I've been a little preoccupied lately, which is the reason for the late posting of this long overdue Part 3. Between the holidays and weddings and Rock Band and everything like such as, I found it hard to find the time to sit down and type up a post that I really don't think too many people I know are interested in. But whatever, I said I'd do it so I'm doing it.
*My rant on the first entry ran a little long, so I'm breezing through the rest. You want more info about a title, ask me*
Amazing Spider-man - No doubt many of you have heard about the controversy about a recent storyline in the Spider-Man titles. Spider-man is no longer married to Mary Jane Watson. It's not so much the fact that Spider-man is single again that angers people. He didn't get a divorce and Mary Jane didn't die. Rather, Spider-man made a deal with the devil to save his dying Aunt May. Yes, you've read right. The "every-man" of Marvel Comics made a deal with the devil.
I have a problem with this for several reasons, but one of the biggest ones is that it doesn't ring true. Spider-man, or Peter Parker, is one of the smartest men in the Marvel Universe. For him to make a deal with the devil is stupid, because he'd have to know there was a catch. And there was. Also, Aunt May is old. She's lived a full life and most of you are already saying to yourself, "Didn't she die already?" The answer is yes, she did. For Peter to throw away a happy potentially life-long marriage so his Aunt May could live a few more years is just bad logic. It's not an even trade-off in the slightest. So why would he make a decision like that?? It's not true to the character of Peter Parker and it certainly doesn't bode well for your flagship character making deals with the devil.
And the best part? They're not just not married anymore. They never were. That's right, everyone conveniently forgot that Spider-man was ever married. Even Peter and Mary Jane themselves. I wish that was all I hate about it. The editors, Joe Quesada in particular, as it was him pushing for this, decided to change MORE things. Things not even related to the marriage.
-Peter no longer has organic webs like in the movies, so he's back to using mechanical webshooters. So that storyline that gave him the organic webs? Never happened. Go rip up your back issues, they don't matter. Was this part of the deal? No, but what the hell?
-The new powers Spider-man got over the years? He never got them. That four month storyline that encompassed 16 issues? Put them in the shredder, never happened.
-Remember when Peter revealed his secret identity on national TV during Civil War, a year ago, that brought all that real-life media attention? Well he still did it, but, um, no one remembers who was under the mask, just that he unmasked. WHAT??? Now that just makes no sense whatsoever. People are going to remember something like that, and if it was on TV, there are tapes. So take that issue of Civil War and rub your genitalia on it, it's neutered and worthless.
-Aunt May doesn't know Peter is Spider-man anymore. Take that issue and, I don't know, donate it. Oh, and he lives with her again.
-Harry Osbourne is alive. He died in the 90s. He's back. For NO reason. Turns out he was in Europe all this time. Right.... I guess he was crowding up Hell so the devil threw him in the deal. That issue where he CLEARLY died, take it and make a paper mache goblin out of it.
Does all this sound familiar? If so, that's because that's how Spider-man was over 20 years ago. Yes, they reset Spider-man's status quo back over TWENTY YEARS. Way to progress, Quesada. Not only is that annoying on it's own, but how does this effect the rest of the Marvel Universe? God only knows! Continuity is important, but Quesada just blew it all to Hell. Maybe the devil can bring it back!
What also angers me is the way it was handled. The writer wanted his name taken off the issues in question, because "It's magic, it doesn't have to be explained" was not good enough for him. If the writer of the book for the last six years doesn't like it, it must be shit. Also, was there really a need to undo the marriage anyway? It may be a writing crutch, makes Spider-man unrelatable and what not, but if that's the case, get better writers. Also, there are two ongoing books out right now that have an unmarried Spider-man, and they're doing just fine. What's the problem?
So with all that, I shouldn't even be picking up this book in protest. But I am, because I suck.
The book is shipping three times a month now, so there's only one Spider-man book (not counting miniseries and specials) on the shelves to keep track of. I think it's a neat idea. And it's got some top-notch talent on board. So I'm reluctantly keeping this book, but I wonder how the people who read Spider-man twenty years ago feel about the book now. Been there, done that?
Astonishing X-Men - This, on the other hand, is the best book Marvel is publishing right now. It's a shame it only ships every three months or so. You've heard me gush about this title many times before so I'll keep it brief. Great writing and gorgeous art makes this title a win. It also establishes Cyclops' new and improved character. Must read, for anyone, even if you don't know much about the X-Men.
Punisher - This is published under Marvel's mature imprint so it has all the violence and cursing you want out of a Punisher comic. It's also written by one of my favorite writers, Garth Ennis. He kills bad guys, and that's awesome. You don't see any other Marvel heroes or villians in this one, it's in a world all it's own.
Punisher War Journal - The lighter side of the Punisher. This one is not a mature title, it's more centered in the Marvel Universe proper so other heroes appear. The Punisher still goes after the villains though. Smart writing with a little bit of black humor make this title a keeper.
Avengers Initiative - Want to know how things are done after Civil War, and not centered on the main heroes of the Marvel Universe, but on second and third stringers? Then this title is for you. It's probably the most important title in the Marvel U that no one is reading. The art is stylish and the writing keeps you in suspense, but has fun with the title too. More titles should be like this one.
Mighty Avengers - I started picking up this title because of the artist, Frank Cho. He's an Elkridge, MD native and he knows how to draw beautiful full-figured women. But now that he's off the title I'm not sure if I'll keep picking this up. Basically it follows Iron Man's hand-picked team of Avengers after Civil War.
New Avengers - And this is their counterparts. This book follows the heroes who fought Iron Man during Civil War and refuse to obey Iron Man's orders. I pick this up in trade format because I was late in the game due to protesting the idea of Wolverine in yet another book.
X-Men titles - No explaination needed. Good stuff going on right now. Cyclops kicks ass. Google "Messiah Complex"
I think that's it. I mentioned before that I pick up more DC Comics titles than Marvel titles. Why? Because DC Comics' books are fun. Marvel, on the other hand, makes me want to kill myself because a majority of their books are so depressing. Stop writing stories about death, betrayal, extinction, devils, and drugs. Stop making your art so dark and dreary. Use some color for cripe's sake.
That's it for now. The final part of the Comic Pull List covers the independent titles, and that's the one I'm looking forward to.
