wrtitten by Dan Slott
penciled by Stuart Immonen
inked by Wade von Grawbadger
colored by Marte Gracia
The "Secret Empire" crossover makes its way into the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man as the newly-minted Superior Doctor Octopus--who's basically Otto Octavius in a cloned body of Peter Parker, complete with Octo arms--teams up with Hydra to take back the company he founded, namely Parker Industries. Peter, who naturally rebuffed Doc Ock's initial attempts to take over the company, is caught up at first in the battle against Hydra, led this time by Captain America, of all people, but when he realizes that Doc Ock is gunning for his last standing operation in Shanghai, he makes what he fears may be Parker Industries' final stand.
As a long-time reader of Spider-Man (30 years and counting), I get that "CEO Peter" is not the most relatable iteration of the character. I also get that Spider-Man is at his best when he's being put through the wringer, as Slott is clearly doing now, and the end goal is to basically strip him of his company, which seems to have been made clear by the writing and marketing of future issues. Sure, Peter's company may have been working on things like curing disease and renewable energy, but Marvel's already got one billionaire scientist superhero, so it's high time for Spidey to get "demoted" back to lovable loser, right?
Well, I have no problem with Slott taking the character back in that general direction, or at least away from a direction that has Peter looking too much like Tony Stark lite, but I confess I'm not at all crazy about how he's going about it.
I don't have any problem believing that Doc Ock could outwit Peter; I accepted that he was able to do it in the events leading to his tenure as the "Superior" Spider-Man, but the story conceit that Doc Ock could still pull surprises on Peter regarding his own tech and his own company is just bad writing. After all, Ock basically killed Peter, for all intents and purposes. One would imagine that Peter would exert utmost care when it came to dealing with anything that Ock might have had a hand in developing, including all the Parker Industries tech, especially after finding out, over in "The Clone Conspiracy," that Otto was still alive. Otto shouldn't have been able to pull the surprises on Peter that he has pulled so far. I'll grant that maybe Slott still has some surprises up his sleeve, but the fact that Otto's gotten this far with Peter without having been shut down is either Peter being incredibly crafty or incredibly stupid. Either way, the writing just feels unnecessarily contrived to justify a four-part arc to fill up yet another trade paperback.
It's a good thing for this story, however, that Stuart Immonen and his frequent collaborators Wade Von Grawbadger and Marte Gracia are around. I am a huge Immonen fan; I have all twelve issues of Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., the first eleven issues of All-New X-Men, and even the six issues of Ultimate Fantastic Four he drew for Warren Ellis. The guy is just supremely talented, both as a storyteller and an illustrator, and the remarkable thing about his work on this book so far, six issues into his tenure, is that he seems to have gotten even better than he already is, which is really saying something. He's just drawing on a whole other level here, and I want to be around for every issue of it. Had it been Giuseppe Camuncoli or even Humberto Ramos drawing these stories I'd already be gone because of how disagreeable I find Slott's scripting. Wade von Grawbadger inks him just about better than anyone else, and Marte Gracia make his already vivid images pop even more.
Thanks for saving this book for me, Stuart, Wade and Marte.
6/10
Monday, July 24, 2017
Friday, July 21, 2017
A Book Finally Worthy of the Epithet: A Review of Astonishing X-Men #1
written by Charles Soule
penciled by Jim Cheung
inked by Mark Morales
covered by Richard Isanove and Rain Beredo
It's been a while since I've followed any of the X-Men books with any regularity, so when I picked this book off the shelves I knew very little about it, except that Charles Soule, a writer whose work I am increasingly warming up to, and Jimmy Cheung, an artist whose work I adore, were working on it. I hadn't even read any of the marketing materials, so I had next to no expectations, and I gotta say, even if I had gone there with expectations, they would have almost certainly been exceeded.
A mysterious force begins attacking psychics all around the world, claiming the lives of the weaker, isolated psychics, before it finds Psylocke, one the X-men and a particularly formidable target. The assailant attacks her just the same, prompting to reach out with her powers to whichever X-Men are close enough to help. Those who come to answer the call are Bishop, Angel, Rogue, Gambit, (Old Man) Logan, and Fantomex. They converge on the scene of the trouble, in London, not a moment too soon, as the psychic attack has caused Psylocke's powers to go wildly out of control, with a lot of destruction as a result. Can they stop the destruction and go after the real threat before it's too late?
When Charles Soule tried (unsuccessfully) to launch an Inhumans book two or three years ago with superstar artist Joe Madureira, I was almost emphatically underwhelmed by the story and left the title as soon as Madureira did.
Maybe it's because Soule has grown as a writer or maybe it's just because the X-Men are somehow more interesting than the Inhumans, but this book works a lot better than the Inhumans relaunch did. For me it was down to a number of things, like a good handle on characters, good pacing and a nice, done-in-one vibe to the issue which nonetheless kicks off something bigger. And Jim Cheung's art sings to me more than Madureira's did. As a kick-off issue that has to juggle an ensemble cast, it doesn't always hit the marks, but it does set up the action very efficiently, and offer the tiniest bit of exposition as to the characters. It's worth pointing out, though, that it won't make that much sense to anyone picking up an X-Men book for the very first time, though people who've been exposed to the characters through the movies will recognize most of the characters. As a push of the "refresh" button on the X-Men, this works for me. I still prefer Soule's more intimate work over in "Daredevil" but he's shown he's up to the challenge of relaunching an X-book.
As for Jim Cheung, well, as high as my expectations were upon learning he was drawing this book were, he's somehow managed to exceed them. The difference between this and his previous work could be down to Mark Morales' inking or Richard Isanove's brilliant colors, but Cheung absolutely shines here and sets the bar really high for Mike Deodato Jr., who's set to draw the second issue. Whether it's the action sequences (which dominate the book), or the quieter moments, Cheung really hits all the marks, and with a huge splash-page/money shot at the very end of the book he's got me absolutely hooked for the next issue.
The storytelling pace is good and the art is out of this world, though in some instances, for some reason, the dialogue doesn't work all that well for me, especially with the inter-team banter, but it's early days for this iteration of the Astonishing X-Men, and that feels like a distinctly minor quibble.
I don't know if I'll stick around for more than the first arc, but if nothing else this book is off to a solid start.
8.5/10
penciled by Jim Cheung
inked by Mark Morales
covered by Richard Isanove and Rain Beredo
It's been a while since I've followed any of the X-Men books with any regularity, so when I picked this book off the shelves I knew very little about it, except that Charles Soule, a writer whose work I am increasingly warming up to, and Jimmy Cheung, an artist whose work I adore, were working on it. I hadn't even read any of the marketing materials, so I had next to no expectations, and I gotta say, even if I had gone there with expectations, they would have almost certainly been exceeded.
A mysterious force begins attacking psychics all around the world, claiming the lives of the weaker, isolated psychics, before it finds Psylocke, one the X-men and a particularly formidable target. The assailant attacks her just the same, prompting to reach out with her powers to whichever X-Men are close enough to help. Those who come to answer the call are Bishop, Angel, Rogue, Gambit, (Old Man) Logan, and Fantomex. They converge on the scene of the trouble, in London, not a moment too soon, as the psychic attack has caused Psylocke's powers to go wildly out of control, with a lot of destruction as a result. Can they stop the destruction and go after the real threat before it's too late?
When Charles Soule tried (unsuccessfully) to launch an Inhumans book two or three years ago with superstar artist Joe Madureira, I was almost emphatically underwhelmed by the story and left the title as soon as Madureira did.
Maybe it's because Soule has grown as a writer or maybe it's just because the X-Men are somehow more interesting than the Inhumans, but this book works a lot better than the Inhumans relaunch did. For me it was down to a number of things, like a good handle on characters, good pacing and a nice, done-in-one vibe to the issue which nonetheless kicks off something bigger. And Jim Cheung's art sings to me more than Madureira's did. As a kick-off issue that has to juggle an ensemble cast, it doesn't always hit the marks, but it does set up the action very efficiently, and offer the tiniest bit of exposition as to the characters. It's worth pointing out, though, that it won't make that much sense to anyone picking up an X-Men book for the very first time, though people who've been exposed to the characters through the movies will recognize most of the characters. As a push of the "refresh" button on the X-Men, this works for me. I still prefer Soule's more intimate work over in "Daredevil" but he's shown he's up to the challenge of relaunching an X-book.
As for Jim Cheung, well, as high as my expectations were upon learning he was drawing this book were, he's somehow managed to exceed them. The difference between this and his previous work could be down to Mark Morales' inking or Richard Isanove's brilliant colors, but Cheung absolutely shines here and sets the bar really high for Mike Deodato Jr., who's set to draw the second issue. Whether it's the action sequences (which dominate the book), or the quieter moments, Cheung really hits all the marks, and with a huge splash-page/money shot at the very end of the book he's got me absolutely hooked for the next issue.
The storytelling pace is good and the art is out of this world, though in some instances, for some reason, the dialogue doesn't work all that well for me, especially with the inter-team banter, but it's early days for this iteration of the Astonishing X-Men, and that feels like a distinctly minor quibble.
I don't know if I'll stick around for more than the first arc, but if nothing else this book is off to a solid start.
8.5/10
Thursday, July 20, 2017
BFFs: A Review of Daredevil #24
written by Charles Soule
drawn by Alec Morgan
colored by Matt Milla
Matt Murdock loses his bid to have the courts declare the testimony of masked vigilantes as admissible evidence, with the New York State Court of Appeals voting against him 4-3. His only recourse is now to elevate the case to the Federal Supreme Court on certiorari. Mortified, the District Attorney's office, for whom Matt works, keeps him on board but cuts off all support for his efforts to pursue this case. Matt needs to find co-counsel for his petition to the Supreme Court, and only one person comes to mind: Foggy Nelson. However, their relationship having been strained lately, it'll be an uphill battle for Matt, especially since Tombstone, still acting on the orders of Wilson Fisk attacks Matt for the second time in as many issues.
The issue opens with a newspaper headline reading that Matt has lost in the Court of Appeals. Soule doesn't waste any time getting to the meat of the story, i.e. Matt will need Foggy's help but for some reason this issue did not quite ring true with me. For one thing, the meeting-in-a-bar-only-to-be-attacked-by-Tombstone shtick virtually replicates what happened last issue, only this time without She-Hulk nearly pounding Tombstone into pulp. It was probably deliberate on Soule's part, but it felt no less redundant, and this time the three or four pages of Matt fighting Tombstone really feel like a "token action sequence" to break the monotony of the talking heads.
The thing is, here, I LIKED the back and forth between Matt and Foggy. Things have been tense between them since this title took its new direction, and when it was explained that this was because after the Purple Man's kids made everyone forget Matt's secret identity, he had revealed himself to Foggy and Foggy alone, I thought that this had a lot of story potential. The action sequence could easily have been swapped out for more dialogue between Matt and Foggy and the story would have had no less impact.
For me the opening dialogue between Matt and his boss about the loss, the dialogue between Kingpin and his victorious lawyer about Matt's next move, and ultimately Matt's dialogue with Foggy are more than enough to drive the issue forward. The fight scene really feels tacked on.
Also, Alec Morgan's art has gone from just about competent to downright bad, especially when compared to the art of the next two books I will review, one of which was also written by Soule.
As an aside, I have to say I'm not happy about the fact this story has Foggy drinking beer and chowing down on hotdogs six nights a week so soon after he recovered from cancer, which was a major plot point near the end of Mark Waid's run, and which was even directly referenced by Soule in his flashback story. As someone who's seen cancer ravage family members I know that it can be a really life-changing experience, and to have a character revert to old habits as if nothing happened just a few years ago seems somehow disrespectful to what was clearly an attempt by Waid to pay some form of homage to cancer survivors.
This does not bode well for the conclusion of this arc, but I remain cautiously optimistic just the same.
6.5/10
drawn by Alec Morgan
colored by Matt Milla
Matt Murdock loses his bid to have the courts declare the testimony of masked vigilantes as admissible evidence, with the New York State Court of Appeals voting against him 4-3. His only recourse is now to elevate the case to the Federal Supreme Court on certiorari. Mortified, the District Attorney's office, for whom Matt works, keeps him on board but cuts off all support for his efforts to pursue this case. Matt needs to find co-counsel for his petition to the Supreme Court, and only one person comes to mind: Foggy Nelson. However, their relationship having been strained lately, it'll be an uphill battle for Matt, especially since Tombstone, still acting on the orders of Wilson Fisk attacks Matt for the second time in as many issues.
The issue opens with a newspaper headline reading that Matt has lost in the Court of Appeals. Soule doesn't waste any time getting to the meat of the story, i.e. Matt will need Foggy's help but for some reason this issue did not quite ring true with me. For one thing, the meeting-in-a-bar-only-to-be-attacked-by-Tombstone shtick virtually replicates what happened last issue, only this time without She-Hulk nearly pounding Tombstone into pulp. It was probably deliberate on Soule's part, but it felt no less redundant, and this time the three or four pages of Matt fighting Tombstone really feel like a "token action sequence" to break the monotony of the talking heads.
The thing is, here, I LIKED the back and forth between Matt and Foggy. Things have been tense between them since this title took its new direction, and when it was explained that this was because after the Purple Man's kids made everyone forget Matt's secret identity, he had revealed himself to Foggy and Foggy alone, I thought that this had a lot of story potential. The action sequence could easily have been swapped out for more dialogue between Matt and Foggy and the story would have had no less impact.
For me the opening dialogue between Matt and his boss about the loss, the dialogue between Kingpin and his victorious lawyer about Matt's next move, and ultimately Matt's dialogue with Foggy are more than enough to drive the issue forward. The fight scene really feels tacked on.
Also, Alec Morgan's art has gone from just about competent to downright bad, especially when compared to the art of the next two books I will review, one of which was also written by Soule.
As an aside, I have to say I'm not happy about the fact this story has Foggy drinking beer and chowing down on hotdogs six nights a week so soon after he recovered from cancer, which was a major plot point near the end of Mark Waid's run, and which was even directly referenced by Soule in his flashback story. As someone who's seen cancer ravage family members I know that it can be a really life-changing experience, and to have a character revert to old habits as if nothing happened just a few years ago seems somehow disrespectful to what was clearly an attempt by Waid to pay some form of homage to cancer survivors.
This does not bode well for the conclusion of this arc, but I remain cautiously optimistic just the same.
6.5/10
Sunday, July 16, 2017
For Anyone Who Has Ever Wondered What Happens to Supervillains After Superheroes Leave Them Tied Up for the Cops: A Review of Daredevil: Supreme (So Far)
written by Charles Soule
illustrated by Goran Sudzuka, Alec Morgan (issue #23)
colored by Matt Milla
In "Running with the Devil" Charles Soule reconciled the ending of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee's bright, cheery run on "Daredevil" with his gritty, noir-inspired status quo, even if it did involve a somewhat liberal interpretation of Purple Man's mind control powers and a fairly convenient plot device (i.e. a power amplifier), and delivered the best story I'd seen from him since he started his run on this book.
Little did I know, however, that he was just getting started.
"Supreme" sets out to answer a series of related questions that I am certain many comic-book fans with even just passing interest in the criminal justice system have asked: what happens after the superheroes have left the crooks with the cops? How are the crooks convicted in court? Do the superheroes testify during the trial? How does the court appreciate their testimony? These are the kinds of thoughts that could even arise from watching the new Spider-Man movie considering (mild spoiler) that after a bad guy is captured, it is mentioned that he is scheduled to go on trial.
The question is also posed in this very story line, and who better to approximate an answer to a hypothetical question that will, of course, never be answered in real life than an actual, honest-to-goodness lawyer? Yup, Charles Soule's legal background is an advantage he has over just about every other prominent writer in DD's history, and he puts his knowledge to good use here writing a storyline which, if Soule's dialogue for Matt is to be believed, has been percolating in the writer's mind since the very beginning.
To make a long story (one that's spanned three issues so far) short, Matt has a grand plan, which he shares with his colleagues and superior at the District Attorney's Office, to make it possible for superheroes to testify in court as to the criminals they've captured...without ever having to unmask and expose themselves. Their test case involves, as a witness, no less than Daredevil himself. The outlandish plan gains momentum by hurdling the trial court and is elevated on appeal. Suddenly, criminals with a lot to lose if this case establishes doctrine, take notice, specifically DD's longtime nemesis Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin.
It's kind of tragic that, even as one of the most interesting superhero stories in recent memory is playing out, Marvel seems unduly preoccupied with yet another line-wide reboot to pump up flagging sales. They couldn't even be bothered to hook Soule up with an A-list artist. I mean, with all due respect to Goran Sudzuka and Alec Morgan, who are entirely competent, this story, at minimum, merits the work of the series' mainstay Ron Garney, and would be much better served by the work of an even higher-profile artist. At the very least they could have stuck with one artist instead of rotating these two. Such an uneven experience with the art really doesn't do the overall story any favors.
Still, the writing is riveting, and the pacing impeccable. Soule walks a tightrope here; it's easy for the storytelling to be dominated by talking heads, which is really the meat and potatoes of the story, but he injects the right amount of action into each issue, with the latest issue featuring a fight with the gangster and Spider-Man bad guy Tombstone and an appearance by no less than She Hulk.
Given the length of the story arcs this series has had so far, this one probably only has two more issues to wrap up, but however this plays out it will have lasting ramifications for the Marvel Universe, and not in some hopelessly contrived, cosmic kind of way but in a very practical, down-to-earth manner. I honestly cannot wait to see how this ends because I don't see any cop-out endings working here.
8/10
illustrated by Goran Sudzuka, Alec Morgan (issue #23)
colored by Matt Milla
In "Running with the Devil" Charles Soule reconciled the ending of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee's bright, cheery run on "Daredevil" with his gritty, noir-inspired status quo, even if it did involve a somewhat liberal interpretation of Purple Man's mind control powers and a fairly convenient plot device (i.e. a power amplifier), and delivered the best story I'd seen from him since he started his run on this book.
Little did I know, however, that he was just getting started.
"Supreme" sets out to answer a series of related questions that I am certain many comic-book fans with even just passing interest in the criminal justice system have asked: what happens after the superheroes have left the crooks with the cops? How are the crooks convicted in court? Do the superheroes testify during the trial? How does the court appreciate their testimony? These are the kinds of thoughts that could even arise from watching the new Spider-Man movie considering (mild spoiler) that after a bad guy is captured, it is mentioned that he is scheduled to go on trial.
The question is also posed in this very story line, and who better to approximate an answer to a hypothetical question that will, of course, never be answered in real life than an actual, honest-to-goodness lawyer? Yup, Charles Soule's legal background is an advantage he has over just about every other prominent writer in DD's history, and he puts his knowledge to good use here writing a storyline which, if Soule's dialogue for Matt is to be believed, has been percolating in the writer's mind since the very beginning.
To make a long story (one that's spanned three issues so far) short, Matt has a grand plan, which he shares with his colleagues and superior at the District Attorney's Office, to make it possible for superheroes to testify in court as to the criminals they've captured...without ever having to unmask and expose themselves. Their test case involves, as a witness, no less than Daredevil himself. The outlandish plan gains momentum by hurdling the trial court and is elevated on appeal. Suddenly, criminals with a lot to lose if this case establishes doctrine, take notice, specifically DD's longtime nemesis Wilson Fisk, aka the Kingpin.
It's kind of tragic that, even as one of the most interesting superhero stories in recent memory is playing out, Marvel seems unduly preoccupied with yet another line-wide reboot to pump up flagging sales. They couldn't even be bothered to hook Soule up with an A-list artist. I mean, with all due respect to Goran Sudzuka and Alec Morgan, who are entirely competent, this story, at minimum, merits the work of the series' mainstay Ron Garney, and would be much better served by the work of an even higher-profile artist. At the very least they could have stuck with one artist instead of rotating these two. Such an uneven experience with the art really doesn't do the overall story any favors.
Still, the writing is riveting, and the pacing impeccable. Soule walks a tightrope here; it's easy for the storytelling to be dominated by talking heads, which is really the meat and potatoes of the story, but he injects the right amount of action into each issue, with the latest issue featuring a fight with the gangster and Spider-Man bad guy Tombstone and an appearance by no less than She Hulk.
Given the length of the story arcs this series has had so far, this one probably only has two more issues to wrap up, but however this plays out it will have lasting ramifications for the Marvel Universe, and not in some hopelessly contrived, cosmic kind of way but in a very practical, down-to-earth manner. I honestly cannot wait to see how this ends because I don't see any cop-out endings working here.
8/10
Friday, July 14, 2017
So THAT'S How They Did It: A Capsule Review of "Running with the Devil" (Daredevil Issues #18 to #20)
written by Charles Soule
illustrated by Ron Garney and Marc Laming (issue #19)
colored by Matt Milla and Miroslav Mrva (issue #19)
As much as I wanted to review each of these issues as they came out, life kind of got overwhelming and the hobby had to give way to my obligations. In any case, I write this for anyone contemplating picking up the inevitable collected edition of the "Running with the Devil" story line, which to my mind was one of the very best that Charles Soule has given us since he took over this book nearly two years ago.
The story kicked off with issue #17 (which I reviewed) in which Matt goes to confession to Fr. Jordan, who is basically a sort of plot device that enables Matt to explain to us readers how he went, at the end of the Mark Waid run, from living in San Francisco with a beautiful girlfriend, a multi-million dollar book deal, and a publicly-known superhero identity, to New York, working for government wages in the District Attorney's office, with no more girlfriend, and no one even knowing who he is except for Foggy Nelson.
The good news is that there's no out-of-left-field reason for this happening like a deal with the devil or something equally ludicrous; it's just some good old-fashioned storytelling, using characters right out of DD's library, like the Purple Man, who featured prominently during Mark Waid's run, and his kids, whom Mark Waid and Chris Samnee actually created. While I won't go so far as to spoil what happened in the story, suffice it to say that amplified mind control was involved, and as a result, nobody remembered who Daredevil was anymore, absolutely nobody, including people he didn't necessarily want to forget. Still, as subsequent events have made clear, Daredevil took the opportunity to start off with a clean slate.
I waited a year and a half for this story, and if I may be honest it was worth the wait. The fact that the reason for the status quo change was nowhere near as radical or outre as I thought it would be actually came as a relief, and the story was written with such fealty to the tone that Mark Waid had established in his old run that it may as well have been written by Waid himself.
Garney, who leaves behind the noir setting he's established in the few issues he's drawn for this book, acquits himself quite well, though with full color I find myself missing Chris Samnee quite a bit. Fill-in artist Marc Laming, who steps in for issue #19, one of the more crucial issues of this four-part series, does a solid job, albeit one noticeably inconsistent with Garney's jagged lines, which makes for a slightly jarring reading experience. I quite enjoyed the sequences in issue #19 that take place inside Matt's head, though, and I think Laming nailed that quite well.
Overall, though, this is some really fine work by Soule, with a great conclusion, which sets it apart from his "serial killer" storyline which ended on a distinctly anticlimactic note. The good news is that I think his very best story is yet to come, as my next review will show.
8.5/10
illustrated by Ron Garney and Marc Laming (issue #19)
colored by Matt Milla and Miroslav Mrva (issue #19)
As much as I wanted to review each of these issues as they came out, life kind of got overwhelming and the hobby had to give way to my obligations. In any case, I write this for anyone contemplating picking up the inevitable collected edition of the "Running with the Devil" story line, which to my mind was one of the very best that Charles Soule has given us since he took over this book nearly two years ago.
The story kicked off with issue #17 (which I reviewed) in which Matt goes to confession to Fr. Jordan, who is basically a sort of plot device that enables Matt to explain to us readers how he went, at the end of the Mark Waid run, from living in San Francisco with a beautiful girlfriend, a multi-million dollar book deal, and a publicly-known superhero identity, to New York, working for government wages in the District Attorney's office, with no more girlfriend, and no one even knowing who he is except for Foggy Nelson.
The good news is that there's no out-of-left-field reason for this happening like a deal with the devil or something equally ludicrous; it's just some good old-fashioned storytelling, using characters right out of DD's library, like the Purple Man, who featured prominently during Mark Waid's run, and his kids, whom Mark Waid and Chris Samnee actually created. While I won't go so far as to spoil what happened in the story, suffice it to say that amplified mind control was involved, and as a result, nobody remembered who Daredevil was anymore, absolutely nobody, including people he didn't necessarily want to forget. Still, as subsequent events have made clear, Daredevil took the opportunity to start off with a clean slate.
I waited a year and a half for this story, and if I may be honest it was worth the wait. The fact that the reason for the status quo change was nowhere near as radical or outre as I thought it would be actually came as a relief, and the story was written with such fealty to the tone that Mark Waid had established in his old run that it may as well have been written by Waid himself.
Garney, who leaves behind the noir setting he's established in the few issues he's drawn for this book, acquits himself quite well, though with full color I find myself missing Chris Samnee quite a bit. Fill-in artist Marc Laming, who steps in for issue #19, one of the more crucial issues of this four-part series, does a solid job, albeit one noticeably inconsistent with Garney's jagged lines, which makes for a slightly jarring reading experience. I quite enjoyed the sequences in issue #19 that take place inside Matt's head, though, and I think Laming nailed that quite well.
Overall, though, this is some really fine work by Soule, with a great conclusion, which sets it apart from his "serial killer" storyline which ended on a distinctly anticlimactic note. The good news is that I think his very best story is yet to come, as my next review will show.
8.5/10
Saturday, July 8, 2017
SPYder-Man, SPYder-Man: A Review of "The Osborn Identity" in The Amazing Spider-Man issues #25 to 28
written by Dan Slott
penciled by Stuart Immonen
inked by Wade Von Grawbadger
colored by Marte Gracia
When Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli relaunched "The Amazing Spider-Man" in 2015 as a sort of "spy epic" to contrast with Miles Morales' more down-to-earth adventures as over in Brian Bendis and Sara Pichelli's "Spider-Man," I confess I lost interest in the title after having followed it religiously for over a year, and before that, having followed the controversial "Superior Spider-Man" book in which Doctor Octopus took over Peter Parker's body. I also wasn't a big fan of Camuncoli's art, having endured it on the aforementioned titles, and as a result I stopped collecting the title altogether.
Late last year, though, Slott managed to lure me back with his five-part miniseries The Clone Conspiracy, in part because he revisited a storyline with which, I felt, I had unfinished business, and in part because his collaborator on that story, Jim Cheung, happens to be one of my favorite artists.
Shortly thereafter, back in the regular "Amazing" title, Marvel did a bit of a "refresh" by pairing Slott with the well-loved and extremely talented Stuart Immonen, and by reintroducing an old enemy of Peter's, Norman Osborn, this time without the Green Goblin persona but with an equally ruthless disposition. The results were, well, mixed, at least in my opinion.
In this story, Spider-Man is tracking down Osborn, who is currently working as an arms supplier for the tyrannical monarch of Symkaria. He finds an unexpected ally in the Silver Sable, whom he had previously believed dead, as well as former Avenger Mockingbird, but the odds against him, even with the resources of Parker Industries at his disposal, are ominous. Furthermore, his plan to invade a country and attack a sitting head of state does not sit well with Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D., which also happens to be Parker Industries' biggest client, so there's the question of what the right thing to do under the circumstances is. Of course, Peter being Peter there's only one way for things to go...
Honestly, I wasn't particularly hooked by the "Osborn vs. Parker" showdown, and in fact I found Norman's last major appearance that I had read, the final issue of "Superior Spider-Man" to be distinctly anti-climactic. Also, I didn't quite get where Peter's sudden wave of rage against Osborn came from, but then, I hadn't been reading the regular "Amazing" book for a while. That shouldn't really have mattered, though, considering that this book was billed as a perfect "jumping on" point for new or returning readers. In setting up a big showdown between a hero and his supposed worst enemy, therefore, Slott's script falls short.
That said, the rather contrived rivalry aside I thought it played out well, with a good blend of intense action and the patented Spidey humor, though things might have gotten a little too goofy towards the end. Immonen is an excellent fit for this book and elevated a story that, had it been illustrated by Camuncoli or another artist of similar caliber, would probably not have really popped for me.
It was a reasonably solid first story for a very talented new creative team, and considering that the next issue pits Peter against the all-new and improved Superior Doctor Octopus, it appears they've got quite a bit in store for the web slinger.
7/10
penciled by Stuart Immonen
inked by Wade Von Grawbadger
colored by Marte Gracia
When Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli relaunched "The Amazing Spider-Man" in 2015 as a sort of "spy epic" to contrast with Miles Morales' more down-to-earth adventures as over in Brian Bendis and Sara Pichelli's "Spider-Man," I confess I lost interest in the title after having followed it religiously for over a year, and before that, having followed the controversial "Superior Spider-Man" book in which Doctor Octopus took over Peter Parker's body. I also wasn't a big fan of Camuncoli's art, having endured it on the aforementioned titles, and as a result I stopped collecting the title altogether.
Late last year, though, Slott managed to lure me back with his five-part miniseries The Clone Conspiracy, in part because he revisited a storyline with which, I felt, I had unfinished business, and in part because his collaborator on that story, Jim Cheung, happens to be one of my favorite artists.
Shortly thereafter, back in the regular "Amazing" title, Marvel did a bit of a "refresh" by pairing Slott with the well-loved and extremely talented Stuart Immonen, and by reintroducing an old enemy of Peter's, Norman Osborn, this time without the Green Goblin persona but with an equally ruthless disposition. The results were, well, mixed, at least in my opinion.
In this story, Spider-Man is tracking down Osborn, who is currently working as an arms supplier for the tyrannical monarch of Symkaria. He finds an unexpected ally in the Silver Sable, whom he had previously believed dead, as well as former Avenger Mockingbird, but the odds against him, even with the resources of Parker Industries at his disposal, are ominous. Furthermore, his plan to invade a country and attack a sitting head of state does not sit well with Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D., which also happens to be Parker Industries' biggest client, so there's the question of what the right thing to do under the circumstances is. Of course, Peter being Peter there's only one way for things to go...
Honestly, I wasn't particularly hooked by the "Osborn vs. Parker" showdown, and in fact I found Norman's last major appearance that I had read, the final issue of "Superior Spider-Man" to be distinctly anti-climactic. Also, I didn't quite get where Peter's sudden wave of rage against Osborn came from, but then, I hadn't been reading the regular "Amazing" book for a while. That shouldn't really have mattered, though, considering that this book was billed as a perfect "jumping on" point for new or returning readers. In setting up a big showdown between a hero and his supposed worst enemy, therefore, Slott's script falls short.
That said, the rather contrived rivalry aside I thought it played out well, with a good blend of intense action and the patented Spidey humor, though things might have gotten a little too goofy towards the end. Immonen is an excellent fit for this book and elevated a story that, had it been illustrated by Camuncoli or another artist of similar caliber, would probably not have really popped for me.
It was a reasonably solid first story for a very talented new creative team, and considering that the next issue pits Peter against the all-new and improved Superior Doctor Octopus, it appears they've got quite a bit in store for the web slinger.
7/10
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