Happy New Year! Wasn't 2018 an interesting turn of events? We got a new direction for the Spider-Man comics, an amazing new video game, for Spider-Man, a great animated Spider-Man movie with Into the Spider-Verse and a definite upswing in both quality and fan engagement overall. But we also lost both Spider-Man creators, Steve Ditko and Stan Lee. It was a big year, full of ups and downs. Oh, and this also happened during the Spider-Geddon event:
I'll be honest, I didn't know how to feel about this at first. On the one hand, a character who died pointlessly and gratuitously in Dan Slott's Spider-Verse has been restored in some form. On the other, I don't think the Dan Slott should get credit for simply 'resetting' things on his way out. We don't thank criminals for returning stolen goods. And yes, Slott came up with the idea, not the event's writer Christos Gage:
Social media is so helpful sometimes. So, I have mixed feelings about the whole situation. Yes, Peter is back in the land of the living but that doesn't undo the quantifiable damage Slott did to the MC2 and it's unique appeal. But...I am glad Pete is back. It's right that Mayday have her father back because therein lies one of the most endearing aspects of her character: the father/daughter dynamic.
Either way, it's a Brand New Year and I'm hopeful for the future of my favourite characters for the first time in a long time. We've got another new trade paperback coming out later this year to look forward to as well! Spider-Girl: The Complete Collection Volume 2 comes out August 13th according to Amazon:
Continuing the far-out future adventures of May"Mayday" Parker, the daughter of Peter and Mary Jane - also known as the spectacular Spider-Girl! But will May be the only member of the Parker clan to wear the webs when the villainous Kaine resurfaces? The Raptor strikes,the Buzz flies in and the Soldiers of the Serpent spread hate - but nothing could be worse than the return of Spider-Man's arch-foe, the Green Goblin! But who's under the mask now?! On top of it all, May must contend with threats like Earthshaker, Funny Face and Dragonfist! What is this martial arts maestro's connection to Danny Rand? Meanwhile, May's deadliest foes band together as...the Savage Six! Or is it Seven?! Will they be the end of Spider-Girl? Plus, the man called Nova! Avengers Next! The Steel Spider! And more!
COLLECTING: SPIDER-GIRL (1998) 16-32
It's a bit of a wait, but at least we know well in advance it's being published. With the first volume collecting 18 issues (one of which was the double-sized annual) and this second volume collecting 17 issues (including the double-sized issues 17 and 25) I think it's fair to say we can expect roughly the same number of issues to be collected in further volumes. Which means (assuming the release schedule remains the same) we can expect the entire first series of Spider-Girl to be available across six volumes by...2023. Hopefully they increase the release schedule because I do not want to wait that long!
Until I run out of reasons to be hopeful, I remain
frogoat