, where they embrace, is -- pardon the Hulk pun -- smashing.
2. Bret Blevins' Cloak & Dagger Sketch. My girlfriend at the time and I were simply strolling down the main street in Prescott, Arizona, when we went into an artists' gallery on whim and I surprisingly spotted paintings by Bret Blevins, who, among other things, had illustrated two of my favorite Marvel titles, Cloak & Dagger and Sleepwalker. The caretaker of the co-op said that Bret would be in the next day, and sure enough I had the pleasure of meeting him and soliciting a free Cloak and Dagger sketch. I treasure the memory and this sketch almost as much as Bret was totally hospitable and kind -- which is to say, completely.
1. Amazing Spider-man #347. I've told the story before, essentially my origin story as a collector, but I'll summarize it again here. When I was about 10 years old, my dad worked for a moving company, and one of his customers offered him a small box of comics. One fateful Saturday morning, Dad left the box at the foot of my bed, and in it I discovered the beginning of Peter David's run on The Incredible Hulk, Strange Tales volume 2 (starring Cloak and Dagger), and bunch of other titles I still collect to this day . . . but the issue on the top won me over completely. Venom holding Spider-man's skull like Hamlet in the graveyard, and the eerie island chase that ensued within the issue, masterfully choreographed by Erik Larsen . . . it changed the way I look at comics. It gave new ideas about how to tell a story through a cooperative relationship between words and pictures . . .
Which is why Marvel has earned its self-proclaimed title as the House of Ideas lo these 70 years. Marvel Comics have simply inspired countless others to pursue ideas of their own. It's their birthday, but they're the gift that keeps on giving. Happy Birthday, Marvel!
Monday, December 22, 2008
The Fourth Day of Comic-mas: The Fantastic Four Calling
Now that we know how the Punisher's Christmas went (in a word, badly), how does the rest of the Marvel Universe celebrate this merriest of holidays? Well, if the 2005 Marvel Holiday Special is any indication, they celebrate it together; after all, before any civil wars or Skrull invasions, the Marvel Universe began with a family, the Fantastic Four. Appropriately, the Storms star in two of the three tales in this issue, sandwiching a New Avengers story that boasts more heart than necessary. But every issue begins with its cover, and I just have to say . . .
Stuart Immonen offers a crisp, festive image of Spider-man and the Fantastic Four decorating a Christmas tree, the Thing hoisting it up, and Reed stretching to its top with a luminous star . . . but Johnny is garnishing the shrub with . . . flame? Uhm, most folks do their darnedest to avoid setting their trees on fire! His sister is adorning the branches with . . . invisible ornaments? Er, sure -- the next time I bring a tree home, I'm going to leave it be and tell everyone to enjoy my decor courtesy the Baxter building. Of course, Spidey is stringing up with patented web-balls (oh, grow up people), which is fine considering the source, but generally a web-covered tree isn't one you want, unless the nursery offers a pre-purchase bug extermination. So, long story short, while the illustration definitely captures the Christmas spirit, it practices very little practicality. Of course, superheroes are used to crises, so what's a scorched tree compared to, say, a city-wide Santa-napping epidemic?
Such is the plight of Marvel's first family, as the Mole Man's Moloids kidnap mall Santas around the city in an attempt to find their missing master, who uttered St. Nick's name before his sudden disappearance. While Reed, Sue, and Johnny are content tracking down the Moloids' lair for a good old fashioned Christmas clobbering, Ben embraces the spirit of the season and pursues a more civil solution. His detective work uncovers the Mole Man's grandmother, who reveals that the villain's grandfather dressed as Santa during the holidays -- a grandfather with distinctly arched, Namor-like eyebrows. The Thing recruits the sea king to help him appease the Moloids, assuring peace on earth for all above and below the earth . . . but what of Mole Man himself? The catalyst of this tale rests on a splash page gag that fell flat with me, since Christmas comics are usually throw-away one-shots anyway.
The following story, a New Avengers story, embodies the other side of that coin, as a wayward Stark Industries scientist uses an old Ultron husk to create a real-life Santa -- a Santron -- with dangerous results. Before the fight before Christmas, the Avengers banter with ongoing gags about kissing Spider-Woman under the mistletoe and refusing B-listers like Gravity their invitation to the party, then Santron comes down the chimney. Spidey and Ant-Man concoct an awesome scheme to trick the Kringle-bot into submission, and its memory banks reveal its creator -- enter the overwhelming, unnecessary holiday-infused origin, in which that Stark scientist scorns Santa's falsehood and invests her own tangible alternative. What the story took a page to explore, a single caption of emotional inner monologue would've accomplished just as effectively. Ah, well, if the holidays are about anything else, it's overindulgence.
Which explains the third story, which uses a more traditional storytelling technique, namely the rhyming scheme of a carol or nursery rhyme, to tell the same tale we'd just read two times already -- the villainous act justified by the holiday spirit, thus excused by the superheroes that made everything okay. In this case, the Fantastic Four thwart their old, presumably reformed foe the Hurricane in the midst of his stealing toys for his poor kids; again, the Thing asserts compassion, but the tale makes little effort to offer that any of the heroes actually compensated the store for the few items that caught the eye of the Hurricane. Now, that's one way to beat the Black Friday crowd: just break in to your local department store on Christmas Eve!
Of course, these criticisms are intended with as much good humor as these yarns themselves; watching our favorite superheroes celebrate the holidays humanizes these icons. Whereas we geeks fantasize what it's like to be like them, in this case we get to watch them act like us, stressed about shopping and Christmas parties, frustrated by the plights of those less fortunate, generally wishing the best tidings for all around us. If only everyone had family that could make themselves invisible from time to time . . .!
Marvel Holiday Special #7 was published for February 2006 by Marvel Comics and is by Mike Carey, Mike Perkins, Laura Martin, Dave Lanphear, Jeff Parker, Reilly Brown, Pat Davidson, Christina Strain, Shaenon Garrity, Roger Langridge, Al Gordon, and Sotocolor's J. Brown.
Stuart Immonen offers a crisp, festive image of Spider-man and the Fantastic Four decorating a Christmas tree, the Thing hoisting it up, and Reed stretching to its top with a luminous star . . . but Johnny is garnishing the shrub with . . . flame? Uhm, most folks do their darnedest to avoid setting their trees on fire! His sister is adorning the branches with . . . invisible ornaments? Er, sure -- the next time I bring a tree home, I'm going to leave it be and tell everyone to enjoy my decor courtesy the Baxter building. Of course, Spidey is stringing up with patented web-balls (oh, grow up people), which is fine considering the source, but generally a web-covered tree isn't one you want, unless the nursery offers a pre-purchase bug extermination. So, long story short, while the illustration definitely captures the Christmas spirit, it practices very little practicality. Of course, superheroes are used to crises, so what's a scorched tree compared to, say, a city-wide Santa-napping epidemic?
Such is the plight of Marvel's first family, as the Mole Man's Moloids kidnap mall Santas around the city in an attempt to find their missing master, who uttered St. Nick's name before his sudden disappearance. While Reed, Sue, and Johnny are content tracking down the Moloids' lair for a good old fashioned Christmas clobbering, Ben embraces the spirit of the season and pursues a more civil solution. His detective work uncovers the Mole Man's grandmother, who reveals that the villain's grandfather dressed as Santa during the holidays -- a grandfather with distinctly arched, Namor-like eyebrows. The Thing recruits the sea king to help him appease the Moloids, assuring peace on earth for all above and below the earth . . . but what of Mole Man himself? The catalyst of this tale rests on a splash page gag that fell flat with me, since Christmas comics are usually throw-away one-shots anyway.
The following story, a New Avengers story, embodies the other side of that coin, as a wayward Stark Industries scientist uses an old Ultron husk to create a real-life Santa -- a Santron -- with dangerous results. Before the fight before Christmas, the Avengers banter with ongoing gags about kissing Spider-Woman under the mistletoe and refusing B-listers like Gravity their invitation to the party, then Santron comes down the chimney. Spidey and Ant-Man concoct an awesome scheme to trick the Kringle-bot into submission, and its memory banks reveal its creator -- enter the overwhelming, unnecessary holiday-infused origin, in which that Stark scientist scorns Santa's falsehood and invests her own tangible alternative. What the story took a page to explore, a single caption of emotional inner monologue would've accomplished just as effectively. Ah, well, if the holidays are about anything else, it's overindulgence.
Which explains the third story, which uses a more traditional storytelling technique, namely the rhyming scheme of a carol or nursery rhyme, to tell the same tale we'd just read two times already -- the villainous act justified by the holiday spirit, thus excused by the superheroes that made everything okay. In this case, the Fantastic Four thwart their old, presumably reformed foe the Hurricane in the midst of his stealing toys for his poor kids; again, the Thing asserts compassion, but the tale makes little effort to offer that any of the heroes actually compensated the store for the few items that caught the eye of the Hurricane. Now, that's one way to beat the Black Friday crowd: just break in to your local department store on Christmas Eve!
Of course, these criticisms are intended with as much good humor as these yarns themselves; watching our favorite superheroes celebrate the holidays humanizes these icons. Whereas we geeks fantasize what it's like to be like them, in this case we get to watch them act like us, stressed about shopping and Christmas parties, frustrated by the plights of those less fortunate, generally wishing the best tidings for all around us. If only everyone had family that could make themselves invisible from time to time . . .!
Marvel Holiday Special #7 was published for February 2006 by Marvel Comics and is by Mike Carey, Mike Perkins, Laura Martin, Dave Lanphear, Jeff Parker, Reilly Brown, Pat Davidson, Christina Strain, Shaenon Garrity, Roger Langridge, Al Gordon, and Sotocolor's J. Brown.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Hollywood’s War Machine: Cheadle Replaces Howard for Iron Man 2
Reports that Terrence Howard didn’t know Don Cheadle was slated to replace him in Iron Man 2 has made mainstream news now, at least here in Los Angeles, of course, which means a rebuttal statement about the flexibility in his contract is sure to follow from the studios. Internet rumors aren’t always enough for studios to warrant a statement, but it’s really my fellow fans’ opinions I’ve been thinking about. Was Howard’s role in the film significant enough for fans to issue a backlash?
One of the critical surprises of Iron Man’s success was the actors’ performances, and Howard’s is no exception. His line, “Next time, baby,” was one of the best teasers and fan pleasers in the film! Now, Hollywood has twisted that line and proven him wrong -- “Next time, yes, but not for you, buddy!” Obviously, Colonel Jim Rhodes will play a larger role in Iron Man 2, at least enough to garner an A-lister like Cheadle for the part. Well, for the record, I for one am a little disappointed in the transition. When a studio is so quick to change up its cast in the shadow of success with hopes for something even greater, I wonder what else it would sacrifice from the film’s previous incarnation. Before you know it, Iron Man is fighting a big mechanical spider . . . sigh, with no mention of Alistair Smythe, okay, fellow Marvelites? You know what I mean! Though, speaking of Spider-man, where does the actress that played Betty Brant get off saying that her return in Spider-man 4 would be a favor? In these hard economic times, I’d take any work I can get! Ah, so that’s the real tragedy of Terrence Howard’s situation. He’s been outsourced! Looks like Stark Industries still hasn’t learned its lesson.
The question is, is there a lesson for Hollywood here? Changing actors for a supporting character like The Dark Knight’s Rachel Dawes, destined for death anyway, is inconsequential to the fabric of a comic-to-film’s franchise, but when Howard was cast, fans could already project him as War Machine, a rather important character to the big picture of Marvel’s new tightly inclusive cinematic universe. I mean, who hasn’t predicted a possible end to the highly anticipated Avengers film involving a jealous War Machine setting up shop with a similar set of heroes on the west coast? With everything still in development, these thoughts and questions are mostly rhetorical fanboy drivel. Nevertheless, contrary to what Iron Man would want . . . I’m up in arms.
One of the critical surprises of Iron Man’s success was the actors’ performances, and Howard’s is no exception. His line, “Next time, baby,” was one of the best teasers and fan pleasers in the film! Now, Hollywood has twisted that line and proven him wrong -- “Next time, yes, but not for you, buddy!” Obviously, Colonel Jim Rhodes will play a larger role in Iron Man 2, at least enough to garner an A-lister like Cheadle for the part. Well, for the record, I for one am a little disappointed in the transition. When a studio is so quick to change up its cast in the shadow of success with hopes for something even greater, I wonder what else it would sacrifice from the film’s previous incarnation. Before you know it, Iron Man is fighting a big mechanical spider . . . sigh, with no mention of Alistair Smythe, okay, fellow Marvelites? You know what I mean! Though, speaking of Spider-man, where does the actress that played Betty Brant get off saying that her return in Spider-man 4 would be a favor? In these hard economic times, I’d take any work I can get! Ah, so that’s the real tragedy of Terrence Howard’s situation. He’s been outsourced! Looks like Stark Industries still hasn’t learned its lesson.
The question is, is there a lesson for Hollywood here? Changing actors for a supporting character like The Dark Knight’s Rachel Dawes, destined for death anyway, is inconsequential to the fabric of a comic-to-film’s franchise, but when Howard was cast, fans could already project him as War Machine, a rather important character to the big picture of Marvel’s new tightly inclusive cinematic universe. I mean, who hasn’t predicted a possible end to the highly anticipated Avengers film involving a jealous War Machine setting up shop with a similar set of heroes on the west coast? With everything still in development, these thoughts and questions are mostly rhetorical fanboy drivel. Nevertheless, contrary to what Iron Man would want . . . I’m up in arms.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
The Shirt Off My Back: The "Green Goblin Bending Over for Spider-man?” Tee
Living in Southern California, I haven’t had much trouble encountering a comic a day, or at least the influence of comic books on popular culture. Last month, at the Los Angeles County Fair, I took my picture with the incredible Hulk and his Hollywood alter ego Lou Ferrigno -- okay, they’re cardboard props, but of all the celebrities and fictional characters to feature in a homage to Hollywood? Other superstars should be green with envy.
Notice the shirt I was wearing, featuring an image of a beaten Green Goblin and an amazingly enraged Spider-man. (I think this image originally appeared in the Amazing Spider-man issue following Gwen Stacy’s death, if anyone wants to confirm . . .?) I wore this shirt a few weeks later at another Los Angeles event, specifically the West Hollywood Book Fair, where I was taken by a hilarious caricature of the Golden Girls on a T-shirt at the Prism Comics booth. The WeHo Book Fair features a whole comics pavilion, where I picked up Axiom’s Fat Boy & Harvey and Mike Wellman's Mac Afro in previous years, and that featured Len Wein and Ray Bradbury this year -- so it’s the real deal, a genuine comics culture happening. But I digress . . .
So I was taken by this awesome caricature of the Golden Girls, which stands as one of my top five favorite sitcoms of all time. (That’s a list for another blog, I think.) I asked the gentlemen working the booth if they had the image on a free promotional card, and they were kind enough to give me a whole calendar full of work by artist Glen Hanson, featuring similar cartoons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was grateful for the offering, and still am, but what stands out from the brief exchange is their reasoning for the gift. Handing me the calendar, the guy says to me, he says, “Anything for someone wearing a shirt with Green Goblin bending over for Spider-man!” Uhm. Thanks?
If you haven’t considered the context clues, this fair is in West Hollywood. Prism Comics, boasting a Golden Girls T-shirt . . .? Yes, Prism Comics is a gay-oriented publication group. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! But to liken that visual excerpt of Spidey and the Goblin to something homosexual . . . well, that strikes me as queer, in the classical sense. Old, campy comics are often susceptible to perverted misinterpretation, right up until the mid-‘80s, thanks to VH1’s I Love the ‘80s analysis of Prince Adam’s purple pants and man-on-Beastman wrestle fests. John Lustig has made a career of it with his on-line Last Kiss. Still, when the image is on my chest, I must object to the unnecessary sexualization of my favorite superheroes, gay or straight.
This might sound immature, but comics have enough sexual inadequacy that we don’t have to project our own issues into these, well, issues. Consider Spidey’s current “One More Day” storyline, the result of an editorial decision to undo a married Spider-man and make him more empathetic to a younger audience. (Mark Waid and some other writers had a similar idea for Superman several years ago.) A recent installment of Comic Book Resources’ “Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed” tells the story of a defunct issue of The New Mutants starring a suicidal gay mutant teenager. Avid comic book fans know, this is just the tip of the iceberg, but these two examples, while different in context, both essentially denounce our heroes’ sexuality -- because an unmarried Supes or Spidey inadvertently reverts them to the bumbling dorks of yesteryear, Clark Kent in an impossible pursuit of the Big-S smitten Lois Lane, and Peter Parker blushing over his crush of the month. For Anole in The New Mutants, ignoring the consequences of his homosexuality may have saved his life, but the avoidance of the issue may have cost a gay comic fan a few more years of confusion and grief. Are either of these archetypes what we really want young men relate to?
The result of this censorship is what I experienced at the book fair: “Anything for someone wearing a shirt with Green Goblin bending over for Spider-man!” Misplaced sexuality. As long as our favorite heroes aren’t allowed to mature with their readership -- sometimes getting married, sometimes getting divorced, sometimes facing social prejudice, sometimes living happily ever after -- they’ll never be able to say more to their potential love interests than what the Golden Girls proverbially said to each other every week: “Thank you for being a friend.” I’m sure Spidey would bend over backwards, or give the shirt off his back, for something more substantial than that.
Notice the shirt I was wearing, featuring an image of a beaten Green Goblin and an amazingly enraged Spider-man. (I think this image originally appeared in the Amazing Spider-man issue following Gwen Stacy’s death, if anyone wants to confirm . . .?) I wore this shirt a few weeks later at another Los Angeles event, specifically the West Hollywood Book Fair, where I was taken by a hilarious caricature of the Golden Girls on a T-shirt at the Prism Comics booth. The WeHo Book Fair features a whole comics pavilion, where I picked up Axiom’s Fat Boy & Harvey and Mike Wellman's Mac Afro in previous years, and that featured Len Wein and Ray Bradbury this year -- so it’s the real deal, a genuine comics culture happening. But I digress . . .
So I was taken by this awesome caricature of the Golden Girls, which stands as one of my top five favorite sitcoms of all time. (That’s a list for another blog, I think.) I asked the gentlemen working the booth if they had the image on a free promotional card, and they were kind enough to give me a whole calendar full of work by artist Glen Hanson, featuring similar cartoons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was grateful for the offering, and still am, but what stands out from the brief exchange is their reasoning for the gift. Handing me the calendar, the guy says to me, he says, “Anything for someone wearing a shirt with Green Goblin bending over for Spider-man!” Uhm. Thanks?
If you haven’t considered the context clues, this fair is in West Hollywood. Prism Comics, boasting a Golden Girls T-shirt . . .? Yes, Prism Comics is a gay-oriented publication group. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! But to liken that visual excerpt of Spidey and the Goblin to something homosexual . . . well, that strikes me as queer, in the classical sense. Old, campy comics are often susceptible to perverted misinterpretation, right up until the mid-‘80s, thanks to VH1’s I Love the ‘80s analysis of Prince Adam’s purple pants and man-on-Beastman wrestle fests. John Lustig has made a career of it with his on-line Last Kiss. Still, when the image is on my chest, I must object to the unnecessary sexualization of my favorite superheroes, gay or straight.
This might sound immature, but comics have enough sexual inadequacy that we don’t have to project our own issues into these, well, issues. Consider Spidey’s current “One More Day” storyline, the result of an editorial decision to undo a married Spider-man and make him more empathetic to a younger audience. (Mark Waid and some other writers had a similar idea for Superman several years ago.) A recent installment of Comic Book Resources’ “Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed” tells the story of a defunct issue of The New Mutants starring a suicidal gay mutant teenager. Avid comic book fans know, this is just the tip of the iceberg, but these two examples, while different in context, both essentially denounce our heroes’ sexuality -- because an unmarried Supes or Spidey inadvertently reverts them to the bumbling dorks of yesteryear, Clark Kent in an impossible pursuit of the Big-S smitten Lois Lane, and Peter Parker blushing over his crush of the month. For Anole in The New Mutants, ignoring the consequences of his homosexuality may have saved his life, but the avoidance of the issue may have cost a gay comic fan a few more years of confusion and grief. Are either of these archetypes what we really want young men relate to?
The result of this censorship is what I experienced at the book fair: “Anything for someone wearing a shirt with Green Goblin bending over for Spider-man!” Misplaced sexuality. As long as our favorite heroes aren’t allowed to mature with their readership -- sometimes getting married, sometimes getting divorced, sometimes facing social prejudice, sometimes living happily ever after -- they’ll never be able to say more to their potential love interests than what the Golden Girls proverbially said to each other every week: “Thank you for being a friend.” I’m sure Spidey would bend over backwards, or give the shirt off his back, for something more substantial than that.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
I am Iron Man. You are Iron Man. We're ALL Iron Man! -- Iron Man DVD Release
After I saw Jon Faverau's teaser for Iron Man at the 2007 Comic Con, I told anyone that would listen to brace themselves for the next big superhero trend, the likes of which we hadn't seen since the first Spider-man film, despite the numerous superhero movies that have been released since. Something about the sheer spirit of that trailer, which managed to capture the glamor of Tony Stark's wealth, the horror of his capture and escape, then the raw recklessness and fun that comes with a brand new toy, seemed so transcendent from its comic book origins that I knew even the cool kids would clamor for an Iron Man backpack in August, an Iron Man costume for Halloween, and an Iron Man action figure for Christmas. So distracted was I by the minutia of that moment that I failed to recognize the bigger picture: Iron Man was poised to kick off one of the most fulfilling summers in geek history.
Today, Iron Man is poised again to launch a similarly fulfilling season of DVD releases -- and, post-Dark Knight fervor, is ready to reclaim its mantle as the best superhero movie ever made. Yes. I'm going on the record. Batman is by far my favorite superhero character, but Iron Man made for a much more enjoyable film. Consider the following accomplishments.
Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, Jon Favereau and Robert Downey, Jr. made Iron Man a household name. Prior to the movie's release in May, Iron Man was at best a B-list superhero, just a supporting fixture in the Marvel Universe. Hear me out, here: like Obama, I'm talking about Main Street -- Mr. and Mrs. Joe Blow. Prior to May, ask the average American to name five superheroes, and chances are you'll get the same five answers: Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Spider-man. The Hulk and Aquaman are possible runners-up, as all seven of these characters have appeared in various broadcast incarnations. (Remember, Aquaman was a headliner in Super Friends, and I think his name has a certain mainstream resonance people fondly remember.) But Iron Man? No, that shortlived '90s cartoon doesn't count, not in the shadow of the more tenacious X-Men series. The Armored Avenger was little more than a hood ornament in the grand scheme of America's general consensus about superheroes.
Now? Well, I'm no Nostradamus, but kids are wearing Iron Man backpacks. Kids are buying Iron Man Halloween costumes. And I reckon come Christmas those Iron Man action figures are going to fly off of Target toy aisles all over again. If the film's appeal was just its special effects, I wouldn't deem it worth much further analysis -- besides, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull cornered the market for special effects for special effects' sake this summer. No, on a much more challenging level, Tony Stark gave America a Bruce Wayne it can believe in. Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne is Paris Hilton, definitely a compelling creature, but a celebrity by blood and wealth only. Without his training and "wonderful toys," Wayne is dismissive TMZ fodder. On the other hand, Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark has earned his arrogance and fame through his brilliance and ingenuity. True, the son of a successful corporate mongul, but Favereau gives us Ultimate Bill Gates in Stark, or Richard Branson sans the creepy grin. Stark is all business, but we'd love to play at being him.
Also, unlike DC's conscious disconnect from the real world, the Marvel mentality has attempted to convince its audience that their world is ours, too. Spider-man swings through the widely recognized New York skyline, in contrast to the ambiguous (and ambitious) Metropolis or Gotham City. Is any awkward teenager just a radioactive spider bite away from saving the day? On a much more grim level, is any billionaire industrialist just a tragic trip to Afghanistan away from creating the most interactive weapon ever invented? Yes, while Spidey gave us New York, and Daredevil Hell's Kitchen, Iron Man briefly but poignantly gives us the Middle freakin' East, for once making the audience subconsciously wish that the terrors of the superhero world weren't so much like ours. Now, Heath Ledger's Joker was truly frightening . . . but how far are we from the the Clown Prince of Crime compared to the Mandarin's Ten Rings terrorist circle?
Finally, Iron Man has begun to build an entire universe, effectively offering the first beloved crossover between his movie and the almost-as-awesome Incredible Hulk a month later. "The Avengers Initiative?" Please. You'd think Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury was working an erotic phone service, the way the audience geek-gasmed during that post-credits scene at the first midnight showing, then again when Stark joins Colonel Ross at the end of Hulk. Now, some superhero flicks have dared to reference their broader contexts before; Val Kilmer's Bruce Wayne mentions Metropolis in Batman Forever, and J. Jonah Jameson discounts Dr. Strange as a possible alias for Doc Ock because it's "already taken," but this . . . An Avengers film has been promoted from the stuff of Internet rumor to now eagerly anticipated reality. Remember when Marvel's properties were so widespread among film distributors that such a crossover was deemed impossible? DC's stable has always been under the Warner Brothers umbrella, and the best they've given us in a defunct Batman vs. Superman billboard in I Am Legend. But I digress.
(To be fair, DC has certainly cornered the TV market, from Batman: The Animated Series to Smallville. Still, who doesn't take our now weekly offerings of a young Superman for granted, particularly in the shadow of feature film hype? How many fans prefer that live action Justice League to the unlimited animated incarnation of yesteryear? That's another entry altogether!)
From a B-list cartoon character to a movie franchise's founding father, Iron Man certainly has come a long way this year. The question is, will he take the relatively shorter trip from the sales rack to your DVD collection? Heck, some special editions come with an Iron Man mask, asserting that devilish maxim applicable to all men's men like Tony Stark: the guys want to be him, and the girls want to be with him. Like the origin of Iron Man itself, I guess this DVD set proves that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
Today, Iron Man is poised again to launch a similarly fulfilling season of DVD releases -- and, post-Dark Knight fervor, is ready to reclaim its mantle as the best superhero movie ever made. Yes. I'm going on the record. Batman is by far my favorite superhero character, but Iron Man made for a much more enjoyable film. Consider the following accomplishments.
Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, Jon Favereau and Robert Downey, Jr. made Iron Man a household name. Prior to the movie's release in May, Iron Man was at best a B-list superhero, just a supporting fixture in the Marvel Universe. Hear me out, here: like Obama, I'm talking about Main Street -- Mr. and Mrs. Joe Blow. Prior to May, ask the average American to name five superheroes, and chances are you'll get the same five answers: Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Spider-man. The Hulk and Aquaman are possible runners-up, as all seven of these characters have appeared in various broadcast incarnations. (Remember, Aquaman was a headliner in Super Friends, and I think his name has a certain mainstream resonance people fondly remember.) But Iron Man? No, that shortlived '90s cartoon doesn't count, not in the shadow of the more tenacious X-Men series. The Armored Avenger was little more than a hood ornament in the grand scheme of America's general consensus about superheroes.
Now? Well, I'm no Nostradamus, but kids are wearing Iron Man backpacks. Kids are buying Iron Man Halloween costumes. And I reckon come Christmas those Iron Man action figures are going to fly off of Target toy aisles all over again. If the film's appeal was just its special effects, I wouldn't deem it worth much further analysis -- besides, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull cornered the market for special effects for special effects' sake this summer. No, on a much more challenging level, Tony Stark gave America a Bruce Wayne it can believe in. Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne is Paris Hilton, definitely a compelling creature, but a celebrity by blood and wealth only. Without his training and "wonderful toys," Wayne is dismissive TMZ fodder. On the other hand, Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark has earned his arrogance and fame through his brilliance and ingenuity. True, the son of a successful corporate mongul, but Favereau gives us Ultimate Bill Gates in Stark, or Richard Branson sans the creepy grin. Stark is all business, but we'd love to play at being him.
Also, unlike DC's conscious disconnect from the real world, the Marvel mentality has attempted to convince its audience that their world is ours, too. Spider-man swings through the widely recognized New York skyline, in contrast to the ambiguous (and ambitious) Metropolis or Gotham City. Is any awkward teenager just a radioactive spider bite away from saving the day? On a much more grim level, is any billionaire industrialist just a tragic trip to Afghanistan away from creating the most interactive weapon ever invented? Yes, while Spidey gave us New York, and Daredevil Hell's Kitchen, Iron Man briefly but poignantly gives us the Middle freakin' East, for once making the audience subconsciously wish that the terrors of the superhero world weren't so much like ours. Now, Heath Ledger's Joker was truly frightening . . . but how far are we from the the Clown Prince of Crime compared to the Mandarin's Ten Rings terrorist circle?
Finally, Iron Man has begun to build an entire universe, effectively offering the first beloved crossover between his movie and the almost-as-awesome Incredible Hulk a month later. "The Avengers Initiative?" Please. You'd think Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury was working an erotic phone service, the way the audience geek-gasmed during that post-credits scene at the first midnight showing, then again when Stark joins Colonel Ross at the end of Hulk. Now, some superhero flicks have dared to reference their broader contexts before; Val Kilmer's Bruce Wayne mentions Metropolis in Batman Forever, and J. Jonah Jameson discounts Dr. Strange as a possible alias for Doc Ock because it's "already taken," but this . . . An Avengers film has been promoted from the stuff of Internet rumor to now eagerly anticipated reality. Remember when Marvel's properties were so widespread among film distributors that such a crossover was deemed impossible? DC's stable has always been under the Warner Brothers umbrella, and the best they've given us in a defunct Batman vs. Superman billboard in I Am Legend. But I digress.
(To be fair, DC has certainly cornered the TV market, from Batman: The Animated Series to Smallville. Still, who doesn't take our now weekly offerings of a young Superman for granted, particularly in the shadow of feature film hype? How many fans prefer that live action Justice League to the unlimited animated incarnation of yesteryear? That's another entry altogether!)
From a B-list cartoon character to a movie franchise's founding father, Iron Man certainly has come a long way this year. The question is, will he take the relatively shorter trip from the sales rack to your DVD collection? Heck, some special editions come with an Iron Man mask, asserting that devilish maxim applicable to all men's men like Tony Stark: the guys want to be him, and the girls want to be with him. Like the origin of Iron Man itself, I guess this DVD set proves that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
I (Heart) Marvel: Web of Romance #1 & Spider-man's Tangled Web #11
Blogger’s note: In order to compensate for my extremely delayed posts lately, I’ve decided to review two comic books for Valentine’s Day, Thursday, February 14, 2008! As an added bonus, both issues star the spectacular Spider-man in two separate but equally entertaining Valentine’s Day adventures! Of course, this wouldn’t be a A Comic A Day review without some superfluous, embittered commentary, so let’s let the torrid love affair with comics truly begin!
I (Heart) Marvel: Web of Romance #1, April 2006, Marvel Comics
writer: Tom Beland
penciler: Cory Walker
inker: Cliff Rathburn
colorist: Avalon’s Matt Milla
letterer: Dave Sharpe
cover artist: Gez Fry
editors: Aubrey Sitterson & Tom Brevoort
EIC: Joe Quesada
Spider-man’s Tangled Web #11, April 2002, Marvel Comics
writer, penciler: Darwyn Cooke
inker: J. Bone
colorist:Matt Hollingsworth
editor: Axel Alonso
EIC: Joe Quesada
I didn’t read Spider-man: One More Day. Actually, I did read some of it -- ten years ago, when Aunt May was on her deathbed and Peter was blessed with one more day with her, in which she revealed her knowledge of his dual identity before kicking the bucket for good. Well, not for good, as she returned when the Clone Saga subsided, sans knowledge of her nephew’s web-swinging. It’s the vicious cycle in which our favorite heroes are trapped; their editors decide to alter what we’ve always accepted as canon (or worse, mortally wound these icons, betraying a projected streak of masochism in the higher ranks of DC and Marvel), then send a press release to the appropriate media outlets and attempt to garner naïve eBay-happy collectors, until, when this fleeting attention fades, return things back to normal to satisfy seething or forsaken fans. I’ve said it before -- our favorite superheroes’ worst enemies are often the men and women behind their contemporary storytelling.
Of course, you don’t need me to tell you this. You’ve discovered this phenomenon yourself and read about it in countless other blogs. I’m not writing this for you, though; I’m writing this for me, to see if I really understand it. One year, Batman’s back is broken and he’s wheelchair bound, the next, he’s back to swinging effortlessly around those Gotham rooftops. Eh, whatever, right? This Batman is preferable to the one in those goofy old ‘50s yarns about time-traveling and fighting dinosaurs, or fighting weird little aliens in flying saucers?
So, what does all of this have to do with I (Heart) Marvel: Web of Romance #1, you ask? Well, quite frankly, I’m not sure if this issue still exists. I mean, it obviously still exists, as I’m holding it right here in my hands. What I’m struggling with is, is its content still relevant, or “in continuity,” as it were? I know Marvel’s EIC Joe Quesada has claimed that the stories from Spidey’s past are essentially intact, including Mary Jane yet not as our hero’s betrothed, and further that stories like this should be enjoyed as the singular pieces of graphic art they were intended to be, but I cannot accept that. I can take enjoying any comic book sans context or continuity baggage, but the truth is, this creative team -- these artists -- intended to tell a story about a married couple on Valentine’s Day. To strip away their intentions is to cheapen the impact of comic book storytelling as an art. It’s like Photoshopping the Mona Lisa into a lunch lady by adding a hairnet and everything; it’s still the Mona Lisa as Di Vinci captured her, but you’ve tweaked his work so it’s dishing out crap. Countless web pranks do just this kind of thing.
Or would the comic book community simply dub such a project an “homage” for the sake of humor and respect? I know, I know -- bitter much, right?
Well, Web of Romance is a story that cannot shake the apparently evil notion that Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson-Parker were once wed and in fact living in Avengers’ Mansion. In this issue, Spidey struggles with what to get his wife for Valentine’s Day, since, in the past, the likes of his picture frame for her have been consistently trumped by the likes of her iPod for him. It’s a struggle every man endures this time of year, though we don’t get to hash out the problem with Captain America and Power Man during a battle with Dragon Man. When Pete puts together his wife’s resourcefulness with her contrasting unsuperpowered nature, he enlists Iron Man’s help and give Mary Jane a pair of web-shooting bracelets -- fashionable and practical in a world of Electros around every corner. Thankfully, she loves them and is totally willing to show Spidey -- on the roof no less. I guess those skyscrapers aren’t just for web-slinging and brooding, eh?
Writer Tom Beland writes a very light-hearted tale that references past and present elements in the Marvel Universe to establish a quaint story of superhero domesticity and adventure. In one sequence, MJ watches football with Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and Luke Cage, laughing it up with the boys while Pete admires her from the kitchen with Aunt May and Jarvis. That’s right, seven completely different Marvel mainstays, dwelling together naturally and comfortably, in a scene that invites fans of these characters to virtually pull up a chair alongside them. Later, Peter recounts a “classic” Marvel sequence in which he “punks” the girl-crazy Johnny Storm with a web-bat, a story that elicits MJ’s appreciation of the web-shooters’ technology. My favorite moment in this issue is the obligatory origin panel, but Beland pulls it off most effectively. Spidey literally wraps up decades worth of MJ continuity in a few simple reflective captions (even mentioning Jonathan Caesar, a nefarious character from when I read Amazing Spider-man in the ‘90s), giving the reader a true sense of why she, above all of the other women in Parker’s life, stole his heart.
So how can Quesada expect us to toss those nostalgic stories to the wind? When the incredible talented Cory Walker is illustrating a love story like this one, who would dare relegate it to mere continuity fodder? I suppose this is where Tangled Web #11 comes in.
Darwyn Cooke is a master comic book storyteller. The fact that his Justice League: New Frontier is coming to DVD this month is a testament to the many facets of his skills as a writer and an artist, and though Spider-man's Tangled Web #11 is really just a footnote in his overall career, it’s still an excellent example of his process with any of comics’ superhero icons. In this issue’s tale “Open All Night,” Spidey tussles with the Vulture and falls into the old bird’s best laid trap, which results in ol’ Webhead plummeting mask-first and passing out in an alley. Meanwhile, business as usual proceeds at the Daily Bugle, as two women prepare for a date with Peter Parker and Jonah’s latest intern succumbs to a barista’s jealousy and accidentally gives Mrs. Jameson an Exlax-laced coffee. Jonah surely gets his revenge against the angry coffee boy, and both girls stumble into a beaten Peter Parker to express their mutual outrage, but his charms get the best of them and apparently they both agree to nurse him back to health. It’s a happy but peculiar ending to an upbeat but outrageous Valentine’s Day story.
Of course, this issue left me with a few questions. Since Jonah mentions that Peter is a teacher, I assume that this story parallels the J. Michael Straczynski era of Amazing in which Spidey teaches science at Midtown High and is temporarily separated from MJ, allowing for the time to date. Still, I don’t know how Peter could reconcile the irresponsible error of scheduling a date with two women on Valentine’s Day, unless the unspoken threesome that results from their shared sympathy for his beat-up state was a part of his plan. In the end, when the Vulture presents the diamond ring he stole to a long lost love some twenty years removed, the old lady embraces the villain and proclaims, “Let’s make love!” Surely, Cooke, in all of his breathtaking renderings in this issue, tops his best efforts with the shocking unseen sequence that must follow! Yes, I’m talking about the Vulture swiping a bottle of Viagra from Rite Aid! I wonder, with this issue’s implications, would Spider-man prevent that crime, or finally find a common ground with the winged geezer. “Hey, you go do whatever a spider can, big guy! Spin a web, any size!”
So, these two issues, both starring Spider-man on Valentine’s Day (and brilliantly drawn, period), essentially represent both sides of the “One More Day” argument. One issue perfectly captures the strengths of the Parker marriage, while the other shows the potential of a swingin’ single bachelor. Did either of them give me an idea of which I’d prefer? Hey, why not both? Both stories are richly entertaining and certainly do not fail in capturing the attention of an all-ages audience (no matter what Quesada thinks kid make of a wedded webslinger -- because, oh, yeah, the life of a bachelor is much more relatable to youth) -- so why not offer both? What if, at the end of “One More Day,” Mephisto created two parallel worlds in which both realities coexisted? Rather than publish Amazing weekly, why not tell Spider-man’s story through both lenses, with two issues a month starring either option? Marvel could call one title The Wedded Webslinging Spider-man, and the other The Swingingly Single Spider-man! Hey, in a medium where two Spider-men could coexist for the better half of a decade, though one called himself the Scarlet Spider, why couldn’t this come to pass? Couldn't everyone have a virtual one more day of the hero they’d prefer?
I (Heart) Marvel: Web of Romance #1, April 2006, Marvel Comics
writer: Tom Beland
penciler: Cory Walker
inker: Cliff Rathburn
colorist: Avalon’s Matt Milla
letterer: Dave Sharpe
cover artist: Gez Fry
editors: Aubrey Sitterson & Tom Brevoort
EIC: Joe Quesada
Spider-man’s Tangled Web #11, April 2002, Marvel Comics
writer, penciler: Darwyn Cooke
inker: J. Bone
colorist:Matt Hollingsworth
editor: Axel Alonso
EIC: Joe Quesada
I didn’t read Spider-man: One More Day. Actually, I did read some of it -- ten years ago, when Aunt May was on her deathbed and Peter was blessed with one more day with her, in which she revealed her knowledge of his dual identity before kicking the bucket for good. Well, not for good, as she returned when the Clone Saga subsided, sans knowledge of her nephew’s web-swinging. It’s the vicious cycle in which our favorite heroes are trapped; their editors decide to alter what we’ve always accepted as canon (or worse, mortally wound these icons, betraying a projected streak of masochism in the higher ranks of DC and Marvel), then send a press release to the appropriate media outlets and attempt to garner naïve eBay-happy collectors, until, when this fleeting attention fades, return things back to normal to satisfy seething or forsaken fans. I’ve said it before -- our favorite superheroes’ worst enemies are often the men and women behind their contemporary storytelling.
Of course, you don’t need me to tell you this. You’ve discovered this phenomenon yourself and read about it in countless other blogs. I’m not writing this for you, though; I’m writing this for me, to see if I really understand it. One year, Batman’s back is broken and he’s wheelchair bound, the next, he’s back to swinging effortlessly around those Gotham rooftops. Eh, whatever, right? This Batman is preferable to the one in those goofy old ‘50s yarns about time-traveling and fighting dinosaurs, or fighting weird little aliens in flying saucers?
So, what does all of this have to do with I (Heart) Marvel: Web of Romance #1, you ask? Well, quite frankly, I’m not sure if this issue still exists. I mean, it obviously still exists, as I’m holding it right here in my hands. What I’m struggling with is, is its content still relevant, or “in continuity,” as it were? I know Marvel’s EIC Joe Quesada has claimed that the stories from Spidey’s past are essentially intact, including Mary Jane yet not as our hero’s betrothed, and further that stories like this should be enjoyed as the singular pieces of graphic art they were intended to be, but I cannot accept that. I can take enjoying any comic book sans context or continuity baggage, but the truth is, this creative team -- these artists -- intended to tell a story about a married couple on Valentine’s Day. To strip away their intentions is to cheapen the impact of comic book storytelling as an art. It’s like Photoshopping the Mona Lisa into a lunch lady by adding a hairnet and everything; it’s still the Mona Lisa as Di Vinci captured her, but you’ve tweaked his work so it’s dishing out crap. Countless web pranks do just this kind of thing.
Or would the comic book community simply dub such a project an “homage” for the sake of humor and respect? I know, I know -- bitter much, right?
Well, Web of Romance is a story that cannot shake the apparently evil notion that Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson-Parker were once wed and in fact living in Avengers’ Mansion. In this issue, Spidey struggles with what to get his wife for Valentine’s Day, since, in the past, the likes of his picture frame for her have been consistently trumped by the likes of her iPod for him. It’s a struggle every man endures this time of year, though we don’t get to hash out the problem with Captain America and Power Man during a battle with Dragon Man. When Pete puts together his wife’s resourcefulness with her contrasting unsuperpowered nature, he enlists Iron Man’s help and give Mary Jane a pair of web-shooting bracelets -- fashionable and practical in a world of Electros around every corner. Thankfully, she loves them and is totally willing to show Spidey -- on the roof no less. I guess those skyscrapers aren’t just for web-slinging and brooding, eh?
Writer Tom Beland writes a very light-hearted tale that references past and present elements in the Marvel Universe to establish a quaint story of superhero domesticity and adventure. In one sequence, MJ watches football with Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and Luke Cage, laughing it up with the boys while Pete admires her from the kitchen with Aunt May and Jarvis. That’s right, seven completely different Marvel mainstays, dwelling together naturally and comfortably, in a scene that invites fans of these characters to virtually pull up a chair alongside them. Later, Peter recounts a “classic” Marvel sequence in which he “punks” the girl-crazy Johnny Storm with a web-bat, a story that elicits MJ’s appreciation of the web-shooters’ technology. My favorite moment in this issue is the obligatory origin panel, but Beland pulls it off most effectively. Spidey literally wraps up decades worth of MJ continuity in a few simple reflective captions (even mentioning Jonathan Caesar, a nefarious character from when I read Amazing Spider-man in the ‘90s), giving the reader a true sense of why she, above all of the other women in Parker’s life, stole his heart.
So how can Quesada expect us to toss those nostalgic stories to the wind? When the incredible talented Cory Walker is illustrating a love story like this one, who would dare relegate it to mere continuity fodder? I suppose this is where Tangled Web #11 comes in.
Darwyn Cooke is a master comic book storyteller. The fact that his Justice League: New Frontier is coming to DVD this month is a testament to the many facets of his skills as a writer and an artist, and though Spider-man's Tangled Web #11 is really just a footnote in his overall career, it’s still an excellent example of his process with any of comics’ superhero icons. In this issue’s tale “Open All Night,” Spidey tussles with the Vulture and falls into the old bird’s best laid trap, which results in ol’ Webhead plummeting mask-first and passing out in an alley. Meanwhile, business as usual proceeds at the Daily Bugle, as two women prepare for a date with Peter Parker and Jonah’s latest intern succumbs to a barista’s jealousy and accidentally gives Mrs. Jameson an Exlax-laced coffee. Jonah surely gets his revenge against the angry coffee boy, and both girls stumble into a beaten Peter Parker to express their mutual outrage, but his charms get the best of them and apparently they both agree to nurse him back to health. It’s a happy but peculiar ending to an upbeat but outrageous Valentine’s Day story.
Of course, this issue left me with a few questions. Since Jonah mentions that Peter is a teacher, I assume that this story parallels the J. Michael Straczynski era of Amazing in which Spidey teaches science at Midtown High and is temporarily separated from MJ, allowing for the time to date. Still, I don’t know how Peter could reconcile the irresponsible error of scheduling a date with two women on Valentine’s Day, unless the unspoken threesome that results from their shared sympathy for his beat-up state was a part of his plan. In the end, when the Vulture presents the diamond ring he stole to a long lost love some twenty years removed, the old lady embraces the villain and proclaims, “Let’s make love!” Surely, Cooke, in all of his breathtaking renderings in this issue, tops his best efforts with the shocking unseen sequence that must follow! Yes, I’m talking about the Vulture swiping a bottle of Viagra from Rite Aid! I wonder, with this issue’s implications, would Spider-man prevent that crime, or finally find a common ground with the winged geezer. “Hey, you go do whatever a spider can, big guy! Spin a web, any size!”
So, these two issues, both starring Spider-man on Valentine’s Day (and brilliantly drawn, period), essentially represent both sides of the “One More Day” argument. One issue perfectly captures the strengths of the Parker marriage, while the other shows the potential of a swingin’ single bachelor. Did either of them give me an idea of which I’d prefer? Hey, why not both? Both stories are richly entertaining and certainly do not fail in capturing the attention of an all-ages audience (no matter what Quesada thinks kid make of a wedded webslinger -- because, oh, yeah, the life of a bachelor is much more relatable to youth) -- so why not offer both? What if, at the end of “One More Day,” Mephisto created two parallel worlds in which both realities coexisted? Rather than publish Amazing weekly, why not tell Spider-man’s story through both lenses, with two issues a month starring either option? Marvel could call one title The Wedded Webslinging Spider-man, and the other The Swingingly Single Spider-man! Hey, in a medium where two Spider-men could coexist for the better half of a decade, though one called himself the Scarlet Spider, why couldn’t this come to pass? Couldn't everyone have a virtual one more day of the hero they’d prefer?
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