Spider-Symmetry: Amazing Spider-Man 199 and Spectacular Spider-Girl 6

 

Today’s post is part of an occasional series where I try to highlight the visual or narrative symmetry between the Spider-Man and Spider-Girl comics. For this entry, I wanted to demonstrate an example of not just homage but reverence from Spidey artists Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema.

 

I’ve briefly touched on Amazing Spider-Man #199 (which has the unlikely pair of Mysterio and the Burglar) while discussing the Parker Family Home but I failed to mention it is features the guest pencils of ‘Our Pal’ Sal Buscema, an unsung icon, stalwart professional and fixture of the Spider-Mythos across his storied career. After decades working on various Spidey titles, Sal eventually became the permanent inker for the various Spider-Girl titles.

 

Here's where we come to the Spider-Symmetry part of the post, because penciller Ron Frenz loves to sneak in various homages and references to past Spider-Man artists and issues. For Spectacular Spider-Girl (vol.1) #6 (as it was initially released digitally before being printed in the pages of Web of Spider-Man (vol. 2) #2) Mr Frenz recreated a few panels of Sal’s work from Amazing Spider-Man #199, evidently knowing full well he’d be inking it!

 

Until I run out of examples of exactly this kind of deep comic knowledge and appreciation, I remain

frogoat

 

  

 

Spider-Symmetry: Harry and Normie Osborn

 

Occasionally I like to highlight the visual or narrative symmetry between the Spider-Man and Spider-Girl comics. Today I wanted to demonstrate another fine example of artist Ron Frenz showering adoration upon one of the comic industry’s most underappreciated artists, Sal Buscema.

 

Presented for your consideration, Spectacular Spider-Man #189, where a deranged Harry Osborn is arrested and being loaded into the back of a van before threatening to reveal Spider-Man’s secret identity.

 

Now, compare this with the ending of What If #105 wherein Normie Osborn is being loaded into the back of a van and graces everyone with his own rendition of the 1967 Spider-Man theme song, complete with altered lyrics tailored to Spider-Girl.

 

Until I figure out the full lyrics and find footage of this lost cartoon, I remain

 

frogoat

History of the MC2: The Punisher

I'm working on making a complete timeline of events covering the history of the MC2, spanning the nebulous 15 year stretch of time after the Main Marvel Universe (or Universe-616) split off and became the MC2 (or Universe-982) and before the next-generation of heroes began to debut starting with J2 #1, A-Next #1 and What If #105.

Today's focus will be a short companion piece to my previous post about The Punisher in the MC2 because we only have a small amount of information to examine regarding Frank Castle's history in the MC2. We get all the relevant MC2-exclusive history on The Punisher in the Spectacular Spider-Girl mini series. In issue #1 Frank notes in his War Journal that the 'masks' have kept the streets clean for 'nearly a decade', giving us a rough idea of how long it's been since The Punisher ended his war against the mob. 

Continuing his journal entry, Frank also mentions he stationed himself near drug traffickers in South America when he 'retired' so that he could keep relatively active (Spectacular Spider-Girl Vol. 2 #1). 

It's in the next issue, Spectacular Spider-Girl Vol. 2 #2, that we get the final piece of information. We learn from Normie's research that Don Silvio Barraca was the last of the criminal organization known as the Maggia. Castle shot Silvio in the spin, crippling him; choosing to leave the mobster alive as a warning to others. Considering his mission complete, Frank faded into the background, his war over.

Based on Frank's statement that it's been 'nearly a decade,' we can assume this is when The Punisher ended his war on the mob and left New York. So with all of these facts, we can construct a rough timeline of events:

•  The Punisher war reaches it's end when he shoots the last of the Maggia leaders Don Silvio, crippling the mobster as a warning to others.

• Frank Castle retires to South America, positioning himself near drug traffickers to stay sharp over the following decade.

That's all we have regarding The Punisher's history, unless I've missed something vital. In which case, please reach out and let me know.

Until I get a gnarly facial scar and retire to South America, I remain

frogoat

Playing Catch Up

While I was planning on making a more extensive post about particular topics soon-ish, I felt the urge to put keystrokes to computer screen and make another entry on here on my much-neglected blog. So I'll briefly touch on various little things not worthy of a full post (or perhaps not until later, when I find time) and see how far that takes me.

The mobile-platform game Spider-Man Unlimited continues to be the only video game I can find time for in my busy schedule. Considering I can play it anywhere (at home, at work, on the loo) certainly lends itself to my lifestyle far more than a console game. Rumblings behind the scenes at Gameloft have told us Spider-Ham and Spider-Ham related characters are coming very soon.

 Interviews with the development team previously indicated they would have to build a know new character model for smaller characters such as Spider-Ham However the most recent character added to the game, Annie Parker (from the Renew Your Vows story) appears to use a scaled down version of the female character model...which sometimes glitches back to the standard size while retaining the proportions of the smaller character.

But more importantly, the character comes with a new voice over. The credits of the game currently don't indicate any new additions to the voice cast and the dialogue can't simply have been designed for little Annie because when kicking an enemy, she'll sometimes exclaim 'Taste my hooves!' So, positing a theory here....I think this new voice over is intended for a female Spider-Ham related character....namely Swiney-Girl.

Moving onto comics now, I finished and thoroughly enjoyed the MC2 back-up stories in the Spider-Island mini series. I have some very mixed feelings about the actual events leading into the story (both Spider-Verse and Secret Wars) but I believe on it's own merits the entire 31-page mini-epic was a strong read and a welcome return to down to earth, emotionally based storytelling for Mayday. On a more personal note, the story ended around the one year anniversary of my fathers death. Seeing May struggling to define her role in her family while dealing with the guilt and anger she feels surrounding her fathers passing hit home for me. I generally try to avoid placing personal bias into my thoughts about a comic, but once again I find myself truly connecting with May's swath of emotions. Her journey in many ways reflects my own. Learning to live without a loved one after they die is something that permanently alters your outlook and irrevocably changes your life. I respectfully and sincerely appreciate Tom, Ron, Sal and the entire creative team for their dedication to portraying the fallout of such a life-altering event.

I'm very glad May is not stuck wearing her fathers old costume.

On a lighter note, the ongoing series Web-Warriors will feature Mayday's Spider-Girl--erm I mean Spider-Woman as a recurring member of the cast. Judging by the first issue, I like the concept of a reality-hopping team reminiscent of the Exiles comprised of Spider-People. I think the series could be a fun ride, but I do question how Friendly Neighborhood May can be if she is flitting about across the Multiverse. Obviously, it's not the writers fault May comes to the series a changed character from the one Spider-Girl fans remember, so I won't hold that against them. Honestly, I found the characterization fairly on-target, all things considered. But why hasn't she been on any of the covers?! I'm giving this a chance. Stay tuned, I guess.

Until I find the time to actually write a wordy and well-researched blog entry again, I remain

frogoat

Look Who the Cat Dragged In!

So, it's only taken me this long to pull this particular Spider from the portal. I can't tell you how happy I am right now.

 

 Until the next MC2 character is added to the game, forcing me to game hard to satisfy my obsessive need to collect everything MC2, I remain

 frogoat

 

First Look: Colored Pages for Spider-Island MC2 Story

Once again, Ron Frenz goes the extra mile and shares a first look at the inked and colored pages for the upcoming Spider-Island MC2 story he is working on along side co-writer Tom Defalco, inker Sal Buscema and colorist Andrew Crossley.




Thanks once again to Mr Frenz.

The Greatest Responsibility

Recently, I just haven't been feeling comics. I still follow the rituals and pick up my monthly collection from my not-so-local comic shop, but it seems lately I don't feel a burning desire to go and pick up and read the latest issue of some of my former favorite titles. Honestly, I've been feeling less and less like comics are for me nowadays and more like comics are changing into something I'm not completely sure I want to dedicate so much of my time, money and passion into collecting and digesting.

I have more pressing matters to consider, for starters. Work, bills, study. Oh, and just today I became a father. Me. A dad. I never saw this coming in a million years, but my god he's beautiful and my word he's worth protecting, raising and loving wholeheartedly and without condition. I guess that's the point of existence, right? Striving forward, making way for the next generation and accepting the many changing and growing responsibilities of raising a family.

And it hit me.I get it, now. I mean, sure I thought I got it before, but now....now I really feel it. It's so clear.

Thought I may still have affection and nostalgia for comics and what they represent to me, I have a whole new little life right in front of me just waiting to be shaped and moulded into a kind, caring individual. That takes time, that takes money, but most of all it takes love and responsibility.

Oh, sure, I'll pick up the odd title here and there -especially if it's an MC2 thing by Tom, Ron and Sal- but moving forward my plan is to stop collecting comics and focus on making time for what matters most, 'It's high time I put away the toys of my youth and assumed my real responsibilities'.



Until he's old enough to read and I dig out the ol' boxes of comics, I remain

frogoat

Character Assassination: Spider-Girl in Spider-Verse

BEWARE SPOILERS!

I've been genuinely moved by comics on only a few occasions. Usually to tears. But for the first time ever I'm genuinely angry at a comic book.

Spider-Verse- I had such high hopes for this event. I thought perhaps a giant crossover with all the various Spider-People across the multiverse would be good fun. They'd quip, they'd swap stories and compare lives, maybe collectively grieve over the many losses they've all suffered as result of the dangerous lives they all lead. As a concept, I liked it very much. It even had genuine drama built into it by the mere fact that every world is built on differing choices and outcomes. Imagine, May 'Mayday' Parker confronting 616 Peter Parker about his missing marriage. Or Peter being confronted with a version of himself that has gone down a dark path and wondering if perhaps he's capable of the same deeds. All of these things would have made for a rather entertaining read, and we could have had a nice thread or character beat to take away from it all: Exactly who are we if there are in infinite number of us- all making different decisions. Does what we do even matter in the grand scheme of things. Wouldn't that have been worth exploring?

But this isn't really about missed opportunities or how my perception and expectations weren't met. This is about bad writing. This is about not understanding a character on a fundamental level. This is about the character assassination of May 'Mayday' Parker aka Spider-Girl.


The first time we see May during the events of Spider-Verse, she's already been beaten, lying helpless beneath the fiend Daemos' boot. It's very apt, actually. May never really manages to achieve anything for herself throughout this story, remaining beneath the writers heel the entire length of this bloated event. Many Spider-People, old and new were given a spotlight for this event- both in the lead up and during the story proper. Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man 2099, Spider-Woman, Silk and many more. Oddly enough, they were all given an active role in their own stories. Here, in Spider-Girl's own little prelude to Spider-Verse however, she does nothing but react as everyone around her makes decisions. That's not Mayday. She steps up to the plate when times are tough and she gets tougher.

May's entire family (excepting her baby brother Benjy) and her boyfriend are seemingly slaughtered and her family home burned to the ground. Mayday's entire world is built around her support network: Her allies, her friends and most especially her family. It's part of the appeal of the character that she isn't mired in the cliché superhero origin/motivation of having a dead loved one to inspire or drive them to do heroic deeds. May does the right thing because she knows it's the right thing to do. She was raised by good, loving parents who taught her right from wrong. Moral lessons such as 'With Great Power Must Also Come Great Responsibility.' And really, isn't that all we really need to be a good person? It's an intrinsic part of the Spider-Girl mythos to have family drama and conflict. Sure, the Parker family is loving and caring, but that doesn't mean everyone get's along 100% of the time.   Peter and May often clashed over her heroic identity. I can certainly say that growing up I didn't always agree with my parents, but I never doubted their love for me.It's a fairly simply yet effective way to create interesting and relatable drama. In a shortsighted way, killing off Mayday's parents certainly drives her forward and provides drama. But you can only play that out for so long and when it's all said and done they will still be dead and we've lost the core relationships that made readers care about the characters in the first place.

The removal of any of those familial relationships during Mayday's formative years utterly and completely alters her outlook and worldview on a fundamental level. Killing Peter leaves a gaping hole in May's life that can never be filled by any other character. Peter is May's role model, her mentor, her ideal of what a man is and most importantly, he is her father. Throwing an alternative world's Uncle Ben into the family doesn't somehow make things magically better. He can't adequately fill the void- no one could! Which leaves May as a different person going forward. Suddenly May is just another superhero with a dead loved-one. Only she's not being motivated or inspired by Peter's death because he already inspired her heroic actions during his life. His death adds nothing and is thus pointless as well as unearned from a narrative viewpoint.

Furthermore, instead of inspiring Mayday onward, her father's death merely leads to some out of character shouting about forgoing morals and oaths to enact revenge on Daemos. Sure, you could argue that it's a character arc, that May's distraught and upset, that it's resolved when May witnesses the 'Superior' Spider-Man slaying the Weaver for no apparent reason. But I'd argue that it wasn't a character arc, more a long string of Mayday shouting angrily about killing Daemos or finding Benjy, with no real progression until it's abruptly resolved without any clear thought process behind it. We only once see Mayday's true pain and anguish: during Tom and Ron's story (not Dan's!). Unfortunately it is unable to resolve May's story on it's own, being constrained by the larger Spider-Verse's own arc.

If you were to bring out all the fan favorite Spider-Folk for a big crossover story, wouldn't you want them to be portrayed as the fans know and love them? Which is the issue I have with May's depiction throughout the story: It's not even really Mayday. No, I'm not going to try to tell you how this character clearly isn't the real Spider-Girl because of incorrect internal monologue structure or whatever. I'm saying if you want to push all these Spider-characters (and judging by all the new Spider-Titles, that was part of the plan) then you want to be selling the reader on what makes them unique and interesting. Kaine's all dark and brooding and not so quipy. Superior Spider-Man is a ranting super villain. Spider-Gwen is...well, Gwen Stacy with witty dialog. Spider-Ham is a anthropomorphic pig, for crying out loud.  Miguel O'Hara is snarky and brilliant. So, where exactly was Spider-Girl accurately represented or portrayed, even remotely? No, instead we get May shouting vengeful epithets and calling everyone else in the room a fake.
 

Can you see why I'm upset? I really thought Spider-Girl showing up in this big story event after years of dormancy would do wonders for the character's exposure and marketability. I regret to inform you all I was terribly wrong. I think Mayday would have fared far better away from all this wanton death and destruction. As it stands now, May is no longer even called Spider-Girl and no longer wearing her distinctive costume. Instead, she's yet another in a long line to call themselves 'Spider-Woman'. Considering both Jessica Drew and Gwen Stacy both have a series (Spider-Woman and Spider-Gwen, respectively) it seems unlikely that May will receive her own title, which was secretly my fond hope following all this bloody exposure. I thought surely, with all these female Spider-heroes getting books, Mayday will merit a 'Spider-Girl' title.

The name Spider-Girl was earned by May 'Mayday' Parker over twelve long, hard years of continuous publication. To see it stripped from her again with such disregard makes me finally start to believe those that say Marvel doesn't really want May as Spider-Girl but are happy to trade on her title and goodwill. Which brings me to the costume. A gender-swapped Spider-Man costume? Are you kidding me?!? "The costume she's synonymous with isn't good enough, let's stick her in something generic that say's 'I'm just Spider-Man with boobs'." As if to infuriate me further, the actual gender-swapped Spider-Woman, Petra Parker from the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon sports this look. Don't tell me that's a coincidence.

I'm done thinking Marvel cares about or wants to promote Mayday unless they can change her into someone or something else on a fundamental level. The glimmer of hope I see on the horizon is Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz are contributing to the Secret Wars crossover.

I apologize for all the negativity but I felt I had to express myself. Hopefully sometime soon I will return with more positive things to talk about.

 Until Spider-Girl is restored to her former self, I remain

frogoat
  

Spider-Verse Team-Up #3 Review

This is a re-post of my review from Spidey-Dude.com which you can read here.

Story:

Disclaimer: This review was written before the conclusion of the Spider-Verse event. As such, points raised may later be addressed. Just go with the flow.


Mayday Parker is angry. She wants the other Spider-People to accompany her to the home-world of the Inheritors and rescue her baby brother-here referred to as 'Benny'. The others tell her it's suicide to go there, and the Spider-Totem of this world- Ben Parker- attempts to convince Mayday to stay in the safety his bunker, much the same way he did following his family's death, while the rest of his world was destroyed. Mayday calls Ben a coward and tells him her father would be ashamed of him.
Mayday runs off deep into the bunker, frustrated and angry at the others, telling herself they are imposters and fakes and that they don't understand what it takes to be a hero. Breaking down, Mayday begins crying and admits that the lose of her brother Benny is her own fault, that her parents are dead because of her.

Ben arrives and attempts to calm down Mayday but Mayday tells him that his family would be ashamed of him, that her father would be sickened to see him like this. The two fight it out with Ben admitting that he failed to act after the lose of his family and Mayday making the point that if they stay and do nothing, eventually the Inheritors will swarm in and kill them all.

After working together to fight off Mutant Spiders Ben tells Mayday that she needs to get her emotions under control and again offers her safe haven in his bunker if she'll forget about going after the Inheritors. Mayday tells Ben she can't live without her baby brother as he's all she has left. Mayday adds she hopes there is a world out there with a Mayday Parker untouched by the tragic events she's recently endured, as she will fight for them when she rescues Benny and kills Daemos.

Review:

I have to begin by saying welcome back, Tom, Ron and Sal! It's been too long, gentlemen! The classic team back doing a story with Spider-Girl would normally fill me with unadulterated joy. But under the current circumstances of the Spider-Verse event, I think there was always going to be some reservations going into this adventure.

I love Tom's classic writing style and his ability to pack so much into only ten pages is a testament to his skill. The mere fact that Mr Defalco is writing a very different Mayday from the one he worked so hard to develop for over a decade would make the adjustment jarring. Admittedly it is a different take on the character we see written here. Subtle and not so subtle narration refer to the way Slott characterized Mayday in Amazing Spider-Man #8 and the most recent Spider-Verse issues. A few examples including May calling herself 'Mayday' in her opening narration and referring to her brother has 'Benny' rather than 'Benjy' could be read as an implicit confirmation that this 'Mayday' isn't the Mayday the Spider-Girl crew created. There's also the 'With Great Power Must Also Come Great Responsibility' line which is something May would know. Alternatively this could simply be Tom and Ron attempting to maintain the narrative style put forward by Dan Slott. Or everyone is reading to much into all this, who knows?

A few positive points for me were the interactions between Mayday and Uncle Ben in this story. Essentially, the story is ham-strung by the fact that Ben Parker doesn't change his mind about staying in the bunker until Amazing Spider-Man #13 and Mayday (at the time of writing) has not gotten through her grief, anger and revenge arc, something Mr Slott is likely going to resolve in the conclusion of the story arc. So, what do Tom and Ron do? They USE that as a strength. The interactions allowed Ben and Mayday to call one  another out on their actions and attitudes while also reinforcing their own opinions about how to address the threat at hand. Obviously, neither is 'right' but that's where I found the crux of this story because it's a differing of opinions, rather than a 'right and wrong' dilemma. Ben's desire to stay safe in his hide-y-hole and live with his regret is understandable, but so is Mayday's thirst for revenge and her own desire to save the last of her family. It's a great contrast.

Both Ron Frenz and Sal Busema are on fire for this Spider-Girl reunion! The inking is some of the best I've ever seen from Sal with a soft touch on the shading that really brought out Ron's strengths. Ron's layouts on this issue are astounding! Just take a look at page three of the story: Nine panels. Nine! It's utilizes the space in each panel to demonstrate Mayday's anger, sadness and guilt, using larger panels at the top of the page, progressively becoming smaller as the walls metaphorically close in on her. It's superb storytelling. There were a few coloring mistakes from Andrew Crossley but nothing major. I think his color palette is a great fit for this story. The reds are darker, the shadows have weight and the backgrounds are lit in such a way that you feel how depressing the confines of the bunker truly are.

Ron also put in some possible clues that we are not reading the MC2 Spider-Girl with her costume. For starters, her web-shooters are a different design to those seen in Amazing Spider-Girl. Her spider-emblem is slightly different, using the design from the original Spider-Girl series while the section of blue under the arms is reminiscent of the Amazing Spider-Girl costume design. If that wasn't enough, the eye-pieces on the mask are different to any design I've seen before, with the 'points' near the nose area pointing down as well as having a different size and shape. It's a distinct yet subtle costume shift.

Overall, I enjoyed this story on it's own merits but I feel it was a missed opportunity by Marvel to promote Spider-Girl through this Spider-Verse event. Once again, we are dealing with a very different take on the character when compared to what made her so unique and interesting in her own series'. That makes it hard for a new reader to appreciate what it is that fans enjoyed about May's adventures. That said, I believe Tom, Ron and Sal have all brought their 'A' game to this story and I walked away very happy for having read a good, solid story told well. I'll give it a straight 'A'.

Until the gang returns to write a new Spider-Girl series, I remain

frogoat

Confirmed: Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz Return to Spider-Girl!

A preview of the Marvel solicitations for January has confirmed that not only will the 'Legendary' Tom Defalco be writing Spider-Girl for a story in Spider-Verse Team-Up #3 (of 3) but the talented Ron Frenz will be teaming-up to provide pencils. (Do you think Ron's middle name is 'and his Amazing'?) I'm also wondering if Sal Busema will ink the story, completing the trifecta?

Who are you, Mystery-Silhoutte-Person?

While Tom Defalco's return to the character was announced back in July, later it seemed Tom hadn't heard anything since being approached. It's genuinely good news to hear that the classic team of Tom and Ron will be returning to Spider-Girl. I was beginning to loose faith I'd ever see them back on the character. Now, what ever happens in Spider-Verse, at least I've got this tale to look forward too.

The only other item of interest relating to the solicitation information that relates to Mayday Parker is in the description:

The SPIDER-GIRL team reunites for a story about Mayday and a mystery Spider!

Hmmm, I wonder who the mysterious Spider-Character could be? MC2 Kaine? Mayhem? No, that silhouette looks kinda male in shape. Maybe it's Benjy Parker from the future? Yeah, I like that idea! Then we might get a chance to see a version of the unpublished original story of Spider-Girl #60, the one that was supposed to be the final issue, and I believe it would have depicted a future glimpse of Benjamin Parker, all grown up. Either that, or I'm completely wrong and it's an entirely different character.

Looking forward to reading this, guys! You've been greatly missed!

Until Li'l Benjy - The Spectacular Spider-Baby crosses over into Spider-Verse, I remain

frogoat

When I think MC2 I think...

What comes to mind when I think MC2? The obvious answer would be "Spider-Girl," but that's not what I mean. At the core of MC2's foundations I have a select group of creative types in mind. The pillars of this alternative world, if you will. So, who are they? Hold on, wait a minute and I'll tell you!

Tom Defalco

The most obvious choice. With every MC2 issue (barring a half dozen) under his writer's belt (I imagine all writers have special belts with pen attachments) it's impossible for me to picture a world without him. Tom's the best kind of professional; he believes in storytelling rather than 'event' books, he is more than willing to take input from the art team and he loves pizza. I tell ya, they don't make them any better.

Ron Frenz

Ron's the go-to guy. You need a story done well, delivered on time and with a great energy to it? Ron's your guy. He and Tom have (by my estimation) written/pencilled/plotted at least a third of the contents of my comic collection. It's not by chance. I started picking up back issues of Tom and Ron's Thor run without even knowing they were the creative team (I was young). Something about their general vibe has always made me crave the next issue. The sheer love and joy they pour into ever panel of every page is infectious in the best possible way.

Pat Olliffe

What do I say about Pat? He's the first artist I ever saw draw May 'Mayday' Parker. He's the guy who showed that there was a dignified and respectful way to draw women in skin-tight outfits swinging on weblines as thin as cotton thread. Pat defined Spider-Girl. Ron created her, but Pat defined her look and, to me, made her his own. Also, and this may be crazy, but I can't help but think MC2 Peter Parker bares a striking resemblance to Pat....

Sal Buscema and Al Williamson

I wouldn't be much of a fan if I didn't mention these two legends. With Ron and Pat, these two gentlemen are responsible for the lion's share of inking duties throughout the MC2. By contrast, I further appreciate these two; Al's thin rounded lines versus Sal's bold lines and thick shades, I love them both. I learned so much from their work.

Ron Lim and Todd Nauck

Ron Lim worked on J2, Wild Thing, Avengers Next and the Fantastic Five mini series. Todd Nauck pencilled the American Dream mini series. Why are they on this list? Because both their styles feel right for MC2. And because they rock, of course. Cartoon-y, superhero action and adventure in the mighty MC2 way? Yes, please.

Again, this list is just my personal favorites, so if I missed your favorite, feel free to give them a shout out in the comments. Hey, maybe I've missed someone. I may don another one of these, covering the other side of the books: The Editors!