Amazing Fantasy, Amazing Spider-Man Annual, Spider-Man Unlimited

Amazing Fantasy 16-18

Kurt Busiek fills in the gap between Amazing Fantasy 15 and Spider-Man 1.  

Once again, I’m left wondering why this was so much more effective than DeFalco’s Spider-Girl and Latour’s Spider-Gwen.  A cursory examination suggests that the narration might have something to do with it. Busiek relies heavily on Peter’s inner monologue, and it uses it to great effect in exposing his inner turmoil in dealing the the aftermath of his uncle’s death (and all the other stresses that come with being a social outcast a school and brand new powers).  

DeFalco’s second person narrator automatically distances the reader from Mayday Parker.  Latour only uses captions sporadically, making it a lot harder to get into Gwen’s head.

But that can’t entirely be it.  It’s not like I can’t tell what’s going on in Mayday or Gwen’s head, but I still don’t sympathize with them as much.  I don’t care about their struggles as much as I do Peter’s (and Miles in Bendis’ Spider-Man). Why??? It gets added to the list of things to explore someday.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Nice

Amazing Spider-Man Annual 15

I clearly bought this for the art, with Frank Miller and Klaus Janson taking a break from their Daredevil chores to draw this Spidey/Punisher/Doctor Octopus (?!?) slugfest.  Seriously, Doc Ock? Such an odd matchup for the Punisher. The story by Dennis O’Neil is fine. His dialogue actually reads a lot like Miller’s, I would have been fooled if you’d told me Miller had written it.  

O'Neil's dialog.

Miller's.  In this case, there's something similar about the rhythm of talking over the guy in the background.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Fine

Spider-Man Unlimited 12

I bought this to support Tom Beland, who wrote the second story in this anthology (of two).  

There’s nothing memorable about the first tale, by Christos Gage.  Spider-Man fights Stilt-Man then tries to help Big Wheel turn a new leaf.  (Big Wheel finds his proper place in the world on the monster truck circuit, by the way.)   

Beland’s story fares far better.  It eschews any kind of fighting, and focuses on the importance of inspiration and education in children’s lives.  Peter Parker calls on his fellow heroes to assist him in ensuring that one of his students doesn’t head down the wrong path after his parents are murdered.  

All they do is talk to the kid.  And it makes all the difference. Peter is stunned by the generosity and emotional honesty that all of his friends exhibit, and Beland successfully transfers that awe to me as well.  By emphasizing the humanity of the Marvel superheroes, Beland crafted a touching Spider-Man short story.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Nice