Bought/Thought April 25th 2007

[PhotoJones]

Shut up.

 

[Darthphere]

LAWL! Dude, all this talk about secondary adamantium has me back in the 90's.

 

[PhotoJones]

LAWL! Dude, all this talk about secondary adamantium has me back in the 90's.

The 90's ruled.

 

[Blaktin America]

The YA thing did weird me out too. I thought it was funny that luke was talking about spanking Patriot. Double Agents?

 

[Darthphere]

The YA thing did weird me out too. I thought it was funny that luke was talking about spanking Patriot. Double Agents?

Pedophile?

 

[Blaktin America]

No that's Bruce Wayne. I was thinking more James Evans Sr. from Good Times.

 

[King_Mungi]

In issue #52, Logan cuts off Creed's hand twice. Once in the past, and once in the present. But the admantium bonded to Sabretooth's skeleton is not "true adamantium". It's called "secondary adamantium", and it can be cut through by true adamantium. Logan's the only person with a true adamantium bonded skeleton.

Thanks for the clarification, must have been retconned as in the Weapon X series they said it was true adamintium. No big deal, thanks.

 

[Dread]

I don't know anything about Gravity so I'm lost on that front. Did McDuffie create this guy or something? He seems to be upping his profile quite a bit.

No. Gravity was created by Sean McKeever & Mike Norton in his own solo mini series, GRAVITY, launched in 2005 as part of Marvel's MARVEL NEXT line of books, which included MACHINE TEEN, LIVEWIRES, SPELLBINDERS, as well as ARANA/AMAZING FANTASY, X-23 and for a month, RUNAWAYS. Like most "lines", where the belief is that a line of books will make them all sell, vs. hype or promotion, all of the original mini's sold poorly and haven't been seen much since. Gravity is the lone exception, because he's the only one who fits mainstream Marvel as a neophyte hero.

His 5 issue mini is available in digest I believe, and it's a decent read. Nothing earth shattering but good young-hero fundamentals. A lot of fans criticized it as being "Invincible-Lite", which as a reader of INVINCIBLE, I find short-sighted at best.

In his mini, Greg Willis/Gravity moves to NYC from the midwest after accidentally gaining superpowers and seeking out not only an NYU degree, but on becoming a professional superhero, hopefully one day being able to market his name. Naturally, there is quite a learning curve, with mistakes, girl hassles, and some tough lessons. The sort of qualities that once made Spider-Man endearing, but which he has abandoned for the past 15 years.

Gravity next made a cameo in the Marvel Christmas Special, before Kirkman used him in a "based in an alternate reality" arc of MTU, "Legion of Losers", the title's high point (IMO).

McDuffie, however, was the second writer after McKeever to use Gravity in 616 canon with BEYOND!, and this FF arc picks up where that ended.

Considering how ungodly difficult it is to create new characters these days, Gravity's coming along well. He was a tad generic, but a heroic sacrifice and a cosmic purpose could add some spice to him, especially as ANNIHILATION has breathed some life into Marvel's space genre again (much as INFINITY GAUNTLET argueably did in the 90's).

 

[yenaled]

JSA Classified #25

My secret is that I constantly love the stories in JSA Classified. I don't pick up every one, just when the character that is being spotlighted interests me. I think it has been consistently better than it's sister title JLA Classified, where as they approach the ideas in different ways (JSA focus' on character spotlights where as JLA focuses on untold stories from the past) JSA Classified just seems so much more well rounded.

This issue focuses on Alan Scott, who everyone knows is the original Green Lantern and the still the best - as it says on the front cover and there is something I love about seeing the old Green Lantern logo on the book despite never seeing it when it was originally published. The story is about Alan having to break an agreement with an ex-villain of his (Johnny Mimic) and contact him to find out how the HERO dial was stolen from S.H.A.D.E. Y'see Johnny Mimic is able to perfectly recreate crime scenes by just going to their location.

The story all winds up in one issue which is something of an almost lost art - Fell, Jonah Hex, The Spirit all successfully run on a one issue basis and it works so well. The story ends up being a tale of Alan Scott getting a timely reminder of his place in the world "even the hoodlums looked up to Green Lantern. You were the super-man before there was a Superman" and that he and people like him need to set the standard not be dragged down to the lower levels. Johnny looses his mind a little bit and ends up forcing Alan to kill him and break the H.E.R.O. dial because he doesn't want Father Time and S.H.A.D.E. to have such a powerful device. Kind of ironic that Alan kills someone considering the story but it seems to work.

For a one issue spotlight it's great, the art work is stunningly good (even if they have forgotten Alan's eyepatch - although not that we really want it) and they story ties in nicely to current events and sets a nice reminder for the JSA's role in the world. Successfully incorporated things from the DCU like the H.E.R.O dial and Johnny Mimic who I believe appear a grand total times of once before and I like things like that. All together great issue and worth checking out.

 

[Anubis]

I considered getting that issue. I'm the same way. I love JSA Classified, though I don't buy every issue. I just buy the ones that have a cool premis and seem like they're worth reading. The best one to me so far was the Injustice Society issue during IC. Love me some Icicle.

Maybe I'll grab this one next week.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Still More Thoughts:

Fantastic Four #545: It's either hit or miss this week, it seems. And, boy, did Fantastic Four miss the mark on so many levels. First, this entire issue is about transformation: Silver Surfer is clearly not the passive Silver Surfer we've read numerous times over after his transformation in Annihilation; The Fantastic Four and it's team dynamic clearly is in transformation with having Storm and Black Panther join the team; Reed and Sue are having a subtle transformation by taking their second honeymoon (although, they are so often neglecting their kids, I would think this would be an ideal opportunity for them to center their lives around what's really important than just thinking of themselves); and, worst of all, Gravity is being transformed into the new Quasar.

For me, there are too many elements of this issue I don't like. I can give a rat's pattottie about Reed and Sue, especially, as I mention above, they should be more focus on their kids than themselves. They are calling this a second honeymoon; but, if memory serves me correctly, they've taken this "second honeymoon" at various times in the Fantastic Four's history. They're always getting away from their family, when they should be drawing them in more. Also, I really dislike the new Silver Surfer. Many of the comics for the 60's don't hold up for me like they used to, with the exception of the Silver Surfer's first series. That old, classic, brooding, introspective Silver Surfer is the one I know and love. It's more like they've taken that old character and his experiences and wiped them completely away. Finally, everything people loved about Gravity has been completely abolished with this transformation. I'm really wondering if any fan of Gravity wanted to have him transformed into Cosmic Gravity.

Basically, the writers of Fantastic Four are trying to shake things up. But, sometimes adding too many ingredients into a recipe ruins the over all experience. In fact, this reads less like 616 Fantastic Four and more like some Ultimate version where the entire universe if tweeked. 6/10

Marvel Previews #45: Just a few things to mention. I hate the new look for Thor. I can't put the nail on the head; but, I think it's the whole Fabio looking Thor that bugs me. In an effort to get more money from the public, do we really need Civil War Chronicles? To me, this just says, "We at Marvel are greedy. Not only do we want you to buy numerous reprints and trade paperbacks; now, we'll put everything in chronological order to get more of your money." I love seeing Rocket Raccoon's new look in Annihilation: Conquest. It's great to see Marvel bringing back even the most forgotten Marvel cosmic heroes with Annihilation. Annihilation: Conquest and World War Hulk....looks like last year all over again, and I can't wait. I feel bad for those who are on a limited budget and can't get all these damn crossovers. But, it feels like Christmas every month when Marvel has these Universe altering events going on. Comics have never been better, and that's over 30 years of reading for me. Endangered Species, another big crossover! That's three crossover events in one month. Needless to say, there will be plenty of *****ing about how people miss the past when one crossover event every couple a years was better. Finally, it's great to see Marvel putting out two Essential titles this month, again: Essential Defenders Vol. 3 and Essential Spider-Woman Vol. 2. This will be a very expensive month to be a Marvel fan. Couple this with DC's next 52 event, I'm betting it costs $500.00 to keep up with everything I read.

Fallen Son - Avengers: One on hand, we get a solid issue about the anger (although, I think it still reeks of denial) of accepting the death of a loved one; but, there is a second issue at hand that is making the readers of Marvel comics go through Avengers overload. We have New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Initiative Avengers, Fallen Son Avengers, Avengers in issues of Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, ect... In the end, I understand Marvel is going to soak in the profits of Cap's death; but, it's all becoming a little too much. Many of these same topics are all being covered over and over again in each and every issue. But, like I said, in the end this is a solid issue with how each version of the Avengers, Mighty and New, are dealing with the Anger/Denial of Cap's death. 8/10

Silent War #4: Wow! There is so much packed into this one, little issue. We have the history of Black Bolt and Medusa's son, Ahura, the seduction of Medusa and betrayal of Black Bolt, the use of the military of the Terrigen Mists, and the beginning of war. Plus, within each of these are deeper issues. The history of Ahura touches on how we deal with those within in our society, past and present, who have mental instability. The seduction of Medusa touches on infidelity and it's repructions within a marriage and the lives of those around you. The militaries use of the Terrigen Mists deal with the extent we believe our military and it's leaders would go to achieve victory. And, the beginning of war shows how so many factors can lead to an outcome that could have been prevented in so many ways, but whose end result is a culmination of everything that preceded it. 10/10

Wolverine #53: "What the @#$%?!" is right! I was one of the people who loved Origin, because it's premise and explanation of the origin of Wolverine was pretty simplistic, especially by today's terms. Now, we have different writers just making up stuff as we go along. Where we saw Logan as a human child who would eventually become Wolverine in Origins, now we are to believe he's a mutation of wolves. Plus, this fight between Sabretooth and Wolverine has been going on for at least four issues, now. God, I'm bored with Wolverine and Sabretooth. I'll be happy if they never fight each other again!!! What's maddening is one of the same reasons a show like Twin Peaks failed: The reader just gets the sense that there is no master plan as to Wolverine's origin; but, that each writer is just making stuff up each month that comes to them at the spur of the moment. Believe me, I was one of those people who desperately wanted Wolverine's origin revealed; but, they've turned the entire origin into a joke. Both Wolverine comics have been reduced to complete garbage, and those at Marvel should be ashamed that they've allowed these different writers to ruin one of their most popular characters. 3/10

 

[Not Jake]

And yeah, McGuinness style is slightly different, a bit less cartoony than usual but still with his special flair. His Sentry looked great by the way. Though I think a memo needs to go out that Sentry has long hair.

Yeah, McGuinness is good, but his art just doesn't work with some characters. And by "some characters" I mean "Iron Man." He draws his armor without enough detail, and it looks "soft." Cho does it too. The armor isn't sleek and it looks like it's made out of foam rubber. Such a big contrast in quality between McGuinness' crap Iron Man and his super-awesome Wolverine. Really glad he didn't illustrate the first Fallen Son ish, because those two standing next to each other would have given me a stroke.

Liked his Sentry, liked his Ares, even his ladies...not so big on his Cage this issue, though

 

[Phaedrus45]

Still Thinking:

Justice #11: This simply is NOT the best comic of this week. First, every two months is far too long to wait for a comic to come out, and even DC realizes that. After all, they are so greedy as to try and get money out of this book by putting it out as as three Trade Hardbacks. If I'm waiting for a frigging book to come out as a Trade, I don't want to buy three separate trades, I want it collected in one. It just reeks of greed. (And, I would venture a guess that we'll soon enough see a Deluxe Ultimate Justice Omnibus or something.) Second, simply compare this book to something like Silent War. While Silent War delves into various issues within it's book and has some complexities, this is basically just an overblown JLA adventure. There is nothing groundbreaking about it. I think people see Alex Ross' name on the book, the excellent art, and then just bow down without really seeing we get the same stuff monthly from DC in the Justice League and Justice Society books. (In fact, I enjoyed the new Justice League and Justice Society books much more than this.) I can't wait for the next issue, just for the fact this overblown, overhyped title will be done. 7/10

Wetworks #8: I've given this book more than a chance, and thankfully this story arc will be done (or at least somewhat) next issue. At that point, I'll drop it from my pull list and not look back. The characters are extremely two dimensional, the story has been going on for far too long and isn't the least bit interesting, and compared to the far superior Stormwatch:PHD, the reader just gets bored too easily. Plus, since I haven't read Wetworks before, I have no real feel for the main characters and this relaunch doesn't go into much of an explanation of them or their past. Just a an officer might say at a police line, "Nothing to see here, please move along." 4/10

Exiles #93: Exiles has been and still is a very solid book. For 93 issues, I can't really think of much that there hasn't been to love, even with the changes in writers. Each alternate-reality adventure is like a modern What If? style story that has direct impact on our heroes and those around them. This book is just fun, and this issue's Earth 1720 adventure with a purely evil Sue Storm is no exception. 8/10

Hunter's Moon #1: Thought I'd try a new comic, and this one isn't half bad. This first issue introduces you to the main character, Lincoln Greer, and his son, Wendell. The bad part of the story is that the introduction is predictable and has been seen numerous times: Divorced dad who wasn't there for his son gets forced into taking his son on a hunting trip. The son wants nothing to do with the father or the trip; but, end up bonding at the end...only to have disaster strike. That pretty much sums up issue #1, as it's all character set-up for whatever comes next. The disaster doesn't happen until the last couple pages; but, it will be effective enough to make the reader want to come back for issue #2. 7/10

 

[Kevin]

I never thought I'd see anyone give a Comic "0.1 out of 10"... Just damn

 

[PhotoJones]

Hunter's Moon #1: Thought I'd try a new comic, and this one isn't half bad. This first issue introduces you to the main character, Lincoln Greer, and his son, Wendell. The bad part of the story is that the introduction is predictable and has been seen numerous times: Divorced dad who wasn't there for his son gets forced into taking his son on a hunting trip. The son wants nothing to do with the father or the trip; but, end up bonding at the end...only to have disaster strike. That pretty much sums up issue #1, as it's all character set-up for whatever comes next. The disaster doesn't happen until the last couple pages; but, it will be effective enough to make the reader want to come back for issue #2. 7/10

I was thinking about picking that up, but I didn't for whatever reason. What exactly is is about? What "disaster" occurs?

 

[Phaedrus45]

I was thinking about picking that up, but I didn't for whatever reason. What exactly is is about? What "disaster" occurs?

The reader isn't exactly clear; but, at the end, the father gets knocked out and the son is missing. It could be anything from ecological terrorists to hillbillies straight out of Deliverance. Either way, the father is probably going to be involved in a hunt that he never imagined possible.

 

[Phaedrus45]

I never thought I'd see anyone give a Comic "0.1 out of 10"... Just damn

A comic would have to be extemely horrible for that rating to be truly deserved. About a year ago, I possibly read the worst comic in my life. (To me, it made Marville look not half bad.) It was called Jenna:



I would give it the .1 for Takeshi Miyazawa's cover. (He's the current cover artist for Spider-Man loves Mary Jane, if you couldn't notice.) I figure Mile High asks for such high prices for these obscure titles, because they are just that: Obscure. And so unwanted, they'd want a high price to keep such trash in stock. I can't see any reason that they should demand $10.00 for this issue.

 

[Dread]

Finally, everything people loved about Gravity has been completely abolished with this transformation. I'm really wondering if any fan of Gravity wanted to have him transformed into Cosmic Gravity.

Quite frankly, everything people loved about Gravity has been made physically impossible by the post CW Marvel Universe. Marvel has decreed that any non-registered superhuman is a danger to society and must be tagged, branded, drafted, and shipped to whatever state needs 'em the most. If Gravity had returned as he was to Marvel, he'd be just another young hero in THE INITIATIVE, which is already making people question Decimation even further because, okay, M-Day wiped out the F-Z listers with powers and attempted to make mutants "rarer", but if you have even more non-mutant no-name metas out of nowhere, what was the F'ing point? Of course, expecting Joe Q's Marvel to outright plan everything competantly from beyond 6-12 months is like asking a gorilla to install a DVD player.

It's funny, when I complain about Spider-Man's "roots" being eroded, the most typical criticism of that agruement is, "He's been around too long, let's see him branch out and do new stuff". But when other characters do exactly that, it's "no, this is crap". Ah, subjectivity.

There is no way Gravity could have come back as he was last year as a rookie solo hero and been in any way different from the army of simular characters now in Initiative boot camp. He'd have to be a fugitive, which is being covered in new NEW WARRIORS, or most likely be another cameo figure next to Rage, Slapstick, Thor-Girl (TheCorpulent1 hates this name, yet it matches about half of DC's young hero names), and Ultra-Girl having 1-3 lines an issue while it focuses on Slott's creations Cloud 9, Hardcase, Komodo, Gauntlet, and Trauma (along with Yellowjacket, War Machine, and Justice). So the choice was either bring him back and have him fade into the crowd, or do something off the wall that might bring some attention. McDuffie has chosen the second route and seeing how DC's new Blue Beetle was pretty much left to fend for himself before it was too late, I don't mind this approach. Sure, Phyla has Quasar's bands, but she hasn't decided to take up his gig yet, and Epoch was a bit impatient (especially with Galactus about 35 minutes from eating her).

I suppose one could say that the explaination for Gravity's resurrection can seem a bit corny and convient. He somehow became "one" with the element of gravity (a space fundamental) trying to save everyone from Battleworld at the end of BEYOND! #6. His body died, but his soul or whatever went into the essence and would have evolved back to life after some ungodly long stretch of time, just Epoch moved it along incredibly out of desperation. Gravity himself at least reacted by feeling confused, frustrated, and out of his element, which made sense. If you consider normal comic book rules, though, this explaination for bring Gravity back to life is far better than, well, claiming he was a cyborg for the Russians for the past 60 years. Or denying the death ever occured, which is rather common (Norman Osborn, Jean Grey in the 80's, etc) and clunky.

Given the choice of the death of a potential budding character, limbo, obscurity due to the an event literally ripping out the soul of his gimmick (much as Decimation pretty much hit NEW X-MEN: ACADEMY X the worst, shifting it from a fun book that needed a slight kick in the rear to an over-the-top grindhouse of death that is essentially X-23 & Friends), or this, I'd probably pick this, at least because I enjoy McDuffie's work. I've seen other space heroes get swept up into the biz with far more conveluted and outlandish explainations than Gravity. And has NOVA shows, his evolution doesn't mean he can't go home again. Hell, Quasar spent most of his time in the early 90's on Earth.

I do agree Surfer felt a bit flat at times, but he's Surfer, and he's not the easiest to write well. And I do agree that the Richards' tend to flee the family they profess to care about quite a lot. But, it's been more fun than the CW issues, so I'll stick around at least for the first arc.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Well, I couldn't stand The Other change that Spider-Man went through; plus, his decision to unmasked, while dramatic for CW, totally went against his character. In fact, I recently FINALLY bought the Kevin Smith interviews Stan Lee DVD (it was less than 5 bucks), and anyone who thinks change for change sake is good should watch Stan's comments on both Spider-Man as a character and why things worked so well at Marvel for the comic-buying public compared to those comics DC put out.

As for Gravity, we got a decent (albeit not great) little mini that introduced us to him a while back. Then, in the Marvel Holiday issue, he really grew as a character in the story that Dan Slott wrote and potential was written all over him. (If only Dan could have done for him what he did for Thing, She-Hulk, and the GLA.) Dan Slott really keyed into what could be a very interesting character, and he did it in just a few pages.

Now, I understand the backlash against Civil War and how all the comics Marvel is putting out are centered around that; but, a good comic writer can work still work within it. Again, Dan Slott's She-Hulk is still outstanding, even with its She-Hulk as SHIELD agent storyline, and even the Wonder Man miniseries is very well handled. Simply put, a good writer takes what he's given and works with it effectively. All the New Fantastic Four is doing is Ultimizing it by taking known characters and situations and transforming it into something entirely different. To me, they've basardized the creation of Gravity. If I was the creator of him, I would be pissed. (And, really, it's been done before. We saw Cosmic Spidey, and to me the comparisons to Peter Parker and Gravity are enough, especially with the use of the witty banter. There is nothing original in this book.)

 

[PhotoJones]

I don't pick up Fantastic Four on a regular basis, but judging from what I know about McDuffie, and the reviews I've read about this latest issue, it seems that he must've really dropped the ball. I did manage to read his first issue of FF, and I enjoyed it. This is pretty surprising.

 

[Dread]

Well, I couldn't stand The Other change that Spider-Man went through; plus, his decision to unmasked, while dramatic for CW, totally went against his character. In fact, I recently FINALLY bought the Kevin Smith interviews Stan Lee DVD (it was less than 5 bucks), and anyone who thinks change for change sake is good should watch Stan's comments on both Spider-Man as a character and why things worked so well at Marvel for the comic-buying public compared to those comics DC put out.

Not much to say here except, "I agree", and it is amazing that Spider-Man has gained a slew of new powers within less than 3 years and they are barely mentioned or used. The extra strength, the singers, the "awareness", etc. The only one used by default is the organic webbing, which is conviently tied with the movie franchise. And, yeah, unmasking, Spider-Totems, and Avengers membership didn't solve his biggest problem for quite a while; his supporting cast has vanished with little attempt to resurrect them, many of his villians have become overworked or overcluttered (and yet still resistant to change; Vulture hasn't improved much in 20 years) without depth to their character, and the "dual life" of Peter and Spider-Man has become one, and that makes him generic. And no, marriage didn't cause that. There were still plenty of people who didn't know. Peter & MJ could still have apartment parties and whatnot. Now all that is gone, and considering that teaching at a school should be a gold-mine for new supporting characters is appalling. PAD preferred to use amnesia to return Flash Thompson to an 80's status quo than dare replace him. That speaks volumes of the issues that haunt the franchise, that band-aids cannot cure.

As for Gravity, we got a decent (albeit not great) little mini that introduced us to him a while back. Then, in the Marvel Holiday issue, he really grew as a character in the story that Dan Slott wrote and potential was written all over him. (If only Dan could have done for him what he did for Thing, She-Hulk, and the GLA.) Dan Slott really keyed into what could be a very interesting character, and he did it in just a few pages.

Dan couldn't even get THE THING to last beyond 7 issues. There was no way he'd be able to do a Gravity ongoing. As for The Initiative, while I have faith in Slott as a writer (and probably far more tolerance for error than almost anyone else at Marvel right now), the first issue sort of showed that, yes, a lot of B and C listers are being used, but Slott's new creations are the stars. And that is fine, I mean they are his characters, and no one can whine when he offs them or has them react in certain ways.

Now, I understand the backlash against Civil War and how all the comics Marvel is putting out are centered around that; but, a good comic writer can work still work within it. Again, Dan Slott's She-Hulk is still outstanding, even with its She-Hulk as SHIELD agent storyline, and even the Wonder Man miniseries is very well handled. Simply put, a good writer takes what he's given and works with it effectively. All the New Fantastic Four is doing is Ultimizing it by taking known characters and situations and transforming it into something entirely different. To me, they've basardized the creation of Gravity. If I was the creator of him, I would be pissed. (And, really, it's been done before. We saw Cosmic Spidey, and to me the comparisons to Peter Parker and Gravity are enough, especially with the use of the witty banter. There is nothing original in this book.)

I've heard some people complain about the SHIELD bit in SHE-HULK, but in theory it makes sense and even Slott himself acknowledges the shift he's done in the book.

Comparing him to Cosmic Spidey was actually a masterstroke of a counterpoint, I must say. I doubt I can logically counter it. The difference is that Spider-Man is a franchise character, and thus rarely would a major change like that stick. Gravity's still more of a blank slate. While I liked him, I still think that in a post-CW world, his schtick had become a dead-end. I suppose he could have moved himself and his GF to Canada or Britain and tried it in a less hotile environment, but that would require research from a writer, and that's rare. Plus, even in Canada, OMEGA FLIGHT, while enjoyable, tells the same super-team story as the U.S. heroes now; the government assembles a team to fight a threat.

Upon second thought via editting, I suppose the post CW world could have helped boost his status if, and only IF, some of the heroes he saved on Beyond vouched for him and pulled strings, like Firebird and Pym. They could have amped him like a baseball manager does to a no-name rookie making a league debut, and perhaps seeing his impossible dream fulfilled, but under shady circumstances and too quickly, could have been an interesting angle.

Admittedly, the cosmic resurrection to Gravity is a bit of a stretch, but I'll see it through. McDuffie is also probably the only writer from TV to return to comics and not have everyone licking his genetalia. Whedon is worshipped as a flawless, do-nothing-wrong god. JMS got that until SINS PAST and he still is A-List at Marvel. Lord knows Kevin Smith could co-write 2 pages on any comic and boost it's sales 400%. So I'm willing to give McDuffie an issue or two before I rule Gravity's new groove as flame or lame.

 

[Darthphere]

I don't pick up Fantastic Four on a regular basis, but judging from what I know about McDuffie, and the reviews I've read about this latest issue, it seems that he must've really dropped the ball. I did manage to read his first issue of FF, and I enjoyed it. This is pretty surprising.

Read the issue if you can. I think some folks here are overblowing some stuff.

 

[Kevin]

Black and White outfits!!! that's what I'm talking about! No, seriously, I was happy when I saw them. I like black, it makes everything feel dark.

 

[PhotoJones]

Read the issue if you can. I think some folks here are overblowing some stuff.

I'm stopping at the shop on my way home, I'll check it out if it's still available.

 

[Phaedrus45]

Not much to say here except, "I agree", and it is amazing that Spider-Man has gained a slew of new powers within less than 3 years and they are barely mentioned or used. The extra strength, the singers, the "awareness", etc. The only one used by default is the organic webbing, which is conviently tied with the movie franchise. And, yeah, unmasking, Spider-Totems, and Avengers membership didn't solve his biggest problem for quite a while; his supporting cast has vanished with little attempt to resurrect them, many of his villians have become overworked or overcluttered (and yet still resistant to change; Vulture hasn't improved much in 20 years) without depth to their character, and the "dual life" of Peter and Spider-Man has become one, and that makes him generic. And no, marriage didn't cause that. There were still plenty of people who didn't know. Peter & MJ could still have apartment parties and whatnot. Now all that is gone, and considering that teaching at a school should be a gold-mine for new supporting characters is appalling. PAD preferred to use amnesia to return Flash Thompson to an 80's status quo than dare replace him. That speaks volumes of the issues that haunt the franchise, that band-aids cannot cure.

Again, that DVD interview with Stan Lee is just perfect and reflects everything you're saying. Spider-Man was almost more about Peter Parker than anything else. Stan developed the characters perfectly, and I dare say that same formula would work today. But, the writers can't do such blatant soap opera style theatrics, like Flash Thompson getting amnesia (I shudder thinking back to that terrible idea).

While I agree that having Peter marry MJ didn't kill the Spider-Man franchise, it didn't do anything to help it. One of my favorite times in the Spider-Man era was the mid-80's with Peter dating the Black Cat, the emergence of Cloak and Dagger and the Hobgoblin, and many of the other storylines. By having him shack up with just one gal, it severly limited his interaction with others. (Which is kind of true with married life. Once you put that ring on her finger, say goodbye to many of your friendships of the past.) Plus, writers kept going back to the same old tired social interactions, like Mary Jane's focus contantly being her worries over Peter's safety. Character, like Mary Jane, are not even interesting. Her own career has taken a backseat to Spidey, and she is now only interesting in Spider-Man loves Mary Jane (a comic that realizes what made Spidey popular back in the day, and a comic that readers are afraid to pick up, for fear they will appear too gay). Part of the popularity of that comic and Spider-Girl is that they have an extended social structure that continually plays out in each issue. If Gravity was given that chance, it might just succeed in the same way.

Dan couldn't even get THE THING to last beyond 7 issues. There was no way he'd be able to do a Gravity ongoing. As for The Initiative, while I have faith in Slott as a writer (and probably far more tolerance for error than almost anyone else at Marvel right now), the first issue sort of showed that, yes, a lot of B and C listers are being used, but Slott's new creations are the stars. And that is fine, I mean they are his characters, and no one can whine when he offs them or has them react in certain ways.

The Thing was a solid book; but, many writers would be hard-pressed to sell him to today's reader. He really is the heart and soul of the Fantastic Four, and I used to love Marvel Two-In-One back in the day. (And, Marvel Team-Up was another favorite; but, it's failed in its various attempts at a comeback, too.) Sadly, Marvel could probably add a third Wolverine book and it would be in the top 50; but, it could probably never sell The Thing. (The only solution would be akin to DC's Manhunter, which has been renewed for a third time. They saw TPB sales made it viable to continue with that title; maybe if TPB sales of The Thing were seen before cancelling the book, it might have gotten a new life, too.)

Upon second thought via editting, I suppose the post CW world could have helped boost his status if, and only IF, some of the heroes he saved on Beyond vouched for him and pulled strings, like Firebird and Pym. They could have amped him like a baseball manager does to a no-name rookie making a league debut, and perhaps seeing his impossible dream fulfilled, but under shady circumstances and too quickly, could have been an interesting angle.

Yeah, probably the one thing that could have saved Gravity in his current form, even if the writing was crappy, would be a Civil War or Initiative tie-in. It did wonders for Heroes For Hire, another book that has failed miserably in Marvel's previous attempt to resurrect. If not for Civil War, I really wonder if Heroes For Hire would have made it past issue #7.