stillanerd
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Not to mention #618. That's right folks, it’s a double whammy review after being on vacation for a week. So, since I know you guys missed these, here’s what I thought about issue #618 AND #619.
So, while I wouldn’t say the story is all that great as the hype surrounding it--it’s a rather ordinary and adequate Spider-Man story really, even with all of the Mysterio fake-outs--it’s Marcos Martin wonderful art which is the real highlight of both of these issues and once again shows what a perfect fit he is for this title. Course, I know it’s impossible to ask Martin to do ALL the issue of Amazing Spider-Man, but hey, a guy can dream can’t he?
*Marcos Martin’s art, as usual, is always terrific, in that while it is reminiscent of Ditko in places, it also has a characteristic dynamism all it’s own, especially in depicting action sequences, especially the old style ones which depicts Spidey seemingly in several places at once to indicate just how fast he is moving. We get excellent spreads like Spider-Man engaging Mr. Negative’s Inner Demons in the Maggia’s casino in issue 618, and the series of panels that suggest mobsters being gunned down with close-ups of Spidey’s face in 619. Not to mention how he shows Mysterio in an all white field, surrounded by his characteristic smoke, and those mysterious green globes. I also really like the way he arranges panels, such as in issue 618 when he intersects the close up of Aunt May’s shocked face with what she sees and then the final panel of her “corruption.” Although, there are times when he just has characters over plain single color backdrops, obviously indications he couldn’t get too detailed.
*I also have to say that Dan Slott certainly does present some good ideas when it comes to Spider-Man, and does invoke an “old school” feel to the story. But just as in issue #600, this is both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. The main problem is that he has a tendency to dwell into too much exposition, even when it’s clearly obvious what is happening on panel. I realize there is a school of thought that every issue should be done as though it were somebody’s “first” and therefore you need to bring readers up to speed, or that he’s may be reflecting the old style of how comics were told when Stan Lee was writing them. But it this instance, it just feels excessive and actually drags down the story at times. When it came to the “prologue” showing the state of things with the Maggia, I felt like one of those characters in Monty Python and the Holy Grail who kept yelling, “Can you just get on with it?”
*Another problem, one that seems to always crop up in Slott’s Spider-Man stories, is that it seems like he’s the guy who has juggle together all the various subplots that have been introduced in the series. Now this is acceptable as it does show a sense of coordination between the other writers. However, you cannot help but think when he follows up on things like Mr. Negative deciding on wanting to use his “blood virus bomb” on Spider-Man in issue 619, or Aunt May finally seeing Martin Li for who he really is in 618, that these developments should have happened long before now. It also, oddly enough, points out some of the flaws that have been apparent since Brand New Day. Like the fact, in an attempt to go back to the “soap opera” of old by retconning away the marriage, things have gone to the other extreme with Peter juggling multiple women at once. By itself, it seems like a traditional Spider-Man style love triangle when he wants to ask Carlie out to lunch only to remind himself he’s in a relationship of sort with the Black Cat as Spider-Man and realizes “it isn’t right,” but in light of all the comics, how come he wasn’t thinking this when it came to Michelle? Or Norah? Or especially Mary Jane? Furthermore, for such a tight continuity, it seems like there’s even gaps in this, such as how did Martin Li become aware of being Mr. Negative when Dan Slott himself established that he is not aware of this? Or what happened to the rest of the Reilly clan from Boston who, besides the Reilly girls, also stayed at Aunt May’s house while she and Jay were on their honeymoon?
*As part of following up on these various story threads, we get more focus on both Carlie Cooper and J. Jonah Jameson Senior, who certainly are likable characters. HOWEVER, just because they are likeable does not mean they are either intriguing or interesting. Why? Because both Carlie and Jay have little depth beyond their role in the supporting cast. Jay is nothing more than the decent, physically potent, “uber-cool” aged dad of J. Jonah Jameson, second husband of Aunt May, and now famous literary author. Carlie is nothing more than the brilliant, glasses-wearing “geek girl” with feelings of inadequacy and who crushes on Peter but thinks he doesn’t feel the same way about her as she does him. And putting these two into relationships with established characters--Jay with Aunt May and eventually Carlie with Peter respectively--isn’t going to make them any more interesting; it just underscores how flat they really are, not to mention comes across as really forced. Also, the fact that Slott in the flashback at the beginning of issue 619 has to have Captain Stacy blatantly state he can’t imagine his daughter “setting foot in the morgue” like Dr. Cooper’s daughter in another obvious attempt to prove to readers Carlie is not “Gwen 2.0” is pretty much a sign that more than enough readers have made such a comparison between the two. Otherwise, why even bother inserting that little bit of dialogue? Course, we’ve got another character who can now be compared to another in Captain Yuri Watanabe, who basically comes across--and is practically compared to---as Brand New Day’s version of Captain Jean DeWolfe.
*However, with the “revelation” that Carlie’s father is alive--or is he?--and his claim that he’s worked for the Maggia to fake various mobsters deaths, including his own, may hopefully add some much needed development to Carlie in that now she is forced to question her entire sense of ethics and world view that her father had instilled in her. Of course, considering how little development and infrequent appearances she has had, what is meant to be a shocking twist doesn’t seem all that big of a deal as Slott tries to make it out to be. And especially by the end of issue #619, with Spidey even stating that, since Mysterio is involved, this person might not even be the real Ray Cooper makes all of this even less of a shocking twist than it already is.
*Speaking of which, I got to give credit to Slott for his take on Mysterio here as somebody the mob turns to in order to fake certain people’s deaths in order to get the heat off them--or does he?--while at the same time, secretly trying to control the mob from within. The explanations of all the various mobsters who “died” in #618 was logical, but it also seemed just a bit too simple for something so early in the story. Then, of course, Slott throws us quite a few curveballs, first by revealing that Silvermane is actually a remote controlled robot piloted by Mysterio, and then having the “revived” Big Man turn out to be “Captain Stacy” who is actually another mobster in disguise. Not to mention having the guy Spidey “killed” turn out to be not only alive but also someone Carlie’s dad did an autopsy on years ago. Naturally, this raises all sorts of questions: is their more than one robotic duplicate? Are some robots and some in disguise? Is Carlie’s dad an imposter? Is Harry? Is Mysterio? Personally, I enjoy stories that pull mind jobs like this even if it does involve very familiar tropes such as what is being used here (guy who is back from the dead turns out to be a phony) so long as there is a logical explanation behind it. Of course, there is always the strong possibility that it can become too convoluted and that it will go completely off the rails.
*I also am getting a kick out of the “evil Aunt May” subplot. It certainly not what I was expecting when it came to showing “the honeymoon is over” between Jay and her, and it certainly is a proper, logical following up on her working at Li’s FEAST center. Because what Aunt May is doing here, thanks to Mr. Negative, is expressing what has no doubt been brewing in her subconscious mind for a long time. Her brutally honest condemnation of Peter not getting his act together in 618 (and yes, in light of how Peter is being portrayed now, it’s right on the nose) and when she berates Harry and the Reilly girls in 619 for allowing her house to be trashed (and I predict Harry is going to wind up moving in with Mary Jane as a result of this to further instill “soap opera” drama in Peter’s life) is a opportunity to explore Aunt May as a character by having her do and say things that are “out of character.” However, it does seem a bit too reminiscent of what Van Lente did with Peter by having the Chameleon impersonate him. Also, I cannot help but think just how more effective and devastating the scene between Peter, herself, and Jay would have been if she still knew her nephew was Spider-Man (thanks a lot crappy psychic blindspot).
*I also have to say that Dan Slott certainly does present some good ideas when it comes to Spider-Man, and does invoke an “old school” feel to the story. But just as in issue #600, this is both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness. The main problem is that he has a tendency to dwell into too much exposition, even when it’s clearly obvious what is happening on panel. I realize there is a school of thought that every issue should be done as though it were somebody’s “first” and therefore you need to bring readers up to speed, or that he’s may be reflecting the old style of how comics were told when Stan Lee was writing them. But it this instance, it just feels excessive and actually drags down the story at times. When it came to the “prologue” showing the state of things with the Maggia, I felt like one of those characters in Monty Python and the Holy Grail who kept yelling, “Can you just get on with it?”
*Another problem, one that seems to always crop up in Slott’s Spider-Man stories, is that it seems like he’s the guy who has juggle together all the various subplots that have been introduced in the series. Now this is acceptable as it does show a sense of coordination between the other writers. However, you cannot help but think when he follows up on things like Mr. Negative deciding on wanting to use his “blood virus bomb” on Spider-Man in issue 619, or Aunt May finally seeing Martin Li for who he really is in 618, that these developments should have happened long before now. It also, oddly enough, points out some of the flaws that have been apparent since Brand New Day. Like the fact, in an attempt to go back to the “soap opera” of old by retconning away the marriage, things have gone to the other extreme with Peter juggling multiple women at once. By itself, it seems like a traditional Spider-Man style love triangle when he wants to ask Carlie out to lunch only to remind himself he’s in a relationship of sort with the Black Cat as Spider-Man and realizes “it isn’t right,” but in light of all the comics, how come he wasn’t thinking this when it came to Michelle? Or Norah? Or especially Mary Jane? Furthermore, for such a tight continuity, it seems like there’s even gaps in this, such as how did Martin Li become aware of being Mr. Negative when Dan Slott himself established that he is not aware of this? Or what happened to the rest of the Reilly clan from Boston who, besides the Reilly girls, also stayed at Aunt May’s house while she and Jay were on their honeymoon?
*As part of following up on these various story threads, we get more focus on both Carlie Cooper and J. Jonah Jameson Senior, who certainly are likable characters. HOWEVER, just because they are likeable does not mean they are either intriguing or interesting. Why? Because both Carlie and Jay have little depth beyond their role in the supporting cast. Jay is nothing more than the decent, physically potent, “uber-cool” aged dad of J. Jonah Jameson, second husband of Aunt May, and now famous literary author. Carlie is nothing more than the brilliant, glasses-wearing “geek girl” with feelings of inadequacy and who crushes on Peter but thinks he doesn’t feel the same way about her as she does him. And putting these two into relationships with established characters--Jay with Aunt May and eventually Carlie with Peter respectively--isn’t going to make them any more interesting; it just underscores how flat they really are, not to mention comes across as really forced. Also, the fact that Slott in the flashback at the beginning of issue 619 has to have Captain Stacy blatantly state he can’t imagine his daughter “setting foot in the morgue” like Dr. Cooper’s daughter in another obvious attempt to prove to readers Carlie is not “Gwen 2.0” is pretty much a sign that more than enough readers have made such a comparison between the two. Otherwise, why even bother inserting that little bit of dialogue? Course, we’ve got another character who can now be compared to another in Captain Yuri Watanabe, who basically comes across--and is practically compared to---as Brand New Day’s version of Captain Jean DeWolfe.
*However, with the “revelation” that Carlie’s father is alive--or is he?--and his claim that he’s worked for the Maggia to fake various mobsters deaths, including his own, may hopefully add some much needed development to Carlie in that now she is forced to question her entire sense of ethics and world view that her father had instilled in her. Of course, considering how little development and infrequent appearances she has had, what is meant to be a shocking twist doesn’t seem all that big of a deal as Slott tries to make it out to be. And especially by the end of issue #619, with Spidey even stating that, since Mysterio is involved, this person might not even be the real Ray Cooper makes all of this even less of a shocking twist than it already is.
*Speaking of which, I got to give credit to Slott for his take on Mysterio here as somebody the mob turns to in order to fake certain people’s deaths in order to get the heat off them--or does he?--while at the same time, secretly trying to control the mob from within. The explanations of all the various mobsters who “died” in #618 was logical, but it also seemed just a bit too simple for something so early in the story. Then, of course, Slott throws us quite a few curveballs, first by revealing that Silvermane is actually a remote controlled robot piloted by Mysterio, and then having the “revived” Big Man turn out to be “Captain Stacy” who is actually another mobster in disguise. Not to mention having the guy Spidey “killed” turn out to be not only alive but also someone Carlie’s dad did an autopsy on years ago. Naturally, this raises all sorts of questions: is their more than one robotic duplicate? Are some robots and some in disguise? Is Carlie’s dad an imposter? Is Harry? Is Mysterio? Personally, I enjoy stories that pull mind jobs like this even if it does involve very familiar tropes such as what is being used here (guy who is back from the dead turns out to be a phony) so long as there is a logical explanation behind it. Of course, there is always the strong possibility that it can become too convoluted and that it will go completely off the rails.
*I also am getting a kick out of the “evil Aunt May” subplot. It certainly not what I was expecting when it came to showing “the honeymoon is over” between Jay and her, and it certainly is a proper, logical following up on her working at Li’s FEAST center. Because what Aunt May is doing here, thanks to Mr. Negative, is expressing what has no doubt been brewing in her subconscious mind for a long time. Her brutally honest condemnation of Peter not getting his act together in 618 (and yes, in light of how Peter is being portrayed now, it’s right on the nose) and when she berates Harry and the Reilly girls in 619 for allowing her house to be trashed (and I predict Harry is going to wind up moving in with Mary Jane as a result of this to further instill “soap opera” drama in Peter’s life) is a opportunity to explore Aunt May as a character by having her do and say things that are “out of character.” However, it does seem a bit too reminiscent of what Van Lente did with Peter by having the Chameleon impersonate him. Also, I cannot help but think just how more effective and devastating the scene between Peter, herself, and Jay would have been if she still knew her nephew was Spider-Man (thanks a lot crappy psychic blindspot).
So, while I wouldn’t say the story is all that great as the hype surrounding it--it’s a rather ordinary and adequate Spider-Man story really, even with all of the Mysterio fake-outs--it’s Marcos Martin wonderful art which is the real highlight of both of these issues and once again shows what a perfect fit he is for this title. Course, I know it’s impossible to ask Martin to do ALL the issue of Amazing Spider-Man, but hey, a guy can dream can’t he?
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