Comments on: Marvel Quick Takes: Spider-Man #579, Hercules #124

By: JD

JD — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 16:18:08 +0000

More Spider-Man tales by Waid and Martin :
- Waid wrote the main story of this week’s ASM #583 (the one with the Obama back-up), illustrated by the always-serviceable Barry Kitson. It’s a nice Betty Brant character piece (and the Jameson Sr subplot is slightly advanced), but it’s mainly a pay-off for all her appearances since the relaunch. As such, I doubt it can really work as a stand-alone.
- Martin drew a 13-page story in last July’s Amazing Spider-Man Extra! #1. It’s billed as an interlude in Marc Guggenheim’s big “Character Assassination” arc, which will start… next week. No, I have no idea why they thought such an early trailer was a good idea.
Anyway, it’s Spider-Man being put on trial for some unknown reason (presumably explained in that arc) and defended by Matt Murdock. While not as visually innovative as Martin’s other works, it’s very funny and manages to pull off the very strange remit of having no context whatsoever.
That issue also has a forgettable Wells/Ollife 8-page about Peter and Harry’s friendship, and a quite good prelude by Kelly and Bachalo to their recent Hammerhead arc (ASM #575-576), explaining how he came back despite being killed off in a Civil War tie-in. A nice character piece about a quite corny villain, and actually better than the story it trails (as it fizzled up without much resolution).

By: Johanna

Johanna — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:45:07 +0000

Oh, Leverage interview? I’ll be sure to check that out, Tim. And thanks for letting me know where to find it, JD.

By: JD

JD — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:03:54 +0000

Just for reference, the “Peter Parker, Paparazzi” story was in Amazing Spider-Man #559-561, reprinted in the third “Brand New Day” Premiere HC or TPB (which also has the forgettable Gale/McKone Bookie story).

By: James Schee

James Schee — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:16:05 +0000

Cool I’ll have to look for the Spidey story, as I like Martin’s work ever since I first saw it in Batgirl Year One.

I just ordered the first Hercules trade, so hopefully its as great as you describe.

By: Tim O'Shea

Tim O'Shea — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:50:36 +0000

Sorry this review
http://www.spidermancrawlspace.com/wordpress/?p=21

By: Tim O'Shea

Tim O'Shea — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:50:14 +0000

What I mean by stalkarazzi is Peter realizes he can make more money at the new DB (the hipper name for the Daily Bugle given it by the new owner a Rupert Murdoch like character) by going the TMZ route. This review has some spoilers but explains things better than I can as I try to post my John Rogers interview about Leverage (yea, I need to stop multitasking)

By: Johanna

Johanna — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:57:14 +0000

Why would Peter put someone in danger (besides himself) to get pictures? Or am I misunderstanding the stalker part?

By: Tim O'Shea

Tim O'Shea — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:44:51 +0000

Martin’s work with the Paper Doll arc is great. Slott gets a chance to write Peter Parker as part of the stalkarazzi–it really is a fun read. Brand New Day has been uneven, but I begrudgingly admit, the reboot revitalized the property.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:17:07 +0000

Um… I miss Slott’s She-Hulk. I’m not sure I would like his straighter superhero stuff as well. And the hype seems to be a little over the top on it.

By: Rob Barrett

Rob Barrett — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:27:50 +0000

Martin’s previous Brand New Day story (the Paper Doll arc written by Dan Slott which is probably Slott’s best arc so far) is also worth checking out. It’s another master-class in visual storytelling.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:49:07 +0000

Oh, interesting. Thanks for updating me on that.

By: JD

JD — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:43:32 +0000

They’re not exactly fill-ins : Mark Waid is now officially part of the “main writing team” (with Dan Slott, Marc Guggenheim, Bob Gale and Joe Kelly), and Marcos Martin seems to be a regular part of the art rotation (like Phil Jimenez, John Romita Jr, Mike McKone and Chris Bachalo, who all have already done several arcs on the title).

We’ll see them again, though there’s no guarantee we’ll see them again together.

By: Tyler Chin-Tanner

Tyler Chin-Tanner — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:55:04 +0000

I’m in the same boat as you with Spider-man. Those were the only two Spidey issues I’ve read in a long while and they were great. Waid and Martin really know what they’re doing and are perfect for this title. That’s too bad to hear they were just fill-ins, I might have actually considering reading Spider-man again.