The Girl Who Fell To Earth

Okay, just a quick post this time (which was what the last one was supposed to be, but I digress) to talk about a really great story. And I don't mean a great Spider-Girl story, nor do I mean just a great comic book story. This is a moving piece of literature worthy of an award.

The story is simple: Sandra has been consistently physically abused by her boyfriend for the past twenty-something issues. May has made efforts to do something about the matter, but has only made things worse. things come to a head when both Sandra and Courtney end up in hospital, severely beaten by Sandra's boyfriend, Howard. May tracks him down and very nearly kills him before realizing beating him is only continuing the cycle of violence. Moose, boyfriend of Courtney, on the other hand feels differently and lays into Howard until May talks him down.

I love this issue. It, even more so than the issues that built to it really helped highlight a serious issue and handled it with the care and gravity it deserves. I recommend anyone kind it and read it. The letters page is even more griping as Tom Defalco, the writer, tells readers to look it up online and be as horrified as he was. Abusive relationships amongst teens is a huge issue and one that is sorely overlooked. This story touched me in a very human way, and I have nothing but love and respect for the team who worked so diligently on it.

Everything about this issue is pitch perfect, from the opening scenes to the closing page. The colors, the word placement, the dialog, the pencils, the beautiful thick ink lines really do work in unison to paint the story. So thank you, Tom, Ron, Sal, 'Gotham', Deb and the then-freshly-minted editor Molly. You're heroes.

Until I manage a single-sentence blog, I remain

frogoat

Body Image?

As she first appeared.

I had the opportunity recently to re-read a lot of the original Spider-Girl series. Now, that in it's self was rather gratifying, validating me that this was, in fact, a great series. But while I was doing some reading, a friend of mine was taking some interest and asking questions and making comments. Now, some context. I rarely read comics around others and I enjoy the odd occasion when I get to address genuine questions, rather than mockery. So, anyway, my friend pointed out that May, as Spider-Girl, is really rather skinny. This got me thinking, really thinking. So, is there a rationale behind this that can be justified? And also; is this depiction of a young woman's body in comics a good one for young readers, especially girls?
 

 Okay, I should narrow this one down. The issue referred to by my friend, specifically issue #65, is penciled by Ron Frenz. Now, I love Mr Frenz. His art is adaptable, clear, old-school and fun. Looking over the series as a whole, starting with the original What If ?! #105, I decided Mr Frenz clearly isn't trying to depict May as anything other than a typical teenage girl. May is depicted as slim but athletic, by both Ron and Pat Olliffe (who penciled Spider-Girl from #1 through to the mid-fifties, give or take a fill-in now and then by Ron). Pat's depiction of May notably changed from his early issues, with May physically appearing taller and leaner as time went on.

                                                                                                                             

Pat Olliffe's take on May throughout his run.

Fill-in issues by Ron show an attempt to mimic Pat's style, where ever possible, not wanting to break the tone of the book. As I said, Ron is a professional and very talented. In the middle the Season of the Serpent six-parter we have a sort of handing-over of the penciling duties to Ron. Frenz' slowly let his style come through, eventually arriving at the slightly cartoon-y take on May's world we see in the aforementioned issue #65. I'll be honest, at first, I found this take jarring, but it soon grew on me.

Cartoon-y but Cool: Ron Frenz takes the reins.

 This, then is the explanation for May's skinny look. Changing over time again, Ron's ever-evolving pencils would give us a more muscular Mayday, with a slight change in the cut of the costumes lines, and a change to the look of the masks eyes, giving us a more grown-up or mature look. I really appreciated this new take as it seemed reasonable that May would have the body of a gymnast, in much the same way I prefer Spider-Man depicted. It makes sense a bouncing ball of spider-powered energy would have an athletic body, rather than one of a body-builder.

A more mature Mayday by Ron Frenz.

So, Mayday has been depicted in an ever changing way, not always photo-realistic, not always consistent, but always growing. The big question then; is this a good thing? Does a cartoon-y but still skinny May offer any young readers a positive message, or does she reinforce the negative body-image ideal of thin young women? Honestly, I look on this series with rose-tinted glasses sometimes, but this topic did deserve serious examination. I can't reasonably ignore this possible criticism to my favorite series and character.

 May is a positive role-model for young readers, she's a strong female character who doesn't use sex appeal as a selling-point. May plays basketball, she thinks for herself and often tries to avoid violence, preferring to find another way whenever possible. She makes mistakes, fights with her parents and let's her friends down, but always tries to make amends. While the rest of the world seems hung up on body image, here is someone who wants to be defined by her actions, not her cheek bones or waist line. I'm not saying May isn't sensitive to that type of thing, just that she knows better than to take it seriously or let it change her.

Thoughts?

 So, in the end, I think society in general puts far to much emphasis (either positive or negative) on how a person (especially a young woman) looks when there is a much richer, unique person underneath it all.

Until Spider-Girl wears bikini armor, I remain

frogoat

Kicking Death in the nuts. LITERALLY!

From Spider-Girl #56

I was tempted to say 'Nuff Said!' but I felt I should explain this one a bit. The big guy? Seth, the self proclaimed Serpent God of Death. In the background you'll notice Mary Jane in childbirth. This story is the end of Season of the Serpent, which is a favorite story every time I re-read it. It puts Mayday through hell, taking on a bad guy she stands no chance against, leading her to places she's never been and culminates in the birth of Peter and Mary Jane's second child, 'Benjy'. It has a clear theme of death and birth, and leaves May in what I consider a worthy place amongst her super-hero peers. Having been nearly beaten to death, and left to die slowly at the bottom of the river harnessed to an an anchor, she squares off for another round with Seth, this time with as many allies as she can muster all in one place. Unfortunately, Seth traps them all in the Avengers Compound using his personal force field, leaving May the only one to stop him. It's a great story, with some real emotional moments, great action and great character beats. Plus, well, the page above speaks for it's self.

Until nut shots stop being epic, I remain

frogoat

Supportive Cast

Character Development

A character is a stock character when they are defined only by a few traits. 'Oh, hey it's the black guy!' or 'The geeky friend' or 'Bitchy popular girl'. I figure if you have trouble describing the character without resorting to stereotypes, then the character is either underdeveloped or just plain boring. So, does Spider-Girl's civilian cast hold up? Let's have a look.

Davida

Davida Kirby starts off, to my mind, as a generic best friend. But let's dig a little further. Davida plays basketball along side Mayday when the series starts. She keeps up with celebrities and gossip and has a knack for knowing when a store is having a sale... normally shoe store sales, now I come to think of it. Davida wants to either go pro in basketball or go into public relations, following in her mothers footsteps. Davida does well enough in school when she wants to and is team player, both in sport and in balancing friends. She does however treat males as disposable objects and has a stubborn streak. She outed a team mate as a mutant after she took her spot on the team, believing she was a better player.

Courtney Duran

Courtney is May's earliest friend. She's the geeky friend. She loves the Lord of the Rings trilogy. She's in the science club. She has thick glasses. She's a little overweight. Oh my god, clearly a stereotype! But wait, hold on a second, come back! She's also the only friend May's had who would stick with her no matter what. Her friendship is unconditional, she's loyal like a German Shepard. God, bad analogy! She listens, she's there for you, she wont judge, she's understanding. Apparently, May and Courtney first met when they were four, May's first day at pre-preschool. May was feeling like crap and being picked on by second grader until Courtney came along and bit him on the leg. They've been friends ever since. There's that loyal man's-best-friend theme again. God, it's not meant to be unflattering! She's a favorite supporting character. Actually, following that theme, she's also too forgiving. When she was hit by a car and everyone else came to see her except Mayday, she shrugged it off.

Moose Mansfield

Maurice is a jock and a bit of an idiot. He jumps to conclusions, flies off the handle easily and is a bit of a bully. His favorite entertainer and politician is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yeah, Moose is a dick. Only he's not. Starting out as the jerk in cast, he slowly grew into one of the best, most well rounded, most well loved characters in the book. Issue 19 granted us insight into his inner most thoughts, which was a word-balloon-free page of him staring blankly. Soon though, Moose starts showing his soft side, saving Jimmy from a villain attack, humorously believing Spider-Girl was Courtney....yeah, I know, not too bright. He ends up getting to know Courtney and falls for her. Things change for him when his father is diagnosed with cancer; Moose relies on May for support to get through this. Eventually everything comes to a head when his father is struck down on the job as a firefighter. Moose is forced to move away to stay with his relatives, as he can't take care of his little brothers on his own. There is one other piece to the Maurice Arthur Mansfield puzzle that changes him as a person, but I don't want to spoil everything.

I'm out,

frogoat

Spider-man with boobs?

I guess the obvious statement made about any female character derived from a popular male character is 'Hey, it's just Superman with boobs'. And yeah, that's valid some of the time. I feel like She-Hulk was only created to protect a copyright, just as I know Spider-Woman was first created for that express purpose. Don't misunderstand though, both characters have gone on to have a rich history of events that characterizes them far afield from their male counterparts. Okay, so what makes Spider-Girl unique, even amongst other Spider-females? I'm going to try to answer that question.

Origin? What origin?

It's even become a running gag in the books themselves that May 'Mayday' Parker has almost nothing in the way of an origin story.  As Mayday says, she just woke up one day and found out she had her powers. That's it. Hmm. Well, okay, she had to fight Normie Osborn, the grandson of the original Green Goblin who had vowed a vendetta and yada yada yada. But still, this leads straight into her series as it's set up initially.  No swearing vengeance on crime, no traumatic childhood, no loved-one struck down. Her characterization comes from how she was raised. My god, a normal childhood for a superhero? Could it be?!

Without Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

Now, not to be down on my main man Peter, but seriously, how often does he hang up his webs, vowing never to wear them again, only to take them up again to save someone next issue? May's the kinda girl who, even when she loses her abilities, she still can't quit. See, May's not like her dear ol' dad. Whereas Peter started out as a bit of an outcast who, when he got his amazing abilities, he instantly used them to make money and live his dream, May is different. Peter had to have the trauma of his uncles death to shock him into heroics, to knock him out of his hubris. May simply does the right thing because....well, because it is the right thing to do. For crying out loud, she borrowed a Goblin Glider and equipment to keep on helping people when she lost her powers, doing push ups and admitting to herself that she wasn't done with the hero thing. I guess what I'm saying is May Parker has ovaries of steel and a strong work ethic. :p

Heel Face Turn, or 'No Rematch For You!' 

  You know the routine, the villain and the hero go toe to toe a couple times then the villain falls into a cycle of grudge matches or revenge attacks.....and *yawn* we've all seen it before. For the most part, May's rogues gallery changes often, with only a few big bads returning to spice things up and push chess pieces around. May's belief in the good in people has not only set her apart from her father, but has reformed so many of her former enemies it should be a freakin' super-power. Normie (Green Goblin) Osborn, Brenda (Raptor) Drago, The Dragon King,  Mr Abnormal, Killerwatt, Mayhem, the list goes on and on.

Genre Savvy 

This one I kinda like for the simplest reasons. When I was younger, I often wondered why, being heroes and all, they continued to battle at the slightest provocation. 'He's talking to the bad guy, therefore, he must be working with them!' In the MC2, the heroes try to avoid this. Sometimes they come to blows, but usually, they are all well aware that in the hero biz, things are not always as they seem. May even cites this when confronting her fellow heroes, 'Oh great! Another misunderstanding!'. One of my favorites comes from Stinger: 'Everybody, CHILL! Nobody want's to look like a jerk by starting a fight over some silly misunderstanding! I suggest we retire to the nearest rooftop and try to sort things out like adults.' Spider-Girl: 'Sounds good to me!'

She's a Joiner

Peter Parker was always a loner, either by nature or by choice. Sure, the Bugle never helped his image, but if he'd joined the Fantastic Four like he planned in Amazing Spider-man #1 he could have sued J Jonah Jameson for libel. Problem Solved. It took him around fourty years to join the Avengers and even longer to be a full-time member of the FF. Spider-Girl decided early on to seek allies where ever she could. She joined the new Avengers team in Spider-Girl #13, made friends with the F5 in Spider-Girl #3 and founded her own team in Spider-Girl #42; The...erm....even newer Warriors? We'll call them the Warriors. Okay? Got it? Good. Super villain giving you problems? Call in the Avengers, and the Fantastic Five, and the Warriors and the Nation Guard. Care to surrender?
 

Nobody Dies On My Watch

May takes every death personally, even going so far as to mourn the lose of Crazy Eight after he is shot and killed by another villain. Tom Defalco said it best in an interview,  "Peter failed to stop a burglar who later killed his uncle. Mayday succeeded in stopping a super villain and prevented him from killing her dad. Pete learned that people die when he fails. She learned that people live when she succeeds. It's a subtle, but profound difference."

I've only scratched the surface, but these are the major points I felt sum up Mayday.

Until Marvel prints a Spider-Girl digest volume 13,

I'm frogoat.

Spider-Girl: My Geek Awakening

I'm not really sure what to put up here, but seeing as this is my first try, let's just run with this and see how it goes, aye? Right.

Spider-Girl

Spider-Girl was the comic book and the character that not only captured my childhood mind and held my interest but also, I feel, the reason I am the person I am. I realize that sounds over the top, and it is, but hear me out. I picked up my first ever comic in 1998. My mother had to run into the newsagent in town and being, I think, 8 or 9 at the time, I instantly followed her in the hopes of scoring some free swag. I looked at the magazine section, not much to draw my eyes until, oh! Spider-man! MUM! And so I grabbed my first comic and looked at the cover, featuring a villain (I'd later find out this was the bowl-headed illusionist Mysterio) trapping Spidey in his giant head. Great cover. It was Spider-man: Chapter One #7 or #8 and, cover aside, it was crap, utter rubbish, rushed and confusing with only a mild attempt at following a coherent plot. But, hey, Spider-man! So, the next week, having read and re-read it numerous times, I found myself back in the local news agency ready and raring to find a new one. I'll admit, I was a little disappointed when I could only find other comics without Spidey until--hey, is that Spider-ma--no! The titles wrong. Spider-Girl. Hmmm...and the Fantastic --what? Five?! What the heck is this?! MUM!

It was Spider-Girl issue #3, 'Fun 'n' Games with the Fantastic Five. I won't pretend I paid much attention at the time to who wrote it or who provided the great art work, all I knew was this story was awesome. In one issue, without me having the slightest clue about who May 'Mayday' Parker was, why Peter Parker was a forensic's guy for the NYPD  or anything about this strange world I found myself in, it didn't seem to matter. I picked up all the information I needed from the issue: Peter is receiving a commendation for his work, May has promised to attend, things happen and May isn't just late, but misses the whole thing. I'm simplifying, so let me add that in one issue Tom Defalco, our esteemed writer managed to tell me so much about the way this book works, it's premise, the tone, the balance of action and drama. Peter is still the same geeky guy we know, but he's a bit more mature, not world-weary, but certainly a changed man. He's grown up. May is something of an exception among teenagers, and I don't mean her wall-crawling. She is friends or at least on speaking terms with the 'cool' kids, the popular girl, the football player and the big bully while also hanging with the nerdy girl and the geeky guy. Yet, somehow, May just seems normal, she fits in. She is Mary Jane's daughter as well as Peter's. Whereas Peter was socially inept, May finds making friends easy (something that will become a big part of defining her as a character, apart from her fathers looming web-covered shadow)

Anyways...where was I? Right, so May is supposed to attend a ceremony for her dad late that afternoon. At school, May's friends convince her to come with them after school to the Baxter Building-home of the Fantastic Five, now a kind of exhibition/ science center. We get some conflict amongst May's friends, who don't get along as a group. The exhibition is disrupted by a villain who battles the entire Fantastic Five and eventually Spider-Girl who, being new at this hero-biz, screws up. Eventually, they catch him, but not before May is trapped for hours in another dimension. May arrives at the ceremony only to be greeted by Mary Jane, who tells her 'It was a very nice ceremony. To bad you missed it'. The issue ends with May realizing the tension and strain of trying to live this life. She's going to have to make some tough calls and it's never going to be easy. I hope that somehow I've relayed what it is I fell in love with about this book to you. I've never been very good with getting things from my brain and out there to be mewled over by humanity. It was a simple enough plot, but the care and attention that went into every panel was so clear to me. I could feel the love and thought every time I turned the page.



Needless to say, I got the next issue. Sadly, after that I couldn't find the series for about a year until Spider-Girl #17 rocked my world. It promised a double-sized story extravaganza and boy, did it ever deliver. But that's another story...