Dave Harris
May 27, 2003, 02:14 pm
Reviewer: Dave Harris, HeroComplex00@hotmail.com
Quick Rating: Above Average
Story Title: Parts and Pieces
The menace known as Digger focuses his ire, and Spider-Man is still powerless against him!
Written by: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciled by: John Romita, Jr.
Inked by: Scott Hanna
Colored by: Dan Kemp
Lettered by: Chris Eliopoulos
Assistant Editor: Warren Simons & John Miesagaes
Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
Ah, Amazing Spider-Man. The first thing you’ll probably notice about this book was that it didn’t have any X-Men in it. Shock of shocks, eh? Well, welcome to another installment of X-Fan’s non-mutant outreach program; I suppose I’m your host. For those who haven’t tuned in recently, J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5) took over the reigns of Amazing Spider-Man and took it on a roller-coaster ride of a comic renaissance. With a revitalized look at Spider-Man’s origin and existence, let alone the romantic angst that Peter seems always destined to find, Straczynski truly breathed new life into one of Marvel’s flagship titles. And that’s the story thus far…
In a very special series, this issue doesn’t really rank; the book has been losing momentum with this particularly story arc, and one of the most frequent complaints of late has been this particular plot concept. The originality that marked the series previously has given way to a fairly standard Hulk-based threat, which certainly isn’t new, with the dialogue going similarly stale. When Mary Jane and Peter, and even Aunt May, discuss Spider-Man, things feel natural, but it all falls through the instant they turn to their relationship. Their interactions have in the past been one of the book’s highlights, and so to see the awkwardness of their talks now is especially painful. And ironically enough, the only gangster whose dialogue isn't painful is Digger. Most of the time, it is actually the present day mafia men who speak utterly outdatedly, and Digger is the only one who is even remotely believable when he speaks. Considering his past, that is inexplicable, and though I would have probably disliked hearing his dialogue from out of the past, I at least could have understood the reasoning behind it. But as it is, nothing really matches.
Another very weak point is Lynne’s naïveté---it is so strong it’s laughable, imitating the selective memory and bygone obliviousness of Aunt May. And that isn’t meant in a nostalgically good way; civilian ignorance has been stretched far beyond believability a lot these days, and even the most loyal daughter should have at least some inkling of the man that Forelli is, considering the multitude of things that have been said about him by Spider-Man and the rest of the cast. Otherwise it just rings false and she loses depth, which is especially bad considering that Straczynski is trying to make us care for her.
The issue has one golden moment, as I see it, and one dramatically under-billed at that. Digger’s reaction to his former names was very strong, admittedly, but very much out-shined. Mary Jane’s cell phone ring. I honestly couldn’t tell you why, but that line cracked me up more than anything else in the issue, and I can hardly help but look back fondly at it. It is a perfect mix of Spider-Man’s old-fashioned roguish humor, a real-life connection, and true human quirkiness. If an entire comic could fit together as well as that miniscule addendum, it would fly off of the shelves every month.
And that’s really one of Strazynski’s defining traits. He has an inexplicable, near-patented, ironic twist of humor. It is one of the things that his books so often rely on, and one of the reasons I’ve found most of his Amazing Spider-Man work to be so original an fresh. But I think he may be relying on it too much, and letting the rest of his writing suffer. In the nightclub, he and Romita capture one moment---the mafia men stare into the fourth wall in a perfect freeze frame out of Vaudevillian double-takes. Then the inevitable and expectable comment is made, meant to get a laugh out of the readers…but it doesn’t anymore. He has set up this moment of irony, both dramatic and classic, to amuse us, but he’s not putting as much effort into these moments as he used to; it’s predictable and it’s nothing short of sitcom-ish. He can’t rely on the cardboard cutout jokes to keep us amused anymore, and so things may be sinking. Before, the humor was genuine and the writing was captivating, but now the writing has taken some severe hits at the same time as the humor has become clichéd.
So, after all that you’re probably expecting me to say that I hated the issue, aren’t you? Well, I didn’t…but I don’t know exactly why. It’s possible that I just can’t bring myself to really dislike Straczynski, but despite all of the issue’s flaws, I actually enjoyed it. From a critical perspective, I found a lot that I disagreed with, yes, but if at the end of the day I had fun reading the issue, then could it really have been that bad? Dialogue and clichés aside, though, Straczynski just has a natural talent for story-telling. Even if the story he’s telling isn’t top-notch, he can make it work somehow.
And of course we can’t forget to add the ever-amazing art to his natural writing abilities. Romita’s work is extremely solid, and the texturing is most impressive. It can be hard when necessary and appropriate, when things look bleak, but Peter and Mary Jane’s scenes are all soft, exactly in the way you would wish on a happy couple. There is emotion conveyed in even the stillest of shots, but he makes no sacrifices regarding dynamics, either, as the action sequences are vivid. This has become expected from the series, but certainly still should be said.
STORY:
http://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spihalf.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpg
ART:
http://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spihalf.jpg
OVERALL:
http://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore)
Quick Rating: Above Average
Story Title: Parts and Pieces
The menace known as Digger focuses his ire, and Spider-Man is still powerless against him!
Written by: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciled by: John Romita, Jr.
Inked by: Scott Hanna
Colored by: Dan Kemp
Lettered by: Chris Eliopoulos
Assistant Editor: Warren Simons & John Miesagaes
Editor: Axel Alonso
Editor In Chief: Joe Quesada
President: Bill Jemas
Ah, Amazing Spider-Man. The first thing you’ll probably notice about this book was that it didn’t have any X-Men in it. Shock of shocks, eh? Well, welcome to another installment of X-Fan’s non-mutant outreach program; I suppose I’m your host. For those who haven’t tuned in recently, J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5) took over the reigns of Amazing Spider-Man and took it on a roller-coaster ride of a comic renaissance. With a revitalized look at Spider-Man’s origin and existence, let alone the romantic angst that Peter seems always destined to find, Straczynski truly breathed new life into one of Marvel’s flagship titles. And that’s the story thus far…
In a very special series, this issue doesn’t really rank; the book has been losing momentum with this particularly story arc, and one of the most frequent complaints of late has been this particular plot concept. The originality that marked the series previously has given way to a fairly standard Hulk-based threat, which certainly isn’t new, with the dialogue going similarly stale. When Mary Jane and Peter, and even Aunt May, discuss Spider-Man, things feel natural, but it all falls through the instant they turn to their relationship. Their interactions have in the past been one of the book’s highlights, and so to see the awkwardness of their talks now is especially painful. And ironically enough, the only gangster whose dialogue isn't painful is Digger. Most of the time, it is actually the present day mafia men who speak utterly outdatedly, and Digger is the only one who is even remotely believable when he speaks. Considering his past, that is inexplicable, and though I would have probably disliked hearing his dialogue from out of the past, I at least could have understood the reasoning behind it. But as it is, nothing really matches.
Another very weak point is Lynne’s naïveté---it is so strong it’s laughable, imitating the selective memory and bygone obliviousness of Aunt May. And that isn’t meant in a nostalgically good way; civilian ignorance has been stretched far beyond believability a lot these days, and even the most loyal daughter should have at least some inkling of the man that Forelli is, considering the multitude of things that have been said about him by Spider-Man and the rest of the cast. Otherwise it just rings false and she loses depth, which is especially bad considering that Straczynski is trying to make us care for her.
The issue has one golden moment, as I see it, and one dramatically under-billed at that. Digger’s reaction to his former names was very strong, admittedly, but very much out-shined. Mary Jane’s cell phone ring. I honestly couldn’t tell you why, but that line cracked me up more than anything else in the issue, and I can hardly help but look back fondly at it. It is a perfect mix of Spider-Man’s old-fashioned roguish humor, a real-life connection, and true human quirkiness. If an entire comic could fit together as well as that miniscule addendum, it would fly off of the shelves every month.
And that’s really one of Strazynski’s defining traits. He has an inexplicable, near-patented, ironic twist of humor. It is one of the things that his books so often rely on, and one of the reasons I’ve found most of his Amazing Spider-Man work to be so original an fresh. But I think he may be relying on it too much, and letting the rest of his writing suffer. In the nightclub, he and Romita capture one moment---the mafia men stare into the fourth wall in a perfect freeze frame out of Vaudevillian double-takes. Then the inevitable and expectable comment is made, meant to get a laugh out of the readers…but it doesn’t anymore. He has set up this moment of irony, both dramatic and classic, to amuse us, but he’s not putting as much effort into these moments as he used to; it’s predictable and it’s nothing short of sitcom-ish. He can’t rely on the cardboard cutout jokes to keep us amused anymore, and so things may be sinking. Before, the humor was genuine and the writing was captivating, but now the writing has taken some severe hits at the same time as the humor has become clichéd.
So, after all that you’re probably expecting me to say that I hated the issue, aren’t you? Well, I didn’t…but I don’t know exactly why. It’s possible that I just can’t bring myself to really dislike Straczynski, but despite all of the issue’s flaws, I actually enjoyed it. From a critical perspective, I found a lot that I disagreed with, yes, but if at the end of the day I had fun reading the issue, then could it really have been that bad? Dialogue and clichés aside, though, Straczynski just has a natural talent for story-telling. Even if the story he’s telling isn’t top-notch, he can make it work somehow.
And of course we can’t forget to add the ever-amazing art to his natural writing abilities. Romita’s work is extremely solid, and the texturing is most impressive. It can be hard when necessary and appropriate, when things look bleak, but Peter and Mary Jane’s scenes are all soft, exactly in the way you would wish on a happy couple. There is emotion conveyed in even the stillest of shots, but he makes no sacrifices regarding dynamics, either, as the action sequences are vivid. This has become expected from the series, but certainly still should be said.
STORY:
http://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spihalf.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpg
ART:
http://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spihalf.jpg
OVERALL:
http://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spifull.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpghttp://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/spinone.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World Comics and save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore)