Amazing Spider-Man

Great interview with the Spidey "Brain Trust" of BND: Joe Kelly, Fred Van Lente, Dan Slott, and Mark Waid.

http://comics.ign.com/articles/110/1108430p1.html

I agree with you guys and wish that Kelly stayed on as regular writer. The guy was perfect for Spidey! I'm serious, looking at all his stuff and his ASM work it seems like he was born to write him. At least he'll be working on the new Spiderman animated series. I did liked Slott's stuff tho, so congrats to him! The artists look great as well. Can't wait. I do hope that Carlie isn't the girlfriend..I'd rather it be his roommate, Norah, or (of course) MJ..the Carlie character kinda felt shoehorned in to me. As for the $4 thing and two comics a week, I've always had that, so it doesn't bother me. I hope this doesn't mean I have to pay $5 for one comic.

prescribeddrone wrote:Yeah, it's a dollar cheaper but just annoys me that they're raising the price, as comics get more expensive I'm going to be more selective to what I commit to by putting it in a pull list. I won't drop it right away, but maybe at some point if I have to cut down on books and the arcs aren't awing me that much.

its true...if this is a marketing scheme by Marvel, i'm not sure how its going to pan out. I'm dropping titles from my pull list left and right these days. Time to be fickle

TheBrownLantern wrote:

prescribeddrone wrote:Yeah, it's a dollar cheaper but just annoys me that they're raising the price, as comics get more expensive I'm going to be more selective to what I commit to by putting it in a pull list. I won't drop it right away, but maybe at some point if I have to cut down on books and the arcs aren't awing me that much.

its true...if this is a marketing scheme by Marvel, i'm not sure how its going to pan out. I'm dropping titles from my pull list left and right these days. Time to be fickle

They're probably just warming us up because eventually in a few years the 4.99 price will slowly start to be more common until price increases or whatever cause it to go 4.99.

Okay, maybe I'm thinking too far into the future, but yeah since 3.99 is becoming more common- I'm thinking the new 3.99 might be eventually be 4.99.

Seriously Quesada, what do you have against this girl?!

That cover looks pretty rapey.

Amazing Spider-Man #639

This one was definitely better than the last, and I have to say the way they handled the marriage issue was fairly simple yet very effective. I liked it. There are still a few issues they have to explain but so far things seem to be on the right track. The bigger question is, why didn't Quesada just tell this story right after OMD. It would have gone a long way to calm some of the outrage at the time. The only explanation seems like they wanted the fanboy outrage and the massive attention that goes with it...the whole "any publicity is good publicity" saying.

Bigtymin504 wrote:Amazing Spider-Man #639

This one was definitely better than the last, and I have to say the way they handled the marriage issue was fairly simple yet very effective. I liked it. There are still a few issues they have to explain but so far things seem to be on the right track. The bigger question is, why didn't Quesada just tell this story right after OMD. It would have gone a long way to calm some of the outrage at the time. The only explanation seems like they wanted the fanboy outrage and the massive attention that goes with it...the whole "any publicity is good publicity" saying.

As pissed off as people were I don't think this would have calmed many people down. Remember the rabid faction we are talking about here I do agree that this was a much better issue than the previous one.

It breaks my heart. I really HOPE this arc fixes the mess that is OMD/BND. PPLLEEAASSEEE. These two really BELONG together!

ASM #639

I notice there hasn't been a whole lot of activity this summer during my LOA. That makes me happy considering I didn't miss much. As for comics, The Grim Hunt pretty much lived up to expectations aside from a tagged-on ending and some people surviving I didn't want--Madame Web, boring. So here we are with OMIT and it's as controversial, at least as lambasted as the original. I'm a huge fan of OMD and I thought it was terrific writing, despite it's question marks. This undying "need to explain" was unbridled, and unnecessary. With that said, sometimes you feel the need to get things off your chest, especially under such fanatic duress, so it is what it is.

I enjoyed much of Rivera's art throughout this overstuffed 2-parter. At least it helped take away some of Joe's poor character rendering and questionable explaining. Now that it's over with we can all move on with stories that matter, with hopefully none of the momentum soaring from the Gauntlet and Grim Hunt lost.

2.5/5

Review of ASM # 640 is up now.

http://panelsonpages.com/?p=27337

I'm kind of down for the reveals here, but I'm still not sure why we had to wait three years for them.

I'm looking forward to OMIT being done. I would have been happier if these things wern't answered because at this point I just can't think of a way for this story to end without it being stupid.

The end of Oone Moment in Time wasn't as horrible as it could have been. I wouldn't call it good, but I wouldn't call it bad either.

The first issue of the next arc was a big step up in terms of quality. Looking forward to a huge smackdown in one of the coming issues.

ASM #641

Wow, O.M.I.T. was so lousy--particulary the end--that only ONE soul had a comment on it. Until me, a guy who's been buying his books a week late, shows up.

Quesada, what did you do? I actually didn't mind #640; actually, I admired it. But this book was only readable due to refleshed parts of One More Day. I'm one of the few who enjoyed OMD, logically reasonable or not, but the beginning and end to this "behind the scenes" look at terror was putrid. One thing I did enjoy other than the reprints (which then had solid Quesada art) is the Medina artwork during Dr. Strange's mystical meeting with Reed and Stark. It's actually brilliantly sequences by Joe, particularly when Peter aims to calm MJ during Strange's life-altering spells. Does the whole sequence give us solid answers about Pete's identity mishaps? Perhaps no, but it at least earns points for its attempt.

The conversations between MJ and Spidey are realistic (even I could relate to some of these consequences...), but it doesn't mean they're great. And most of the emotional sequencing that's enjoyable is delivered nearly word-for-word from OMD. Uh-huh.

2/5 - T.G.I.O.!

Windows sucks cock. Love writing reviews and clicking "back" by accident.

#642

Anyways, I liked Waid's writing on #642, despite being Silver Agey and lacking with many of the villainous heavy-hitters. The issue's final reveal doesn't exactly nail you over the head.

Laughing at many of Paul Azaceta's art commments across the web. I know it's not the prettiest or most-detailed, but "worst of all time"?

3/5

O.M.I.T.

I have to say, O.M.I.T. was pretty good. I thought it did a great job of clarifying all the questions everyone's had about how Spidey's status quo changed. It was basically a few subtle changes that caused it. I loved the way Peter fought to save MJ, realizing that revealing his identity to the world during Civil War was a huge mistake. The use of Doctor Strange, Reed, and Tony was a nice touch too. Reed and Tony felt a lot of guilt over what happened after Spidey revealed his identity. Quesada framed all these sequences nicely, adding the right amount of heart and emotion to the Peter/MJ moments as well as the Strange/Reed/Tony meeting. Overall it was a very solid story.

I'd also like to add that I think Joe Quesada was ultimately proved right about making Spidey single again. Brand New Day gave us some of the best Spidey stories in some time, like Gauntlet. Whether you hated OMD as a story is another thing (which actually wasn't that bad IMO), but the result I think was an undeniable success. Not to mention how seamlessly the Spidey "Brain Trust" has handled putting out Amazing Spidey 3X a month for almost 3 years now! I haven't been this into Amazing Spidey in a long time. Looking forward to Slott, Ramos, and Caselli's bi-weekly "Big Time" run.

^I haven't read everything since OMD. I dropped the book around issue #610 or so, and thus I can't speak of stuff since, but I did not like what they were doing with the book at all. It was silly and boring. The only post OMD arc I enjoyed was American Son. Irregardless of quality, was there really a single story told that couldn't have been done with a married Peter? I'm talking about big plots, not the small stuff like dating or sleeping with what's her name.

Batman25JM wrote:^I haven't read everything since OMD. I dropped the book around issue #610 or so, and thus I can't speak of stuff since, but I did not like what they were doing with the book at all. It was silly and boring. The only post OMD arc I enjoyed was American Son. Irregardless of quality, was there really a single story told that couldn't have been done with a married Peter? I'm talking about big plots, not the small stuff like dating or sleeping with what's her name.

I'm not sure what people mean when they ask this. Peter living a single life in New York, dating, living with a roommate he hooked up with, working with flirty Norah, teaming/boiking with Black Cat, etc. has been a HUGE part of Peter's personal life. And Peters's personal life has always been a big part of his overall story. This has all been a big part of the overall framing of stories since OMD. It doesn't make sense to say "what couldn't have been done with a married Peter?" The answer is: every aspect of his personal life since OMD, which in turn has greatly effected his superhero life. If he were married to MJ, basically everything that's happened since OMD would be vastly different.

^I just don't see it that way. Going off the stuff I read, Peter still could have faced Freak, and Mr. Negative, and all those other new villains in the same way. Sure, the personal stuff would have been different, but the same general stories could have been told. I mean, Normal could have still tried to make Harry American Son, etc. Peter being single did not add to that story.

Batman25JM wrote:^I just don't see it that way. Going off the stuff I read, Peter still could have faced Freak, and Mr. Negative, and all those other new villains in the same way. Sure, the personal stuff would have been different, but the same general stories could have been told. I mean, Normal could have still tried to make Harry American Son, etc. Peter being single did not add to that story.

I'm sorry man but that argument just doesn't make sense to me. Spidey stories aren't just about what threat he's facing in any particular arc, it's about his social relationships and the struggles he goes through in his personal life. That's what was supposed to be different from a married Peter to a single Peter...and all of that was 100% different and led to some great stories. Being married pretty much effects everything you do, you constantly think in terms of a couple rather than an individual. A single Peter Parker makes a huge difference, and for the better IMO.

^To each their own. I disagree though. The marriage did effect things, but at the core of the villain threats, his marital status really didn't matter.

Batman25JM wrote:^To each their own. I disagree though. The marriage did effect things, but at the core of the villain threats, his marital status really didn't matter.

But the point of the change wasn't to effect the villain threats anyway, it was about his personal life. That's like saying making Luke Cage single wouldn't have a huge effect on the character or the stories because it wouldn't effect the villains he faces.

^It's just from what I read they never really dealt too thoroughly with the single life. It was touched upon, but there weren't any huge story arcs that explored Peter's romantic life.

I still feel the retcon was unnecessary and I do not like it one bit.

Batman25JM wrote:^It's just from what I read they never really dealt too thoroughly with the single life. It was touched upon, but there weren't any huge story arcs that explored Peter's romantic life.

I still feel the retcon was unnecessary and I do not like it one bit.

Well I read most all of it and I think you're wrong on that. Peter's romantic life and struggling life as a bachelor were a constant presence in the stories. The entire Black Cat arc (including her other few cameos) dealt with their romantic/friends-with-benefits relationship.

I'm not trying to be argumentative here man, I'm cool with you not liking it, just kinda fed up with this line of argument I keep hearing from the OMD/BND haters. It's built on a faulty premise.

Anyway, gotta run for now. Good talk man.