Spider-Verse (The Amazing Spider-Man #s 7 to 11, Superior Spider Man #32 and 33)
(writer) Dan Slott
(artists) Olivier Coipel, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Humberto Ramos, Adam Kubert (with various inkers)
(colorist) various
The biggest Spider-Man event of 2014 (next to Peter Parker's return, of course), kicked off in earnest last month, and unfortunately, I wasn't around for it, unfortunately, but I have since caught up, and boy, am I glad I did. This won't really be a proper review, given the sheer number of issues involved, but I would like to share some impressions on what is shaping up to be a pretty big milestone for Spidey.
Writer Dan Slott, this time joined by the magnificent Olivier Coipel, having brought Peter Parker back from the dead, now pits him against a foe that has actually almost killed him twice, the energy vampire Morlun. To ramp up the stakes, Slott introduces a whole family of "Morluns," a family of centuries old energy vampires known as the Inheritors. The good news, though, is that Peter won't be facing them alone; he'll have help from Spider-Men from universes all over the multiverse. The question is, will even their combined strength and brains be enough to conquer a foe that lives solely to consume them?
The thing about Morlun, as a character, is that there really wasn't all that much to him in terms of back story in both the times that he fought Spider-Man. He was, most likely by design, shrouded in mystery, and Slott has seen this as an opportunity to build a whole world around him. Of course, a lot of these narrative innovations could very well create retroactive plot holes in Morlun's previous appearances, but I will give Slott high marks for his sense of scope. He really is turning out to be quite the Ringmaster of the Spidey circus; since he took over solo writing duties back in 2010 he's churned out quite a "event" storylines like "Spider-Island," "The Ends of the Earth," and, of course "Superior Spider-Man," probably the story for which he will be best remembered.
The best part of this new story arc, however, is far and away artist Olivier Coipel, who brings a dynamic look this book hasn't enjoyed since Stefano Caselli left the Spider-books some years ago.With due respect to series regulars Humberto Ramos and Giuseppe Camuncoli, who also turn in some work here, Coipel brings his "A" game to these pages, and elevates the entire story in the process. His take on Spider-man, from his size, to his body language, to the ever present web swinging, proves that Coipel is a natural fit for this title, which makes it all the more regrettable that Camuncoli will be alternating on art duties for at least two issues. Coipel is a true superstar, and I hope he comes back to the book after this story wraps up early next year.
Welcome to Spider-Verse Peter Parker and friends! Hope you survive the experience!
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Why Daryl Dixon Must Die (Mild Spoilers for The Walking Dead Season 5)
As much as I wanted to follow season 5 of AMC's insanely popular ongoing series The Walking Dead from the very first episode, I was out of town and without any access to cable television for the two weeks during which the first two episodes aired. As a result, I missed the two episodes in which Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and his crew escaped the clutches of the cannibals from Terminus, who had them in a bit of a bind at the end of Season 4. I did make it back in time, however, to see team Rick dispatch the Terminus cannibals in a decidedly...final fashion.
With the Terminus crew dealt with, the group splits in two and the focus of the story is primarily about finding Beth (Emily Kinney).
It's eight episodes packed with murder, mayhem, cannibalism, and, of course zombies, all of which comes to a head in a mid-season finale that, while still a shocker in some ways, no longer delivers the same impact that the older episodes, especially the ones involving character deaths, used to do.
There's no point in reviewing the first half of the season, which has been over and done with for a couple of weeks now, but I feel I have to weigh in on a trend I'm observing, especially with two character deaths over the course of eight episodes. The thing about both of the characters who kicked the proverbial bucket was that they basically had "will die eventually" written all over them. Two more characters have joined the group, but the cynic in me says it's only a matter of time before they bite the big one as well (or, as is often the case with this show, get bitten).
The simple reality is that characters will come and characters will go; such is the nature of this show, and in a show about a zombie apocalypse death is basically a constant companion for supposedly everyone.
After five seasons and some real humdingers for episodes, however, the show has finally started falling into a rut of sorts, with one of the two character deaths coming across as downright predictable and the other one, coming across as ill-conceived, almost as if it was done purely so that the show's writers could meet their shock and awe quota.
Worse still, it seems to have become fairly clear that the whole "anyone can die" wisdom does not quite apply to everyone.
While there are still five characters alive from the show's very first season, most of them may yet get their ticket punched. To my mind, however, there is one character the showrunners have no intention of killing at all.
Glenn, the Korean American played by Steven Yuen, has already been somewhat brutally killed in the comics, so his character is at risk.
Michonne, the katana-wielding badass played by Danai Gurira who joined the show in season 3, is arguably the most popular character from both the comics and the movies, but at the end of the day, she is both black and a woman, two demographics which generally have not had the best record of longevity in this series. Also, while killing her would have genuine and profound shock value, the death of Glenn in the comics has pretty much established her as fair game.
Carl Grimes (Chandler Rigg) the son of the lead character Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is a character whose death would arguably be the most tragic of all, given that he and his sister Judith represent the future of that bleak world, but considering how many kids have been offed I can definitely see it happening, whether or not the producers ever decide to pull the trigger on him.
Rick may be the lead character of both the television and comic book series, but at the beginning of season 4 the writers teased the possibility that he had turned into a walker, specifically in that episode when he and Carl were holed up in am abandoned house following the governor's destruction of the prison. It may not happen soon, if it happens at all, but the people behind the show have already hinted at what Rick's demise would be like.
Which brings us to Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), a TV-exclusive character who, I will venture to say, is easily the most popular.
Daryl has had his share of close calls during his five-season tenure. There was the possibility that he might die in Woodbury episodes, or when walkers overran the funeral home where he and Beth briefly holed up, or at the hands of the Terminus cannibals, to name but a few.
As a result of all these near misses, I have come to believe that the show's bosses have no intention of killing Daryl off, at least not while his popularity is so high. He is a fantastic character, really, and Reedus plays him with incredible charisma. The problem, is thought, that the notion of a character who remains impervious to any lasting harm feels like an antithesis to one of the show's central themes, which is the fragility and fleeting nature of life. It is for this reason that, sooner or later, Daryl has to die.
Sure, fans would go absolutely insane, but Daryl's death would truly slam home the point that anyone in the show is potential zombie food, or cannon fodder. All bets would be off, and each and every episode would be terrifying for fans because no one would ever feel safe again.
THAT'S the kind of thrill this show needs to really bring back the sense of urgency and utter peril of those first season episodes.
With the Terminus crew dealt with, the group splits in two and the focus of the story is primarily about finding Beth (Emily Kinney).
It's eight episodes packed with murder, mayhem, cannibalism, and, of course zombies, all of which comes to a head in a mid-season finale that, while still a shocker in some ways, no longer delivers the same impact that the older episodes, especially the ones involving character deaths, used to do.
There's no point in reviewing the first half of the season, which has been over and done with for a couple of weeks now, but I feel I have to weigh in on a trend I'm observing, especially with two character deaths over the course of eight episodes. The thing about both of the characters who kicked the proverbial bucket was that they basically had "will die eventually" written all over them. Two more characters have joined the group, but the cynic in me says it's only a matter of time before they bite the big one as well (or, as is often the case with this show, get bitten).
The simple reality is that characters will come and characters will go; such is the nature of this show, and in a show about a zombie apocalypse death is basically a constant companion for supposedly everyone.
After five seasons and some real humdingers for episodes, however, the show has finally started falling into a rut of sorts, with one of the two character deaths coming across as downright predictable and the other one, coming across as ill-conceived, almost as if it was done purely so that the show's writers could meet their shock and awe quota.
Worse still, it seems to have become fairly clear that the whole "anyone can die" wisdom does not quite apply to everyone.
While there are still five characters alive from the show's very first season, most of them may yet get their ticket punched. To my mind, however, there is one character the showrunners have no intention of killing at all.
Glenn, the Korean American played by Steven Yuen, has already been somewhat brutally killed in the comics, so his character is at risk.
Michonne, the katana-wielding badass played by Danai Gurira who joined the show in season 3, is arguably the most popular character from both the comics and the movies, but at the end of the day, she is both black and a woman, two demographics which generally have not had the best record of longevity in this series. Also, while killing her would have genuine and profound shock value, the death of Glenn in the comics has pretty much established her as fair game.
Carl Grimes (Chandler Rigg) the son of the lead character Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is a character whose death would arguably be the most tragic of all, given that he and his sister Judith represent the future of that bleak world, but considering how many kids have been offed I can definitely see it happening, whether or not the producers ever decide to pull the trigger on him.
Rick may be the lead character of both the television and comic book series, but at the beginning of season 4 the writers teased the possibility that he had turned into a walker, specifically in that episode when he and Carl were holed up in am abandoned house following the governor's destruction of the prison. It may not happen soon, if it happens at all, but the people behind the show have already hinted at what Rick's demise would be like.
Which brings us to Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), a TV-exclusive character who, I will venture to say, is easily the most popular.
Daryl has had his share of close calls during his five-season tenure. There was the possibility that he might die in Woodbury episodes, or when walkers overran the funeral home where he and Beth briefly holed up, or at the hands of the Terminus cannibals, to name but a few.
As a result of all these near misses, I have come to believe that the show's bosses have no intention of killing Daryl off, at least not while his popularity is so high. He is a fantastic character, really, and Reedus plays him with incredible charisma. The problem, is thought, that the notion of a character who remains impervious to any lasting harm feels like an antithesis to one of the show's central themes, which is the fragility and fleeting nature of life. It is for this reason that, sooner or later, Daryl has to die.
Sure, fans would go absolutely insane, but Daryl's death would truly slam home the point that anyone in the show is potential zombie food, or cannon fodder. All bets would be off, and each and every episode would be terrifying for fans because no one would ever feel safe again.
THAT'S the kind of thrill this show needs to really bring back the sense of urgency and utter peril of those first season episodes.
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