The Amazing Spider-Man v.2 - Part 2

[Thread Manager]

This is a continuation thread, the old thread is [split]346683[/split]

 

[Thread Manager]

This is a continuation thread, the old thread is [split]328738[/split]

 

[runawayboulder]

But Martin did a lot of ASM work during BND as it is. I'm glad he's on DD, it gives the relaunch a better chance at succeeding.

 

[runawayboulder]

Stoopid Thread-bot!

 

[Themanofbat]

I think Martin's Ditko-esque style works much better on ASM... his DareDevil remains to be seen...

 

[SpideyInATree]

I took notice of Martin when he did that Doctor Strange: Oath miniseries with Brian K. Vaughn and it just blew me away. I think he'll be an awesome fit on Daredevil as well but, definitely, his artwork is a PERFECT fit for Spidey. Plus it seems Martin and Slott have some great chemistry too.

 

[Dread]

DOCTOR STRANGE: THE OATH was my first exposure to Marcos Martin as well. In addition to being a great Brian K. Vaughan Marvel story - and STILL one of the best Dr. Strange stories in, what, about a decade - it allowed Martin to shine. He does appear to be a student of Ditko, but has a flair all his own. I will miss his work on ASM, but his work on DAREDEVIL should be great. The issue of course is he often cannot handle more than 2-3 issues on a monthly schedule, hence why DD has another artist in the wings.

I have always supported the idea of having a steady cast of artists. In an age when it seems very few artists can maintain a monthly schedule without being late, it makes sense to have an artist who does those fill-in issues every time, rather than a different pencil every time. THUNDERBOLTS has had this; while Kev Walker is the regular artist, Declan Shalvey has often done the fill in issues for the past year or so. Right now, AVENGERS ACADEMY has Sean Chen and Tom Raney rotating arcs. Thus, ASM having three rotating artists for BIG TIME was a solid move - the angle has been replacing Martin now that he's geared for DD.

I also agree that Betty Brant's luck has been pretty terrible, ever since the beginning when her brother was killed by mobsters. Some people found it bizarre when she snapped and became a gun-toting warrior; part of me wonders if that was merely a natural reaction to her life. Hopefully Slott hasn't forgotten that while Brant's no longer dressing like she wants to join HEROES FOR HIRE, she does have some basic self defense skills.

 

[Scarecrow_King]

I first saw Martin on that Batgirl Year One. and I have to say, even though I still enjoy him, I don't think the stuff he's producing now is as good as it was then.

 

[Shockdingo]

I just saw the preview for the upcoming issue. Am I the only one worried about what'll happen to Betty?

 

[runawayboulder]

No, we are all worried. You can't see it because of the heartless bastard known as the Thread-Manager.

 

[Shockdingo]

Mread thanager!!!!!!!!

 

[runawayboulder]

And in reference to ASM 665, all I can say in 1 word is......

Spoiler

WHEW!

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

And in reference to ASM 665, all I can say in 1 word is......

Spoiler

WHEW!

Whats happened in ASM 665?

 

[runawayboulder]

Whats happened in ASM 665?

Spoiler

Betty was attacked by some random scumbag and put nearly in a coma. Pete went after the guy in a rage but was stopped by a call from Aunt May telling him how she is disappointed in him for not being by Betty's side in the hospital. There was a flashback to how he wasn't there for Aunt May when Uncle Ben died because he was going after the burglar. The moral of the story was Pete putting his family/friends ahead of SM for once. Total filler issue but I'm glad nothing serious was done to Betty.

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

Spoiler

Betty was attacked by some random scumbag and put nearly in a coma. Pete went after the guy in a rage but was stopped by a call from Aunt May telling him how she is disappointed in him for not being by Betty's side in the hospital. There was a flashback to how he wasn't there for Aunt May when Uncle Ben died because he was going after the burglar. The moral of the story was Pete putting his family/friends ahead of SM for once. Total filler issue but I'm glad nothing serious was done to Betty.

That's sound awesome. Thanks, runawayboulder.

 

[spider13]

what are peoples thoughts about spider island now that it is here and check this out.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/dan-slott-spider-island-110715.html

 

[Mary Jane Watson]

Now... I really cant wait for the Spider Island event!

 

[runawayboulder]

I don't have any real thoughts about it because it hasn't started yet. What has my interest is #1 - it features the Jackal, a good villain that is the face (somewhat unfairly) of the worst era in Spider-Man history and #2 - it's Slott's first real SM event that he's spearheading on his own.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

the issue was alright i liked the art but honestly where its leading is something i'm not liking.

Spoiler

the whole betty thing was forced, i never saw betty brant as the big sister role they seemed to force on this issue, i can see dear friend but where the hell has this every friday night movie night come from, plus the last few things with the whole venom just seems like flavour of the month is betty

Spoiler

again it seems peter can have a fantastic relationship with every woman except MJ, seriously i expected more from slott but like all the rest it just seems the easy option is to go back to the old punching bag that is MJ+peter= fail

Spoiler

may making peter feel like a right bastard, again where the hell did that come from, it seems so out of character for her

Spoiler

carlie starting to notice spider-man related stuff, the fork sticking to the webbing, i thought we were done with this and the story he makes spidey's tech.

i keep buying this comic and it keeps

 

[imdaly]

Spoiler

again it seems peter can have a fantastic relationship with every woman except MJ, seriously i expected more from slott but like all the rest it just seems the easy option is to go back to the old punching bag that is MJ+peter= fail

Seems to me, as someone who reads every issue, that Pete and MJ have a perfectly fine relationship.

Spoiler

carlie starting to notice spider-man related stuff, the fork sticking to the webbing, i thought we were done with this and the story he makes spidey's tech.

Spoiler

She's not noticing clues about Peter's secret identity. She's noticing that SHE can shoot webs now.

 

[Dread]

My review of ASM #665, with spoilers:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #665: The role of the super hero girlfriend is often one that is full of hurdles. The lady in question is often at risk of being threatened, kidnapped, or killed by various criminals and super-villains in the series. This tends to happen whether the gal in question is aware of the super-hero's secret identity or not, or even if she cares for said super-hero; she may merely be dating or interested in his alter ego.

Spoiler

Betty Brant, formerly the receptionist for the cranky J. Jonah Jameson, served this role as the first of Peter Parker/Spider-Man's lovers in the 1960's. Her role in this position has often been ignored in most of Spidey's alternate media depictions - the only exceptions being his original 1967 cartoon and an homage in 2007-2009's "SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN". Yet despite the fact that she and Peter have been broken up since the 60's, she has remained a character who seems to continue to remain in peril or to become part of some dramatic tale every few years. From mobsters killing her brother to being the hostage/damsel-in-distress du jour during the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko era, to machinations with the Hobgoblin and even becoming an "edgy" gun-toting warrior in the 90's, Brant has seemed to always be put through the ringer by writers. Rick Remender in VENOM has followed suit, since she happens to be dating Flash Thompson, the latest host of the alien symbiote, which allows her new opportunities for peril. With this as a backdrop, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #665 has the task to fill 30 pages before the proper start of "SPIDER-ISLAND" within 2-3 weeks time. While this could be dismissed as a "fill in issue", writer Dan Slott and artists Ryan Stegman and Giuseppe Camuncoli (alongside two sets of inkers and colorists) manage to produce a memorable little tale.

The main 22 page story is drawn by Stegman and features the aforementioned Brant. While she appears infrequently in the series - especially since Peter has become a lab technician instead of a freelance newspaper photographer - this issue seeks to establish their relationship. While both Peter and Betty have moved onto different lives and lovers, they still remain good pals, meeting at least once a month to watch a movie. However, with Peter spending all of his time at either Horizon Labs or all of his superhero engagements - solo-heroics, Future Foundation, and TWO Avengers teams - ultimately leaves Betty without her ex to hang with once a month. With Flash also leaving town for VENOM missions, Betty decides to visit a seedy section of town to see an indie film on her own. Alas, things go horribly wrong from a source that isn't a costumes maniac for once, which nearly drives Spider-Man over the edge as well as assembles his entire cast into a hospital.

This is a solid tale in which Peter Parker gets a reminder that despite being a part of the "big time" these days, the villains who often shatter the most lives are often small time and nameless. While it is often lamented about how super-heroes rarely fight "typical criminals" due to the lack of drama, this tale by Slott actually pulls it off. Stegman's artwork is very good, especially matched with John Rauch's colors and Michael Babinski's inks. Towards the climax of the tale comes a conversation between May and Peter that is actually pretty deep, and delves into his origin sequence in a new way. The only oddity is the moral is a bit mixed. The moral seems to be that when someone close to Spider-Man is hurt, his place is at the side of his loved one and NOT to flee into the costume to deal with it - yet it is only by doing so that Spider-Man is ultimately able to track down the perpetrator. May merely convinces Peter to put off apprehending him a day to be somewhere more important. Even J. Jonah Jameson gets a moment to be tender in his own way.

The back-up strip is drawn by Camuncoli, who was the artist of the lead tale for the prior two issues. It is a smaller issue in which May and her new husband, J. Jonah Jamesone Senior, decide that NYC is far too dangerous for them and to head to Boston. This proves to be quite a thing for both Peter and J.J. to adjust to. It does give a sense of moving on and allowing Peter to grow up a bit (again). Slott does use this story to showcase how well he knows Spidey's continuity with some flashback panels, but he manages to weave it into the tale for context and to showcase the history of the character. While the cover bares the "Road To SPIDER-ISLAND" tagger, only a two panel sequence seems to pay lip service to this. Camuncoli's artwork looks a little different with Marte Gracia on colors and doing his own inks, but is still looks great - merely different from his work on the last two issues.

Overall, this issue is a very solid production for long time readers - a good example of a "one and done" issue that still manages to play with current and older subplots in an entertaining way. Certainly not an issue to dismiss in the weeks before another Spider-Man crossover event.

For additional thoughts, while Marvel and Slott may be teasing SPIDER-ISLAND by claiming that "in a city where everyone has spider-powers, nobody is Spider-Man" is a tad absurd. That's like saying if everyone in WHERE'S WALDO is in the same outfit, nobody is Waldo. While they may tease about MJ, JJ, Shang Chi, and Carlie getting spider-powers, I imagine they might only stick on Spider-Girl/Arana 2.0. Part of me wonders if the powers that be decided her lack of powers is why her series was DOA, and they're reversing their removal of them via editorial fiat.

I certainly could see a very fun comic out of Spider-Man and Spider-Carlie bashing the Sinister Six and dealing with the long term ramifications of someone he is dating getting super powers, but I sincerely doubt Slott or Marvel have the stones to upset their little Peter dating life status quo that way for any length of time beyond the event itself. I think they'll just keep Peter and Carlie in spin cycle until someone decides to replace her with the next girlfriend du jour.

In terms of the story itself, it looks interesting - MAXIMUM CLONEAGE done right, possibly.

 

[moraldeficiency]

I would think if everyone in NYC got spider-powers half the city would be dead by the end of the day. The only reason why peter didn't accidently kill everyone he was around is he was reserved and held back so much. Spider-powered new yorkers? One cab incident would lead to the majority of the city throwing school buses at each other.

 

[Dread]

I would think if everyone in NYC got spider-powers half the city would be dead by the end of the day. The only reason why peter didn't accidently kill everyone he was around is he was reserved and held back so much. Spider-powered new yorkers? One cab incident would lead to the majority of the city throwing school buses at each other.

True. Then again, you'd think the idea of giving every man, woman, and child on earth super-powers so they could fly into space to fight a threat would be the most disastrous idea ever, yet Grant Morrison ended his JLA run with it, and people said it was genius.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

Seems to me, as someone who reads every issue, that Pete and MJ have a perfectly fine relationship.

really any hint of they're past or idea of anything other than just being in the same group is mocked or constantly dismissed as stupid, and mj's comments in this issue again show how low she is on the list of peters life in the writers opinions

Spoiler

She's not noticing clues about Peter's secret identity. She's noticing that SHE can shoot webs now.

ok that i will give it never even dawned on me about that, maybe just shows that spider-island is becoming lost in everything else

 

[moraldeficiency]

True. Then again, you'd think the idea of giving every man, woman, and child on earth super-powers so they could fly into space to fight a threat would be the most disastrous idea ever, yet Grant Morrison ended his JLA run with it, and people said it was genius.

Well like millions were wiped out with death beams and looking at it, they didn't do anything that wouldn't have gotten done without them. Aztek and Superman were the only ones that really hurt or beat mageddon.

But even then they got it to fight a threat, they didn't just wake up with the ability to rip people in half like paper suddenly which is quite a bit different. And I would note new yorkers are not standard people. A Yankee vs Red Socks game would result it the complete destruction of Boston and they would consider it appropriate.