Howard the Duck in the MC2

 

Howard the Duck just keeps showing up on-screen! From his own self-titled film to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 to Avengers: Endgame and most recently the What If animated series, you can’t keep a good duck down! Here is Howard the Duck in the MC2.

 

Marvel’s most famous mallard makes his only appearance in the MC2 in J2 #11. When American Dream of the Avengers turns down an invitation to participate in a martial arts contest, J2 aka Zane Yama takes it upon himself to attend in her place. Travelling via mystical amulet to a small island, J2 meets the (apparently) blind Howard the Duck, the self-proclaimed Master of Quack-Fu.

 

From Howard we learn that a few dozen of the world's greatest martial artists were invited to the contest, but only a few of the previous generation's 'old fogies' showed up. Among these ‘old fogies’ is Shang-Chi, sparring with Shen Kuei aka Cat. Other characters glimpsed include Iron Fist, the Sons of the Tiger and White Tiger.

 

 Suspecting a trap, Howard had hoped to stack the deck in his favour with American Dream, Stuck with J2 instead, Howard attempts to train the big lug to defend himself but has no success. When J2 reverts back to Zane Yama after his powers temporarily wear off, he encounters Blind Al. Concerned for Zane's well-being in the upcoming contest, Al attempts to get past Weasel to talk to the mystery person who organised the contest: Wade Wilson aka Deadpool.

 

 

Having followed Blind Al, Zane learns the contest will have a deadly ending. Encountering Deadpool, Zane turns back into J2 to duke it out with the mercenary. Deadpool reveals he set up the contest to alleviate his boredom. Having overheard his plans, Shang-Chi, Iron Fist, White Tiger, Cat and the Sons of the Tiger proceed to kick Wade’s butt off-panel. Howard knowingly comments 'Everyone will keep fighting until--at the critical moment--they suddenly discover it's all been a big misunderstanding. Then, we bow... say pithy farewells... and follow our separate paths. Such is the way of the true martial artist!'

While I thought this was the only appearance of the MC2’s Howard the Duck, I recently learned this was incorrect. In the pages of S.H.I.E.L.D. (vol. 3) #10 the Main Marvel Universe’s well known Howard the Duck is sent on a mission with  to repair damage done to the fabric of existence  by the events of Spider-Verse and thus ‘mend the omniversal zipper’ which was causing various anomalies.  Alongside S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Leo Fitz and various alternate reality versions of himself, Howard found the ‘omniversal zipper’ on the being known as The Liverer. As the zip closed, Howard caught a glimpse of various alternate versions of himself, including the MC2’s own Master of Quack-Fu.

 

Well, that’s it for Howard the Duck in the MC2. Never thought he’d show up again, but it was a nice surprise!

 

Until I wind up as beloved as the frustrated fowl, I remain

 

frogoat

 

Righting Wrongs and Writing Wrong (Spider-Geddon Spoilers)

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

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Review

I was lucky enough to attend an early screening of Sony's new animated film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and thought I'd share my thoughts with my readers. Beware, there will be SPOILERS from here on out!

Spider-Girls Mini-Series for Spider-Geddon

While I wasn't expecting much from the upcoming Spider-Geddon event, I felt it would be remiss of me not to at least note the recent announcement from the Comic-Con International: San Diego. Among the Spider-Geddon tie-ins we got this:

SPIDER-GIRLS #1 (of 3)
JODY HOUSER (W) • ANDRES GENOLET (A)
Cover by YASMINE PUTRI
A SPIDER-GEDDON TIE IN!
• MAY "MAYDAY" PARKER, the original SPIDER-GIRL, ANYA CORAZON, the Prime Universe SPIDER-GIRL, and ANNIE MAY PARKER, A.K.A. SPIDERLING — together for the first time!
• May will do anything to protect her brother from the Inheritors, and Anya's knowledge of the mystical Spider-Totems could save the day.
• But how does Annie fit in? And what chance do three girls have against ageless universal forces?!

As my regular readers (if any actually exist) will know, I'm less than enthused about the rehashing of the Spider-Verse story beats for Spider-Geddon. Especially given that the original event tore down 12 years of character development and world building by needlessly killing Mayday's father simply to temporarily (and honestly, artificially) motivate a 'tragic' story arc which never really paid off.

But I am determined to be positive about this particular mini-series as it is not being handled by Dan Slott or Christos Gage. Jody Houser is the current writer for the Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows ongoing series and has recently produced some solid work portraying a functioning Spider-Family, albeit eerily similar to some of the Spider-Girl series' own plot lines. Perhaps that's why I'm willing to be more open to her work on this mini-series? Unfortunately, the overarching plot of the event rests with Christos Gage and Dan Slott so we may see a repeat of the Mayday story from Spider-Verse; stuck between character beats without the emotional pay off.

I'll be interested to learn how the interactions between Annie May and Mayday Parker are handled. We've recently learned in the Renew Your Vows series, that baby May met the same fate as in the Main Marvel Universe. This provides fertile ground for some really great character moments. I have seen some Mayday fans declare they won't be checking out this mini-series simply because of the presence of Anya Corazon aka Araña because of the real-world reasons that led to Araña being rebranded as Spider-Girl. In my opinion, this is unfair. Anya has some great potential and I don't believe the character is responsible for editorially imposed decisions. It's also worth pointing out that Spider-Girl creators Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz embraced the character, even adding Anya to the MC2.

All in all, this mini-series won't change my mind about the event itself but I will be giving it a chance. With all that's happening in the Spider-Man books at the moment, it seems there's some big changes coming soon.

Until I fully commit to something instead of fence sitting, I remain

frogoat

Spider-Geddon Looms

So, I'm about a week behind on my weekly schedule and I don't know when I'll find the time to work on a really meaty post, so in the meantime we'll have to make do with talking about the sure-to-date-very-quickly alternative of *gasp* current events!

Apparently a follow up to the Spider-Verse event, we have a new event called Spider-Geddon from Christos Gage and Jorge Molina. While this storyline officially starts with a mini series called Edge of Spider-Geddon, I really don't care. This story will either be very much like Spider-Verse in tone and style, doing further damage to my favourite character or it will surprise me and be only half as bad. I'm usually fairly optimistic or at least hopeful but I can't muster it nowadays, I'm afraid. I stopped reading monthly comics as a direct result of Dan Slott's atrocious writing and I don't have high opinions of anyone hoping to follow it up with a pointless sequel event. That said, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised?

As for Mayday herself, she at appears on this promo image in her original costume rather than the last costume she was seen in at the end of the Secret Wars mini-series Spider-Island. I do find it strange that she's not in her modified 'Amazing' era costume with the larger blue areas around the axillary area and smaller eye pieces on the mask. Still, this could be merely artistic choice.

While I don't have much enthusiasm for this upcoming event, I will still check it out in some form when time permits. I felt I had to mention it here, if for no other reason than to (hopefully, but not with great likelihood) be spectacularly wrong on record. Thanks for reading my sleep-deprived rambling, everyone!

Until I find a reason to start reading modern comics again, I remain

frogoat

Mayhem and Earth X Venom in Venomverse?

As Spideydude.com brought to my attention, Mayhem aka April Parker and the Earth X Venom aka May Parker are featured on the promotional artwork by Clayton Crain for the upcoming Venomverse event mini series which will be written by Cullen Bunn.

While this isn't confirmation that the characters will actually feature in the event, it's certainly worth keeping an eye on. My only hope is that the characters won't be mistreated or altered beyond recognition in the way that Spider-Verse single-handedly changed the MC2's Mayday by killing her father. Only time will tell.

Until I stop worrying about pencils and ink people, I remain

frogoat

Something Fun

I don't always beat the tar out of Daemos....

 

...But when I do I'm Spider-Girl.

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
  

Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #8 Review

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

Story:

Disclaimer: This review was written before the conclusion of the Spider-Verse storyline. Some points raised may later be addressed.

The Inheritor named Daemos attacks the Parker home of Earth-982. Mayday's boyfriend Wes is apparently killed attempting to defend her from being crushed to death by Daemos.


Peter knocks Daemos away from Mayday and tells Mary Jane to save their children. While Peter battles Daemos, Mary Jane tells Mayday to take her baby brother Benjy and flee. Mary Jane rushes to her husband's side as May runs out of the burning family home with her brother. A scream is heard from the house just as Old Man Spider-Man and Spider-UK arrive through a portal.

Mayday begs them to help, but Old Man Spider-Man tells her they can only detect her and Benjy. Daemos emerges from the house dragging the body of Peter. He tells Mayday he will find them no matter where they go. Mayday vows to break every vow to avenge her father and kill Daemos before she disappears into the portal.

Review:

Where to start?

Dan Slott manages to do more to ruin the MC2's Spider-Girl in 8 pages than I ever thought possible. On the other hand, Dan Slott also writes the married Peter and Mary Jane as well as anyone could hope for.

Starting with some positives, I really enjoy seeing Humberto Ramos' depiction of Spider-Girl, brief though it maybe. His kinetic style is perhaps best suited to the action-oriented stuff, but I think he does a fine job showing emotion through the characters faces and body language. I was impressed how much pathos he manged to depict through Mayday's ripped mask with just one eye visible. I did find it difficult to make sense of where everybody was in relation to one another at times and the odd angles chosen sometimes forced me to look twice. I think Victor Olazaba's inks help deepen and distinguish Ramos' pencils, which is usually a good thing. The colors by Edgar Delgado were suitably darker in tone than most Spider-Girl stories and the lighting particularly from the flames worked well to evoke the destructive nature of this story. I'd like to see this art team draw more Spider-Girl someday. The cover to the book by Giuseppe Camuncoli looks amazing too.

But what about the story? The cover's copy reads 'Spider-Girl's Last Stand' and with the accompanying artwork of Mayday looking battered but determined surrounded by destruction, you'd be forgiven for thinking she had agency in her own story. Instead, Mayday starts off pinned by Daemos and already defeated. Wes has more of a heroic moment than Mayday. Then Peter throws himself at Daemos to slow him down so that his family can escape. Then Mary Jane gives Mayday Benjy and steps up to rejoin her husband. Wes, Peter and MJ all take an active role in the story while Mayday spends the entire story reacting.

As a story featuring Spider-Girl there isn't a lot of the tone one would expect. Mayday's character seems lacking. Sure, she monologues and feels responsible for bringing this down on her family and she clearly loves and respects her parents; that much I think was well handled. But the use of 'Mayday Parker' instead of May 'Mayday' Parker is either an error or a clue this isn't really the MC2 character. 'Mayday' is merely a nickname but here Spider-Girl refers to herself this way as though it were her actual name. Even Mary Jane calls her 'Mayday' for goodness sake. There's also the use of 'The Spider-Girl' to describe herself as the definitive Spider-Girl which struck me as odd.

Another quibble of mine was Old Man Spider-Man showing up and simply telling Mayday that it's too late to help because he can't detect any other Spider-Totems. Did Dan Slott forget about the MC2's own Kaine. Or Darkdevil. Or Gerry Drew. Or Jessica Drew. Or Julia Carpenter. Or Mattie Franklin. Or Aranâ. Or Black Tarantula. I know what you might be thinking, perhaps they are already dead? But no, dialogue  from Daemos seems to imply this is his first stop on this world.

There are a multitude of reasons I could rant on about why this story fails, but I think the main reason is simple. This was the first time we'd really seen May in a comic since her series ended four years ago, and the first thing we see is her parents and boyfriend murdered and her family home destroyed. Which leaves us with a very different character leading into the Spider-Verse event. If they wanted to use Spider-Girl, then use her as she has always been portrayed. If they wanted a vengeful and angry character, then why not use a different character? This depiction does a disservice to the fans of the character by making her unrecognizable and does nothing but tear down over a decade of character development and progression.

Worse still, Spider-Girl is no longer viable as a concept with her parents dead.  The whole point of having the daughter of Spider-Man is to show how they interact with one another. Mayday's relationship with her parents is one of the richest sources of drama and development. Spider-Girl was a rare find in comics: a superhero who didn't need a tragic past to drive her. Cutting that out leaves us with  yet another brooding, angst-ridden orphan superhero.

A far more interesting approach to having Spider-Girl in this event would have been to highlight the various strong points of her series: The marriage of Peter and MJ, May's optimism and strength of  character, her ability to see the good in others. There are key moments in Spider-Verse where Mayday's unique perspective could have shone through. Instead she's reduced to spouting rage-filled epithets. It's a true shame.

I think where Dan Slott shows the most promise is with his depiction of the married Peter and Mary Jane and the assertion  that they would never be parted. Which gives a nice piece of tragedy to their deaths, pointless though they may be. I suppose some credit must be given for featuring Wes in the story, though he's really only there to increase the drama by dying. This universe's earth designation is correctly given as 982, which considering the errors in other Spider-Verse stories, is something they got right. Considering what transpires, I don't know if that's a good thing.

Only time will tell if this is all set right at the conclusion of Spider-Verse. On a personal note, my favorite character suffering through the loss of her parents struck me very hard, especially while re-reading the story again. I find it almost cruel and heartless that anyone would write such a story without regard to the consequences going forward. The loss of parent is a life-altering event. I don't feel it was handled with the care and forethought that was needed. I hope there is a plan going forward for Mayday and her family.
All said and told, I really did not enjoy reading this story. A lot of people wanted to see Spider-Girl again, but not like this. Not like this. D-

Until things are set right again, I remain
frogoat

Hamming It Up

It's about time things lightened up around here, I think. Yes, dear friends, it's time for me to talk about the major elephant in the room during Spider-Verse, the huge missed opportunity, the frankly obvious absence! Why, you guessed it, pal! It's the Sensational Swiney-Girl!

Granted, the Spider-Verse event is far from over and there is still time for May 'Mayday' Porker to make a game-changing, jaw-dropping surprise appearance in the coming months....but I doubt it somehow. What's that you say? You've never heard of the most famous second-generation hero in all of comic-dom?! Since you've clearly been living under a rock for the past five years, I'll give you a break and tell you!

Nearly 30 years ago the legendary writer/editor/all-around-good-guy Tom Defalco (along with artist Mark Armstrong) created 'Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham'  for a humor comic called Marvel Tails #1. Created as a funny animal parody, Spider-Ham has been hamming it up ever since- appearing all over the place and poking fun at various comics and concepts.

But let's skip ahead to Amazing Spider-Man Family #4 where Tom Defalco leaves hoof-marks on his own creation 'Spider-Girl'  when he and artist Shawn Moll the introduce May 'Mayday' Porker, The Sensational Swiney-Girl. Miss Porker is the daughter of Peter Porker (definitely a pig) and Mary Crane Watsow (and not Mary Jane Waterbuffalo) and as such her origin somewhat mirrors our own Mayday's. Beginning by going into action to help her father against the Green Gobbler, (apparently Norman Osbird's son out to for revenge) Swiney-Girl goes on to face the Hay-Monger in Amazing Spider-Man Family #5 and in a epic two-part story in the Spider-Ham 25th Anniversary Special One-Shot, faces off with Crayfin the Bunter! Oh my, yes!

Is it any wonder why I'm surprised that we haven't seen Swiney-Girl grace the pages of Spider-Verse? With Spider-Ham resurfacing yet again and with 'Every Spider-Man Ever' set to appear in this event....well, clearly May Porker is at the top of my list!



Until Swiney-Girl is revealed as the 'Secret Spider' that Mayday encounters....along with Earth X Venom and Spider-Girl 2020 and the Spider-Girl from the Astonishing Spider-Man comics in the UK and the one from Paradise X: Heralds and th---well, you get the idea-until then, I remain

frogoat

Death's A Funny Thing

I was meant to post something to talk about Mayday returning in Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 3) #8 but I couldn't quite find the right words to express how I felt about the story. I sat and brooded over it for quite some time and looked around the internet and found so many others spouting the same thoughts and opinions that I was having. But then something happened that made my thoughts about a fictional character and her world seem silly and small and pointless.

I received a call one morning after I had finished a night shift telling me my father had been admitted to hospital. Turned out he'd had a fall and his back was fractured and he might never walk again. And all thoughts of  Mayday and her family and her loss seemed selfish because here was a genuine human, in the flesh suffering on the hospital bed in front of my eyes. My own father. The man who raised me and from whom I'd acquired a frankly appalling sense of humor was in agony and there was nothing I could do to help. To make matters worse the doctors suspected (and later confirmed) a mild heart-attack.

Over the next three weeks my father lay in a hospital bed, possibly the worst place on earth to a man who'd always been active, whether it be flying a plane, riding speedway or fixing up a car. My mind often drifted toward fiction-a common trait of mine, hiding from reality. I thought of Mayday being unable to help her family and instead of disappearing into the world of comics, all I could think of is how utterly useless and powerless I felt, sitting beside the hospital bed while my father slipped in and out of consciousness and lucidity. I couldn't help anyone. My mother and siblings were all gathering and considering the future in their own ways but I felt numb to it all, sitting there.

It came to light that my father's body was shutting down slowly. His kidney's were failing, his heart had had one-too-many attacks over the years and an infection had overrun him. Time was a gift inshort measure. It's hard to know what to do with your time when you have years ahead of you, but it's impossible to know what to do when you have days or just hours left to spend with a loved one. It feels wrong and pointless, falling short no matter what you do or say.

Mayday was so overcome with grief as her family was torn apart by an unforeseen and monstrous occurrence. At first I thought the story was all wrong, it was a waste of well developed characters and completely went against the entire ethos of the world the characters inhabited. But thinking on it with all this weight on my heart, I can see how a person can be transformed by rage and loss and grief.

The last words I said to my dad as I made to leave one morning were rendered completely unintelligible by my constant sobbing and sniffing and blubbing. I reached for a tissue and blew my nose loudly, covering the tissue. My dad smiled and said 'Now eat it!' Through all those tears and sadness I laughed. We've got a stupid sense of humor, it runs in the family.

He died a few days later.

I've never felt particularly good with my emotions and my ability to relate to other people. Humor has always helped break down the barriers and make things easier. Recently, I haven't had any reason to laugh and I've been consumed by my emotions, particularly anger and rage and sadness. I thought sitting down and talking about things through my blog might finally help me feel a little better. But I've also got a few thoughts to throw toward May's character as well. Mayday seems alternatively full of revenge and sadness, clinging to her baby brother as the last of her family while swearing revenge.


May 'Mayday' Parker, revenge is not the answer. Anger and rage and resentment will consume your entire life and swallow you whole. Do not loose sight of the person your parents wanted you to be. Our parents may not be perfect and lord knows we can argue with them, sometimes even hate them but when they are gone all we can do is stand up and keep going. Look inside yourself and find that motivation to never give up. It's what they would have wanted. With Great Power Must Also Come Great Responsibility.


I miss you dad. I miss you more than words can express. I'll do my best -no matter what happens- to be the best father I can be for my own child because that's the greatest responsibility of all. I love you.


Until I eat the booger, 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

Spider-Girl Coming to Mobile Gaming!

 Spider-Man Unlimited is a game by developercompany Gameloft for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android Smartphones and Tablets and Windows Phones. The game acts as a kind of tie-in to the Spider-Verse event, letting you play as a variety of alternate Spider-Men. An upcoming update will allow you to play as variety of new characters including Spider-Man 2099 and Spider-Girl. YES, Spider-Girl!

The trailer can be seen here and a preview image can be seen on the Facebook page for the game. If you are to lazy to click on the links, I'll put them here for you:

Apparently, this is the first of many female Spider-Characters to appear in the game. I for one am very glad they chose Mayday to be the first. I look forward to playing as her in the coming months. In the meantime, I'd better learn how to play the game...


Thanks to Shaun Musgrave from the Spider-Girl Message Board for pointing this out!


Until Spider-Girl gets her own video game, I remain

frogoat

Thoughts on Preview of Amazing Spider-Man #8

Let me be clear. I have been extremely fair and reasonable and calm when speaking about Spider-Girl's role in the Spider-Verse crossover event. I've mentioned how much hope and joy I have in seeing my favorite character return to comics for a proper appearance. I've even spoken in defense of Dan Slott to those who've preemptively damned this story based on his previous handling of female characters and 'event' storytelling. I'm certainly going to wait until I read the book before I judge it. Now, with all that said, the two preview pages do not lend me much hope for the future of the Parker Family MC2. They look like they are being torn apart and possibly killed for the sake of motivating May through this story. And I can't abide that.

Yes, it's not lettered. Yes, it's only two pages. Yes, I'll wait and see. But based on these pages alone? I'm suddenly a lot less excited and a lot more apprehensive for Spider-Girl and her role in Spider-Verse. Please don't do this, Dan Slott. Please don't tear apart a whole family. They've been through so much. MC2 is supposed to be the safe haven. Not lacking danger and drama, but safe in the sense that for once, we know Peter made it. He's got a loving family, a great relationship with his wife and even though he retired from web-swinging, he still lives up to the greatest responsibility of all: family. I'd truly hate to see that thrown away.

I'd also hate for Mayday to loose her Father, Mother or both simply to push the story forward. There are certainly other methods of motivating a hero on a journey. May herself is a prime example of a hero without a tragic back-story. Instead of the cliché and well-trodden route of the dead relative/loved one, our Mayday instead stepped forward to defend her family. In doing so May discovered that when she succeeds, people live. It's a clear variation on the Power and Responsibility angle Peter himself learned through lose and pain. I guess if I have a point, the crux of it would be that this doesn't fit at all, both from a storytelling point of view and from a universal outlook approach.

 If Mayday suddenly finds herself an orphan or otherwise tragically motivated, she'll become a very different character from the one I know and love. She'll also become less interesting and less unique. That would be the real tragedy to come out of this story. Spider-Girl -the series- ran for 100 issues followed by a second 30 issue series, then a bunch of featured spots in Spider-Titles, then a third series and a one-shot. Spider-Girl, the concept and character has legs. There is no reason to destroy what works to push a plot forward. 

Okay, I'm being very negative and probably jumping the gun. I'm just very invested in this (emotionally, mentally, financially, you name it!) and I want to see my absolute favorite character in all of fiction handled with the care and respect she deserves. Please. Maybe everything will turn out fine and I'm just overthinking and over-analysing a few unpublished images, who knows? On a positive note, I really, really dig Humberto Ramos drawing THE Spider-Girl. It's means one more artist off my 'Draw Spider-Girl' list. I like what I see, Humberto!

I've got my fingers and toes crossed, Mr Slott. Please do right by Mayday Parker and her family. I'm going to read this entire event to find out. 

Until Spider-Girl and Swiney Girl meet and swap Hamburger recipes, I remain

frogoat

 

Let's Play Catch Up

This is going to be real quick, real short and real fun for me to do, because I wont be sat here for hours sorting out the finer details. Why? Because I just want to cover some stuff I've mentioned before along with  recent things I've been doing and also stuff you've probably already heard about. Let's jump in head first, shall we?

Television

Spider-Girl will not be appearing in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon. Wait! Wait! That's not entirely accurate. May 'Mayday' Parker, the Spectacular, Amazing and Stunning Spider-Girl, daughter of the one true Spider-Man will not be appearing in this animated series during the third season, which is being marketed as Web-Warriors. Okay, yes it's called 'Web-Warriors' and not Web of Warriors or whatever the heck it was that I misinterpreted from that tiny pixelated logo from that tiny pixelated image that was slipped onto twitter. I screwed up. Anyway, back on point though, yeah. Mayday is a no-go, folks. Instead, the Spider-Girl appearing in the show will be Petra Parker, a gender-swapped analog of Peter Parker. This is a case of Spider-Man with boobs. Who'd of thought? I'm tempted to reference the Ultimate Universe comics version of the Clone Saga in which one of the teen Peter Parker clones is a female copy of him.

 Yeah. I'm really disappointed in this missed opportunity to represent Spider-Girl in other media. Alas. On the plus side, if things all go horribly wrong, Mayday's good name isn't besmirched for years to come.On a more positive note, I would like to congratulate Donald Glover (from the awesome comedy series Community) for being cast as the voice of the Miles Morales incarnation of Spider-Man. It's wonderful to see a fan ascend to playing their heroes. Next time though, cast him in a live-action film. He'd kick all sorts of butt.

In other, unrelated news I've begun watching Star Trek. Yes, I've finally crossed the threshold  I unconsciously avoided for years. It began sometime last year when a good friend selected what he identified as 'the good movies' to watch with me. It has since escalated. I've reached the forth disc of season one of The Original Series. It's better than I ever thought. It reminds me of classic Doctor Who in some respects, but with more shirt ripping and swagger. I'm gonna enjoy watching the rest of the series and who knows, maybe all the others?

Oh, and hey! Doctor Who is back on television. I'm very happy.

Film

So, Guardians of the Galaxy was a great fun film. My faith in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is completely reaffirmed. Captain America: The Winter Soldier was a really wonderful film, Amazing Spider-Man 2 was...it's hard for me to give it a fair judgement. In some regards it was a great Spider-Man film with great characters and awesome quip-age, something I've really enjoyed about the reboot. On the flip side, it was a terribly paced film with multiple plot lines all slapped together to make a movie without a clear focus and a lot of narrative dead ends. Also, nobody cares about Richard and Mary Parker! I both like and dislike it. Garfield and Stone are brilliant (as is Sally Field) but I want a better plot. I love Spider-Man and I really want a great Spidey film. Better still, one with this cast because Andrew Gafield is a really watchable and entertaining Spider-Man.

Comics

I'm going to be cutting back on some titles in the coming months and years. Not because I'm not enjoying the stuff I'm reading (I've already dropped those titles) but because I'm going to attempt to transition further into trade-waiting and trade paperback purchases rather than picking up individual issues which should save some money. For me, this is going to be difficult change. Wish me luck.

Spider-Verse has begun, and so far, so good. Granted I've only read Superior Spider-Man #32 but I really enjoyed seeing SpOck (Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man's body, dontcha know?) being stranded in 2099 -if only for a short time- and voyaging across worlds. I love time travel and dimension hopping stories, so this opening 'Edge of Spider-Verse' tie-in was right up my alley. The one thing I'm really worried about is the willy-nilly death of so many alternate reality Spidey's. Are we going to see the wonton deaths of...oh, I dunno--fan-favorite characters like Spider-Girl or her family?! I'm hopeful but also very nervous. Dan Slott does enjoy teasing the imminent deaths of characters...he's so gleeful about! I'm concerned here, people.

It was announced that Tom Defalco will be returning to write his co-creation Spider-Girl in a 10-page story for the Spider-Verse Team-Up mini series. While his story hasn't been solicited yet, I do wonder if he's going to be teamed up with Ron Frenz or Pat Olliffe on art duties. I'd be kind of offended if either hadn't been approached, as they contributed so much towards developing Mayday throughout her various series. The mini series is only 3-issues so I expect the Spider-Girl story in either December or January. Which, looking at things from a publishing perspective, inclines me to think Mayday herself will be alive through the Spider-Verse event until at least December. Yes, I'm calculating in my head based on nothing more than solicitations, the survivability of my favorite character in all of comics.


Until  Marvel utterly guts me by killing a character who forever changed and influenced my entire life, I remain

frogoat

Why Spider-Verse and Web of Warriors is a Good Thing

Update: Clearly I was incorrect about the title of the show, it's been confirmed as 'Web-Warriors'. Apologies!

If you hadn't heard yet, May 'Mayday' Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Girl may just be crossing over into the medium of television soon. This, coupled with Spider-Girl's appearance in the upcoming Spider-Verse comic event can only be a good thing. Why?

Spider-Girl (and the rest of the MC2 line) may have been around since 1998, but the concept hasn't branched out beyond the comics themselves. A crossover with the Main Marvel Universe is a really good way to increase interest, and encourage discussion of the character. Think about it, Miguel O'Hara (aka Spider-Man 2099) has been making strides recently following appearances in Superior Spider-Man, and is now set to appear in a newly relaunched title of his very own. Exposure is important in the comic business if you want a concept to survive.

As for the Web of Warriors story in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon? If it's what it seems to be, we are looking at a multimedia coverage of a very, very niche character and concept. That alone warrants enthusiasm. I realize it's early days still to be cheering from the rooftops but hey, Spider-Girl on tv. Let me say that again: SPIDER-GIRL ON TELEVISION! Am I utterly terrified they might butcher her character and completely ruin any chance of a reappearance for years to come? Of course I am, I'd be silly not to worry. But what if this goes out on television and a whole new generation of children fall in love with young May Parker? Isn't that worth the risk?

I say let's make with the Hoo-Ha!

Until I stop loving the little comic that could, I remain

frogoat

Spider-Verse

Spider-Verse: Every Single Spider-Person Ever! Never mind all the rest, Spider-Girl's back, people! That alone is making me super excited. If you want to know all about it, go read about it else where. I plan on gushing and streaming my thoughts into your head.

This speaks for itself, really.

It's written by Dan Slott. Oliver Coipel is on art. I've seen a few preview pages with Morlun attacking Spider-Man 1602. Spider-Girl will be in it. Peter Porker will be in it. Free Comic Book Day will give us a taster of the story. I don't know what else to tell you, just go read it for yourself, it's all over the comics news sites!

I'm conflicted that Tom Defalco hasn't been asked to participate. On the one hand I enjoy Dan Slott's writing and I have high hopes for this big event. On the other hand, Mr Defalco not being involved makes me sad. I know, I know; the comic's biz is like that, but still. *sigh*. Hey, hopefully this leads to another series, or at the very least further appearances and adventures with Mayday!

I fear I've used all my exclamation points. Oh well, my faith is restored. I remain

frogoat