Book of the Week- 7/13/11: The Amazing Spiderman #665

The Amazing Spiderman #665

Writer: Dan Slott

Penciller: Ryan Stegman
Inker: Michael Babinski
Colorist: John Rauch
Letterer: Joe Caramanga
Assistant Editor: Ellie Pyle
Editor: Stephen Wacker

Crossroads

After having been a fan of Spiderman longer than I can remember I had walked away from the book when Peter made a deal with the devil to fix his problems.  To me it violated everything that the character was about and after having stayed through all of the other poor story decisions to hit the Spiderman titles in the last several years, but for me that was it.  I recently decided to give the book another chance.

After a mild adjustment period I can now count Spidey as one of my favorite titles once again and issues like this are why.  The story did not focus on Spiderman vs a villain, it was a personal story that affected his life as Peter rather than as Spiderman.  The issue has a few very emotional moments, especially between Peter and Aunt May.  May convinces him to abandon his revenge and be there for his best friend when she needs him.  Even MJ is amazed that he was able to let Peter come before Spiderman.  Although Spiderman does get to do his part later.

The friendship between Peter and Betty adds a humanizing element.  His reaction and his guilt over not having been there bring back to the surface his guilt over Uncle Ben's death.  Even May makes a parallel to that event.  The lengths that Peter went through to find the man who hurt his friend sent the entire New York criminal underground running scared.  This is typical behavior for Peter as he had a similar reaction when Aunt May was shot due to his identity having gone public.  He hunted the shooter and the man who gave the order, Wilson Fisk, and reigned fury upon him humiliating him in front of the criminal world.

We also see May and her new husband leave New York and head out to Boston.  I had long thought Aunt May to be irrelevant to the books once Peter grew up, but I changed my mind when she learned his identity and became a part of his world and the story rather than someone it was all hidden from.  I was disapointed when her memory was erased also as she went back to a side character who didn't quite gel anymore.  Since they don't seem likely to let her know again I think this is the better route to take and remove her from the focus of the story without killing her off... yet.

COMING SOON

Spider Island!

Book of the Week- 7/6/11: Batman: Knight of Vengeance #2

Batman: Knight of Vengeance #2

Writer: Brian Azarello

Penciller: Eduardo Risso
Inker: Eduardo Risspo
Colorist: Patricia Mulvihill
Letterer: Clem Robbins
Cover Art: Dave Johnson
Assistant Editor: Rex Ogre
Editor: Eddie Berganza


All I can say about this one is "WOW!!!" They were definitely not afraid to take a few chances with the story. The Joker's speech about the loss of a child made sense after the shock reveal at the end.You can see why Thomas Wayne was so eager to help change the timeline. Not only did he watch his son die in a mugging, but his wife from the trauma was turned into that timeline's Joker. Yeah I'd say that would be more than enough to get me to want to change time.

Also they were not afraid to show that the good guys don't always win and that children aren't always safe, even in a world of superheroes. Gordon is tricked into killing Harvey Dent's daughter as Harvey's son watched helpless to say anything with his mouth taped shut. Gordon is then killed himself as he leans over the dying child.

Batman arrives too late to prevent their deaths, but what will he do in response to them?

COMING SOON

Wayne vs Wayne!

Book of the Week- 6/29/11: Hal Jordan #1

Hal Jordan #1

Writer: Adam Schlagman
Penciller: Ben Oliver
Inker: Ben Oliver

Colorist: Allen Passalaqua
Letterer: Wes Abbott
Cover Art: Rags Morales with Gabe Eltaeb

Assistant Editor: Darren Shan
Editor: Brian Cunningham

Rising Tides

The Flashpoint books continue to be entertaining overall.  The reworked origin of Hal Jordan was much more in line with the new film version bridging the gap a bit between the two.    The book answers one question that readers may have wondered about.

Hal Jordan had never become a Green Lantern.  This does raise some interesting questions about the fates of other Earth born Lanterns as it would appear that there has not yet been a human Green Lantern.  When Hal meets Abin Sur it would appear to be Earth's first contact with the Corps.

For the most part the book is a character piece focused on Hal and what makes him tick and who he is in this new version of the world.  However the book does have a few action moments to keep the interest level up and I am curious to see what happens next.

COMING SOON

The Battle of Coast City!