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  1. #61
    Ultimate Member Mister Mets's Avatar
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    Amazing Spider-Man Volume 4 #24

    This issue is a pretty decent teaser for Kindred as the big bad of Nick Spencer's run, suggesting that a bad guy who has been lurking behind the scenes is going to get more involved in Spider-Man's life. The conversation between the psychiatrist is intense, although it is a bit of a stealth two-parter, as there's more to that story in the next issue. But I do like seeing Spider-Man troubled by what he went through. Sometimes the comics just rush past the consequences, but that's been a major part of Spider-Man's appeal, and it's done well here. We also get a lovely seen of Peter and MJ at a controversial New York landmark.
    A

    Amazing Spider-Man Volume 4 #25

    It's a clever approach with a double-sized issue as Ryan Ottley depicts Mary Jane's adventures, as well as the aftermath of Kindred's encounter with Mysterio, while Humberto Ramos depicts what Peter's up to. And most importantly, both parts of the story are really good. Mary Jane gets a rival who may just be my favorite new character from Nick Spencer's run. I think someone should bring back Melanie Daniels ASAP. She also holds her own against a B-list supervillain in a way that doesn't insult them. And we get a good teaser for her monthly title.

    Spider-Man continues to deal with the aftermath of "Hunted" which does help make that twelve-issue epic seem like a big deal. The challenge of preventing Curt Connors from killing himself doesn't have easy answers; it's a story that seems inevitable and it's handled pretty well.



    Extras include a decent Zeb Wells/ Mark Bagley J Jonah Jameson spotlight with an unconventional enemy (the colorist makes it work), and a gag about getting an AI to create a new Spider-Man comic, where it gets some stuff wrong to hilarious effect.

    There are some minor quibbles. I'm not sure if it's the length, but there's quite a bit of speechifying here, and some scenes seem a bit padded (a jailbreak did not need four pages.) But it's a decent Spider-Man story, and it's also one of Mary Jane's finest moments.
    A
    Sincerely,
    Thomas Mets

  2. #62
    Formerly Assassin Spider Huntsman Spider's Avatar
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    "Finally, I can relax with my many girlfriend." As if we needed reminders that sometimes or oftentimes, Peter Parker's love life resembles a harem comedy/drama from anime or manga. That said, I would generally concur with your rating, and I did like Mary Jane's part in it best, especially since it did set up her then-upcoming monthly --- which still should have at least been able to finish its second arc.
    The spider is always on the hunt.

  3. #63
    The Superior One Celgress's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mister Mets View Post

    Marvel Editorial's collective wet dream Spider-Harem a new girlfriend every week and if things get serious, slot in another quick.
    "So you've come to the end now alive but dead inside."

  4. #64
    Ultimate Member Mister Mets's Avatar
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    Amazing Spider-Man Volume 5 #26-28:



    We get another Boomerang spotlight at just the right time. It's a nice dynamic where Peter enjoys the mostly VIP treatment given Boomerang's post-Secret Empire rep (the one exception is hilarious.) Beetle's corporate take on supercrime is refreshing and fits the character, providing a sensible reason for the female-led Sinister Syndicate. I'm definitely appreciating how Spencer is setting up the Sinister War here. The different villains all have their own personalities and conflicts although a great detail is how they strategize in advance, which puts Spider-Man and Boomerang at a disadvantage. Nick Spencer is really good at stories with multiple bad guys who each have their own personalities.



    It's Kev Walker's first Spider-Man arc, and he's fine. He has a clean lighthearted style that fits this type of fun story. He's good at the superhero stuff, as well as Peter Parker and company just hanging out. An interaction between Aunt May and Spider-Man is unique and refreshing. There's an excellent development with Randy Robertson that has been seeded for a while. Mayor Kingpin causes some trouble without dominating the story.



    One thing I've noticed in discussions of major comic books is that most of the focus is on big important stories where major events happen to the main character, someone dies, a big guest starr appears, the protagonist is pushed to the absolute limit, or a big new villain is introduced. This means we can often overlook the standard comics that are also the majority of what's published. And this is a good example of a an excellent standard comic, with some excellent character details. It's not filler since it does move the plot along and there are developments for the supporting cast, as well as hints about future conflicts. I could understand this being one of someone's favorite Spider-Man stories.
    A
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    Thomas Mets

  5. #65
    Ultimate Member Mister Mets's Avatar
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    Amazing Spider-Man Volume 5 #29:

    I'm not familiar with the new artist Francesco Manna, but his work here is quite solid. He reminds me of Stuart Immomen.

    This issue is a one-off largely focusing on Peter & MJ, right before MJ starts a new role. It's pleasant; seemingly low-stakes but there is a bit more to it. Teresa Parker joins the main title, and the interactions with Aunt May go with a type of tension in real-life, where it's not clear how an announcement would be received.

    The Chameleon returns, although it's more of a teaser for a bigger story later. However, this is how you set up the stakes for the rematch. If the previous Boomerang three-parter was a really good standard story, this is different, a single issue story that's much more important than is immediately apparent.
    A+

    Amazing Spider-Man Volume 5 #30-31:


    I'm not in the mood to reread all of Absolute Carnage in the Nick Spencer reread, although this story's accessible enough, kicking off with Kindred and Spider-Man's biggest archenemy, while giving hints about what Spidey's going through in the main event. There's a twist in the first part about the timeline that makes for some potentially confusing perspectives (IE- whose perspective is a certain flashback supposed to be?), but does raise the stakes in an interesting way, putting everything into a new context.



    I get that with Norman in a major event, and part of a major crossover, Spencer and Ottley have to put some wheels in motion to set up his role in their larger arc. With comics costing four bucks for twenty pages of content, I'm not a fan of the flashbacks where we see Spencer and Ottley's versions of events in classic comics. And I do also know that this story does not have a satisfying conclusion, which leads to a somewhat sour taste to everything, though I do like the unsettling message Kindred receives.
    B-
    Sincerely,
    Thomas Mets

  6. #66
    Extraordinary Member Jman27's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mister Mets View Post
    Amazing Spider-Man Volume 5 #29:

    I'm not familiar with the new artist Francesco Manna, but his work here is quite solid. He reminds me of Stuart Immomen.

    This issue is a one-off largely focusing on Peter & MJ, right before MJ starts a new role. It's pleasant; seemingly low-stakes but there is a bit more to it. Teresa Parker joins the main title, and the interactions with Aunt May go with a type of tension in real-life, where it's not clear how an announcement would be received.

    The Chameleon returns, although it's more of a teaser for a bigger story later. However, this is how you set up the stakes for the rematch. If the previous Boomerang three-parter was a really good standard story, this is different, a single issue story that's much more important than is immediately apparent.
    A+

    Amazing Spider-Man Volume 5 #30-31:


    I'm not in the mood to reread all of Absolute Carnage in the Nick Spencer reread, although this story's accessible enough, kicking off with Kindred and Spider-Man's biggest archenemy, while giving hints about what Spidey's going through in the main event. There's a twist in the first part about the timeline that makes for some potentially confusing perspectives (IE- whose perspective is a certain flashback supposed to be?), but does raise the stakes in an interesting way, putting everything into a new context.



    I get that with Norman in a major event, and part of a major crossover, Spencer and Ottley have to put some wheels in motion to set up his role in their larger arc. With comics costing four bucks for twenty pages of content, I'm not a fan of the flashbacks where we see Spencer and Ottley's versions of events in classic comics. And I do also know that this story does not have a satisfying conclusion, which leads to a somewhat sour taste to everything, though I do like the unsettling message Kindred receives.
    B-
    love that absolute carnage crossover issue that fight with norman carnage was great
    Last edited by Jman27; 08-04-2022 at 07:09 AM.
    "He's pure power and doesn't even know it. He's the best of us."-Matt Murdock

    "I need a reason to take the mask off."-Peter Parker

    "My heart half-breaks at how easy it is to lie to him. It breaks all the way when he believes me without question." Felicia Hardy

  7. #67
    Formerly Assassin Spider Huntsman Spider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jman27 View Post
    love that absolute carnage crossover issue that fight with norman carnage was great
    Same, and I liked Kindred's own chilling remarks about the ongoing blood feud between Peter and Norman, talking about how in the ways it really mattered, Norman beat Peter a long time ago, mainly by crushing what was left of Peter's innocence, vis-a-vis causing the death of Gwen Stacy.
    The spider is always on the hunt.

  8. #68
    Mighty Member Webhead's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lukmendes View Post
    Sinister War was a weird read, the fight against all of those Sinister Sixes didn't really feel impactful for the plot, and the way they're taken out so quickly didn't help... While I see the logic behind it, it feels too convenient that an exploding centipede can knock out so many so fast, specially weird when you consider super busted characters are included like Juggernaut (Who shouldn't be threatened by the centipede to begin with so he has no reason to work for Kindred) and Morlum (Who's too damn tough).
    So I only got around to reading this whole thread and I have to say Morlun's mishandling is probably the dumbest thing out of Sinister War which was already pretty mindless. There are others who shouldn't be affected by the bug in the brain threat either, yeah -but he also has no reason to hang around and act as a lackey/team player, drain the life force off a regular human, and be left unconscious as if he was just another thug who would take off instead of relentlessly chasing a totem to death.
    Last edited by Webhead; 08-05-2022 at 05:30 AM.

  9. #69
    Moderator Frontier's Avatar
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    I wonder if the Syndicate has really bumped up the female Spider-Villains.

  10. #70
    Ultimate Member Mister Mets's Avatar
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    Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle



    This is an odd one-shot, an episodic globetrotting adventure by multiple writers (jncluding Nick Spencer) and multiple artists, some of whom are regularly on Amazing Spider-Man (Mark Bagley, Chris Bachalo) and some of whom are not (Mike Allred, Chris Sprouse, etc.)



    I can't recall this having any impact on the larger narrative, which does make the whole thing seem a bit pointless. There's a bit of a grand statement about the harm people can cause by trying to prevent bad things from happening. The price point isn't too bad, with four issues worth of content for four dollars on Comixology/ Kindle. The main point to all of this is top comics talent having fun with Spider-Man. The situations are absurd, and I don't want to get into specifics because the weird twists are all part of the fun. It depends on the extent to which you like the idea of a comic where Spider-Man fights a werewolf in a Florida amusement park. I give it kudos for the willingness of the Spider-Man office to poke fun at itself, including a parody of a trick used in "Hunted" and some of the sequences were fun.
    B
    Sincerely,
    Thomas Mets

  11. #71
    Formerly Assassin Spider Huntsman Spider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frontier View Post
    I wonder if the Syndicate has really bumped up the female Spider-Villains.
    I'm still waiting for Joystick to come back. Maybe throw in Screwball as the one who spreads their fame (or infamy) through social media livestreams.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mister Mets View Post
    Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle



    This is an odd one-shot, an episodic globetrotting adventure by multiple writers (jncluding Nick Spencer) and multiple artists, some of whom are regularly on Amazing Spider-Man (Mark Bagley, Chris Bachalo) and some of whom are not (Mike Allred, Chris Sprouse, etc.)



    I can't recall this having any impact on the larger narrative, which does make the whole thing seem a bit pointless. There's a bit of a grand statement about the harm people can cause by trying to prevent bad things from happening. The price point isn't too bad, with four issues worth of content for four dollars on Comixology/ Kindle. The main point to all of this is top comics talent having fun with Spider-Man. The situations are absurd, and I don't want to get into specifics because the weird twists are all part of the fun. It depends on the extent to which you like the idea of a comic where Spider-Man fights a werewolf in a Florida amusement park. I give it kudos for the willingness of the Spider-Man office to poke fun at itself, including a parody of a trick used in "Hunted" and some of the sequences were fun.
    B
    I don't think it was supposed to impact the larger narrative around Spider-Man as much as it was a fun one-off with a bunch of writers and artists, some of whom weren't usually known or expected for Spider-Man, taking their own stab or whack at the web-slinger. At least one of them --- Kelly Thompson --- did later join the Spider-Man Beyond team, so there was that.
    The spider is always on the hunt.

  12. #72
    Extraordinary Member Lukmendes's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Huntsman Spider View Post
    "Finally, I can relax with my many girlfriend." As if we needed reminders that sometimes or oftentimes, Peter Parker's love life resembles a harem comedy/drama from anime or manga. That said, I would generally concur with your rating, and I did like Mary Jane's part in it best, especially since it did set up her then-upcoming monthly --- which still should have at least been able to finish its second arc.
    It doesn't get to the level of anime, since those tend to have more women and Spidey hardly has more than three interested in him at a time.

    Plus, unlike the usual harems, Spidey has a personality and actual interest in at least one of the women.

    The similarities are just superficial, he has more in common with soap opera when surrounded by a few women.

    Quote Originally Posted by Webhead View Post
    So I only got around to reading this whole thread and I have to say Morlun's mishandling is probably the dumbest thing out of Sinister War which was already pretty mindless. There are others who shouldn't be affected by the bug in the brain threat either, yeah -but he also has no reason to hang around and act as a lackey/team player, drain the life force off a regular human, and be left unconscious as if he was just another thug who would take off instead of relentlessly chasing a totem to death.
    I'de say draining Boomerang is fine, since it was more so to get rid of him and Morlun points out that it wasn't much of a meal.

    But yeah, Morlun was just awkward there, he only really worked with people who were his family, or that random lackey he had back in JMS' run, but working with someone under the threat of being killed? And being very okay with it? Meh...

    I would honestly say Juggernaut was handled even worse, and it wasn't just limited to Sinister War too, back in Sins Rising, Sin Eater managed to steal Juggernaut's power, which's absurd since he's powered by Cyttorak, meaning that stealing his power so casually shouldn't be easy, but then again, Spencer is fucking terrible with magic, he actually made Felicia record Strange doing a magic spell, which then the recording worked in activating the spell:



    (ASM#51 vol 5)

    My reaction to this back when it happened was "What the ****", and I think I was the only one who pointed out how completely nonsensical this was, although TheCape a few months later agreed with me, and said that once, Batman used a spell on Circe to nulify her magic, which's also completely nonsensical:

    https://i.imgur.com/gfGg6Ml.png





    (Amazons Attack#5)

    Anyways, the bug thing being a threat to Juggernaut of all people? He's harder to kill than the Hulk, and might have a healing factor that is stronger than Wolverine's, the centipede could be a nuke and he'd still survive that.

    And even if Juggernaut had a legit reason to be wary, like say, he thinks "This guy's minion stole my power, this centipede could be more dangerous than it looks", he still shouldn't have been knocked down by it exploding lol.

    Quote Originally Posted by Frontier View Post
    I wonder if the Syndicate has really bumped up the female Spider-Villains.
    Might've done so a bit, but not that much considering they're a fairly small presence in the run, though they do get a few goofy moments.

    Was funny how Ana returned out of nowhere in Sinister War, guess it was so readers remember that she exists lol.

    Quote Originally Posted by Huntsman Spider View Post
    I'm still waiting for Joystick to come back. Maybe throw in Screwball as the one who spreads their fame (or infamy) through social media livestreams.
    I only see Joystick caring about this for the sake of dumb challenges, otherwise I don't really see her caring that much about social media.
    Quote Originally Posted by TheCape View Post
    We all know that BND was a collective mid-life crisis from Marvel back then

  13. #73
    Formerly Assassin Spider Huntsman Spider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lukmendes View Post
    It doesn't get to the level of anime, since those tend to have more women and Spidey hardly has more than three interested in him at a time.

    Plus, unlike the usual harems, Spidey has a personality and actual interest in at least one of the women.

    The similarities are just superficial, he has more in common with soap opera when surrounded by a few women.



    I'de say draining Boomerang is fine, since it was more so to get rid of him and Morlun points out that it wasn't much of a meal.

    But yeah, Morlun was just awkward there, he only really worked with people who were his family, or that random lackey he had back in JMS' run, but working with someone under the threat of being killed? And being very okay with it? Meh...

    I would honestly say Juggernaut was handled even worse, and it wasn't just limited to Sinister War too, back in Sins Rising, Sin Eater managed to steal Juggernaut's power, which's absurd since he's powered by Cyttorak, meaning that stealing his power so casually shouldn't be easy, but then again, Spencer is fucking terrible with magic, he actually made Felicia record Strange doing a magic spell, which then the recording worked in activating the spell:



    (ASM#51 vol 5)

    My reaction to this back when it happened was "What the ****", and I think I was the only one who pointed out how completely nonsensical this was, although TheCape a few months later agreed with me, and said that once, Batman used a spell on Circe to nulify her magic, which's also completely nonsensical:

    https://i.imgur.com/gfGg6Ml.png





    (Amazons Attack#5)

    Anyways, the bug thing being a threat to Juggernaut of all people? He's harder to kill than the Hulk, and might have a healing factor that is stronger than Wolverine's, the centipede could be a nuke and he'd still survive that.

    And even if Juggernaut had a legit reason to be wary, like say, he thinks "This guy's minion stole my power, this centipede could be more dangerous than it looks", he still shouldn't have been knocked down by it exploding lol.



    Might've done so a bit, but not that much considering they're a fairly small presence in the run, though they do get a few goofy moments.

    Was funny how Ana returned out of nowhere in Sinister War, guess it was so readers remember that she exists lol.



    I only see Joystick caring about this for the sake of dumb challenges, otherwise I don't really see her caring that much about social media.
    Makes sense with her character as I know it. And good point about Spider-Man's love life not actually being anything like a harem anime comedy/drama . . . however much some people would like it to be.
    The spider is always on the hunt.

  14. #74
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    Quote Originally Posted by Huntsman Spider View Post
    Makes sense with her character as I know it. And good point about Spider-Man's love life not actually being anything like a harem anime comedy/drama . . . however much some people would like it to be.
    You sure? Spectacular Spider-Man was getting pretty close.

  15. #75
    Extraordinary Member Lukmendes's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PCN24454 View Post
    You sure? Spectacular Spider-Man was getting pretty close.
    About the closest point of that happening was when Liz, MJ and Gwen were interested on him, and a bit afterwards Felicia was included too, but MJ eventually started dating Mark, Spidey kinda started dating Liz, and while there was still Gwen and Felicia left, the dynamics were nothing like the usual harem, and then Felicia got pissed with him 'cause she blames him for her father not wanting to leave jail, he broke up with Liz to end up with Gwen, but Gwen stayed with Harry.

    So yeah, it's still soap opera, not really like a harem anime, it only really got close if you only look at the number of women interested, but again, dynamics were way too different.
    Quote Originally Posted by TheCape View Post
    We all know that BND was a collective mid-life crisis from Marvel back then

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