Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane 16-20

The switch from Takeshi Miyazawa to new artist David Hahn is really jarring.  He’s not bad, and while his American manga style makes sense for the title theoretically, it never really clicks for me.  

The story’s fine, introducing Firestar into the Spidey romance mix.  McKeever ends this run the way he did the tenth issue, with MJ on the brink of finally taking her shot with Peter…

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good 

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane 1-5

...which she does in my head canon, because the follow up by Terry Moore and Craig Rousseau is surprisingly dreck.  You’d think Moore would excel at this kind of romance/drama, but he really screws it up.  He tries too hard to make these kids sound like teenagers, in stark contrast to Sean McKeever’s effortless dialogue.  Plus, the relationships between these friends now feel stagnant, the perils of an ongoing series where real change is hard to pull off.  McKeever got out at the right time, if he was never going to be allowed to have MJ and Peter get together.

Also, he’s truly a singular artist of the highest caliber, but Moore does not draw a good Mary Jane. She looks different on all of his covers, and in none of them does she have the glamour-while-still-the-girl-next-door look she's known for.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Didn’t suck (Cutting)

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane 1-15

For a comic that’s mostly dialogue and narration, with very little action, this story flies.  It’s taking me three to four minutes to read each issue, while the average time per issue for this project is almost seven.  (Yes, I’m keeping track…)

It’s entirely a credit to the creative skills of Sean McKeever and his art partner Takeshi Miyazawa that Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane is such a compelling page turner.  I originally meant to stop reading with issue ten today, but had no choice but to read the next collection with the cliffhanger they left me with.  (God, I used 'but' and 'with' twice in the same phrase. Write much?)

It’s not like there’s anything revolutionary that they’re adding to the high school romance genre, just that their execution is practically perfect.  I care about MJ and Peter, and even though Liz, Flash, and Harry are more annoying than entertaining, they play their required roles well.  

And then there’s Gwen Stacy.  There’s just something about her and MJ.  Whenever the second one to be introduced in a new Spider-Man story shows up, it’s almost always to provide a conflict with the first.  It’s a testament to these wonderful characters that Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and John Romita Sr have created, that I love them both and want both to “win,” however that’s defined.  They’re Betty and Veronica, but with a lot more character.  (The Mark Waid run excepted.)  

And with that, the series really gets started.

Perfect expression on MJ's face.

She can be annoying, but she's also the funniest part of this series.

It's Summer, Anna, and Seth Cohen all over again.  (Actually, just a year later.)

Ooch.  Funny not funny.

Anyway, this has been a blast, but it’s about time for MJ and Peter to get together now.  This is still MJ’s book, and I don’t know how many more obstacles McKeever can throw between them before it starts to feel contrived.  I think there are 10 issues to go, let’s see what he does…

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Silver Surfer, Spider-Man, Mary Jane

Silver Surfer 13-14

I remember reading this whole Dan Slott/Mike & Laura Allred collaboration at a Barnes & Noble.  I remember enjoying it, but only bought the last two issues of the run for my collection.

Reading them again, I’m strongly tempted to get the rest of the trades, but I’m going to trust past me’s judgment and avoid the trap.  If I thought it was good enough, I would have purchased it back then.

That said, this is a beautiful, lovely story.  A time-travelling romance that spans the lifetime of this universe and part of the one that came before.  Mike Allred doesn’t always do it for me, but when he’s matched with a story like this, he’s the absolutely perfect choice.  This is fun and poignant and trippy and wonderful.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Really good

Spider-Man 1-3

My initial assessment stands - This went from really promising to complete trainwreck in such a short span of time.  Cadaverous is a horrible villain who I’m sure will turn out to be someone we know in the act three twist.  Peter Parker’s the worst parent here, his emotional neglect of Ben is downright abominable, even if it’s driven by understandable fear and crushing tragedy.  

I rarely give up on a miniseries when I’m over halfway through (see Shang-Chi for a recent example), but this was just too unfun to continue.  (It’s Sara Pichelli’s sweet art that gives this such a relatively high rating.)

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Mary Jane 1-4

Mary Jane: Homecoming 1-4

Sean McKeever writes the Spider-Man movies that I want - High school drama where the stakes don’t rise above “does he like me?” and “will she go to the dance with me?”  Throw in just a smattering of superheroes and you’ve got the perfect MCU teenybopper film.  Put Tom Holland and Zendaya in it, and it’s a guaranteed hit.

He just blows in and out of her life.

Heh, "nice dress."

Anyway, this is as good as I remember, even if this is the first time I’m revisiting it.  Even more impressive is that McKeever’s accomplished this without Peter Parker, who only appears in a handful of pages over the first eight issues.  It’s Liz Allen, Flash Thompson, and Harry Osborn who pull the main supporting role duties.  

Looking forward to reading the rest of this.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Secret Avengers, Shang-Chi

Secret Avengers 6-12

I thought that introducing Shang-Chi to the mix and getting off of Mars would give Ed Brubaker a chance to reset and get back on track.  Also, Mike Deodato drawing awesome martial arts battles sounded like a no-brainer.  

Alas, no.  More mystical BS as the Shadow Council tries to bring Shang-Chi’s father back to life.  And on top of that, Deodato doesn’t have his usual stuff here.  

And apparently Shang-Chi is sexist as well.

And final insult to injury, Brubaker spends two whole issues on a John Steele flashback.  Who’s John Steele?  Good question, I have no idea.  Some super-soldier from the past whom I’ve already forgotten.  Sigh.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Shang-Chi 1-5

By coincidence, this series that comes nine years after that Secret Avengers story is almost a direct sequel, referencing both the death of Shang-Chi’s father (again), and the Eyes of the Dragon, the MacGuffin.  

I really wanted this to be better than it was.  I had high hopes for writer Gene Luen Yang, but this is the equivalent of the generic, grainy 70’s kung fu flick that’s indistinguishable from the hundreds of other ones out there.  

I can't not read this with Adam Driver's voice:

Best moment from the comics.

Still looking for that killer Shang-Chi comic, ‘cause I’d read the crap out of it.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Secret Avengers

Secret Avengers 1-5

Ed Brubaker and Mike Deodato.  At least Deodato came to play:

Yeah, "heavenly realm" isn't any cleaner.

On the other hand, the cosmic Serpent Crown crap on Mars is horrible.  None of it is interesting.  I’d cut this if it weren’t for the art.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

The Harder They Fall

The Harder They Fall

I don’t watch many westerns, but this is everything that I want in one.  Amazing gunfights, showdowns, crazy emotional twist at the end (which should have been obvious to me but wasn’t).  

It’s a great thing when every actor here is an all-star, even the ones that I don’t recognize.  The cast is perfect, and it gives me hope that Jonathan Majors isn’t going to shit the bed as Kang.  (God, I hope he changes his acting choices after that episode of Loki…)  Idris Elba is his usual awesome self, as is Regina King.  Zazie Baetz is two for two in my book after Deadpool 2.  And this time I got major Zendaya vibes from her, which is only good since Zendaya is the greatest person in the world.  

I need to watch this again.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: Yes

Would buy on DVD: Yes

Rating: Good

Runaways, New comics

New comics

Death of Doctor Strange 3

A perfectly acceptable miniseries so far.  Pot committed, going to finish it out.

Runaways 32-38

The series ends on rather muted terms, even though the team is completely shaken up - Karolina flies back to her alien kingdom, Chase gets kidnapped by future Gert, Nico ditches her staff.  (Though I’m pretty sure they established in the past that it automatically gets sucked back into her after a certain amount of time.)  And Alex shows back up.  (Sigh.)  Overall, Rainbow Rowell did an excellent job with this beloved group of characters.  Kudos to Kris Anka and Andres Genolet for the perfect art to match.

Of course Doombot drapes his coat over his shoulders.

Great visual storytelling by Genolet.  Poor Wolverine.

Poor Old Lace.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good