Exiles

The Exiles was one of those comics you 'just had to be there' to understand and love. It was a series about a team of (mostly) mutant heroes taken out of their own timelines and thrown together to fix various alternate realities. If that hook sounds cool to you, then you'd have loved this book. But really, deep down, the series was, in essence, the story of people lost and far from home who had to work with complete strangers and hope they didn't die or get left behind or worse. A series about people caught up in a cosmic crap-storm, just trying to survive long enough to make it home.

Among some of the best things a comic book about alternate realities can have is a great creative team. Exiles, with few exceptions, always had a great writer, great artists and some of my favorite colorists in comics. Judd Winick and Mike McKone set the series rolling in a dazzling fashion, establishing the concept, introducing and fleshing out the characters and generally making the series shine. Jim Calafiore would often alternate with McKone for the art in the series, as it was often released two issues per month. Jim Calafiore for me is the Exiles. There is something about his dynamic figures that has always left me in awe. McKone may have created alot of the original characters, but Jim's art is what comes to mind when I think of the Exiles.

Chuck Austen took over the writing chores when Judd left the book. I say chores because I've honestly never thought much of Austen's 'writing', especially his depiction of female characters. Google some reviews of his time on X-men or Avengers to get an idea of what I'm referring to. Besides that, Chuck actually did a half decent job on Exiles, he kept the plates spinning, and he played with the concept a little, by having the Timebroker (the apparent entity behind the scenes) become rather mean spirited, pitting the Exiles against their darker counterparts, Weapon X. Clayton Henry turned his hand to art around this time too, and I can say his art is solid stuff.

Judd Winick returned for a half dozen issues to deliver some gut-wrenching moments which made for  genuine tears on my part, and I'm sure many others. Mizuki Sakakibara joined the rotating team of artists at this point and delivered some beautiful work. Her characters are a little more 'soft' and, I guess, manga-inspired. An excellent addition to the Exiles credentials.

Tony Bedard would take up the writer's pen to make some serious changes to the series concept as a whole, giving us at first a peak behind the curtain of the Timebroker, dropping favorite characters bringing on board controversial members and generally making the book his own, while still paying his dues to the earlier stuff. Then came the big reveal. Which I won't spoil, but I will go so far as to say it was a squee-tastic moment for me as a younger reader. Where would the series go now? A World Tour. Brilliant! Let's visit all the old favorite alternate reality stories from Marvel's past. I loved the idea. I know many people had a few problems with it, and I will concede that it was too long, lasting for a year of the series in real time. but I enjoyed where it took both the series and the characters, and being as it was supposed to be Tony's last hooray on the title, I can dig it.

Only, Tony didn't leave the title. Chris Claremont suffered health issues prior to his start on the series, meaning that now, Tony had to stretch out his run without changing the status quo. Oi vey. I will give credit where it's due, the Exiles team composed entirely of Wolverines was hilarious as all hell and had me scrambling to find out who Albert and Elsie-Dee were.  We also got a sort of 'funeral' issue for all the fallen past members, which was well presented.

Finally, the famous Chris Claremont: X-men visionary, responsible for giving us the version of the X-men that everyone is still clamoring on about to this day, the writer who-to some-is something akin to a god, a never-do-wrong by dint of being Chris Claremont, the man who re-invented the X-men. Problem is, Chris' work has not been good in years. Relying on the same-old stories, using his pet-characters (I'm looking at you, Psylocke and Sage!) and apparently not having any concept of who the Exiles were led me to bite my lip and hold on until another writer would take over. Paul Pelletier at least made the book look gorgeous, as he always does.

'Exiles canceled with #100!' Oh, god! He killed the series! 'New Exiles by Claremont Announced!' The Heck?! Chris would not only end the original series, he'd have it cross over with his own pet-title, New Excalibur, then get to dump all the series regulars in place of personal favorites, and finally lead this 'New' incarnation to it's end. Did I say Oi Vey? Cos, Oi. Vey! Again, the artist saved this from being a total disaster. Hat's off to you, Tom Grummett!

Jeff Parker and Salva Espin, on the other hand were given just six issues to turn the tide of fan-outcry around. Jeff is a clever writer and I always enjoy anything he turns in. He loves playing with all the toys and he writes great characters. Salva....well, let's just say he loved drawing the ladies. His art was a nice change of pace from the previous 'New' styles more 'realisitic' tone. The brighter colors made this title a breathe of fresh air, and the return of some old favorites with a new twist really worked. For six months. Oi Vey.

I guess I should mention that Jim Calafiore also wrote a couple issues back in the day, too. The man is oozing talent. So, I guess 5 out of 6 excellent writers isnt so bad, right? With nary a misstep art-wise, this book was always a pleasure to look at. If the series were to ever come back, I'd love to see Jeff's vision played out fully, as he clearly had a plan and was bristling with ideas.

At it's core Exiles just made me love comics more with it's wide platter of ideas and concepts, it's well-considered characters, it's off-the-wall story telling and it's charm. If you can find the trades, I highly recommend (most of) it!

The MC2 Collection Part 2: Trades and Digests

For what seems like a lifetime, Spider-Girl and the rest of her MC2 compatriots went without being collected into trade paperbacks or digests. With the exception of a few early issues collected in two trades, there was no easy to pick-up-and-read story collections: Spider-Girl: A Fresh Start which contains #1 and #2, features a neat new piece by Pat Olliffe for the cover that I'd love to own, the other trade simply called 'Spider-Girl' reprints #0-8.

 It's wouldn't be until years later, when they began releasing Spider-Girl in manga-sized digest-format that a wider audience of children could find and, well, digest them....not literally, of course. The digests lasted through to Volume 12 (containing #67-72) as well as a single volume for each of the other MC2 titles at the time (A-Next, J2, Wild Thing, Fantastic Five and a 2-for-1 Darkdevil/Buzz digest) before behind the scenes goings-on ended the digest line abruptly. Luckily, Marvel's second show of faith in the MC2 line as a whole had yielded Last Hero Standing and the various mini's that followed. All of which saw trade paperback releases: Last Planet Standing, Avengers Next: Rebirth, Fantastic Five: The Final Doom and American Dream: Beyond Courage.

The relaunched Amazing Spider-Girl title received trade releases of it's entire run, encompassing five volumes. The various Spider-Girl tales (as well as the Mr and Mrs Spider-man stories) following Amazing's end are collected as Spectacular Spider-Girl: Who Killed Gwen Reilly and Spectacular Spider-Girl: The Last Stand.


If you're as obsessive as I clearly am (the doctors all say there's no hope) then you will want to grab the Captain America Corps trade as well, just because it features American Dream prominently and happens to be the only MC2 appearance in 2011. It's also written by the legendary Roger Stern, if you needed any other reason.

Getting back to the digests; I was very disappointed that they simply ceased production after volume #12, as up to that time they'd provided an inexpensive and easy to pick up method for casual readers to enjoy. Not to mention, the next volume would have covered the Black Costume Saga (erm...not to be confused with Peter Parker's Saga of the same name from the 80's) and the fallout from dealing with the Black Tarantula. *Sigh* Oh well. By my calculations, had the digests continued to Spider-Girl #100, it would run until volume 17, maybe an 18th volume if they integrated related material such as Amazing Spider-Man magazine (2007) and the Araña story from Spider-man Family? Now I'm just speculating and daydreaming.

While I like the digests, I'd still love to see a complete release of the Spider-Girl series from start to finish in trade format. Is that to much to ask? As a bonus, I recently came across this digest which collects the two stories I mentioned above.

Until nerdiness becomes inexpensive, I remain

frogoat

 Part 1: Singles and Variants



 

The MC2 Collection Part 1: Singles and Variants

Often times when a series I thoroughly enjoyed comes to an end via cancellation, I find my self a little lost, maybe angry, or sad. But then I move on to another series with a fresh take on things with a great team and a nice hook. This wasn't the case with Spider-Girl, oh no! I made it my goal to collect everything I could lay my grubby little protuberances on that featured May and her MC2 brethren. It wasn't enough to simply own Spider-girl #1-100. I had to have #0, which reprinted What if #105. Oh, but then I had to have What if #105. And the Wizard magazine #½ which featured Wild Thing and Sabreclaw (now his appearance in #25's Savage Six--sorry, Seven makes more sense!). There was the  '99 annual to obtain, also. That introduced Misery.Very important.

Hang on, what's this? A-next #1-12. That has a variant cover? #2a?! J2 #1-12. Okay, fine. J2 #2a as well? Thanks, but now I better stop. Wild Thing #1-5 and an alternate cover for #2. It's only a few issues, right? Wizard #0 issue?! Come on now, really! Fantastic Five is the same? Oh, that variant cover is gorgeous, who drew that? Okay, fine. So I've got all these, I've got Darkdevil #1-3, The Buzz #1-3, I've got Last Hero Standing #1-5, Last Planet Standing #1-5, Avengers Next #1-5, Fantastic Five (mini) #1-5 and American Dream #1-5 as well as Amazing Spider-Girl #0-30. Let me just add that Amazing has--by far--the most alternate covers. Ed McGuinness variant #1, Ron Frenz black-and-white #1, #13 Zombie cover, #25 Pat Olliffe Zombie cover, #25 Stephanie Buscema cover, #27 Peter-Goblin cover and also a Skrull Araña cover to #19 which I can't find anywhere....someday.

Turns out the regular cover is incorrectly numbered #17.

Things get really complicated now. See, May's adventures continue through Amazing Spider-man Family #5-8 (not to mention #1-4 feature the adventures of Mr and Mrs Spider-man set before the rest of the MC2). Then Spider-Girl appears in Web of Spider-man (2009?) #1-7 as well as being released online through Marvels site. Finally, I've gotta get Spectacular Spider-Girl #1-4 and Spider-Girl: The End.

Finished now, right? I mean, there aren't anymore adventures left, right. Wrong. Spider-girl appeared in a cameo in Amazing Spider-man #439 (Tom's last regular issue on the series, right before it was relaunched). Avengers Forever #10-12 has American Dream, Freebooter and Coal Tiger appear as part of a huge spread of 'Future Avengers' pulled through time to combat Kang. Sure it's a only a panel or two, but it counts, right? Brian Micheal Bendis even cameos the MC2 Avengers in the 2010 relaunch of Avengers in #2. Now this one is super cool, if only for the fact that I've now witnessed John Romita Jr pencil Spider-Girl. Hey, what can I say, it was on my bucket list.

Still not done yet, not by a long shot! Roger Stern was tapped to pen a mini series in 2011 called Captain America Corps in which various incarnations of Cap come together to save the multiverse. Amidst all the testosterone we have American Dream herself, hand picked by Stern to balance out the team a little. It's a great read, by the way, so check it out.

 Last couple now, I promise. Back in 2005 a Spider-man Family one-shot was put out to test the waters for a anthology book centered around Spidey's cast. Tom D and Ron Lim delivered a fun little story featuring May, Araña, Spidey and the ever-lovable Spider-Ham, not to mention the Spider-Mobile. Hoo-Ha! Obscure though this may be, the last is a doozy. Amazing Spider-Man Magazine (2007, strangely the cover only reads 'Spider-Man) has a prose story starring everyone's favorite web-stunner  going to the school dance.

*phew* Now, on to the trade collections and digests!

Part 2: Trades and Digests

Until I come to terms with the end of the series, I remain

frogoat

Let's talk about Darkdevil

Let's be clear; I love Darkdevil. From Reilly Tyne's complicated origin story too his snarky attitude, I dig this character. He doesn't feel like any other I've come across, equal parts legacy character (though who's legacy is debatable), protective older brother type and grim and gritty avenger of the innocent. I was intrigued by Darkdevil from the first time I 'met' him in Spider-Girl # 17 (yes, I'm aware he shows up from #2 onwards but I didn't read those issues until later). The enigmatic stranger who knows Peter is Spider-man, knows about Kaine and dresses like Matt Murdock's alter-ego, Daredevil.

But it was the Darkdevil mini series that really piqued my interest in young Mr Tyne. I've heard many criticisms of the series, but I honestly reveled in every panel of ever page of those three issues. It was one of my first comics I owned with glossy magazine style printed pages, which made it stand out to me instantly on the newsagent shelf. Besides, hadn't I seen this character in Spider-girl before? Didn't I want to find out why he looked like Daredevil? And what's this? It's only a mini series? That will be easy to collect, and hey, if I don't like it, no big loss, right?

Only, I enjoyed the mini series. Great opening issue, complete with a great set up involving the release of hardened criminal Kaine. Great villain for our hero to attempt to find and defeat. And most importantly, a great origin story. Complicated? Yes. Satisfying? Yes. The series ends on one of my favourite pages ever, with Tyne returning to his hideout, beaten and bruised, concluding 'The time has come for him to return to his loft, and get a good night's sleep...Reilly Tyne has to report to work tomorrow.' Beautiful!

Aside from all the great writing, great art and great character stuff, did I mention he turns into a literal devil?

frogoat

Veronica Mars

I sat down with some friends recently and we watched Veronica Mars in it's entirety. Veronica Mars is the kind of show that just doesn't come along often enough; here we have smart, snarky female lead who moonlights as a teen detective. The brilliance of the shows premise is in it's approach. It pretends to be yet another teen drama, with all that juicy angst and rich kids brooding and misbehaving. Except it's not. Veronica Mars at it's core is a hardboiled crime drama, straight out of an old black-and-white Noir film.

Season one kicks off with the murder of Veronica's best friend, Lily. Veronica's father, Keith looses his job as Sheriff after accusing Lily's family of the murder. Veronica's mother leaves soon afterwards and Keith takes up as a Private Eye. I won't spoil the mystery for you, but needless to say it's a humdinger. The cast of characters are both well performed and well chosen. We meet the 09ers, the PCH biker gang, the spoiled rich kids and the lower-class kids who all have secrets.

The second season follows a similar formula as the first, this time with a school bus accident making up our season-long mystery. The show fleshes out more of it's supporting cast, with some small parts in the first season, now becoming more important roles. The season length story arc this time doesn't feel as gripping this time until the final third of the season, though we are consistently given clues through the run. I just didn't feel as drawn-in as a did with Lily, possibly because season one used several flashbacks to introduce us to-and make us care about-her character. I wanted to know who would do such a thing, because I liked Lily. The busload of students from Veronica's class never felt quite....for lack of a better term, real to me. Still, Kristen Bell's acting chops manage to make me care enough, and there are a few smaller mysteries that play out through the coarse of the series that help to pique your interest throughout. We care this time around because Veronica and Keith care.

For whatever reason, season three changes the formula. Instead of a season length mystery arc, we get three shorter mysteries: a series of rapes at Veronica's university, the murder of the Dean and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the Coach of the basketball team. I enjoyed the change of pace this season, with the shorter mysteries being a refreshing change. However, it does rob the season finale of a big finish. Instead the last few episodes build up another plot that implicates Veronica and leads Keith to make a compromising decision. Don't get me wrong, the finale is what it should be, I just felt a sense of anti-climax watching it; something I didn't feel at the close of season one or two. It does put Veronica in the place she needs to be, character wise, but I needed more.

Season three would be the last for this critically acclaimed series. Like so many shows I've enjoyed over the years, it suffered from low-ratings. I'd give almost anything to see this show return with new stories for the young sleuth from Neptune with a sharp tongue and a thirst for the truth. If you haven't seen it, you can track down the dvd's for a very reasonable price. I guarantee you won't regret it.

Captain Marvel

I am forever a month behind the rest of the world, so let's kick off with a review of the new Carol Danvers starring title, Captain Marvel. It's an excellent first issue that really gets right to the center of the character and introduces new elements to the established mythos, which justify the new direction the book is heading in straight off the bat. Loved it. Go check it out. It's that good.






What are you waiting for? Go pick it up!

Review: Amazing Spider-man

This is my late review of the new Spidey flick, The Amazing Spider-man. I'm on the fence on this one. I'm genuinely surprised by all the positive reviews, though, I have to say. I watched the film and I kept waiting for it to snatch me away on a web-line and take me on an adventure. Let's start with the good, then, shall we?

 Andrew Garfield is Peter Parker. With his gangly frame, and his delivery of snappy jokes and jabs, he was Spidey, while also demonstrating the angsty emotions and intelligence of that geek Peter I've know much of my life, Peter Parker. Emma Stone shines as a modern-day Gwen Stacy, with her awkward but somehow confident flirting with Garfield and her natural air of intellect and charm make her a worthy companion. Honestly, I felt the entire cast did an amazing job. Heck, the special effects were dang good too.

 The trouble is, the film never goes anywhere. Yes, Uncle Ben dies and Peter attempts to find the killer. Yes, Curt Conners becomes the Lizard. And yes, Captain Stacy even dies at the climax of the film. But it never felt like the elements of the story fitted together naturally. In fact, watching some of the trailers and thinking over what I saw in theaters, I'm inclined to believe several scenes were shoot and inserted late in production, while others were removed from the final product. For example, there is a subplot involving Peter looking into his parents disappearance that leads him to the Dr Conners lab. Only, he never really asks the good doctor anything about his parents, while a clip from one of the trailers depicts the Lizard taunting Peter with this information. Funny, that wasn't in the film. A lot of scenes end up feeling like this; set up, build up, and then dropped. The shadowing villain behind the Ratha fulfills his role by putting pressure on Conners to deliver a...cure, I guess, for Osborn, who we are told is dying. Ratha shows up throughout the film until the Lizard emerges and appears to be hunting him...but then we never see Ratha again. He just disappears midway through the story. I'm guessing another victim of studio meddling.

But honestly, I could have forgiven so much more because, as I said, the performances were all brilliant. I enjoyed a sort-of-homage to Sam Raimi's films with New York workers pulling strings to get Spidey to the location of his big showdown with the Lizard. I hope this review doesn't come off as overly negative, as I found a lot to enjoy in this film, with it's more serious tone and it's mechanical webshooters. I just wish there was more to like. At the end of the day, I enjoyed it enough to walk away happy that they made another Spidey flick, but also wondering how Marvel would have handled it's top hero, given the chance.

J2: Geek Tank

I've been reading J2's first and to-date, only collection and as I've been neglecting my blog of late, I figure this is as good place to start as any. Besides, I love Juggy!

So, J2 is Zane Yama, a geeky kid in the same mold as Peter Parker with the major difference being he is the son of former X-villain Cain Marko, aka The Unstoppable Juggernaut. Of the three original MC2 titles, J2's would have to be the most distinct in tone. It's fast paced and funny, quickly establishing the protagonist followed by the school jock, our antagonist. Admittedly the characters are sketchy, broadly created to get the point across.

That said, a personal favorite moment for Zane's character (and a great piece of comedy writing) is the initial transformation into a juggernaut. In a good example of the unreliable narrator, Zane tells us, the reader, how he handled the transformation with enthusiasm and maturity...only to run through the school naked screaming for his mother.

Over the course of his too-short series Zane becomes a fun, offbeat hero who means well but often screws up or lets his impulses get the better of him, but always come through in the end. Over in the Avengers Next series, J2 became a mainstay of the team, one of the few members to stick with the Avengers throughout every incarnation.

Amongst the legacy heroes of the MC2, J2 sits near the top of my list for not being your typical hero.

Amazing? We'll see.

Avoiding spoilers in this day and age is difficult. I won't lie, I've seen a couple of the Amazing Spider-man trailers simply by visiting the cinema, but I've purposely stayed away from anything online. Why? Because, for once, I want to see a Superhero movie without preconceived notions of what to expect. In short, I want to make up my own mind about this movie. I don't want to know in advance what type of Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy the actors will be playing. I don't. I just want to sit down with my friends and eat popcorn while watching a new Spidey flick. Is that to much to ask?

Until the internet discovers it's long lost brother, the Twilight Zone, I remain

frogoat

Prometheus and Artificial Life

So, I watched Prometheus recently. And it just wouldn't be an Alien-ish flick without an android in the group.

Let's have a quick recap, shall we:

Ash

Cold and calculating, and with just a hint of misogyny, Ash followed The Company's orders to retrieve and study the Xenomorph creature in Alien. Crew expendable, naturally.

Bishop

Pleasant and endearing, Bishop is the other side of the same coin. Following the classic sci-fi robotics laws to never harm, or allow to come to harm a human, he's instrumental throughout Aliens and nearly makes it in Alien 3. Bishop also has this cool party trick with a knife, man...

Call

The newest addition to the pirate crew aboard the good ship Betty, Call is soon shown to be more than a cute face: She's a second generation synthetic (an 'Auton') trying to stop the rebirth of the loveable alien species Ripley rendered extinct 200 years prior.

David

Finally, we have David who tends to the crew of the Prometheus as they seek out the origins of their species. David displays emotions but appears detached from humanity. David may have an Oedipus complex, apparently desiring to smite his creators for making him simply because 'they could'.

I feel the Alien series as a whole has given us a great mirror to look at humanity through with these creations. Like the Xenomorphs themselves, the depictions of artificial intelligence change and evolve to reflect our own status quo.

Oh, and the next synthetic/android/auton must have a name starting with 'E'. It's tradition at this point!

Until The Company becomes benevolent, I remain

frogoat

Geek Generation

I love Doctor Who.

Have you noticed recently how much love people are heaping onto geeky pursuits? Right now (and for the past decade, to my mind) has been the best ever time to be a geek or a nerd. Whether you love Star Trek, read comics, play video games, enjoy card or tabletop games, read science fiction or fantasy novels or just enjoyed Buffy the Vampire Slayer growing up, your probably finding a whole lot more acceptance and respect in the wider community. And isn't it wonderful? Culturally, nerds and geeks have been stigmatized and minimized in the eyes of others, in film and in social circles. We were the kids with the glasses and knitted vest sucking on a Ventolin inhaler at the first sign of a *gasp* girl! How times have changed. We love our Kirk's, ours Spider-man's, our Buffy's, our Harry Potter's, our Ripley's, our Mario's, our Master Chiefs, our Chandra Nalaars, our D20's and our Skynets, our Data's, our Battlestar's, our Na'vi, our Ponies. We love our geekiness and we show it with pride. There is a whole generation of young people who will grow up proudly decreeing there love and enjoyment of all things geeky without fear of being ridiculed. And that makes me happy.

Until D & D leads to sewer-based accommodation, I remain

frogoat

May's Wardrobe

They say clothes make the man. Tony Stark wore expensive suits before wearing....well, an even more expensive suit. It defines his character, a kind of visual short hand to tell the reader essential information about who he is through his choice in clothing. Take Peter Parker; his early look was clearly a stereotypical nerd, the sleeveless sweaters, the glasses, the pocket protector, the pants worn way too high. What does his clothing tell you about who he is? Well, for starters he looks like he was dressed by an old lady. His clothes make it clear his family can't afford the latest fashion. Also, sweaters are warm and practical.

Now, let's take a closer look at May 'Mayday' Parker:

When we first meet Mayday, she's wearing her basketball uniform.She's athletic.

 Later, she rocks a flannel shirt with jeans. Notice she also has glasses and wears earrings. Confident, smart, comfortable in her own skin. I'll admit I don't know fashion very well, but this feels like it has traces of the grunge look to me.

Before we get any further, I've got to come clean: I pawed through over 140 Spider-Girl comics in preparation for this particular blog. I scanned nearly 200 images, all different outfits May has worn through the years. Of course, posting every single one here would be ridiculous (I did consider it) so I've decided to focus on major shifts, as well as a few recurring themes.

May's personal style of dress evolves as much as she does. Starting with her early appearances in her own title, May often wears the classic shirt-and-jeans combo, with the occasional mid-riff-exposing shirt or hoodie with cargo pants and long coats because, hey, it get's cold!


Over time, we see more and more little changes; three-quarter pants, haltertops, sleeveless shirts, sandals, backpacks, even a fishnet undershirt! Admittedly, I'm not a teenage girl, but much of May's style fits both her age and personality.

 

It's around this time, I feel, May starts to transition even further, trying a wide variety of styles and looks. After all, aren't our teen years all about finding ourselves.With a new hairstyle came some eclectic fashion choices:

...I may have gone over board with references on this one. It's worth mentioning the reader input. Several outfits were submitted to the Spider-Girl letters pages and were used in various issues, some of which I have included in the image above-see the bottom left as well as the image above it on the far left.

Anyway, the end of the original Spider-Girl title meant a months-long jump ahead for May and a jump in her taste in clothes.

A lot of red, blue and black, as well as the school colors, orange and white thrown in for good measure. Not only did Mayday let her hair grow out, she also grew up. Here she appears even more confident, with more skirts and different clothing combinations, all following an internal consistency and logic. I have to be honest, looking back at the original series, there were clear signs that both Pat and Ron were finding out who May was as a person, in the same way we, the readers, were discovering it.You could see them trying new looks, and seeing what worked, what didn't and what they could tweak. But in Amazing Spider-Girl Ron Frenz is confident and clear in his vision of who Mayday is and what she'd wear. I think his creative efforts on both series helped give May a definitive look.

 

 Of course, Ron may have co-created Spider-Girl, but for 5 years May's wardrobe was in the very capable hands of Pat Olliffe. Pat's take changes over his time on the book but (as you can see above) it's notable he quickly established a 'base' style, and deviated and grew from there. Also, on many occasions a shirt or other piece of clothing used by Pat will later inform an outfit used by Ron. These two artists continually improved and complimented each others work, creating between them a visual language. I can't sing their praises enough.

It's significant that a series starring a young female lead character never resorted to objectifying May. Mayday is an individual with her own unique style, she doesn't need to wear revealing outfits or pose provocatively because the writer and artist chose to let her personality and natural beauty shine by treating her as human being. I'm very proud to have grown up with her as a positive role model for young people.

This project took me a very long time, so I hope I've done this topic justice. I'd love to hear what everyone thinks about May's wardrobe, so leave your thoughts below!

Until I invest in a leisure suit, I remain

frogoat

An update

I've got a confession. I never truly understood just how dedicated Ron and Pat were and are to their craft. Don't get me wrong, they are two of my favorite artists, but until I set about investigating May's wardrobe issue by issue, I had no idea just how much work they put in! Now, I'm not entirely finished going through all 140-odd issues yet, but I'm close. Consistency, skill and a keen eye for fashion pervade every issue, it's truly impressive. My trilby goes off to you fine and fashionable gentlemen!

Short and Sweet

I just re-read Wild Thing #2 recently and I had to laugh when I reached the letters page which has letters from other then-recently-cancelled MC2 titles. One particular letter about A-Next caught my interest. It mentions how Spider-Girl joining the Avengers in her own title (#13) helps set her apart from her dad (Tom D, ever the trail-blazer!) and the letter-writers heart-felt hope that A-Next will return. He also suggests when the series does return that it should be titles simply 'Avengers Next'. Now, this was published way back in 1999. The second title to star the MC2 Avengers was in fact titled Avengers Next, which was published in 2007. Coincidence? Fate? Excellent long-term memory on the part of Tom Defalco? We may never know. *cue spooky theme*

Until the MC2 Avengers get another series (this time called, oh, I dunno, Next Avengers?), I remain

frogoat

Good Hair Day

Okay, let's jump right in and look at hair! Yay! This is the evolution of May 'Mayday' Parker's hair:

For her first outing in What if #105, May rocks this nifty number designed by Ron Frenz. Part punk, part modern-day geeky, part coolest-kid-in-playground (plus I really like those glasses!)

 Pat Olliffe carries this look over into Spider-Girl #1, with a few tweaks.

I like how unique this look is. How many women in comics wear their hair short? It makes sense for May, as a basketball player to have shorter hair. The scruffy nature of it really suits May in these early issues.It sticks around until #11, where it changes...

Notice it's neater and appears shorter, a bit 'harder' I feel, as well. Again, short hair fits May's character, but makes May seem distant and maybe even cold. Fittingly, this was around the time May was having difficulties keeping her life in balance, often missing out on time with friends, surely appearing less friendly their eyes.

Issue #25 signals the first big change to Mayday's overall appearance. I adore this look, it's a definite favorite, and it stuck for quiet some time. I like the way her hair remains manageable in length but now has a more ;feminine look to it. Confidence is what the hair says to me, something May will slowly gain over the next 30-odd issues.

Following battles with Seth and the hugely destructive events of Marked for Death, May certainly shows doubt in her abilities and her role as a hero. Spider-Girl #67 leaves us with a May who is shaken, but not beaten. I like this shift in style. May is literally letting her hair down, but it stays practical under a mask.

With a few tweaks and changes here and there, May keeps this look for the remainder of the original series, ending with issue #100. May promises her mother and father she will retire for the time being. Understandable, considering her near-fatal stabbing.

Big change comes in Amazing Spider-Girl #1. Our heroine has been out of the hero-biz for a few months, campaigning for president at Midtown High, volunteering at a shelter for abused women, and even manages to score herself a boyfriend. But most notable of all, May has let her hair grow long. May seems more mature. But she also seems more....conventional, I guess. Considering the huge revelation's and heart ache to come, this look feels right, in retrospect. Initially, I didn't like this take on Mayday, but after a re-read of everything from #1 right up to Spider-Girl: The End I like the contrast. May is not only the daughter of Spider-Man, but also the daughter of Mary Jane, an amazing woman in her own right, and I like the way this look harkens to classic Mary Jane.

Thoughts?

Until I stop over-thinking hair, I remain

frogoat