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Review: Scarlet Spider #12
Sayonara, Minimum Carnage! And good riddance! You were a terrible story, you were terrible for the Scarlet Spider and you had an even worse ending! In fact, I’m not going to dwell on you for another second. Believe you me, folks, you do not care how Minimum Carnage ended. It was dumb, so very dumb. And hopefully we’ll never have to worry about it again. Because Christopher Yost comes roaring back to Scarlet Spider with what might be its best issue yet! I laughed! I giggled! I cheered! I’m very excited for the future of Scarlet Spider after this amazing issue.
Scarlet Spider #12
After the mismatched everything of that unfortunate crossover, Yost settles in for a simple, done-in-one story that re-establishes all the characters and sends Kaine towards his next adventure. Yost also, to nice comedic effect, uses alcohol to simply wash away the stain that was Minimum Carnage.
Comic rating: 5/5: Great.
I almost get the feeling that Yost is just as glad to be rid of Minimum Carnage as I am. Kaine dwells for a little bit on what happened, but Yost wisely uses the events of the crossover as a springboard into a rather comedic and entertaining attitude for our main character. And that’s the most you can ask for from a big crossover, that it provides some new fuel or motivation for the characters. In this case, it’s Kaine getting drunk off his ass and wanting to just quit everything and flee to Mexico, as he’d originally intended at the start of the series. Which then gives us an opportunity to see how each of his supporting characters impacts his life to talk him out of it, and how, in the end, he’s damn good at being a hero. I got a really strong sense of community with this issue, how Yost has somewhat successfully built up this supporting cast into a real group of people, and how Kaine is a part of that group. He also does some fantastic work with mystery girl Aracely, really bringing her into her own as a clever ‘kid sister’ type character.
The art is also spectacular. Not as good as original artist Ryan Stegman, but fill-in artist Reilly Brown does a great job with the characters and with the action scenes. He especially does some good work with the comedy, of which there is a healthy dose. I definitely like this artist, and I hope he sticks around.
And did I mention it’s a Christmas issue?
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis of this wonderful issue.
Review: Scarlet Spider #10
It’s crossover time in Scarlet Spider, where our favorite wall crawler teams up with Venom to take on Carnage…and the Micronauts, for some insane reason. I’m not going to review the entire crossover, just the issues of Scarlet Spider that are involved. But I’ll provide recaps to make sure everyone is up to speed. This review will focus entirely on Scarlet Spider #10, the second part of the crossover. It’s a pretty good story, hampered only by the general silliness of the plot itself. It’s just my own personal taste, but I don’t particularly enjoy some of comics more fantastical elements. Especially when writers can’t modernize those elements and make them work with modern day comic reading sensibilities.
Scarlet Spider #10
This is basically my way of saying that I just don’t think it works when street-level or military characters are suddenly thrust into a magical micro land full of wild, random characters. But such is Minimum Carnage.
Comic Rating: 3/5: Alright.
There’s nothing particularly special about this issue or this crossover so far. I like the interactions between Scarlet Spider and Venom, and there’s a…minor sense of menace when it comes to Carnage. I’ve always liked Carnage. I wasn’t reading comics yet when his most famous story, Maximum Carnage,came out in the 90s, but I’ve read an issue or two here or there. And there was this palpable terror in the comic. Carnage is a serial killer given extreme super powers, and Maximum Carnage was all about him cutting free and just killing at random in the streets of New York City. People were terrified, the hospitals were overflowing with the injured and the superheroes were pushed to their limit. The Joker always has some kind of game or plan in the works when he kills people. But Carnage just killed indiscriminately, and few have the power to stop him.
Time, of course, has dulled Carnage’s menace. But there are hints and shadows of it in this series so far, not to mention the fact that Carnage has been treated like a pretty important character in recent years. Minimum Carnage comes on the heels of two separate Carnage mini series, one in which he took over an entire town and captured the Avengers. So Carnage has been on a pretty good streak recently, but this new series kind of goes off the rails…
Still, it’s readable. And it’s nice to see Kaine interacting with some other people from the Marvel Universe.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
Review: Scarlet Spider #9
Hot damn! A rip-roaringly fun adventure was had by all as Scarlet Spider and the Rangers teamed up to take down a giant, rampaging electricity demon! It had character growth, it had interesting villains, and it had teases towards future adventures. I’d say that makes for a pretty stellar superhero story, don’t you? Not much in the way of personal stuff for Kaine, but that’s more than made up for with his in-costume craziness as the Scarlet Spider.
Scarlet Spider #9
I daresay our favorite hued hero is turning out to be a pretty good superhero.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good!
It’s times like these that I wish I graded with decimals or fractions. This is definitely one of the best issues of Scarlet Spider so far, but it doesn’t quite reach the levels of greatness that I try and save the perfect score for. There’s nothing so amazing as to warrant such a score, but there is a lot of great stuff in this issue. Plus writer Christopher Yost is doing a pretty good job of setting up future characters and villains. That’s a good sign, though it doesn’t necessarily guarantee a book’s longevity. Still, it’s good to know the man is planning ahead.
This issue is almost entirely fight, with a couple short epilogues at the end. Scarlet Spider and the Rangers work well together, it would seem, and the electricity monster provides a solid adversary considering the storyline. So everything comes together quite nicely in a darn good superhero story.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review.
Review: Scarlet Spider #8
The epic battle between the Scarlet Spider and the Rangers was not as epic as I would have liked, but it was still entertaining. I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting, but this issue gave us a nice take on Scarlet Spider’s reaction to other superheroes, as well as a look at a hero team that doesn’t get much attention. Everything was a little cliche in the whole ‘heroes fight and then team up’ angle, but to be fair, Scarlet Spider is kind of breaking the law through a lot of this issue. So it only makes sense that the Rangers would be looking to stop him. And I prefer it when stories make sense.
Scarlet Spider #8
But basically this issue is straight forward and simple, with an emphasis on the action over characterization.
Comic rating: 4/5: Good.
I guess I was hoping that the Rangers would be more than just set dressing, or a cameo for cameo’s sake. I appreciate that writer Chris Yost didn’t force the Avengers into making an appearance, relying instead on realism over marketing, but the Rangers don’t really make a strong connection with our hero in this issue. It’s almost entirely fight scene with little depth to any of the characters. There’s some running, a little humor and banter, but mostly it’s just fisticuffs. Seeing as how this is a superhero comic, fighting is expected. But I would have liked a little more interaction. At least the art holds up, though it’s not as good as departed artist Ryan Stegman.
What we do get is another look into Kaine’s head as he tries to sort out all these shenanigans. He’s still rather entertaining as a reluctant hero who isn’t entirely sure if he’s doing this right, or even what he’s supposed to do. But Kaine is a competent hero, in a way that I think is working against Yost’s ideas. It’s like when an R-rated movie is softened to get the more marketable PG-13 rating. Yost could really push some boundaries with an uncouth, anti-hero Kaine; but it feels like he’s hemmed in by the idea that Scarlet Spider needs to be more ‘family friendly’ as part of the Spider-Man line of comics. So there’s a struggle between Kaine as competent superhero and Kaine as rough anti-hero. I don’t think the book should strike a balance between the two, I think Yost should go full-on anti-hero.
But at least Scarlet Spider remains an entertaining comic. Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review.
Review: Scarlet Spider #7
I declare this to be an absolutely perfect issue of Scarlet Spider – though the new artist leaves a bit to be desired. This is a wonderful little comic, full of comedy, action and spontaneity. I was worried that Kaine was going to be stuck in a rut after the past few issues, at least as far as his cast is concerned, but writer Christopher Yost threw me a curveball that I never would have seen coming. And I like what it might mean for the series in the future. We also get a new villainous enterprise to deal with, one with a definite Houston-esque feel to it. And that last page cliffhanger practically screams ‘Texas!’
Scarlet Spider #7
And this issue is funny! Like, laugh-out-loud funny. Kaine isn’t cracking wise and making quips like his Manhattan ‘cousin’, but the writing in this issue is top notch.
Comic rating: 5/5: Great.
The only problem, and it’s not much of a problem, is new artist Khoi Pham. Previous artist, Ryan Stegman, has been promoted to the Fantastic Four series, so I imagine that’s a big step up from something like Scarlet Spider. More power to him. But Pham does not do as good a job with the Scarlet Spider character, his costume, and definitely not the action. Stegman drew fantastic, inventive action scenes that were full of energy. Pham, not so much. But it’s not that big of a deal. The rest of the issue is drawn quite well, and I’ve no doubt that Pham, if he’s sticking around, will get the hang of it.
Best of all, this issue really shines with Kaine and his unique personality. The tagline ‘All of the power, none of the responsibility’ lives up to its bold claim this issue. Kaine is a little wild, he’s a little cruel, and he’s definitely struggling with this whole ‘superhero’ thing. He’s not just a goody-two-shoes like Peter Parker, and it definitely shines through in this issue. I hope Yost really pushes this personality in Kaine, because I think he has the potential to be a really cool protagonist.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
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