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Post by sabongero on Jun 18, 2018 10:43:39 GMT -5
 Daredevil #169"Devils" 0.50 ¢ @ March 1981 Artist and Writer: Frank Miller Inker: Klaus Janson Colorist: Glynis Wein Letterer: Joe Rosen Editor: Denny O'Neil & Mark Gruenwald Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter Synopsis: An evening talk show has its host interviewing its guest, Matt Murdock, but was interrupted by an emergency news broadcast that Bullseye has escaped a mental hospital from surgery, and the public was cautioned to call the police as this villain is unarmed by any object in his hands is considered a deadly weapon. Normal broadcast resumed but Matt Murdock is no longer at his interview seat. Bullseye is in the streets of Manhattan and is hallucinating that everyone is Daredevil and dressed in his costume. As he walked through the street, he assaulted them and killed them with the exception of one woman he ran away to escape from the get-go. After killing them, he went to a tailor's shop. He emerged from the tailor's shop with his Bullseye costume and killed the tailor as well, but then held his own head as he felt his brain was on fire and with tears of pain rolling down his eyes, he blamed Daredevil for it. At the hospital, Daredevil is with the hospital administrator and an NYPD Lieutenant where the hospital admin talked about Bullseye's tumor and his obsession with Daredevil causing hallucinations that everyone around him looked like Daredevil and induced him to attack the hospital staff. They decided to remove the tumor before it killed him. The Lieutenant didn't think Bullseye's death would be a real loss to society, which Daredevil disagreed with. DD thinks any loss of life that can be prevented should be done so, as it is not for them to decide. A police officer entered their room and reported Bullseye has started and has killed three civilians in Times Square so far. Inside a Times Square movie theater, Bullseye's tumor started giving him headaches again thus inducing hallucinations that everyone is Daredevil. His screaming had others complaining which lead to a fight inside. Some of the moviegoers left the theater, and Daredevil outside spoke to a bystander who directed him to and told him there's a psycho in a movie theater. Daredevil headed that way on foot. At the Law Offices of Nelson and Murdock, Foggy Nelson, their handicapped secretary Becky, and Matt's girlfriend Heather were having some Christmas get together and waiting for Matt, and thought he'd never show up. Heather left telling Foggy to tell Matt she'll give his Christmas gift later at his place. Back at the theater, Bullseye is waylaying the moviegoers who looked like Daredevil in his mind. The real Daredevil arrived telling him to stop and allowing DD to help him. Bullseye screamed "Never!" and attacked DD. They engaged in mortal combat and traded blows. Bullseye finally disengaged and grabbed a moviegoer still watching the movie and gave DD a choice that either he kill this innocent civilian or DD. DD just stood there, and Bullseye threw a weapon at his arm sending DD to the floor, and allowing Bullseye to escape. At Matt Murdoch's apartment, Elektra snuck in. She had a reltionship with Matt Murdock years ago and it should be behind her. She found a gift from Matt's girlfriend Heather and threw the gift destroying a mirror. This woke up Heather who headed to the room thinking Matt was back. Elektra snuck out through the window and left. Back at the theater, the NYPD Lieutenant is gathering clues and ordered one of the cops to get a medic to patch up Daredevil who told the Lieutenant the description of the hostages that Bullseye took with him. A couple of blocks away, Bullseye and the two hostages arrived at their apartment. Outside the movie theater, DD goes to a rooftop and concentrates on the city to see if he can use his heightened radar sense, and other senses to detect the smell from Bullseye's cigar and the victims' cough and cough drops. There were so many different sounds and smells surrounding him and even in the distance. Until finally, he hears a specific cough, eliciting a smile on DD's face. Back at the victims' apartment, Bullseye had another headache attack. One of the victims were going to take advantage and hit him over the head with an appliance, but it's too late, Bullseye saw him, and was about to kill him until DD crashed through a window. They engaged immediately into hand to hand combat which spilled outside into the hallways and down the flight of stairs. This led to outside and Bullseye entered a subway entrance adjacent to the apartment. DD followed suit and they continued their combat in the subway and eventually to the train tracks. Bullseye got the better of him and had DD in a headlock, which DD countered by pushing his head back following it with a combination elbow and punch to the face, and eventually knocking out Bullseye by ramming the back of his head on the steel train tracks. Bloodied and groggy, DD considered leaving the unconscious Bullseye on the train tracks to die because he'll just kill again. A train approached, and at the last second, DD pulled Bullseye to safety. Later at the corridors of a hospital, the NYPD Lieutenant is screaming at DD, who told him to lower his voice. The Lieutenant cannot believe what DD did by saving Bullseye and now extending the villain's life by bringing him to surgery. He'll hire a high-priced lawyer become free, and kill again. DD told the Lieutenant they have a set of laws in place and justice is handled by the courts, which society has put in place. It's society's responsibility to make Bullseye pay not them, and he is not a murdered. The Lieutenant told him Bullseye will kill again next time and it will be Daredevil's fault. Daredevil just walked away as behind them the voice of the surgeon just said that the surgery is a success and the patient will live. Comments: The scene in the hospital between the hospital administrator, NYPD Lieutenant, and Daredevil reminded me of Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and an Arkham Asylum doctor talking about The Joker. The Lieutenant just like Commissioner Gordon wouldn't mind the villain dying and it would be a good riddance. Daredevil like Batman would say that all life is sacred, even The Jokers, and that it should be saved as they are not there to judge a life, any life, even that of a psychopath. In the movie theater Bullseye was threatening to kill hostages unless Daredevil stopped hostilities, and it wasn't even a choice for Daredevil. He just disengaged combat and allowed himself in a vulnerable position where he could have been killed by Bullseye. It's the price of being a superhero, sacrificing their own life for even one bystander. I loved Frank Miller's fight sequence starting from the apartment and going through the halls and eventually outside to the adjacent subway entrance. Then it worked its way to the train tracks. With Bullseye getting the better of him during their grappling, Frank Miller showed just how Daredevil's prowess in combat is superior to that of Bullseye, by detailing how Daredevil got the better of Bullseye in that prone position. But he barely escaped with his life. Daredevil for a moment considered letting an unconscious Bullseye die, but he saved him at the last minute from being run over by the incoming trains. And the final scene with the Lieutenant has that old debate of allowing the super-villain to live and kill again, and it would be the fault of the superhero for any future killings by that villain. That debate can go back and forth and will continue to do so as long as there are fans and readers of comic books such as Marvel's Daredevil and DC's Batman. The brief interlude of Elektra showing up at Matt Murdock's apartment has left me thinking if she was there to confront Matt Murdock because she now knows he's Daredevil and they had a battle encounter the previous issue, or wanted to talk to Matt Murdock because of their past relationship. Was she there for a confrontation to resolve their conflict, or to fix the problem because of their past history? Your write up led me to pull my Daredevil Visionaries: Frank Miller Vol 2 trade off of the shelf tonight, which contains this issue. I’m two issues in, the second of which is this one. Probably haven’t read this run in over a decade, such good stuff! This (and DKR) is what people are talking about when they talk about how great Miller was. Definitely. This was Frank Miller hitting his stride and wasn't post DKR popular yet. He was truly inspired in his storytelling and art, and was able to revitalize a second tier superhero and bring him to the forefront courtesy of his quality work on the title. |
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Post by sabongero on Jun 22, 2018 19:11:40 GMT -5
 Ms. Marvel v2 #6"Battle Lines" 2.99 USD/4.25 CAN @ October 2006 Writer: Brian Reed Penciler: Roberto De La Torre Inker: Jon Sibal Colorist: Chris Sotomayor Letter: Dave Sharpe Editor: Andy Schmidt Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: The Civil War big event is underway and Ms. Marvel is a registered superhero who is in pursuit of The Prowler who is an unregistered metahuman. All it took was one blast from Ms. Marvel to take down The Prowler. We then join her at her temporary home, where she was woken up from her bedroom from someone knocking on the door and almost sounded like it was about to be destroyed. It was Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man, and they're late for their meeting at Starks Tower. They arrived there and were met by Arachne (Julia Carpenter, the former second Spider-Woman). At the situation room, Iron Man gave the three their orders, which is the unregistered metahuman target known as Arana. As everyone left, Iron Man asked Ms. Marvel to remain and wanted to know if Captain America approached her. She recalled Captain America meeting her at her bedroom after the action with the Traveller the previous issue. She sided with registration whereas he is against it. She told Iron Man that Captain America did not approach her and left the room. Iron Man seemed not to believe her. Ms. Marvel and Wonder Man headed to Brooklyn, where Arana is known to have her activities as a metahuman. At Ryker's Maximum Security Island Prison, The Prowler was visited by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and wanted to know who tipped him off about their approach to apprehending him. He threatened his family, and Prowler gave way and confirmed it was Julia Carpenter, aka Arachne. Speaking of Julia, she arrived at Max Coleridge's (The Shroud) home. She told him she tried to prevent them from coming after him, and Iron Man's too busy pursuing Captain America anyway. The Shroud disagreed citing that Tony Stark is in a crusade now. Also, he has to stand up to this pursuit of unregistered metahumans. The sound of approaching helicopter surprised them as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents broke through the glass with weapons drawn. The Shroud did not want to endanger Julia's daughter and was prepared to surrender to them, but Arachne fired at the agents. And they both jumped off the building and escaped. Meanwhile in Brooklyn, Wonder Man and Ms. Marvel were getting nowhere looking for Arana. It was late in the evening and they saw a fast food joint that Ms. Marvel craved. She and Wonder Woman changed to civilian gear and went in there and ordered food. Armed robbers went in and threatened everyone, with one putting a gun on Ms. Marvel's head, eliciting laughter from Wonder Man and herself. Arana who happened to be there too, changed to her costume and decided to act immediately to save the civilians from getting hurt. But Simon and Carol already took down the armed robbers, and Arana who just finished putting on her costume made her presence known to the criminals who were already knocked out. But now, she's in full costume right in front of Wonder Man and Ms. Marvel who were out looking for her all night to arrest her. Comments: This is a Civil War tie-in. There appeared to be a lot of "Spider-Women" in the Marvel Universe. Two of them are in this issue. Julia Carpenter, the former second Spider-Woman and currently known as Arachne, is now under pursuit by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents along with her lover, The Shroud, thanks to The Prowler disclosing it was her who warned him to escape the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who were out to capture him. Because she decided to help, now she's in trouble. Battle lines are indeed being drawn, and it appeared that Iron Man's side has better logistics than Captain America's. Loyalty is still a key here as Ms. Marvel didn't disclose to Iron Man that Captain America approached her, even though she agreed with Iron Man's side. It is somewhat comedic to end the issue on Arana ending up in front of the two people who has been looking for her all night all over Brooklyn. I didn't like Simon Williams' Wonder Man costume in this issue. It makes him appear too bland and too generic. He looked much better with the Red Coat costume and it made him appear to stand out in the pages, unlike this generic looking costume that makes him blend in with the darker colors of the evening panels. Ms. Marvel sure has a lot of superhero guest appearances in her series. Perhaps Marvel editors doesn't have enough confidence in her to sell books without other more popular characters appearing in her series to help boost sales. Maybe. |
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Post by bdk91939 on Jun 24, 2018 20:20:24 GMT -5
I'm not really a fan of Ms. Marvel. But I do remember this time frame where Marvel was pushing her to be a top tier superhero in the Marvel Universe somewhat like Marvel's version of Wonder Woman. It didn't really succeed. But it eventually led to her elevation a few years later to Captain Marvel. Of course just like Iron Man was the arsehole of Civil War I, Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers was the arsehole of Civil War II.
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Post by sabongero on Aug 26, 2019 15:02:17 GMT -5
I'm not really a fan of Ms. Marvel. But I do remember this time frame where Marvel was pushing her to be a top tier superhero in the Marvel Universe somewhat like Marvel's version of Wonder Woman. It didn't really succeed. But it eventually led to her elevation a few years later to Captain Marvel. Of course just like Iron Man was the arsehole of Civil War I, Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers was the arsehole of Civil War II. I wonder if she was put in the role of "Tony Stark-arse-hole" of Civil War I in Civil War II, because of the popularity of Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the mainstream, so they wanted to redeem his role in CW II to that of the "Steve Rogers" role in CW I, where the readers and fans can side with him. However, if the popularity of the character didn't increase tenfold because of the movies, would his role have been redeemed in CW II. |
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Post by sabongero on Sept 6, 2019 7:33:43 GMT -5
 Thing #2"For Beauty Passed Away" 0.60 USD @ August 1983 Writer: John Byrne Penciler: Ron Wilson Inker: John Byrne Colorist: Bob Sharen Letterer: Rick Parker Editor: Al Milgrom & Ann Nocenti Editor in Chief: Jim Shooter Synopsis: When we last saw The Thing, he was at Yancy Street and detailing his origin and life at the area. We rejoin him at the Baxter Building with volumes and tons of steel above him as he did some cleaning after Superheroes Secret Wars. He crushed all that steel until it was a small object that could be tossed in the garbage disposal. With cleaning errands out of the way, Thing put on his trench-coat and felt-tip hat and headed out and Lumpy the mailman handed him a letter, which Thing read in a taxi cab. A thought crossed his mind on who it could be from. Arriving at the hospital with an unshaven Reed Richards to visit Franklin. He also visited Alicia Masters. Even though she's blind, she could tell something was bothering him, and Ben told Alicia before the Fantastic Four life, there was another woman in his life. They were serious during his college life. She broke up with him suddenly with no explanation and it affected his college football career. It took a few weeks to find her, and he saw Allyn and proposed to her but she turned him down without an explanation, thus Ben throwing the ring at a pond. Alicia convinced Ben Grimm to visit and see why his ex-girlfriend suddenly wanted to communicate with him after all these years. Ben went to visit his ex-girlfriend at her condominium, and he was surprised to meet a woman whose other half of the face is drooped down as if she suffered from a stroke. She asked him to talk to her and show her how he dealt with physical deformation. Later on, Franklin was diagnosed as being a mutant and it appeared the Fantastic Four will have to break up to deal with helping Franklin's condition. Comments: This is not an earth-shattering story or an origin story rehash of how he became The Thing because of gamma rays. Instead, we have a fantastic story (pardon the pun), of another part of Ben Grimm's past. We go from superhero where Ron Wilson showcased just how strong The Thing was in the beginning by taking steel objects and crushing them over and over in his grasp until it was dense and small. It is no small feat and can only be accomplished by a few Marvel characters on Earth. And then we have the quiet moments with Alicia where Ben's facial features were somewhat softened and as a young Ben Grimm how it was emotional in both football games and dealing with rejection from his then girlfriend. Wilson's illustrations here makes this an emotional roller coaster for Ben Grimm and brings it out, and with Byrne's solid line work especially as The Thing, makes it nice to look at. Another layer is added to the Ben Grimm character by peeling another layer in his past life. And the end of how he did not show anger towards the ex-girlfriend but instead compassion makes the reader love the Thing even more as a person and not just as a superhero. |
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Post by sabongero on Sept 11, 2019 16:25:15 GMT -5
 Marvel Knights: Daredevil #32“Out" 2.99 USD/4.50 CAN @ June 2002 Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Penciler: Alex Maleev Inker: Alex Maleev Colorist: Matt Hollingsworth Letterer: Richard Starkings & Comicraft Editor in Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: The book opened up with the two FBI agents from the previous issue calling in their superior to get his opinion on what they should do with the information they've been offered. We learn several things when the idea that Matt Murdock was the costumed hero Daredevil was discussed. We discovered that a file on Matt Murdock does exist, but it's in the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the FBI was denied access to it. We learned that the FBI agents have started to put together a fair amount of evidence linking Matt to Daredevil, including the hospital report that was made after the accident that gave Matt his superpowers. We also see that the agents come to the erroneous conclusion that Matt is likely faking his blindness to insure that his connection to Daredevil was instantly dismissed. However, when the conversation wrapped up we saw the head agent come to the conclusion that the world doesn't need to know Matt's secret, and that they should throw the book at Mr. Silke. However, the next morning we see the newspapers have themselves a shocking story that claimed Matt Murdock is actually Daredevil. Comments: Daredevil #32 is a cool example of why Brian Michael Bendis was writing several monthly titles for Marvel at the time. Perhaps very few writers can craft an issue devoted entirely to a conversation between three FBI agents, and make it into such an entertaining read. Pretty much all the bases regarding Matt's secret are touched, as we have the disbelief over a blind man being a super-hero and the mounting evidence that's been quickly collected that seemed to lend credence to the idea. We have the humorous reaction to the rather goofy means that Matt acquired his powers, and we even have an interesting theory put into play by the FBI agents regarding how a blind man can be a hero, as even though we know it is not correct, it does provide a logical explanation for how Matt would be able to pull it off. The S.H.I.E.L.D. connection is also a nice nod of the head to continuity. And the payoff, we see the order to drop the case allowed the final page surprise to be all the more shocking, as the reader was tricked into believing the danger of Matt's secret being exposed had passed. Even though there are many things happening in the other Marvel comic books at the time, Brian Michael Bendis managed to go one step better in the pages of his book by making Matt Murdock's double-life front-page news in the Marvel universe. It was surprising to have Matt's secret as Daredevil be exposed in such a public manner, but this is what made arguably the best Daredevil run since Frank Miller's name graced the credit boxes of this series. The idea that Daredevil secret was known by the public of the Marvel Universe was a huge development, and this was completely uncharted territory for this comic book series at the time. Alex Maleev was handed a talking heads issue where the only hint of action was a two panel flashback on the attempted hit on Mr. Silke that occurred in the previous issue. However, even with no action sequences to spice up the visuals, Alex Maleev delivered a wonderful looking issue that perfectly captured the building momentum of the material written by Bendis. The visuals did a great job capturing the all work & no fun attitude of Mr. Davis, who had just been handed a fairly major secret by two of his agents, and the art also deserved full marks for the look of utter horror on Foggy's face at the end of the issue as he read the newspaper headline exposing Matt Murdoch as Daredevil. Also while the script probably called for these touches I do love how the idea that Matt Murdock was Daredevil be explained and explored visually by the FBI agents. How can one not smile as the agent colored a Daredevil mask onto Matt's photo, in a bid to see if they are the same man. Also while I'm normally harping about this book's covers having next to nothing to do with the story inside, this one did a wonderful job hinting at the big finish to the issue, without completely spoiling it. Seven issues into his run, and Bendis is shaking up the Daredevil comic book series. He has thrown the criminal underworld into utter chaos with the near murder of the Kingpin, and now he's taken it one step further than any Daredevil writer has ever gone, by exposing Matt Murdock's secret to the entire Marvel Universe. Oh I'm sure that Matt could call on Spider-Man to pose as Daredevil for a while, and he really is blind, so he could probably pass any vision test that the medical community might send his way. However, issue ended with a plot development that shattered status quo, as now that Matt's secret was public knowledge, therefore Daredevil’s life in the comic book series can never be the same. In any event, this issue was also a wonderful display of Brian Michael Bendis' dialogue skills, and the end result was one of the best Daredevil issues I've ever read, and Daredevil's not even in it. I absolutely loved this issue where the protagonist did not even grace his appearance in the whole issue. Fantastic! |
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Post by sabongero on Sept 15, 2019 22:19:03 GMT -5
 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1"Shock" December 2005 Writer: Peter David Penciler: Mike Wieringo Inker: Karl Kesel Colourist: Paul Mounts Letterer: Cory Petit Editor: Tom Brevoort, Andy Schmidt, Axel Alonso Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Peter Parker dreamed about dying, and standing over him was Morlun who watched his Uncle Ben’s face that faded to two glowing red dice showing snake eyes. The following day, a new criminal, Tracer, robbed a bank. He was interrupted briefly by Spider-Man, but dispatched him quickly with two bullets that locked on to him and followed him. As Spider-Man raced away from them around the rooftop, Tracer made his getaway. As he swung, Spider-Man thought about a self-defense lesson he had with Captain America. Mary Jane told Captain American about Peter’s dream, and the two learned about using chi, and not to rely on instinct. Peter remembered this, turned around, and the world slowing down around him, concentrated on achieving the impossible. He caught one of the bullets. Unfortunately, the other goes into his shoulder! He went to Captain America’s trusted doctor who patched him up and took some routine blood samples. Later, Mary Jane tried to convince Peter not to go back out, but he left and followed his spider-tracer (the one he managed to slap on Tracer). The signal came from a limousine, and Spider-Man caused it to crash. He then proceeded to rip off its rooftop. Inside was J Jonah Jameson, who is always trouble in Spider-Man's life. As Peter lied injured and depressed about what happened, the doctor rang and told him that there was some very bad news. As Peter received the news, a man watched him through the window. It was Morlun. His eyes glowed red, and he uttered, ‘Snake eyes. You lose.' Comments: This was a very good start to both The Other and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. The return of Morlun. Peter David as writer and combined the late great Mike Weiringo as illustrator. I have seen some of Mike Weiringo’s work back on original Sensational Spider-Man, and it was actually better than his work in Fantastic Four. Both pull out all the stops in this issue. Peter David kept the scenes tight and paced, while the real strength is Mike Weiringo playing to his strengths (which is pretty much everything) to create a near flawless piece of story telling. Peter David managed to make every scene as important as the other. There is no supporting cast just for the sake of it. The dream at the beginning is not a premonition that was vaguely referred to later on in the story. It is the key to the stunning cliffhanger and the scene with Captain America will be relevant to the Tracer scene in this issue. Again with Mike Weiringo’s art, his composition and detail are top notch. Just look at full page shot of Spider-Man swinging to take down Tracer, or when he followed J. Jonah Jameson’s limousine. His style is very light in tone, light in that his expressions are sometimes so announced that they become slightly over-announced and slightly comical, and light in that there are no blemishes anywhere. His closing panel of Morlun was very good, the “snake eyes” grabbed the readers' attention over the visual aspect of Morlun’s reappearance. And let's not forgot, which is a highlight of this issue, Spider-Man catching the bullet. A good start to The Other, partly because the meat of the story needed to be spread thin as it has many parts. Peter David is a brilliant writer, weaving little things to great effect. |
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Post by sabongero on Sept 18, 2019 16:07:36 GMT -5
 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2"Bargaining" January 2006 Writer: Reginald Hudlin Penciler: Mike Wieringo Inker: Karl Kesel Colourist: Paul Mounts Letterer: Cory Petit Editor: Tom Brevoort, Andy Schmidt, Axel Alonso, Molly Lazer, Aubrey Sitterson Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Once Aunt May learned about Peter’s condition, she marched him straight to Tony Stark asking for his help. He assembled Reed Richards, Henry Pym, and Bill Foster to assess Spider-Man, but their only suggestion was to consult someone with an expertise in radiation-based mutation. The five of them traveled to the desert to confront Bruce Banner, The Hulk himself. Through some tranquilizer gas, and Spider-Man’s “knock knock” joke, he calmed down and returned with them, as Banner, to the Baxter Building. After he analysed Spider-Man’s blood he offered another suggestion, so Spider-Man traveled to Wakanda to meet with the Black Panther. T’Challa's only remedy was the special herbs that his warriors ingested. The results were not expected for 24 hours so the two flew off to visit the temple of Anansi, The Spider God. As they headed in, T’Challa sensed something and made excuses to leave. As they flew off, we see Morlun watching. 24 hours passed and the results were not good. In NYC, Spider-Man contemplated dying. He found Ox attacking someone and took his frustrations out, but as he did he saw Morlun in his place and almost beat Ox to within an inch of his life. Daredevil stopped Spider-Man before he went too too far. Spider-Man went to Dr. Strange who looked inside him using the mystic arts. The Doctor’s diagnosis to Spider as to “Prepare to die.” Comments: So this is the “cram as many guest stars into The Other as possible to make it look like Spider-Man is a major player within the lives of everyone else in the Marvel Universe while still not letting the readers know exactly what was wrong with him” issue? It seemed like that way to me. And on paper it sounded just like an episode from the old series of Marvel Team-Up in the 80's and 70's. Except, this issue was actually quite good. Writer Hudlin had flaws of being unable to link scenes together let the overall feel of the comic down. Why would Spider-Man decide to visit Dr. Strange after beating up Ox? The attention to detail was excellent on his part. I am not sure about the state of The Hulk, but I do know that all of the other character Hudlin crams in were written in continuity and were therefore pleasant to read as we are not worrying about how they got there, or what their real relevance to the story was. Using most of these characters made sense, but a sense that these characters really cared about Spider-Man does not come across as much as it should simply because Hudlin has gone for the look- how-many-cared-care approach rather than the look- HOW-MUCH-people cared approach. The overall plot didn't really grow. We still know that Peter has a terminal illness and it’s just that now everyone else does as well. Morlun’s brief appearance was much better than the previous issue. This time he was having a creepy aura surrounding his appearance and reappearance. The pencils also suit better, creating a very dark and menacing face as well as some stunning action panels. The scene in which Spider-Man was spooked by Morlun and brutally attacked him was brilliant, with Weiringo pulling out stops I have never seen him take by incorporating multiple images in one panel. I think it was this technique that gives their confrontation the ferocity that had to be felt between these two for this story to work. Weiringo was solid throughout, creating the scenes well and managing to construct the vast cast of characters with remarkable ease. His Aunt May seems a little too like a chicken in the opening few pages for my linking, but that put aside this issue was very strong. The closing page could have a little more visual impact as this pose has been done many times before at the end of an issue and the only real originality is in the words. One of Hudlin’s best Spider-Man issues, but it might just be the cast of characters and good pencilling that held his writing afloat. Marvel Knights will tell, as I am planning on reading that series as well as it is part of the "The Other" storyline. |
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Post by sabongero on Sept 30, 2019 17:53:49 GMT -5
 Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3"Bowing to the Inevitable" February 2006 Writer: J. Michael Straczynski Penciler: Mike Wieringo Inker: Karl Kesel Colourist: Paul Mounts Letterer: Cory Petit Editor: Tom Brevoort, Andy Schmidt, Axel Alonso, Molly Lazer, Aubrey Sitterson Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Pushed to the brink of death at the hands of Morlun, Spider-Man finds himself poised at the final precipice. Worse, his fate is out of his hands. This issue picked up right where Amazing Spider-Man #526 left off, with Spider-Man beaten and broken by Morlun. As Morlun prepared to feed on Spider-Man's life force the police arrived on the scene and forced him to flee and wait for a more opportune time to feed. The police and rescue personnel quickly took control of the scene and removed Peter's mask to administer first aid. Yet, his face was so badly damaged from the fight that he was unrecognizable. The paramedics loaded Peter into an ambulance and rushed him to a hospital where he was taken to surgery, but it was hopeless, he was too badly beaten. Luke Cage, Captain America, and Iron Man arrived at the hospital to move Peter to a more secure location, while Jessica Drew helped Mary Jane into the hospital to see Peter, and Jarvis comforted Aunt May at Stark Tower. While this was going on Morlun had killed the guard at Peter's room and was again preparing to feed on Peter's life force. MJ entered Peter's room, and saw this, and attacked Morlun by jumping on him and gouging his eyes. With no effort Morlun threw her across the room and into the wall, and decided to devour her before Peter. MJ grabbed a scalpel to attack Morlun with, but had it easily batted away so she rushed him and he broke her arm. While all of this was going on the spider with Peter was remembering what MJ meant to Peter and the promise that he made to protect her. Realizing that MJ was in trouble the spider awoke and attacked Morlun with animalistic speed and ferocity. He tackled Morlun to the floor, popped stingers out of his wrist, nailed both of Morlun's arms to the floor with them, and ate his head. MJ saw this and screamed. Upon hearing an alarm go off, Iron Man picked up Luke Cage and Captain America and flew them up the stairwell to Peter's room. Back in Peter's room a vortex of energy was swirling around the spider as Morlun dissolved away and MJ was huddled in a corner meekly calling Peter's name. The vortex quickly dissipated and Peter fell to the floor. Seeing that it was now Peter, MJ pulled herself to his side told him that it will be okay. As MJ cradled him in her lap Peter told her that it was too late for him, but that he loved her and wanted her to go on living. She begged him not to leave her and refused to say goodbye, so he told her goodbye and died. The others took Peter's body away to protect MJ and Aunt May, as MJ reflected on losing the man that she loved. The end. Comments: The Other is a story told in three parts; dying, death, and rebirth. This issue is the climax of the death part of the story, and was done extraordinarily well. This is actually part 7 of the overall story as it is in told in various Spider-Man comic book serieses. J. Michael Straczynski (JMS) is the guest writer on Friendly Neighborhood on this issue, and he pulled out one of his better performances (as I have read his Sins Past storyline... which I suppose is not his entire fault) on Spider-Man. JMS was one of the best writers to ever write MJ, and in this issue he used this ability to astounding effect. He managed to express a facet of MJ's character that too many writers overlook, which was her strength of will and "never quit attitude." She knew that she was outclassed by Morlun but to protect Peter she fought him anyway, and never gave up fighting him. JMS also managed in this issue to capture with frightening clarity what it would be like to lose a spouse, it was heart wrenching to read and makes me just want to curl up with my wife after reading it. However, all is not praise for JMS this issue. As well as JMS did with MJ in this issue the other main character, the antagonist, Morlun, was not done very well, and that was perplexing considering he created him. In Morlun's original issues he was depicted as a force of nature, a predator who held no ill will towards Peter nor innocents. He was not against using innocents to get what he needed, but was also not unnecessarily cruel nor malicious. He was driven as he said in the end by hunger, and not by malice. As such he was an interesting villain. In this issue though Morlun was uncharacteristically cruel, and thus, rather generic. The other bungle in Morlun's character was with reference to his feeding. In this issue he planned to feed on MJ, when in his original appearances it was stated that he fed on those with totemic powers (MJ had no totemic powers, unless super-modeling is a totemic power). These inconsistencies in characterization were the only stumbles that he made in this issue. If they had been necessary for the story I wouldn't have minded it so much, but they were not necessary for the story and their inclusion only weakened this otherwise great tale. Mike Wieringo was consistent with his quality on this story. But I'm a Mike Wieringo fan. He did an adequate job on Morlun, his MJ was not as bad as some, but not as good as others (he just didn't seem capable of capturing that supermodel physique that MJ was supposed to have), and there are just his usual oddities, like Jessica Drew's arm after kicking in the door for MJ. It looked like Reed Richard's arm the way it was stretched. He ranked higher in this issue than usual mainly because of the lack of action, particularly Peter in action, and his outstanding portrayal of MJ's anguish. Mike's strength is slow or non action scenes and this issue had plenty of them. The final two page spread of Iron Man flying the shrouded body of Peter away was breathtakingly beautiful, the panel where MJ was running to Peter's hospital room begging him to hang on as tears rolled down her face was exquisite, and the two pages with just MJ and Peter before he died were incredibly rendered. JMS and Mike teamed up on this issue to turn out a rarity for me. An issue of a comic that can make me literally tear up, not cry because as JMS had Peter once say “that is not what I do” but tear up. I reread this issue for the third time to do this review and although I knew what was going to happen, and although I knew that Peter would not stay dead (after all he's Marvel's flagship character), I still teared up when I read it. It was amazing how well JMS was able to manipulate the dialogue and situations while Mike was able to portray the scenes and characters to strike such emotion in me as a reader. |
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Post by sabongero on Sept 30, 2019 18:48:00 GMT -5
 Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #1June 2004 "Down Among The Dead Men Part One of Four" Writer: Mark Millar Penciler: Terry Dodson Inker: Rachel Dodson Colorist: Ian Hanin Letterer: Cory Petit Editor: Axel Alonso Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: "Big, deep breath, Parker..." Now there's some good advice from the Green Goblin at the start of this series. I have this feeling Spider-Man's got a lot coming his way in the next 12 issues of this series. Many new #1 issues put out by Marvel felt useless. Unnecessary. This one, however, was not. It did have the more adult-oriented, sophisticated feel Millar was going for. The first time we see Spider-Man in this series, his mask's lenses were broken, his costume was ripped in numerous places and he's unconscious, in the fetal position, among alleyway garbage. A bright, new Sunday morning for most New Yorkers, but just another all-nighter fighting a costumed super-villian for Peter Parker. This latest battle, against the Green Goblin. Peter finally got the upper hand in the most obvious way. He grabbed the eye-holes of Osborn's rubber mask and twisted it sideways, blocking the maniac's vision. Then punched and repeated, while shouting "Who's your daddy now, Mister Osborn!?!" Next, while he looked for for a good clobbering tool, a bystander yelled for him to hit the Green Goblin with a mailbox. With Osborn finally settled down, in typical Spider-Man luck, the crowd turned on him, accusing Spider-Man of using excessive force. The police showed up and our superhero has swung away. Cutting to Peter arriving at Aunt May's soon to be available Queens townhouse, it seemed Aunt May was going to be moving into the city near the kids and MJ and Peter were helping her pack. Some nice witty dialogue, a touching moment or two, and a cool continuity moment thrown in (involving the engagement ring given to Aunt May by Dr. Octopus years ago), and we see Peter at Midtown High, teaching class. But not before we noticed that a man was following Peter around, hanging from trees upside down, giving him the hairy eyeball. While in class, Peter received a phone call that sent him to the cemetery where Uncle Ben's gravestone had been smashed. He was about to chalk it up to neighborhood kids, Peter received a call on his cellphone. On the other line? Our mysterious upside-down person from earlier. It seemed he pieced together the Spider-Man/Peter Parker connection. Also it seemed he's behind uncle Ben's messy gravestone and that his next target involved Aunt May. This sent Peter swinging back to her place, sans costume, and burst in through the window, only to see that the place was trashed and Aunt May was nowhere to be found. To Be Continued in the next issue. Comments: Oh, that was good. It's a great starting point for what I hope will be an entertaining 12 issues of Spider-Man. We already have a great Spider-Man fight, the classic Parker luck, some touching talky bits and a good mystery to boot. Where's it all going, who knows? But I think the journey's gonna kick some amazing friendly neighborhood spectacular ass, or in this case marvel knights ass. The art was nice and we get detailed pencils from Terry Dodson and smooth inks from Rachel Dodson. Every panel was clear and easily read. No gimmicks here, just beautiful art. The cover had a beautiful wrap-around cover by the Dodsons. The front panel had a nice midair shot of Spider-Man, with the Black Cat mid-swing in the background. The back panel revealed the newly revamped Dr. Octopus (featuring Matrix-style sunglasses and trenchcoat, the Green Goblin sporting the Ramos-designed costume, and the classic versions of Electro and the Vulture. There's vibrant colors, smooth inks. Also there's the new MK Spider-Man black and red logo. All in all it's a fantastic jumping-on point for new readers with great action and mystery. I'm actually looking forward to reading the next issue. |
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Post by sabongero on Jun 17, 2020 17:09:50 GMT -5
 Thing #3"Turning Point" 0.60 USD @ September 1983 Writer: John Byrne Penciler: Ron Wilson Inker: Hilary Barta Colorist: Bob Sharen Letterer: Rick Parker Editor: Ann Nocenti Editor in Chief: Jim Shooter Synopsis: At Mercy Hospital, The Thing was at the gift shop and bought Alicia Masters a locket, when a disturbance in the hospital transpired. The Inhumans Crystal and Lockjaw arrived via Lockjaw's teleportation powers and sought Ben Grimm's help to retrieve Crystal's daughter. Ben turned Crystal over to the care of a hospital doctor, and proceeded to Attilan with Lockjaw. When they arrived in Attilan, they were greeted by Inhuman guards who were no match for The Thing's strength but soon was overpowered by their weapons. Regaining consciousness, The Thing found himself bound in omnium steel chains and Lockjaw incarcerated in a special cage preventing his teleportation powers. The Inhuman Royal Family appeared in the chamber where Medusa explained the situation regarding an ancient Inhuman tradition where an Inhuman child's father decided if his child should be exposed to the Terrigen Mist to grant the child unknown powers. Medusa was against it, and walked away, and a sorrowful Black Bolt departed the chamber behind her with the Royal Family. Using the trinket he bought earlier, Ben threw it at the contraption above Lockjaw's cage as if it was a missile, and the Inhuman was freed and teleported himself and Thing out of there and into the Terrigen Mist chamber to head off Quicksilver who held the infant. Ben was too slow for the speedster, but not quick enough for a teleporter like Lockjaw who snagged baby Luna from Quicksilver's grasp and teleported out of there. An enraged Quicksilver took off after Lockjaw leaving The Thing in the Terrigen Mist chamber who tried to follow them. But he was blocked at the royal courtyard by the Inhuman leader, Black Bolt, and his entourage. Black Bolt ordered The Thing to leave the premises, and of course Ben refused until his mission was completed. He and Black Bolt battled. One punch and The Thing was sent hurtling through various infrastructures. He then took down Black Bolt and Black Bolt responded with another punch that hurtled Ben Grimm through various infrastructures. Before more damage took place, Lockjaw along with Crystal and baby Luna appeared via teleportation with Crystal pleading for the battle to cease. Quicksilver tried to talk to Crystal to give him their daughter to expose to the Terrigen Mist because he would rather have the baby be anything other than being a normal human being with no powers. And for the first time in Marvel history, Lockjaw spoke, "Anything Pietro? Even me?" And at that, all hostilities and arguments ceased. A quiet ensued. Afterwards, Crystal thanked Ben Grimm for his assistance, and Ben told her to take care of her human child and make sure that she lives a deserved human existence. Ben and Lockjaw teleported out of Attilan, and Ben now knew why Lockjaw went to him for help instead of Crystal's ex-boyfriend Johnny Storm. Ben asked Lockjaw how come he never spoke before, and the Inhuman responded, "Never had anything to say Ben." Comments: This was a dramatic story that had layers upon layers of emotion that not only showed the problem of an ancient Inhuman tradition but also reverberated to decisions of parents and the rights of an individual. It also, tore at the core of The Things number one problem, that of human vs monster, and if there was a choice, Ben Grimm would definitely take one particular side. It was heart-wrenching and at the same time a fantastic way to end the conflict in the story, and a historical first in the Marvel Universe. John Byrne definitely earned his super-duper stripes as a writer in this issue. Lockjaw's first dialog was not only instrumental in putting an end to the conflict, but also may perhaps have changed an ancient Inhuman tradition as well. It showed you John Byrne's storytelling at his prime. Ron Wilson provided excellent artwork as he captured both the emotional moments and action sequences really well. Black Bolt was illustrated to show as a royal sovereign and also as a sorrowful husband. The pain on the faces of the women with Medusa and Crystal really captured the anguish of a mother towards their child. Agonizing. Even Quicksilver's moment of clarity when Lockjaw spoke for the first time, captured a father coming to his senses and realizing his mistake. This is one superb issue by this creative team. |
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Post by brutalis on Jun 17, 2020 19:41:22 GMT -5
When this was fresh off the printer & many were bemoaning Byrne removing bashful Benjy from the Quatros Los Fantastico I was truly loving what Byrne/ Wilson were creating for Ben as a solo series. I was always a fan of Wilson's rendition of the Thing & he gave so much character in his portrayals of Ben in facial as well in physical posture and physical movement. Combined with Byrne at the typewriter Ben had never seen such a HUMAN portrait of man inside the monster. I personally feel Byrne/Wilson managed to outdo Stan/Jack in many ways. Granted that time & comics evolution make it a bit unfair for a real comparison but the Thing series just built a stronger character upon the already great foundation!
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Post by sabongero on Jul 1, 2020 20:05:31 GMT -5
 Ms. Marvel v2 #7"Battle Lines" 2.99 USD @ November 2006 Writer: Brian Reed Penciler: Roberto De La Torre Inker: Jon Sibal Colorist: Chris Sotomayor Letter: Dave Sharpe Editor: Andy Schmidt Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada Synopsis: Wonder Man and Ms. Marvel took Arana to Stark Towers for training. Elsewhere, Arachne and the Shroud were superheroing in another part of the city. She mentioned to Max that Tony Stark contacted her to join his superhero registration forces but turned it down. At Stark's Tower, Wonder Man and Ms. Marvel were summoned by Iron Man to bring in Arachne and the Shroud. They found them and a brief battle ensued in the highway. The Shroud was captured and Arachne escaped. But for how long? Comments: The superheroes are still divided as we have the original Civil War storyline pervaiding across the Marvel Universe. Choose your side. Captain America or Iron Man. You can defend each side's perception in regards to the Superhero Registration Act. It all depends on your view on utilitarianism and deantology. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 2, 2020 5:41:35 GMT -5
Ron Wilson provided excellent artwork as he captured both the emotional moments and action sequences really well. Black Bolt was illustrated to show as a royal sovereign and also as a sorrowful husband. The pain on the faces of the women with Medusa and Crystal really captured the anguish of a mother towards their child. Agonizing. Even Quicksilver's moment of clarity when Lockjaw spoke for the first time, captured a father coming to his senses and realizing his mistake. This is one superb issue by this creative team. I can see how Lockjaw being a human mutated into a dog-like form would make for a dramatic development, especially in the context of this story, but it's such a confusing retcon that I'm glad it was de-retconned later on. If Lockjaw was really a person all along, the Inhumans treating him like an actual dog for all those years would come across as absolute monsters! Besides, considering that Inhumans come in all shapes and forms, I don't think that someone looking like Lockjaw would be in any worse position than, say, Hank McCoy looking like a blue ape or a huge cat was among the X-Men. Black Bolt being unable to speak is probably worse off in Attilan society! |
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