Spider-Girl: The Complete Collection Vol. 2

It doesn't feel all that long ago that I reviewed Spider-Girl: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 and here I am again nearly exactly 365 days later, taking a look at Vol. 2. Collected in this trade paperback release we have Spider-Girl (1998) #16-#32 by Tom Defalco, Ron Frenz and Pat Olliffe.

While it's not my intention to review the issues within the collection, I have to admit, flipping through these stories I was transported back to my youth, to a time when I had nothing but wonder and joy for the medium of comics, when I first fell in love with the Spider-Girl character, her supporting cast and her world. There is so much to enjoy in these stories, with subplots and threads pulling together in surprising yet natural ways. There's a sense that any teething issues the creative team may have had are gone and now they are delving deeper into all the characters and giving us a richer and more fleshed out look at the established cast. 

When I wrote my review for the first volume in this collection, I wasn't aware of  some of the complaints I've since encountered online. While I mentioned the flimsy cardstock, I didn't have as much of an issue with the paper quality, but in hindsight I can see why this would be frustrating. As a fan of the series, I really want to see these issues reprinted in the best possible quality. It's also worth mentioning that I received another copy of the first volume with several missing pages in the weeks following my review, which after my initial anger I decided was perhaps worth retaining as a misprinted edition, even if it never amounts to any monetary value. With all that out of the way, the card stock for Volume 2 appears to be ever-so-slightly thicker than it's predecessor. Meanwhile, the glossy pages of the interior seem to be much the same. I've not noticed any issues with the printing process, nor have I encountered any missing pages, crinkling along the spine or even dints and folds in the cover. 

The cover is, in my humble opinion, a much more appealing choice than the first volume. Vibrant colours, a great layout and design with mood and menace and atmosphere emanating from every corner and an honest to gosh great looking Spider-Girl and maniacal Goblin looming in the background really made me want to crack this thing open and dive into the story. 

I think the choices of which issue to start and end the volume are solid. Despite my personal preference to package Spider-Girl #17 as the final issue of volume 1 because I feel it's a good culmination of her early adventures, I can't deny it would have made for an odd second volume 2. If the second volume had started with Spider-Girl #18 and had to close out with #32, it would be smaller volume and the only alternate then would have been to collect a few further issues such as #33-#34, meaning chopping up a few of the next major ongoing story arcs. Plus, this way the volume ends on a great cliffhanger. All in all, I think this was the best option. 

As for additional material, there is far less on offer here than last time, with only three pages in the back reproducing inked covers to several relevant issues in the collection in addition to two pages reproducing various inked pages of art from the stories. While these are a nice inclusion, I think printing several covers and interiors per page is a mistake. I'd much prefer to view Pat Olliffe and Al Williamson's art one-per-page so they can be better appreciated.

With that all said it's still a great collection, and currently the best way to physically read these issues. If you have the spare money, I'd recommend picking it up. If you don't have the money, I believe these stories are now available digitally through Marvel at a high quality too. Here's hoping the other MC2 titles get similar treatment in years to come.

Until I stop buying, disavow the MC2 and get legally declared non compos mentis, I remain

frogoat

Cyclops in the MC2

Because I'm desperate for page views and I'm shameless about tangentially tying into the X-Men: Dark Phoenix, I figured we could take a quick look at the stalwart leader of the X-Men, Scott Summers aka Cyclops.

It appears that the newer team of mutants, the uncanny X-People, is overseen by members of the original X-Men, including Cyclops, who makes his first appearance in the MC2 during a training exercise in the Danger Room. Not only does Cyclops take out the whole team in mere seconds, he also gives J2 a much needed info-dump about the Juggernaut's past including his last mission where he was lost at the Crossroads of Infinity.

Next up, we see Cyclops overseeing Wild Thing's tryout initiation for the X-People in legendary writer Larry Hama's first story for the MC2 (J2 #11). On an unrelated note, Cyclops rocks a unique costume in these two stories for the first time which looks to be a combination of some of his previous costume designs.

We don't see ol' Scott for quite some time, only learning through Jubilee that Cyclops is among those heroes captured by Loki's forces in Last Hero Standing #2. Jubilee later reports Cyclops unexpected return to Stinger and we glimpse him along side other Loki-corrupted heroes facing off against an assemblage of various heroes.Cyclops is last seen in this series attempting unsuccessfully to stop the Loki-controlled Hulk (Last Hero Standing #3-#4).

Cyclops makes a few brief appearances in the follow up mini series Last Planet Standing, attempting to stop Galactus alongside many other heroes. It's worth pointing out that in both these mini series, Cyclops dons his classic costume instead of his MC2-exclusive outfit (Last Planet #4-#5).

For his final appearances in the MC2, we don't actually see Cyclops, but merely a energy duplicate created by Loki's daughter Sylene in her attempt to restore the devastated Asgard by recreating it on Earth. Cyclops is among those rendered comatose in the process of creating duplicates of various super humans. When Sylene is defeated, Cyclops' duplicate dissipates and he is presumably restored (Avengers Next #4-#5).

That's it for Cyclops in the MC2. We don't learn any personal details about him apart from the fact he was on sabbatical when the Juggernaut joined the X-Men and that he still clearly has ties to the X-Men and the newer X-People. Keeping in mind my previous post about the History of the X-Men in the MC2, Wolverine's comment about Scott and his 'final missions' suggests perhaps he drags his former teammates out of retirement a little too often (J2 #5).

Until I suffer a head injury rendering my ability to control my powerful optic blasts, I remain

frogoat

That One Time Jim Cheung Drew Spider-Girl

Recently I've been thinking about well-established artists in the comics industry who's take on the MC2 characters we've yet to see. Then I remembered there are a bunch of artists outside of MC2 mainstays such as the wonderfully talented Ron Frenz, Pat Olliffe, Paul Ryan, Ron Lim or Todd Nauck who've in some way worked on my favourite fictional universe. Every so often I'll try and dedicate a short post to each artist's brief foray into the MC2 Universe.

Jim Cheung

As a fan of Jim Cheung's work on the Young Avengers characters, I've sometimes wondered what his take on the MC2's various teen heroes of Spider-Girl. While I'd long thought I wouldn't get to see Cheung's rendition of my favourite character, it turns out I'd already missed it! Thanks to regular reader arias-98105 for bringing to my attention to the Marvel Chronicle: A Year by Year History reference book by Tom Defalco published by DK (formerly known as Dorling Kindersley) and first released in 2008. Here's the cover:

   

Now, Mayday isn't visibly featured here and as near as I can tell, isn't featured on this editions back cover either. Some future releases of this book use different artwork too, but the copy I found online features a variation on this cover art. Luckily, if you want the full piece Mr Cheung produced for this book, it comes bundled as lithographs both in colour and black and white. Here, at last, we can see Jim Cheung's rendition of Spider-Girl:

It's a truly gorgeous piece of art from Cheung...but can you spot Spider-Girl? She's way off to the left there next to Tigra! Here, I'll crop the picture:

It's not much but I'll take it! Let me know if there's any other instances of Jim Cheung drawing Spider-Girl! I'd love to see more from him as I think his talent for drawing teenaged heroes is a great fit for the MC2.

Until I find more connections and every hidden gem, I remain

frogoat

Sachi Yama in the 616

A quick little entry today and a slightly different slant of a series I've been doing for sometime now. Today, I'll be looking at a native MC2 character who was integrated (albeit briefly) into Earth-616, better known as the Main Marvel Universe: Sachi Yama, the mother of Zane Yama aka the heroic J2.

A little bit of history first: During the late 90's and early 2000's through several appearances it looked as though the Juggernaut aka Cain Marko was being transitioned into a less villainous character. While it wasn't always consistent (and continues to be inconsistent) the push to make him more likeable was evident.


A salient example of this, the mini-series X-Men Forever from writer Fabian Nicieza and artist Kevin Maguire. A primary character through the time-jumping events of the series, Juggernaut comes to realize he had wasted his life. By the conclusion of X-Men Forever #6 Cain is returned to jail but is soon released, having made an agreement with the Commission on Superhuman Activity to work as a bounty hunter in exchange for a reduction of his sentence. One of the conditions of his work furlough release states he must report to a Ms. Yama.

This is a nice nod to the established history of Sachi Yama in the MC2. Sachi first appears in J2 #1 where we learn that she fell in love with and eventually married Cain Marko. This is further elaborated on in J2 #7:

Sadly, this new direction for the Juggernaut was dropped almost immediately and to my knowledge we haven't seen Sachi Yama appear in the Main Marvel Universe since. It'd be interesting to hear what Mr Nicieza had planned for Sachi and ol' Juggy.

Until I decide to reform and join the X-Men, I remain

frogoat

Carnage in the MC2

So the Venom film is still in theatres and I've noticed people are still talking about it, making YouTube videos and generally discussing anything tangentially related to the symbiotic Spidey villain, including discussing a character who may appear in the movie's post-credits scene. Guess I'll jump on the bandwagon by talking about the spawn of Venom, the murderous maniac Carnage in the MC2!

Despite all the previously discussed appearances of the Venom symbiote in the MC2, we didn't learn anything about what happened to it's offspring until Amazing Spider-Girl #9-12 where S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill tasks Special Agent Arthur Weadon and his team of former villains with safeguarding the transport of an item referred to only as 'Specimen 297'.

Naturally, things go awry when the convey Weadon's team are guarding is attacked and Specimen 297 is taken. When Spider-Girl intercepts those attempting to make off with Specimen 297, a stray shot pierces the container, allowing it's contents to escape. We learn that the operatives are actually S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on a top secret mission and that the Carnage symbiote is now loose.

With the Carnage symbiote newly bonded to a host, it attacks Midtown High students at the Café Indigo. However, Carnage is prevented from killing anyone by his new host and after seeing Courtney Duran afraid, flees.

Also worth noting is that the Carnage symbiote mentions being split into many splinters by the scientists studying it. Digging into the who's and why's of S.H.I.E.L.D. transporting the dangerous alien symbiote specimen through New York or why another group within the organisation was sabotaging the operation, it suffices to say that it was politically motivated...

Events take a dark turn when Carnage appears at the Parker's family home while Peter Parker is looking after his infant son, Benjy. Sensing danger, Peter attempts to sneak Benjy out of the house only to be accosted by Carnage. When Mayday and Mary Jane return home, they find Peter and Benjy gone and an ominous message on the wall...

While threatening baby Benjy, we see that Carnage's new host is resisting the symbiote's murderous tendencies, and we learn the reason he came to the Parker home: Mayday. Ignoring Peter's pleas, Carnage takes Benjy and heads off, promising to fulfill a promise to his host.

Tracking down Carnage, Spider-Girl and the symbiotic villain battle until Mayday appeals to the host: Moose Mansfield. We learn that Carnage has promised to help Moose's dying father in exchange for his co-operation.

Carnage heads to the hospital, driven on by Moose's desire to help his father. This is followed by one of my all time favourite sequences of storytelling ever, ending with a shocking reveal...

Yup, Kid Carnage! Spider-Girl attempts to neutralise her baby brother while avoiding Carnage long enough to reach the sonic gauntlets the police had recently confiscated following a super-battle. Unfortunately, Agent Weadon's team show up to apprehend Spider-Girl. Somewhat more fortunately, Carnage makes short work of the team.

When Spider-Girl points out Carnage might be able to actually cure Moose's father of cancer, Moose convinces the symbiote to head back to the hospital with the promise of compliance. Having bought time, Mayday organises for her father to pick up the sonic gauntlets and armour from the Midtown South Police Precinct and meet her at the hospital.

Carnage makes his way through the hospital toward Mr Mansfield, encountering Moose's girlfriend Courtney and cousin Donna as he fights through security. Spider-Girl holds him off so that Peter can use the sonic device to stop Carnage. But Peter freezes at the sight of  Benjy, fearing his infant son will be harmed.

Forced to take over, May uses the sonic device on Benjy, driving the symbiote off of her brother but also causing him to lose his hearing. Racing after Carnage, May forces the symbiote from Moose moments before it could bond with his father and save his life.

With the Carnage symbiote dead, May's baby brother Benjy deaf and Moose's father on the verge of death, the story reaches it's conclusion. While Specimen 297 appears to be destroyed, we are left to wonder if the other 299 remaining specimens will be destroyed.

Which leads us to Spider-Girl: The End where we are shown a possible future where May 'Mayday' Parker died, which led to April Parker aka Mayhem killing several villains and eventually the hero American Dream. This prompted the government to hand over samples of the Carnage symbiote to Blackworks Paramilitary Services in an effort to create an army of 'Bio-Predators' to combat Mayhem.

Possibly as a result of using mercenaries, these Bio-Preds went rogue, becoming a swarm of destruction that absorbed or killed everyone in their path. Immune, Mayhem atoned for her crimes helped defend humanity against these creatures, but eventually mankind was forced underground to survive. In a last ditch effort, Mayhem was sent back in time to avert the series of events leading to the end of the human race.

I think it goes without saying that clearly the government did not destroy the remaining 299 Carnage Specimens. Never trust a politician.


Until I bond with the spawn of an alien symbiote, I remain

frogoat