Marvel Holiday Special 2007

December 21, 2007

Marvel Holiday Special 2007 (Marvel Comics)
By Andrew Farago, Shaenon K. Garrity, Lou Kang, Fred Hembeck, C.b. Cebulski, Alina Urusov, Mike Carey, Nelson & Ron Lim

This year’s grab bag of Christmas tales from Marvel, with one exception, somewhat fals short. “Piece of Cake”, the lead story, basically deals with Spider-Man ditching the cake he bought for Aunt May’s Christmas party to help Wolverine fight a rogue Sentinel being piloted by a disgruntled Department Store Santa. Cute, but nothing special. Next up there’s an old Fred Hembeck strip reprinted from a 1984 issue of Marvel Age, and then the gem of the issue: “Secret Santa.” This is a Loners story, written by C.B. Cebulski, that basically shows the team trying to re-bond at Christmastime. Cebulski picks up neatly on some plot threads he left dangling in the Loners miniseries, and this story works both to give the characters a bit of closure and to establish them neatly for future use. Finally, there’s the train wreck “The Meaning of Christmas” — a Daily Bugle feature reporter goes on a tour of the universe to allegedly discover the meaning of Christmas, but… I gotta be honest here, I don’t know what he comes home with. It’s totally nonsensical. This book is worth reading for the Loners story and the Ron Lim cover, but other than that, it’s utterly forgettable.
Rating: 5/10

Sensational Spider-Man (2006 Series) #36

March 26, 2007

Quick Rating: Good
Title: The Strange Case Of… Part Two (Back in Black)
Rating: A

Someone is creating fake Spider-Men – can the real one round them up in time to save their lives?

Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Pencils: Ramon Bachs
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: Cory Petit
Editor: Warren Simons
Cover Art: Clayton Crain
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Freed from the shackles of not talking about why Spider-Man is in his black costume again, part two of “The Strange Case Of…” is considerably better than part one. Still waiting for word on whether or not May is going to survive being shot by one of the Kingpin’s snipers, Peter is confronted with another bizarre threat. Someone is kidnapping teenage boys, granting them approximations of his powers, putting them in versions of the costumes he’s worn over the years and sending them out into the city. As Peter rounds them up, he finds out that some of them are transforming even further, becoming more spider than man, and unless he and his big brained friends can figure out what’s happening to them and how it’s happening, they may all die.

It’s amazing, but just being able to say “Aunt May has been shot” is remarkably freeing to this comic book. No more pretending we don’t know why he’s in black, no more avoiding the subject of why he’s so gloomy – not only can Aguirre-Sacasa say it, but he can deal with it, and that small thing is remarkably freeing. The villain’s plot in and of itself is fairly interesting – it plays off the unmasking fairly well, but still remains a solid old-school mad scientist story.

I’m also a much bigger fan of the art this issue. I know a lot of people were in love with the Todd McFarlane-style art that Angel Medina brought to the book last issue, but this issue Ramon Bachs comes to the plate with a style that very much evokes Mike Zeck and Kraven’s Last Hunt. When reading this story in collected form, the shift in style will likely be quite jarring, but looking at this issue in and of itself, I consider it a significant improvement.

This is a pretty good issue. Unfortunately, three of the four in-continuity Spider-Man titles are unable to really develop the character right now – they’re all marking time to see what happens in Amazing, but Aquirre-Sacasa is taking the circumstances handed to him to tell a story that, while it probably won’t turn out to have any lasting importance, is at least interesting.

Rating: 7/10

Amazing Spider-Man #539

March 19, 2007

Quick Rating: A Qualified Good
Title: Back in Black Part 1
Rating: A

As May Parker clings to death’s door, Spider-Man goes on a rampage.

Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Pencils: Ron Garney
Inks: Bob Reinhold
Colors: Mat Milla
Letters: Cory Petit
Editor: Axel Alonso
Cover Art: Ron Garney
Publisher: Marvel Comics

So “Back in Black” finally begins (nearly two months after it started in the other titles) right on the heels of last issue. May Parker has been shot, and Peter understandably goes a little nuts. After tearing through the city to get her to a hospital, he goes on another tear – sans any costume at all – on a bloody path to find out who shot her.

This book is hard to gauge. On a surface scan, it’s done quite well. This all takes place within the hour or so after May is shot, and Peter’s reactions of panic and rage are perfectly understandable and even in character. The reason this book gets a “qualified” good from me is really a matter of nerves about where the storyline in general is going. The return of the black costume is handled quite well, but the issue ends with a proclamation that has me quite nervous. A few years ago, I would have thought it pure bluster that would ultimately leave the character surrendering to his better nature, but the way Marvel’s stories have played out lately, I’m genuinely afraid that the story may be heading towards a real betrayal of the character’s values, and that frightens me. As for May herself – well, you don’t want to get too spoileriffic, but it seems that this won’t be quick, whatever happens… and that, at least, is as it should be.

Ron Garney’s artwork is still quite impressive to me. I know a lot of fans haven’t been happy with his work on Amazing Spider-Man, but I’ve been a fan of his since his magnificent Captain America run, and his work here is just as solid. His storytelling skills are good, and the emotion on the characters’ faces (Peter and Mary Jane, predominantly) is quite compelling.

So basically, this is a good issue. I just hope that by the time we get to the end of the story, opinions haven’t changed retroactively.

Rating: 7/10