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Marvel Comics Review: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #4
Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,
Rating: ****
Another great issue by Brian Michael Bendis. The artwork is good too with artist David LaFuente. I complained before about how I thought Peter Parker looked like he was 12 years old instead of 16, but that doesn’t really bother me all that much. The way he tells the story panel-to-panel is reminiscent of Mark Bagley’s work on the original Ultimate Spider-Man title. I think LaFuente is becoming more the true air to the title than Stuart Immonen. No disrespect to Immonen, but I think both Bagley and LaFuente’s styles are better fit for the characters than Immonen. I hope LaFuente stays around for a while.
Bendis continues his masterful run on the Spider-Man character, which began almost 10 years ago. It’s always fascinating to see a writer stay with a character for that long and see the amount of different stories they can tell.
In typical Bendis fashion, the plot is moving along slowly, but you’re not bored. It’s like having a fine meal and you’re slowly enjoying yourself. So far Peter is still dealing with his new house guest the Human Torch and the drama of dealing with his past and current girlfriends Mary Jane and Gwen. The villain is still Mysterio and this new hooded superhero that first appeared in issue one makes another appearance. Is this new character an Ultimate version of the Hood - the villain Bendis is using over in Avengers? Maybe the Hood is a hero in the Ultimate universe.
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Marvel Comics Review: Amazing Spider-Man #610
Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,
Rating: *** 1/2*
This issue was a lot of fun. It was fast paced and it had non-stop action, which is good for the final issue of a comic book storyline. I also enjoyed the artwork this time; maybe I just grew accustomed to it, but the artwork didn’t bother me as much here in this issue as it did in the others.
Well, I called it in my last review when I said that Kaine would interrupt the stand-off between Peter Parker and Raptor so Peter wouldn’t have to reveal his identity; however, Kaine is there to assist the Raptor - not Peter. We also the flashback to the time when Ben Reilly confronted Raptor (then known as Damon Ryder) in his house - the same house that we know will burn down and kill his family. So we have a two fights playing out back and forth - Kaine showed up during that fight as well. Writer Marc Guggenheim does a nice job of jumping back and forth between the past and the present as well as building up a suspense to final outcome of both stories.
Screwball also shows up again as Spider-Man sets her up for a fight, but it really was a planned diversion for his confrontation with Raptor. This distraction enables Peter to free Harry Osborn and his cousins so that he can change into Spider-Man. Raptor is curious as to why Spider-Man continues to show up to help “Ben Reilly.” Kaine answers that question by pulling off Spider-Man’s mask. The clone situation is explained to Raptor, but Kaine says that Peter is the clone. I think Kaine explains it this way as an excuse for Raptor to take out his revenge on Peter. Raptor may not want to attack Peter if he knew that Ben was really a clone. Just my theory on this situation.
Click to continue reading Marvel Comics Review: Amazing Spider-Man #610
Marvel Comics Review: Amazing Spider-Man #609
Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,
Rating: *** 1/2*
Part one of the “Who was Ben Reilly” story arc left me a bit disappointed two weeks ago. This week, the story continues and picks up right where we left off. This issue was a much better read as there wasn’t as much silliness here in this issue than there was in the last. For whatever reason the silliness annoyed me and here we have some serious action with a sprinkling of the Spider-Man wit mixed in.
When we last saw Spider-Man, he was fighting Kaine at Raptor’s abandoned hide out. Spider-Man wants to know the connection as to why Kaine has showed up at the same time Raptor has shown up thinking Peter is really Ben Reilly. Kaine reveals to Spider-Man that he is not here to fight him, but is instead looking for Raptor aka Damon Ryder as he maybe the only man who can stop his cellular degeneration.
Click to continue reading Marvel Comics Review: Amazing Spider-Man #609
Marvel Comics Review: Web of Spider-Man #1
Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,
Rating: *** 1/2
I began collecting comics in the mid-80s. I remember that my first issue of Uncanny X-Men was #188 and that my first issue of the Avengers was #250. My first Spider-Man comic was Amazing Spider-Man #264, but I also received around that time, the premiere issue of the new monthly Spider-Man comic book, Web of Spider-Man. This all took place during the hype of Spider-Man’s black costume which was featured prominently in this first issue. The suit was a symbiote, meaning that it was alive and it wanted to fully take over Peter Parker. In this issue, Peter fights back and we see the famous bell ringing scene that had Peter ripping the costume off of himself. An homage was made in Spider-Man 3.
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Marvel Comics Review: Amazing Spider-Man #608
Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,
Rating: ***
Since I read the amazing (no pun intended) Amazing Spider-Man Annual #36, I’ve been looking forward to more Spider-Man stories focusing on the Spider-Man story the Clone Saga. In Amazing Spider-Man Annual #36, we saw the premiere of the character called Raptor who has a grudge against Ben Reilly. He blames Ben for the death of his family and he’s out for revenge. Since Peter obviously looks like Ben, Raptor has set his sights on Peter.
Our story begins with Spidey battling it out with the relatively new super-villain Screwball. I wasn’t reading Spider-Man back then so this was my first introduction to the character. I like this character. A perfect modern character that uses the Internet in order to get that “celebrity” status that comes with it if you can get people to watch your videos. Peter tries to use his photos of the fight to try and sell them to Ben Urich at Front Line. Raptor whose name is Damon Ryder shows up to the offices of Front Line to confront Peter. Ryder calls Ben and hands Urich an old newspaper clipping of the fire that occurred at his house that resulted in the deaths of his family. A sketch of the suspect matches that of Peter’s face.
Click to continue reading Marvel Comics Review: Amazing Spider-Man #608
Marvel Comics Review: Spider-Man: The Clone Saga #1
Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,
Rating: ***
Finally, Marvel will be returning to the infamous Clone Saga storyline with a mini-series that is set to tell the story of the Clone Saga as it was meant to have been told. As I’ve mentioned before in previous posts, I was a big fan of the Clone Saga when it first began and have always liked the character of Ben Reilly. So this week, issue one of the revisited Clone Saga storyline hit the stands, and while it did not blow me away, I was entertained. Two of the writers working on Spider-Man back in those days have come on board to tell the tale: Tom Defalco and Howard Mackie.
Before I go into my review for this issue, I must profess my love for the Spider-Girl title in which Defalco worked on. Defalco’s Spider-Girl/M2 universe sprang from the stories that were created during the Clone Saga, and he was able to make a grown up Spider-baby May Parker work well along with continuity of those storylines. Marvel completely abandoned the characters for years in the regular 616 universe until the upcoming Who was Ben Reilly? storyline that we’ll see next month in Amazing Spider-Man.
Click to continue reading Marvel Comics Review: Spider-Man: The Clone Saga #1
Stars Align For Spider-Man 4
Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Columbia Pictures, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Sequels, Thrillers, Celeb News, Filmmaking, Rumors, Upcoming Releases,
After waiting for the will-they-won’t-they with Sam Raimi, Kirsten Dunst, and Tobey Maguire, Columbia Pictures has finally stamped a release date of May 5, 2011 for Spider-Man 4.
Considering that Thor is due out June 17, and The First Avenger: Captain America hits theaters July 22 that same summer, we’ll be in for quite a Marvel-ous theater-going experience three months in a row!
For all of the Sam Raimi fans, it has been revealed that Bruce Campbell has signed on for a major part this time around (in the first three Spidey films, the Evil Dead actor appeared in mere cameos)—quite possibly a villainous role, too.
Filming is expected to begin early next year, but if you can’t wait that long, there are always those Spider-Man comics to pass the time—you know, those things that these blockbusters originated from…
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Marvel Comics Review: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #2
Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,
Rating: ***
The relaunch of the Ultimate Universe continues this month with issue two of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man. I liked this issue, but it was nothing spectacular. Where issue one showed more of the aftermath of Ultimatum, this issue sets up the various stories that will be taking place in the book. At the end of issue one we saw the Kingpin fall to his death thanks to Mysterio. Issue two confirms that as for now, the Ultimate Universe’s Kingpin is now dead. I say as for now because you never know with comics. Maybe that guy wasn’t the Kingpin. Maybe it was an actor playing the Kingpin. Right Aunt May? Ugh!
Anyway. Mysterio is looking to not simply be the new Kingpin of Crime, but the ruler of the world. Get in line Mysterio, so does every other bad guy in the comic book world. I like this version of Mysterio better than the regular Marvel Universe one. Although I like the classic fish bowl look, you could never really take Mysterio seriously as far being a serious threat to the world. This Ultimate version doesn’t have the fish bowl and gives off a Dr Doom like vibe as far potential to really do some damage in the Ultimate Universe. It would be cool to see if Mysterio did become a major bad guy that all of the Ultimate Universe would have to unite against because he’s so dangerous. We’ll see.
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Disney to Pay $4 Billion for Marvel Entertainment
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Corporate Shakeups,
Disney has just added 5,000 characters to its arsenal.
In a deal announced today, The Walt Disney Company says it intends to purchase comic book giant Marvel Entertainment. The acquisition is worth a whopping $4 billion.
“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories,” Robert A. Iger, Walt Disney Company’s President and CEO, said in a press release.
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Marvel Comics Review: Amazing Spider-Man #603
Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, Marvel Comics,
Rating: ***
The return of the Chameleon continues. In the last issue of Amazing Spider-Man, the Chameleon captured Peter Parker and stole his identity—it appears as if Peter has also been killed. This issue follows the Chameleon as he impersonates Peter Parker. The Chameleon goes about Peter’s life discovering all of things that make Peter tick, from his new job working for J Jonah Jameson to his relationship with Mary Jane. He also decides to take advantage of the situation as he ends up sleeping with Peter’s roommate Michelle Gonzales. How that will all play out when the real Peter Parker returns should be interesting.
Although this isn’t the real Peter sleeping with Michelle, it still bothers me to see Peter hooking up with another woman—it’s like he’s cheating on MJ. I hope that they eventually put them back together; there’s too much history there for them not to be together.
“Peter’s” first Jameson assignment is to take pictures of Jonah with the returning war hero Flash Thompson. Since I haven’t been reading Spider-Man until recently, this was all new to me as far as Flash goes. I like that they’ve made him into a veteran and have him disabled—this adds something new to the character that can bring about some great drama.
Click to continue reading Marvel Comics Review: Amazing Spider-Man #603
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