Trade Reviews
Continuing our hero per week theme (last week was The Batman) we move to Marvel’s flagship character, The Amazing Spider-Man!
Wktf’s Review
Spider-Man: Spirits of the Earth
Marvel Comics
Written and Illustrated by: Charles Vess
For my Spider-Man trade review I wanted to pick a title that was off-the-beaten-path, not an easy thing to do with a character that’s as mainstream as this one. I went through my trade collection and was surprised to pull out a few that I’d consider non-mainstream and, therefore, possibly less well known Spider-Man stories. I picked this one because, frankly, putting Spider-Man in the Highlands of Scotland is about as off-the-beaten-path as you can get.
Published as a HC OGN in 1990, the premise of this story is as follows. Peter Parker is newly married to Mary Jane who discovers she’s inherited a cottage in Scotland. Said cottage, though, is caught up in some legal dealings where the town in which it resides is being pressured to sell its land, land that’s been in these townspeople’s’ families for generations, to some large corporate concern. So, Peter and MJ decide to fly out to the pastoral Scottish countryside to help settle these affairs and possibly enjoy a second honeymoon while they’re at it. However, as you’d expect, all is not well in this quaint Scottish town. Not only does Peter feel like a complete fish out of water without his skyscrapers and city traffic, but the folks in the local tavern are talking about ghosts, faeries and a missing child, the grandson of the local laird (or lord, as is translated for us) who’s castle not only was damaged by a fire but seems to be the source of the angry spirits. This tavern scene with nervous locals harkens back to the beginning of the Bela Lugosi “Dracula” or like the tavern scene in “American Werewolf in London.” Peter decides to sneak out late at night to investigate (after all, there is a missing child) as Spider-Man and, for his troubles, he encounters murderous ghosts, a mob of frightened and angry townspeople (can you say “Frankenstein”?) and, if that’s not enough, runs into a splinter division of The Hellfire Club. Before too long, Spider-Man is battling like mad to save not only a small child but an entire town from an overseas evil and is caught in the middle between a scientific threat and long dormant earthly spirits raised to the surface to help combat this evil.
This OGN is a real treat. The book’s Afterward, titled “A Scottish Journey,” takes us through Vess’ long love affair with Scotland and the story of how he came to place Spider-Man so far from his normal setting. While the story is unique and serviceable enough it’s the art that really takes center stage. This book was a labor of love for Vess which he “painstaking painted over the course of two years” according to the back cover. It shows. The opening splash page of the colorful Spider-Man swinging at night below The Chrysler Building, the top of which is brightly lit yet shrouded in clouds, in a concrete and glass sea of browns, grays and blacks is just stunning. And the entire 70 pages of art follows suit as he moves from Manhattan to the wild open Highlands of Scotland. And while there’s enough Ditko-like energy in Vess’ Spider-Man, especially in the way he furiously battles The Hellfire Club minions and then the main villain at the end, there’s not so much to make his art feel like a rip off. It all feels pretty fresh and fun. This isn’t my favorite Spider-Man story or one that even came to mind when I was thinking about this review. But it’s one I’m glad is in my Spider-Man library and I’ll bet you’ll be glad is in yours too. Originally retailing as a HC for $18.95, I’m pretty sure this book’s long out of print. But I see it in comics shops from time to time and I’ll bet you can find it on eBay or Amazon. For a unique Spidey story with some pretty awesome art, I think you’ll be pleased with this book.
Sam Wilson’s Review
Ultimate Spider-Man vol. 15: Warriors
Marvel Comics
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Drawn by: Mark Bagley
“Warriors” is quite possible my favorite USM storyline of all time. Why? Simple: this arc contains everything and everyone, moves at a breakneck pace and not once are you left scratching your head in confusion, in fact, more often than not I found myself saying, “Word”. Let me break it down for you, at the beginning of the “Warriors” tpb, Petey is in a world of sh$#. He just broke up with MaryJane and it’s become real hard to deal with her at school. A new mob boss is trying to take over things in NYC, a mutant by the name of Hammerhead. He’s currently making a move against the Kingpin, which doesn’t make the Kingpin to happy. So the Kingpin provides evidence to Peter linking Hammerhead cold to a murder. Yeah, Peter is in a little of a moral quandary, should he allow himself to become the kingpins pawn even though it does mean taking a bad man off the street? Oh yeah, and then there is Moon Knight, the Black Cat (engaged in her own little war against the Kingpin), Elektra (currently employed as the Kingpins #1 assassin), Iron Fist and Shang Chi (both of whom entered the fray as bystander in Chinatown, where Hammerhead is trying to muscle in on the Kingpin’s extortion racket). Issue #83 ended with a face-off involving Spidey, Moon Knight, Elektra, Black Cat, Hammerhead, the Enforcers (now working for Hammerhead), Iron Fist and Shang Chi. None of them really knowing which side they are on. Yeah, the sh$# is about to hit the fan.
Soon enough our heroes find themselves in the middle of the tense standoff . Of course within a few minutes there is some fast-talking and deal making and suddenly there is a big a$# brawl on Spidey’s hands (and no, I can’t give away any details lest I spoil the story). Yeah, anyone who complains about Bendis being too much talk and to little action needs to pick this issue up. Anyway, Spidey is a little overwhelmed by the clusterfu$# that his current situation has become so he webs up everyone and tries to put a call through to his inside connect on the NYPD, Captain Jean DeWolff. Of course the NYPD takes it’s time to get to the scene, someone escapes from Spidey’s Web and the brawl resumes. I gotta say, a lot happens during the course of the brawl, alliances change, a hero is in deep trouble, if not dead and Spidey gets a pounding. Yeesh. Of course I haven’t even gotten to the shock ending, but you’re going to have to read the trade to discover what that is.
I feel the same way about Ultimate Spider-Man as I do Ultimate X-men, it’s easily the best Spider-Man title to come out in years. The story telling is fresh and exciting, it has a great (yet not convoluted) supporting cast and Bendis and Bagely are easily the most consistent creative team in comics right now. So if you haven’t picked this book up before, pick up this trade, if you even have a passing knowledge of the web slinger I guarantee you’ll enjoy this story. If you like it, the rest of the series is also readily available in tpb form. I give it the highest possible recommendation.
Kdawg’s Review
The Amazing Spider-Man: The Death of Gwen Stacy
Marvel Comics
Written by: Stan the Man, Gerry Conway, J.M. Dematteis
Illustrated by: Gil Kane, John Romita Jr., John Romita Sr.
Collecting issues #96-98 and #121-122 as well as “the Kiss” from Webspinners: Tales of Spider-Man #1, this is a trade worth having. There are few Spider-Man stories that truly are responsible for the core of what Peter Parker has become today. Most important of these elements of course is the death of his Uncle Ben. Without him we would have no mantra about great power and great responsibility. But in my opinion Peter also carries with him another element that has shaped him into the man he is today.
This is the death of his first love Gwen Stacy.
Gwen Stacy was the beautiful blonde bombshell that would never fall in love with a nerdy geek named Peter Parker, but fall in love they did. It wasn’t without pain or frustration but it was true and it was honest.
This trade is only a hundred or so pages and collects what is one of the most important and devastating stories, to this day in the Marvel Universe. Despite all of the recent ret con that has taken place in Spidey’s world, this is pure and still holds up. Gwen dies and stays dead.
There’s a lot of story that takes place in 5 issues worth of story leading up to that fateful battle between the Green Goblin and Spider-Man atop the Brooklyn bridge in which Gwen as an innocent bystander is killed. We start off with Peter lamenting that his beloved Gwen and he are presumed broken up as he flies back to New York and Gwen is an ocean away dealing with the recent loss of her father (The death of Captain Stacy which my hombre WKTF recently reviewed). Gwen blames Spider-Man for her fathers loss and Peter, being Spidey, takes it really hard. A trip to the Daily Bugle and a quick sale of some Spider-Man photos to Robbie Robertson and a visit to see Norman Osborn (the father of Peter’s best friend Harry and original Green Goblin) about a job makes Pete a bit more at ease, but even here there is underlying tension as Pete knows at any given time Norman could snap and remember that he is the Green Goblin and more importantly Peter’s secret identity as Spider-Man.
Truth be told now that I think about it, there is so much going on in this story that I could write a lot of pages before I ever got to the meat of the review…
Harry is jealous of Mary Jane flirting so much with Peter, Harry is secretly struggling with a drug addiction and pressure from his father.
Mary Jane is portrayed as someone who hides behind her looks and air-head nature in order to hide the fact that she is made of something a bit sturdier.
Peter struggles with everything and the weight of the world that seems to be a decade spanning ordeal with his character make-up.
It doesn’t take Norman long to become the Green Goblin again and some of the most vicious battles that Spidey has endured come in the pages after foreshadowing this brutal end that becomes the only resolution to this conflict.
Of course Spidey saves the day and temporarily bests Norman, is given a fleeting respite and finds his dreams come true standing before him as Gwen has returned because she loves Peter too much to be away from him.
Cutting ahead to the second portion of our story we again find Harry crazy and on drugs again, Norman seems to not remember that he is the Green Goblin and Gwen and Mary Jane wondering just what has made Harry so screwed up that it has come to this.
Norman snaps once more and sees his sons problems as being Spider-Man’s fault and again the Goblin is unleashed. He kidnaps Gwen and leaves a message for Peter and where he can find them.
What happens next is one of the best graphical storytelling and shocking sequences ever displayed in a comic. A lifeless Gwen Stacy falling from the top of the Brooklyn bridge amidst a passionate and violent battle between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin. Spider-Man shoots a web line out of desperation, snags Gwen’s leg and a snapping sound that is Gwen’s neck.
The Goblin assures Peter that Gwen was dead before ever being webbed. The controversy is still there in many cases to this day however. Was Gwen killed by Norman?, or was it Spider-Man’s web line and the sudden halt to her plunge that broke our beloved Gwen’s neck.
A very emotional Peter goes looking for an escaped Goblin, and swears vengeance. When he finds Norman, yet another monster battle rages that ultimately leads to Norman’s goblin glider impaling himself as Peter ducks at the last second. Peter got exactly what he wanted and yet there is no comfort in the Goblin’s gruesome demise… only loss for that beautiful creature that was our Gwen Stacy.
Peter eventually finds his way home to his shared apartment with Harry and finds Mary Jane waiting. She tries to comfort Peter, but he lashes out in anger and hurt over his loss. He tells her to leave. She sheds tears for Peter and again we are given a glimpse to the future depth and love for Peter that will be displayed in later years. She shuts the door but does not leave… She stays, because despite Peter’s emotional anger, she knows that he needs someone to comfort him and foreshadows the love that these two will eventually have for each other.
Damn, what a good book. Everyone knows the story, but have you really read and analyzed it? Gwen Stacy died too soon, but without her loss, we would never know the Spider-Man we do today. We would never know the Mary Jane we know today.
The art is some of the very best spidey art ever and you can really see where various artists have been influenced today from Kane and the Romitas. The dialogue and subsequent drug plotline are a bit dated, but it doesn’t bother you beyond recognizing how far this medium has come. Gone are the days when the writing has to explain every single panel and instead you are left to imagine the story unfold before your own eyes. Comics are grittier, bloodier, and more in your face these days, but depth??? This story has depth that not many have been able to follow in Spidey’s storied lifespan.
For $12.99 can you honestly pass up such a tale? We all miss you Gwen Stacy…Word!
Bonus Trade Review
The Best of the Spirit
DC Comics
Written by: Will Eisner
Drawn by: Will Eisner
One of the biggest recent losses in comics was the death of Will Eisner, who passed away on January 3, 2005. Like Seigel & Shuster, Kane & Finger, Simon & Kirby and the other Golden Age comics names you can think of, Eisner helped to define the very medium. He actually began in comics in the 1930s on newspaper strips, is credited with revolutionizing “narrative sequential art” in the 1940s and 50s with The Spirit, and also is credited with inventing the graphic novel in the 1970s with “A Contract With God,” a title I’d previously reviewed. In 2005, just before the end of the year in which he died, DC published “The Best of The Spirit.” There is so much Spirit content out there that I have no way of judging if this is, in fact, the best of it. But I have to say that it’s pretty damn amazing stuff.
“The Spirit” ran as a 7-page comic book section created as a Sunday supplement for newspapers and this tpb collects 22 Spirit stories that ran from 1940 to 1950. The first story, appropriately, is “The Origin of the Spirit” wherein we learn that criminologist and private detective Denny Colt was attacked while investigating a case for his friend, Police Commissioner Dolan. He was thought killed and, in fact, was buried in Wildwood Cemetery. But he wasn’t dead and dug himself out of his grave to return as The Spirit, a masked crime fighter the underworld soon learned to fear. Only Commissioner Dolan knew the truth about Colt, and The Spirit made the abandoned cemetery his hideaway even as he collaborated with the police while operating outside the law.
Unlike other heroes of his or any time The Spirit does not have an elaborate costume. Just a dark baggy blue suit, over coat, gloves and wide brimmed hat with a white shirt, red tie, and dark blue mask to cover his eyes. The Spirit operates in the shadows with the worst human elements Eisner’s imagination had to offer: extortionists, gangs, murderers and the desperate homeless of New York’s streets and sewers, not to mention some of the sexiest and most dangerous women in comics. These stories are rife with darkness, strangely warped angles and images, violence and terror. And the violence is palpable. When a fist strikes a jaw, a bullet enters a shoulder or leg, or a bottle or chair is broken over someone’s head, Eisner draws this so that we almost feel it. The Spirit takes a lot of punishment, both physical and emotional (two women, Satin and Sand Saref figure prominently in his life). But he could deal it out even better, taking on and busting heads with multiple men at once, and going deep into the bowels of the city and humanity in the name of justice. Eisner’s world seems real, more so than nearly any other artists work I know. And, these little 7 page gems operate almost like fables at times, reporting on the human condition while telling great dark and scary stories at the same time.
Reading this book, it’s clear that other comic book writers borrowed heavily from Eisner. Frank Miller’s Daredevil, Batman and Sin City stories, all dealing with graphically brutal city crime, clearly owe a lot to Eisner’s Spirit. One story in this volume, in particular, titled “Life Below,” has The Spirit going straight into the New York sewers in search of a killer. He’s attacked by both rats and gangs of homeless men before he gets his man and again reclaims the surface. It brought to mind Daredevil #172 when Frank Miller has DD travel through a city water pipe system to end up in a sewer of homeless people begging for food, or #180 when he must return there in search of the Kingpin’s wife. The recently published Dark Horse “Eisner/Miller” interview (which I own but haven’t yet read) lends further credence that Eisner has greatly influenced Miller.
Regardless, everyone who loves comics and doesn’t own the DC Comics Spirit Archives should pick up this book. For only $14.99, this wonderful collection of classic Spirit stories is a bargain no comics fan should pass up.
