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Reviews and commentary by Tony Isabella
"America's Most Beloved Comic-Book Writer & Columnist"
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TONY'S ONLINE TIPS
for Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The Spectacular Spider-Man animated series debuted on March 8 on Kids WB. The first two of the season's 13 episodes were shown, representing yet another take on Marvel Comics' web-slinging wonder. This one will take some getting used to.
Greg Weisman is the Supervising Producer/Story Editor of this new series. He also wrote "Survival of the Fittest," the episode that kicks off the show. Here's the set-up:
Peter Parker is a junior at a magnet school. Gwen Stacy is a sort of mousy science geek. Harry Osborn is their friend and he's more of a sad sack than usual. Peter and Gwen get internships with Dr. Curt Connors, who works with his wife, also a scientist, and Eddie Brock, his assistant and a college student.
Flash Thompson is still a jerk. Liz Allen seems to be either black or Puerto Rican, a stuck-up cheerleader with more depth than she allows people to see. Of all the kids, I found Liz the most interesting.
Aunt May is still a worrywart, but she looks much younger than in the traditional comic books. She frets about money and is way too lenient with Peter coming home late at night. Emma Watson makes an appearance in the first episode, mostly so May can tell someone her financial woes and have Pete overhear the conversation. There was no sign of Mary Jane in these first two episodes, but she does appear in later episodes.
Peter tries to get a job taking photos of Spider-Man for the Daily Bugle. J. Jonah Jameson has security escort the lad out, but not before appropriating Peter's idea that Spidey photos would sell a lot of newspapers. Amusingly, our hero's first attempts to take such photos turn out really bad.
The visual style of Spectacular Spider-Man isn't to my liking. The big eyes and minimal features on most characters creep me out. On the other hand, the action sequences are pretty good and sometimes excellent.
Weisman's "Survival of the Fittest" introduces several Spider-Man villains. Norman Osborn is his usual ruthless self, cheating the Vulture out of the credit and financial rewards of the senior scientist's inventions. The Enforcers have been updated for their appearance here and it's an excellent makeover. In a funny scene, Spidey busts Flint Marko - not yet the Sandman - for what he says is the third or fourth time. Apparently, Marko has the misfortune of running into the wall-crawler every time he tries to commit some crime for his boss, the mysterious Big Man.
Written by Kevin Hopps, "Interactions" was a smoother episode. In the "A" story, an accident at Curt Connors' lab turns Max Dillon into Electro. When Spider-Man sees Dillon going more than a little crazy in the streets, he battles him instead of trying to help him. It's an action Spidey later regrets and, in that regret, we see him taking Uncle Ben's "great responsibility" lesson to heart. In the "B" story, Peter tutors Liz Allen to mixed results. In a subplot and teaser, Doc Connors is injecting himself with an experimental serum which he hopes will allow him to grow a new arm. Of the two episodes, I like this one better.
Spectacular Spider-Man was supposed to air new episodes every week for 11 weeks, but has aired a few reruns. My complaints about May's lackluster character and the odd visual style aside, I plan on watching the remaining episodes. While the series isn't a classic, it's good enough to earn a respectable three out of five Tonys.
Archie #582 [Archie Comics; $2.25] is quite a change of pace from the title's usual fare. Instead of three or four short stories, it features an issue-length tale of 22 pages and that tale itself is very different from most current Archie stories.
Angelo DeCesare's "A Calculated Risk" finds Archie Andrews and his rival Reggie Mantle flunking calculus. Archie's parents punish him for not spending enough time on his studies by taking away his car. Reggie's parents tell him that he must ace his calculus final if he wants to make it into their prestigious alma mater. Reggie's "study plan" is to hire someone to hack into their teacher's files and get the answers to the test. He wants Archie in on the scheme because he figures Archie's "good guy" reputation will soften the consequences should they get caught.
The story troubled me on several fronts. While I was fascinated by Reggie's desperation and Archie's wrestling with his conscience, I thought supporting characters Betty and Jughead were wildly out of character in this story. Also...
...when Reggie decides he can't go through with the cheating and confesses to his teacher, the consequences of his prior actions are absurdly mild. He hired a criminal to break into his teacher's files. At the very least, isn't that a misdemeanor?
Visually, artists Stan Goldberg (pencils) and Bob Smith (inks) were definitely up to the challenge of drawing this more serious story. Archie's facial expressions and body language skillfully reveal his inner turmoil throughout. Small wonder I consider this team - Goldberg and Smith - as the best artistic team at Archie and one of the best in all comics.
Archie #582 might not have been an entirely successful experiment, but I appreciated the effort and the willingness to try something different. It earns three out of five Tonys.
1945. The Battle of Berlin is joined by virtually every costumed or super-hero, virtual unknowns like the Phantom Reporter fighting side by side with the likes of Captain America, the Sub-Mariner, and the Human Torch. The Reporter and eleven other heroes fall to a Nazi trap, are gassed into unconsciousness, and placed into suspended animation. The Nazi scientists plan to retrieve them at some future date and study - dissect - them to learn the secrets of their amazing powers. The fleeing scientists don't get far, thanks to Russian soldiers who aren't inclined to show them mercy. The twelve heroes lie sleeping, their presence unsuspected until a 2008 excavation uncovers the Nazi laboratory.
That's the kickoff of The Twelve [Marvel; $2.99 each], a 12-issue series by writer J. Michael Straczynski, penciler Chris Weston, and inker Garry Leach. Brought back to consciousness by the American government, the Twelve are asked to return to active duty and show a country still torn by the recent super-hero civil war what "real heroes" were and can be again. It's a heady premise and, combined with the size of the cast, offers Straczynski a large canvas on which to paint his story.
That story has just begun to unfold. Told from the point of view of the Reporter, we're only beginning to learn who these characters are. There's the loving husband and father who learns his wife and sons are dead, the latter having died while serving in some place called Vietnam. There's the supremely powerful hero who appears to be a racist. There's the tragic heroine who is bound to a hellish agreement. There's the seemingly lifeless robot whose creator and controller died decades ago. And, at the end of the first issue, there's the hero lying dead in the pouring rain with another of the Twelve standing over him.
Shades of Watchmen!
The Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons Watchmen began with the Comedian being murdered by one of his allies. It's inevitable that The Twelve will be compared with that classic, so I might as well address that now.
Both works start with the murder of a hero. Judging from the first two issues, The Twelve will present an intricate story with wide-ranging elements coming together to form a unified and hopefully satisfying whole. That's almost a Straczynski trademark, one which served him well in Babylon 5. Moore and Gibbons told an intricate story as well. What separates the two works are that The Twelve has more characters for Straczynski to play with and, though the likes of Iron Man and the Fantastic Four are wisely being kept off stage, the new series is set firmly within the Marvel Universe. Such fundamental differences will surely send The Twelve into areas unexplored by Watchmen.
His Spider-Man missteps notwithstanding, Straczynski is one of my favorite writers. His work on the first two issues of The Twelve is outstanding as he introduces his large cast without lessening the drama of their situations. Artists Weston and Frank match Straczynski beat for beat, wonderfully supported by colorist Chris Chuckry and letterer Jimmy Betancourt of Comicraft. I don't usually mention editors in reviews, but Tom Brevoort's long run of terrific comic books certainly earns him some kudos as well. He's been the best editor in comics for some time now.
The Twelve was preceded by a promotional "zero" issue [also $2.99], which reprints 1940s stories of the Phantom Reporter, Rockman, and the lethal Laughing Mask, followed by Weston's new character designs for all of the revived heroes and a selection of preview pages. It's a promo well worth it cover price.
This shouldn't be considered a "final" grade until I see how much The Twelve continues to diverge from Watchmen and how Straczynski and Weston join the intricacies of their tale into an unified whole, but, as of this review, the first two issues and the promotional issue all earn an impressive four Tonys apiece. I'm looking forward to what comes next.
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
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THE "TONY" SCALE
ZERO: Burn your money before buying any comic receiving this rating. It doesn't *necessarily* mean there's absolutely nothing of value here - though it *could* - but whatever value it might possess shrinks into insignificance before its overall awfulness.
ONE: Buy something else. Maybe I found something which wasn't completely dreadful in the item, but not enough for me to recommend it when there are better comics available. I only want what's best for you, my children.
TWO: Basic judgment call. I found some value, but not enough to recommend it. My review should give you enough info to decide if you want to take a chance on it. Are you feeling lucky today, punk? Well, are you?
THREE: This denotes something I find perfectly respectable. There are better books out there, but I wouldn't regret buying this item. Based on my review, you should be able to determine if it's of interest to you. Let the Force guide you.
FOUR: I recommend anything earning this rating. Unless you don't like the genre, subject matter, or past work of the creators, I believe you'll enjoy this item. Isn't it uncanny how I can look right into your soul that way?
FIVE: Anything getting this rating is among the best comicdom has to offer. You should buy/read this, even if the genre/subject matter doesn't appeal to you. It's for your own good. Me, I live for comics and books this good...but not in a pathetic "Comic-Book Guy" sort of way.
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