Yes we would. Case in point: I just started catching up on my Avenging Spider-Man reading and what a letdown. SPOILERS AHEAD:
Obviously the title focuses on Spidey associating with various of his Avengers teammates (something that still chaps me - as any oldtimer knows, Spidey was never supposed to be an Avenger. THe only team he was EVER supposed to be remotely associated with was as the unnofficial 5th member of the 4). Anyway, issue 5 takes the cake. It starts with Spidey, sans mask, reading a copy of a comic that was drawn in the 50s by pre-Cap Steve Rogers. It is a superhero comic called, Sir Spangled, the Human Tank. THe newspaper tells how some guy found a bunch of these old comics in his attic and now they expect them to fetch big bucks at auction. Pete realizes that Cap was a pre-hero geek (albeit comic as opposed to science) like him. Suddenly he's fawning over Cap, standing inappropriately close to him, jumping like a kid to volunteer he and Cap as a team when they split up into 2's on a mission. He basically comes off as a 14-year old. Pete keeps trying to say Cap should start drawing comics again. Cap's attitude is "I don;t draw adventures anymore...I have them." Cap asks Pete if he still plays with his original chemistry set to which Pete bashfully admits he does. Later, Pete takes a box of his old science stuff down to the basement to burn it all in the incinerator before Cap stops him, feeling bad for making Pete feel bad and asks Pete to help him collaborate n a new comic book.
THis is so not Peter/Spidey. First of all, he's been Spidey like 14 years in MArvel time and he;s about 30 but as I said he acts like a little kid. Aaaannd in that 14 years he has met Cap literally dozens and dozens of times but here he acts like he's all star-struck and fumbling for words. It is truly a travesty of characterization. See, reading this garbage inside the covers totally explains the new numbering. They have nothing left creativity-wise and are left with nothing but these cheap gimmicks to spark some new interest. Oh and to add even better characterization, they have Hawkeye punking SPidey with signs on his door saying You are a GIANT DORK! Hawkeye the sort of stuff Spidey used to do to Johnny Storm while Pete sits in his room moping before making the fateful decision to destroy his classic chemistry set all because Cap hurt his feelings.
THis really has made up my mind. Since 1974, I honestly never thought this day would come (I mean if I could stick with them thru Quesadia's reign, I figured I could weather anything but that's the end. I never thought I'd say (or even think) this but I may just give DC a look and see whats goin on over there. Oh, and start reading all the back issues!
