Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man: Hostile Takeovers

by Tom Taylor, Ken Lashley, Juann Cabal, Scott Hanna, Scott Hanna, Nolan Woodard, Rachelle Rosenberg, Marcio Menyz
also featuring artists Luca Maresca, Pere Pérez, Todd Nauck, Ig Guara, Dike Ruan, Marguerite Sauvage
collects Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #7-14
volume reviews one | two [complete]

It’s criminal that Marvel cancelled Taylor’s Spider-Man series after only two volumes. I’ve yet to find a more consistent author who strikes the perfect balance of Peter’s snarky one-liners and his deep love for the people of New York.

Unfortunately, both stories felt like trade-volume arcs stuffed into a few issues – a problem I attribute to Marvel, not Taylor, who had to wrap up all of his plans far too soon. The first arc is earnest, and some might say “political,” but it’s a clear extension of Peter’s values that the government should work for everyone and provide basic necessities. It’s a storyline that has echoes of comics from the 60’s, including Spider-Man’s, that isn’t afraid to bridge comics with our own need for equity today. (For more about how politics have existed in comics since the beginning, see here.) Marnie returns, and it was phenomenal to see her origin as Rumor include the history of WWII internment camps for Japanese Americans. The second story sees Spidey teaming up with the Fantastic Four and returning to Under York, a place I couldn’t care less about – the story was rushed and had no payoff, but Peter’s banter with the team was so fantastic, I could have read a whole volume of it.

Taylor writes an excellent Peter Parker, but the book isn’t without its issues. Issue 11 is a standalone, and stand out, issue featuring Mary Jane; but otherwise, MJ and Aunt May are still in the background, continuing to only serve Peter and his story, and not have any character development on their own. (Half of MJ’s issue is even narrated by an absent Peter.) It’s less forgivable this time around as May opens a homeless shelter while having cancer. Speaking of senior women, it’s strange that there’s time spent on Marnie’s backstory, but no interesting or emotional development with May at all. Taylor had to pick and choose what made it in these final issues, but as much as I love Marnie, giving May some very past-due focus might have been more important. Even the final issue, a heartwarming though rushed story where New York’s superheroes give Peter the night off as he stays with May during her surgery, still uses May’s cancer as an impetus for Peter’s story.

The art is also a major problem. The revolving door of artists both during and between issues, was jolting and aside from one flashback didn’t add to the story at all. Aside from Juann Cabal and Pere Pérez, the art wasn’t particularly inspiring either. I really struggled with Lashley’s work and many panels, by him and other artists, felt sloppy and rushed.

And for a book with double the senior women usually found in comic books, the way they are treated visually in this book is horrible. Marnie has excessive wrinkles and lines you’d never see on Lex Luthor or Magneto. And I was honestly offended by Lashley’s final page when May wakes up from her surgery. With her face gaunt and eyes blackened, it looked more like a villain reveal than a genuine and vulnerable moment between May and Peter.

I wish Taylor had more time (with better artists) to give his Spidey stories more justice, because there were some real home runs in this series. Hopefully he’ll write more Spider-Man in the future – or even better, a Spidey/F4 book.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man: Secrets and Rumors

by Tom Taylor, Juann Cabal, Yildiray Cinar, Marcelo Ferreira, Andrew C Robinson & Nolan Woodard
collects Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1-6
volume reviews one | two [complete]

Tom Taylor’s Spider-Man is back to basics, and it’s one of the best Spider-Man books I’ve read.

Taylor, along with Cabal’s simple expressive lines, effortlessly brings us a story that reminds us why we love Spidey in the first place – bad puns and pants jokes, a simple date night with Mary Jane, and showing up for Aunt May; he knows the folks going through homelessness on his block, he’s great with kids (the final issue is a bit of a tearjerker). But most of all, what makes Peter so great isn’t the life saving heroics, but the dignity and small gestures he makes after the fact – accompanying kids on the bus to talk about bullying, asking folks to donate the cash they want to give him. This is Peter Parker through the eyes of Mister Rogers, and it’s how he deserves to be written.

There are occasional superhero cameos, but otherwise Taylor introduces us to some new faces, including a hilarious new roommate (was Peter really thinking through that decision?!) and a new badass heroine who isn’t defined by her seniority, I only mention it because older female heroes are so dang rare, I want to see more of her! We also meet a *big* new setting that seemed just a bit…too big to be new. The plot lost me there a little bit, but the story otherwise is so earnest and true to Peter, I was willing to go with it.

Cabal and Ferrera’s pencils are light and kinetic, and Woodard and other colorists bring that feel to life with his airy and cheery colors. Together they bring some visually stunning, wordless action scenes (particularly a double spread in the final issue)

There’s a big development with Aunt May that I hope gets its due diligence in the next volume, leading to some more growth for her character along with Mary Jane. So often these events from (usually female) secondary characters really only focus on how it’s affecting the (usually male) protagonist, but May and MJ deserve their own individual growth. I’ve already read issue 11, which is also an excellent one shot about MJ, and it hopefully carries through to the other issues.

Mini Reviews 1 [COVID-19 Edition]

Week Four of Quarantine:

I know what you might be expecting: I’m reading SO many comics due to the COVID-19 quarantine I don’t even have time to review them all properly, hence the self congratulatory mega post!

But actually, it’s quite the opposite. I’ve been reading less than I used to – I’m just too stressed with work during the day, and by evening I’m too tired to read…especially if I want to read actively enough to review. And when I do muster the energy, it’s because I desperately need the escapism and to engage in something familiar. I don’t have the energy to write long, thoughtful reviews (usually, they’re for sure the first one), except I suppose for Lore Olympus, but I had a *lot* of feelings about it.

I probably don’t words good so…good…right now. A few sentences or a few paragraphs on Goodreads is pretty much all I have the strength for – it’s what I can do, so it’s the best I can do. I’m more than a bit hard on myself for this, so that’s basically been my mantra for the last few weeks. It’s what I can do, so it’s the best I can do.

On that note, I hope you – whoever might be reading this – are taking care of yourselves and staying healthy. We are all in survival mode right now – some more than others. But regardless, whatever you’re doing *is* the best you can. (This is also something I’m telling myself to feel better about a Marvel Unlimited subscription, and lots of take out.)

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Black Widow vol 1: S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Most Wanted
by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee and Matt Wilson
collects Black Widow #1-6

An enjoyable and accessible comic book introduction to Black Widow. This is perfect for MCU-Black Widow fans, though it’s far from the first Marvel book I’d recommend to a new reader.

Samnee and Wilson are an art team to be reckoned with – the simple lines, newspaper-y textures, and red-washed flashbacks are beautifully modern and nostalgic all at once. I loved the number of dialogue-less pages, as Waid (rightly) trusted the art team to move the story along visually. It’s also true to Natasha’s character, the opposite of quippy Peter Parker. This book is worth reading just for the art.

Waid’s story is so-so. This is a straight spy story that tangentially ties into Natasha’s past in Russia. Even with a few flashbacks, like the rest of the world, the reader isn’t let in much to Natasha’s world. One could argue this is part of her character, but it’s also a missed opportunity to become more invested in her. Sometimes Natasha’s hard shell felt like an excuse to forego more character development. While the “big reveal” of Natasha’s worst secret fits nicely into continuity, the story was kind of forgettable overall. There are also some real bad “show don’t tell” violations at the end, particularly with the Weeping Lion, that feel beneath Waid.

A good introductory run, but not *so* good that the second volume jumps to the top of my pile.

An Age of License
by Lucy Knisley

Beautiful, poignant travelogue of Lucy’s solo trip through Europe. I loved the balance of clean, black and white pages of her day-to-day travel with watercolor vignettes, sometimes standalone sketches and figures from her travels. I love how Lucy sees the world – observantly, optimistically, with humility – and how forthcoming she was with questions about her direction and purpose. A lovely and calming read.

 

Coda, vol 1
by Simon Spurrier and Matias Bergara
collects Coda #1-4

Did not finish – put down after the third issue, even with a big reveal I’m not interested enough to continue right now. Ironically, the setting is fascinating – a stereotypical fantasy world but it’s run out of magic. In the opening pages we meet a whining immortal dragon skeleton and a giant badass unicorn who only speaks in bleeped out swear words. I was. All. In.

But unfortunately it completely failed to grab me from there. I couldn’t connect at all with the protagonist, whose search for his missing wife makes up most of the narration (in letters he writes for her); it sounds emotional but without knowing her, felt saccharine and one dimensional. The other characters float in and out too quickly to make any kind of connection, and I never felt fully anchored in the world to become immersed in it, much less care about it.

Matias Bergara’s art (for which this series was an Eisner nominee last year) is bold and colorful, but also so light and wispy it’s hard to know what to look at. Everything felt both psychedelic and out of focus at the same time. The yellows and sticky blood reds made it hard to look at after a while, and didn’t feel like a world I wanted to live in.

I’m still giving Coda three stars because of the creative premise, the potential, and the fact that this just might not be the right time for me to read it, rather than the story itself being sub-par. Maybe I’ll finish this one later, but for now, I have too many other books on my list.

Friendly Neighboorhood Spider-Man #11
by Tom Taylor and Andrew Robinson

Read as a one-shot recommended by a friend – and totally worth it! This spotlight on Mary-Jane and her dedication, leadership, and grace under pressure, cuts beneath her often singular persona as the redheaded love interest. Honestly, it’s possibly the best MJ in a Spider-Man comic I’ve read. Also can’t go wrong with some meta Spidey puns and a great cameo. Taylor and Robinson do a lot in 23 pages – if you don’t want to invest in the whole series (which I definitely do now) this is still a great 20 minute read.