New Spider-Girl Acquisition

It's not much of a reason to make a new post but why not? Sure, there were a few news items that probably needed to be covered more urgently than this, but it's my silly blog so I'll cover something far less relevant. Onwards!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen! I have finally (FINALLY!) acquired the Spider-Girl toy car. This bad girl came out back in 2003 from Maisto...who I gather make this sort of thing quite often as this particular car is #42 of Series 2. Beyond what's written on the packaging I've no idea what the deal is with the set. It's a Dodge Concept Vehicle. So...there's that. I realize this sounds pretty uninformative...and it is but please understand that I've been chasing this darn toy car for a decade now. Having finally obtained it makes me feel all warm and tingly inside.

Until I write a decent toy car review or stick to current topics, 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

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

Reblog: Domestic Abuse in Amazing Spider-Girl

Let me start by saying I didn't write this blog I'm about to share. It's written by Tumblr user Tierouy. I just think it's well written and it's a interesting and deep reading of the problematic and abusive relationship between Mayday Parker and Gene Thompson. Give it a look!

Domestic Abuse in Amazing Spider-Girl

Until I finally get some sleep, I remain

frogoat

Mayday's Room

Before I get too deep in this blog post, I've got to give credit where it's due. Firstly to Mr Joshua Lapin-Bertone aka Bertone Beatle for some much needed instant-sourcing of floor plans and for generally being a great source of information and entertainment on his various podcasts through the years. Secondly and with the utmost love and appreciation, I thank my dearest partner for not only putting up with me while I worked on this but for also going the extra mile and reading (!) the first 20 issues for this little pet project of mine. Without your help, I'd be lost my darling.

Initially, I had planned to do a blog where I examined the entire Parker Family Home, looking at how many rooms it contained, where they were located and in which issues we see them. Bertone quickly set me straight. Obviously this was a mad idea of mine and doomed to fail... probably after I was diagnosed insane. I decided to narrow my scope while looking at the details. So here is a look at Mayday's Room!

I lied! To start we first have to check out Peter Parker's room from way back in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. Therein lies a special feature illustrated by the inimitable Steve Ditko showing the basic layout of the house - or at least the back of the house. So, apparently Peter's room is located at the rear of the building on the second floor, with one (maybe two?) windows- facing the backyard and/or the neighboring house. Keep that in mind.  Of course, throughout his run on Spidey, the room's layout varies quite a bit.

Skip forward--or is that backward?--to the Untold Tales of Spider-Man Annual '96 (why must the annual's keep changing there numbering format?! ) which pays homage to Stan and Steve's first Annual by having it's own little feature (illustrated by the frankly superb Pat Olliffe) on Peter's world, including a floor plan for his bedroom.

That particular floor plan will be my basis for the layout of Mayday's room in this post. Why, you ask? Well, as I mentioned, Pat Olliffe provided the design for Peter's room. Pat also provided the first real look at Mayday's room in Spider-Girl #1. While Ron Frenz obviously had the art duties and co-created Spider-Girl in the prior What If #105 story, there is no clear shot of May's room in that issue. As such, I defer credit to Mr Olliffe for the initial design.

 Here's a secret: It's the same room. Seriously, have a close look. The beds in the same place, the furniture is almost identically placed around the room, the window and door seems to be in the same location. That's truly a nice piece of continuity, Pat!

 Shall I give you a tour? I shall. Using the above floor plan, let us first get orientated.

These are purely to help clarify what I'll be referring to. I have no idea which direction Peter/Mayday's window faces. Now that I've cleared that up, lets move on!

She'll get more shoes. Lot's more.

It's times like this I wish I could do fancy infographics or something. Never mind.  These are from the aforementioned Spider-Girl #1. To make it clear where things are May's bed seems to be in the same location as Peter's once was -with the head of the bed against the East wall. The window is on the North wall. There's a lot established about the room here! Note the free standing full length mirror. There's a bunch of furniture that will reappear throughout the entire Spider-Girl run: the book shelves, the various chest of drawers, the two bedside tables, the trunk at the foot of the bed, the desk (later a computer desk) with various sporting trophies, the built-in closet/wardrobe. Also, this is the first appearance of the WNBA and Cranberries Reunion posters. 

Spider-Girl #14 brings us the first appearance of the 'Unclean Thots' poster! I know you've all been curious about that one! Also, it seems the door is along the South wall. Now the desk (West wall, near built-in closet) has acquired a computer. Exciting stuff, I know. And the mirror has moved. It does that. A lot.

The mirror is now in the South-West corner in Spider-Girl #15. Hey, a Leonard Groote poster! This was around the time the annual came out, so it's clearly in reference to that.

 Spider-Girl #26: It's a cover, so maybe it doesn't count, but it seems the computer desk has moved so it's by the window. It's a nice cover. One of my favorites. In the picture of Mayday putting her Spider-Girl costume together from Spider-Girl #1, it also looks like the computer desk is by the window.

Okay! Hold the phone, your horses and your posterior! Is this even the same room?! The computer is where the bed usually sits on the East wall, there's a very different book shelf and a comfy looking cane chair along the the West wall near the closet. The bed isn't visible in any of the panels, therefore it's likely near the North window. So, why the drastic room rearrangement? Obviously the real world reason is Pat Olliffe was using artistic license. Look at these pages- they are gorgeous- so clearly it paid off! As for in-story reasons? Mayday had recently lost her powers leading to some big changes in her life. Is it too much of stretch to suggest rearranging her room was one of those changes?

Mayday's room seems to be back to normal the next issue when she decides she must continue in the hero biz without her powers. Hey, that kinda works, right? Symbolism? May puts her room back in order much the same as she is determined to put her hero work back on her schedule. I know, I'm stretching.

The room definitely seems to be back in order here in Spider-Girl #36. This is around the time Mary Jane began showing signs of her pregnancy. We won't be seeing much of the room for good long while until...

Spider-Girl #54 presents a rearranged bedroom again. I honestly can't figure this one out. Fair enough, the computer desk has moved over to the South wall. Sure, the 'WNBA' poster (which reads 'WNBA Flyers') has moved. No big deal. But I can't really explain how the built-in closet can be along the same wall as the window- that'd be the North wall if you're keeping up.

Spider-Girl #56 seems to show the same basic layout. We don't really see the room again until Spider-Girl #71 and things have been rearranged a bit.

The computer desk and that comfy cane chair are now either side of the window. In Spider-Girl #72, Ron has moved the computer desk to the North-East corner.

I love 'The Avengers' screen saver and the 'Fantastic Five' poster matches May's earlier seen Franklin Richards picture. 

Both pages here are from Spider-Girl #75. It's not clear to me exactly where that first panel in the first image above is in relation to the rest of the room, but there's that mirror again! In the second image, is that a radiator or something? Pretty sure that's new. The next issue again shows the rooms layout hasn't really changed.

...Although the window is visible from the closet in this shot...I'm just going to call it a cheated angle.

Spider-Girl #77 shows the same arrangement as before.

In Spider-Girl #80, Pat Olliffe has returned the computer desk to the West wall, as it was way back when. You know, I'm noticing a pattern here! Pat usually draws the computer desk on the West wall (occasionally elsewhere) and Ron usually prefers it on the North wall near the North-East corner.

Spider-Girl #81: I really just wanted to show the New York 'MAYDAY' license plate above the door. Oh, and look! Ron Frenz on art and the computer desk is back in that corner by the bed.

This is another case of artistic license to tell the story visually. It's also a great layout!

I love the Captain America action figure on the shelf. Spider-Girl #89 takes place right after Last Hero Standing, so it's a nice touch. And look where the computer desk is located!

Note the 'Unclean Thots: The Redemption Tour' poster behind the CD player (iPod dock?). Aw, and the Hulk action figure! I love these touches.

Spider-Girl #90: It's canon, Mayday now has a photo of her namesake in her room.

I included this page from Spider-Girl #92 mainly because of that first panel. Anyone know which part of the house that might be? It'd really help me sleep at night. It seems when ever Mayday studies, that computer desk is turned around, doesn't it? I'm guessing that's the closet door in the last panel.

Spider-Girl #94: Did...did May move her room around again?! Perhaps after studying in the Spider-Girl #92 she simply left the room like this?

We don't see Mayday's room much after the series relaunched with Amazing Spider-Girl #1 but it is still fairly consistent.

Yup, the room is back to normal here in Amazing Spider-Girl #4 with the computer desk back on the North wall and that darn mirror moving where ever it pleases. I wonder which 'Justin' that poster is referring to?

Amazing Spider-Girl #23

April's Room from Amazing Spider-Girl #25

 Every now and then there will be a page like this one from Web of Spider-Man (vol 2) #2 that seem to show a second window on the West wall of the room. I'm about to out out tufts of hair. How do I explain that?!

This next page from Web of Spider-Man (vol 2) #5 also seems to hint at a second window. In the last panel, you can also see the hall out side May's room. Based on this layout, is her room at the rear of the house? Am I over-thinking things? Obviously!

Okay, nearly done! In Spectacular Spider-Girl #1 Mayday throws her costume onto her bed, then sits down on her trunk. Based on these panels, the window in the first panel is opposite the bed. So, maybe there is a second window? Is Mayday's room on a corner of the house?! Am I sleep deprived and crazy!?!

Yes, I am. Looking again at this image from the same issue, it seems the room's layout is as it is usually. Darn! I do like the 'Do Not Enter' sign on the door. One more thing?

A pin-up from Amazing Spider-Girl #15

CEILING FAN!!!

So, I think that's it. I've been pouring over Spider-Girl comics all week while working on this blog. I hope this makes some kind of sense. The important thing to take away from all my nitpicking and rambling is this: For twelve years and more than 140 issues the design of Mayday's Room was kept very consistent.

 The dedication to the details is impressive. I love that the 'Unclean Thots', 'WNBA' and 'Cranberries' posters are maintained throughout the series run. I love that the computer desk and mirror are always present around the room. I love the Avengers screen saver. I love the trunk at the end of the bed (what's in that thing?!) I love that the dirty linen basket is always full. I love that there are photo's everywhere of her family and friends. I love that the room is always just a little bit messy. I love the sporting trophies and collection of books. I love the teddy bear and bunny. 

In short, I love the care, attention to detail and sheer love Pat and Ron have put into making this room feel real and lived in.

Until I learn to better manage my OCD tendencies, I remain

frogoat

The One True Voice of Spider-Girl?!

I've missed the ol' blog, so I've decided to run my mouth (via the keyboard) until I feel better. All aboard the magic school bus, friends!

I've dedicated way to much of my free time (and the expensive kind of time, as well) to playing the heck out of Spider-Man Unlimited. Let's not dance around it, I'm a Spider-Girl fan through and through. I started playing this mobile game as soon as I heard Spider-Girl was going to be added to the roster of available Spider-Men as the first Spider-Female available to play. Laura Bailey does a brilliant job as the voice May 'Mayday' Parker. She sounds like the character has always sounded in my head. I've been digging around and I'm certain the talented Mrs Bailey is the very first person to voice the character. 

For some reason my phone makes Spider-Girl appear 'shiny'.

Well....if you want to get nit-picky (and I know many comic fans are want to do just that) Tasia Valenza voiced the original Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) in the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (2006) game which featured an alternate costume of Spider-Girl. But she was still flying and shooting her blasts, it was just a different character 'skin'. 

Can you spot the Spider-Girl?

Also, Tara Strong voiced an unidentified 'Spider-Girl' character (a member of the 'Spider-Friends' team) in the Marvel Super Hero Squad Online (2011) who wore a different mask exposing some of her face as well as her hair.  But again, not exactly THE Spider-Girl. So there you go, Laura Bailey is the first person to voice May 'Mayday' Parker.

Thoughts?

 The Super Hero Squad version is probably related to this 'Spider-Girl' from the Spider-Man and Friends toy line. This incarnation was included not only in the toy line but also has a self-titled song on the 'Spider-Man and Friends CD' Album (2004) which ties-in to the line. Check out Track 4, 'Spider-Girl' . 'She's smart and strong and lots of fun and she gets along with everyone!' Sounds about right.

I believe she's Spider-Man's 'cousin'. Because Kids.

Until I hear Joshua Keaton is providing the voice of Spider-Girl for the Marvel Heroes 2015 update, I remain

frogoat