Blog Archives
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 11/29/14
Happy Turkey Week, Comic Book fans! Did everybody have a good Thanksgiving? And for those of you who don’t celebrate, did you have a good Thursday? I had a blast. I always get together with my family, and they’re a good group of people. I made banana bread, because it’s nice to contribute something, especially if it’s my favorite dish. I’m a grown up now, I should contribute.
Speaking of contributing, how about adding some more comic book reviews to the Internet? I know I can’t get enough! We’ve got new issues of Aquaman, Arkham Manor, Superior Iron Man and more, but the real standout this week is the (regrettably) final issue of Superior Foes of Spider-Man! Why couldn’t this series have done better or lasted longer? It was so much fun!
Shocker Rulz!
But all good things must come to an end. Or maybe it’s that we can’t have nice things? Surely one of the two.
Comic Reviews: Aquaman #36, Arkham Manor #2, Batman Eternal #34, Scarlet Spiders #1, Superior Foes of Spider-Man #17 and Superior Iron Man #2.
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 9/13/14
A week after my birthday and I get all my presents! How else do you explain new issues of Hawkeye, Captain Marvel and Ms. Marvel all arriving in the same week? I would be hard-pressed to name three other comics I enjoy reading more these days. So thank you, Marvel, for the belated birthday present. I understand you need to stick to Wednesdays.
And lucky for us, they’re all pretty good!
Though having to choose between Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel for Comic Book of the Week is tough. I think I’m going to have to give the edge to Hawkeye for another Kate Bishop issue by Matt Fraction and Annie Wu. It was the battle of the adorable protagonists, and Kate Bishop won by a nose.
Kate Bishop knows a good blog when she sees one
Kate and Kamala are both cutie pies.
Speaking of cutie pies, I decided to pay a visit to New Warriors again before the end, because it’s an issue that serves as a would-be epilogue to Scarlet Spider. Does it live up to that previous series? No. Is it still fun? I suppose.
And anyone who is interested can read my review of Death of Wolverine #2 over at Word of the Nerd. I’ve decided to review all four issues of that weekly series, and it hasn’t been too bad so far.
Comic Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man #6, Batman Eternal #23, Captain Marvel #7, Hawkeye #20, Magneto #9, Ms. Marvel #8 and New Warriors #9.
Spider-Verse is Coming This Fall!
The next big Spider-Man comic book event was revealed today as Spider-Verse! It’s coming this fall by regular Spider-Man writer Dan Slott, and apparently involves every single version of Spider-Man that has ever existed teaming up to take on Morlun, one of Spidey’s more recent and brutal bad guys!
I see you there, Scarlet Spider
That’s a sweet picture. You can click HERE to get an even bigger, better one!
Newsamara had the scoop today as Slott and a few other Marvel honchos talked about the event. It’s going to feature 1,000s of Spideys, including some that Slott’s going to make up for the event – not that there aren’t dozens upon dozens already circling the Multiverse. They’re gonna team up against some great threat, with Morlun first to the plate. I was reading Amazing Spider-Man back when Morlun first showed up, and he was definitely pretty monstrous back then, though I’m pretty sure he’s mellowed a bit since. Perhaps Slott will make him scary again.
All of this sounds reasonably cool, though not exactly something that gets me personally excited. I’ve never been one for big, cosmic Spider-Man stories, though I’m sure it’ll be a blast to see all the various alternate Spideys. That might be worth the price of admission alone.
I definitely see some Slingers in there!
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 2/22/14
We have arrive at another round of comic book reviews, but sadly, none of them feature LEGOs or the Guardians of the Galaxy. What a week though, right? Is anybody else still buzzing about that trailer? The more times I watch it, the more confident I become in that movie. But enough about them, on with the reviews! We’ve got stellar issues of Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman this week, and mediocre issues of Punisher, Uncanny X-Men and the brand new New Warriors. Only Batwoman was the real standout, which pleases me beyond measure. Batwoman wins Comic Book of the Week!
Cape Grab to Pool Table Flip
Comic Reviews: Batwoman #28, Harley Quinn #3, New Warriors #1, The Punisher #2, Uncanny X-Men #17 and Wonder Woman #28.
Review: Scarlet Spider #25
It is with a heavy heart, but a definite optimism, that we bid farewell to Scarlet Spider, the little comic that almost could. How is it even possible that Marvel took a chance on a comic so deeply indebted to the despised Clone Saga? A comic starring Kaine, of all characters, going by the name ‘Scarlet Spider’, of all names? Sheer lunacy! But writer Christopher Yost made it happen, and through 25 issues, he gave us a pretty darn good comic book. This final issue is, in some ways, a wrap up of Kaine’s adventure in Houston. But it’s just as much a prologue for what comes next in New Warriors.
Scarlet Spider #25
Scarlet Spider #25 is a good finale. The art is back to its usual strength, and Yost gives us a pretty epic battle with which to say goodbye. There isn’t too much soul searching or finality, but this comic is a pretty solid look into the life of the failed clone of Spider-Man.
Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.
I think Kaine is a character with a lot of potential, and it’s a simple potential. Just like the banner read at the start of this series: ‘All the power, none of the responsibility.’ He’s not the anti-Spider-Man, he’s Spider-Man’s neglected kid brother. That has potential. Spider-Man is this great hero, well respected in the superhero community, beloved by many beautiful women, adored by his loving Aunt May and all-in-all, lives a pretty OK life (other than this Otto Octavius stuff, of course). Kaine is the guy living in Peter Parker’s shadow. Kaine didn’t ask for this life. He didn’t choose to give himself spider-powers. He was born into Peter Parker’s shadow, and he isn’t using that to become some kind of heartless, evil villain who just wants to make Peter miserable – like the reveal of Thomas Wayne Jr. as the head of the Court of Owls over in Scott Snyder’s Batman.
And therein, I think, lies part of the problem with Scarlet Spider the series. And why I think DC’s new Harley Quinn series isn’t going to last long: when you remove these characters from the context in which they are most interesting, giving them instead a generic superhero set up, it robs their story of its maximum appeal. Kaine may be an entertaining guy, but I most want to read about Kaine in the context of the rest of the Spider-verse. What do the Avengers think about Kaine? What do Mary Jane and Aunt May think about Kaine? How does Peter deal with having his adversarial clone healthy and alive? I loved the scenes at the end of Spider-Island where the two of them had to work together. Why couldn’t we have a comic about that?
Removing Kaine (or Harley Quinn) from that which defines them is going to make the comic a tougher sell. This is a cruel market, and as you can see, Scarlet Spider just didn’t last.
Hopefully, New Warriors will learn some lessons from Scarlet Spider. Kaine will be interacting with the larger Marvel Universe, with people who will compare him to Spider-Man. Therein lies the best drama, I think. Not that Kaine’s adventure in Houston wasn’t thoroughly entertaining. I would say this was a quaint but forgettable series, hopefully a springboard to launch Kaine into bigger and better adventures.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
Henchman-4-Hire 