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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 3/29/14
I’ve come to the realization that I just don’t read a lot of DC Comics anymore. I feel like I was reading a ton of them only a few months ago. But I do have a tendency to drop comics I’m not liking anymore. I haven’t touched an issue of Batman and Robin since they took out the Robin element. I gave up the various Justice Leagues after they all became uninteresting Forever Evil tie-ins. And I’m only reading about half of the Green Lantern franchise books these days It’s just weird. I feel kind of bad. I want to give DC more attention…but nope! The only review it gets this week is Aquaman!
Though I am looking forward to Geoff Johns taking over Superman. Maybe he has the magic touch and can finally give Superman a strong voice in the New 52. Though honestly, Greg Pak has been writing an amazing little story over in Action Comics. I should review one of those issues.
But for now, it’s almost all Marvel this week! We’ve got the first issues of Ghost Rider, Iron Patriot and the highly anticipated Silver Surfer! There’s also a new Hawkeye, and it’s as great as Hawkeye has always been, but everything pales in comparison this week to Superior Spider-Man #30! The biggest chapter so far in Goblin Nation is the Comic Book of the Week and earns my first ever perfect score of 10/10! It’s that damn good!
And we’ve still got one more issue of Superior Spider-Man and Goblin Nation to go!
Comic Reviews: All-New Ghost Rider #1, Aquaman #29, Hawkeye #18, Iron Patriot #1, Silver Surfer #1 and Superior Spider-Man #30.
Peter Parker the Amazing Spider-Man is Coming Back!
Some way, some how, Peter Parker is on his way back to comics in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man, possibly as early as March! Behold, this image of Marvel Previews that has started circulating around the web!
Marvel haven’t released anything about what this means or implies, only that Dan Slott, the chief Spider-Man writer for years and years, is still going to be on the book. There’s no word on whether or not Superior Spider-Man will be cancelled or continue telling its own story, but this is pretty substantial proof that not only is Amazing Spider-Man coming back, but Slott is bringing Peter back as well. There’s no way Doc Ock would look so cheerful.
We all knew it was going to happen eventually.
Forgotten Characters: Gauntlet and Southpaw
Whatever happened to Gauntlet and Southpaw?
One is a surly, loud-mouthed superhero drill instructor. The other is a rebellious teenage rapscallion. Both are wielders of gigantic, alien fists – but only on one hand each. And together, Gauntlet and Southpaw are one of the most clever ideas comic writer Dan Slott ever came up with.
But where the heck have they been hiding?
The gloves never necessarily look the same
Dan Slott has had a very busy career writing for Marvel Comics, tackling everyone from She-Hulk to the Great Lakes Avengers. Now he’s the head Spider-Man writer, and has been guiding Marvel’s flagship character for years. So with this kind of prominence, how could two of his most interesting characters have disappeared? You’d think the guy would have enough pull to get them added to the Mighty Avengers or the New Warriors or something, right?
The mysteries of Gauntlet and Southpaw need to be revealed! Join me after the jump to learn a bit more.
Good Guy Green Goblin: Why the Little Guy Matters in Comics
I don’t remember how or why I came to possess a copy of Green Goblin #1 in 1995, I only remember the joy I felt flipping through its pages. I can remember marveling at the artwork by Scott McDaniel, possibly the first time I ever actually appreciated comic book art. I can remember haphazardly scouring the comic book shops and supermarkets in Central New York searching for all the follow-up issues, before I ever even knew that comic books come out on Wednesdays. And I can remember waiting 10 years, well into adulthood, before I finally managed to track down the final issue online, and how reading it after all those years was like stepping back in time. The series was just as good as I remembered – if a little dated.
With the Green Goblin series in the mid-90s, Marvel Comics was trying desperately to reach out to both youth culture and longtime fans by mixing a semi-familiar brand name with a slacker protagonist. Green Goblin was a blatant cash-grab. It only lasted 13 issues.
But those 13 issues may be the very reason why I’m such a big comic book fan today. Green Goblin was my ‘gateway drug’. And Phil Urich is my hero.
He’s a funny guy
Some of you reading this have probably never even heard of Phil Urich. He’s no Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne, that’s for sure. But nevertheless, Phil Urich came along at just the right time to hook me into comic books. Green Goblin wasn’t the first comic I had ever read, but it was the first series I ever started collecting on my own. And when all 13 issues were over, I kept reading and I kept looking for more new comics. It was a fun little series with a lot of energy and some cool ideas.
After it was cancelled, one would reasonably expect never to see Phil Urich again. His story hadn’t sold, it was cancelled; shouldn’t that be the end of it?
Nope! Apparently not! And that’s why Phil Urich is such a fascinating character. Phil kept coming back. New writers like Brian K. Vaughn and Dan Slott came long with new ideas and new roles for Phil to play. And through their work, Phil Urich’s story continues to be told, even after all these years. And that’s one of the things I love about comics: through unexpected teamwork, through new writers and new ideas, even the little guys get their own stories. Phil will never be as popular as Spider-Man or Batman, but he’s got a story nonetheless.
Join me after the jump if you’d like to hear it.
Welp, So Much For My Superior Spider-Man Theory
Oh well. Can’t win them all. Amazing Spider-Man writer Dan Slott appeared at an early morning breakfast on today’s unofficial start to New York City Comic-Con. He told the investors and other big shots about some of the details for Superior Spider-Man, the upcoming relaunch of the wall-crawler.
I’m going to save the spoilers until after the jump, just in case you don’t want to find out. But suffice to say, my theory that Doctor Octopus kills Mary Jane Watson has been debunked – that is, if you believed Bleeding Cool…which I tend to do.
Henchman-4-Hire 