Frank Cho is a shrewd choice of a fill-in guy for the Dodsons. Definitely some commonality there. I personally think Cho’s stuff is completely devoid of energy most of the time, just dead on the page, noodled to bits, but there’s certainly stylistic similarities. Also Terry Dodson actually cares about deadlines and isn’t, to my knowledge, an embarrassing man-baby. Well, if you thought the Venom situation in Jenkins’ story was bad, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. We begin at the airport, where someone is holding up a sign that says “Venom.”
Eddie Brock has always had a pretty well-defined personality. Jenkins made up his own. Now Millar does, too. Elsewhere, Peter Parker’s narration is explaining what his Spider Sense is, and it’s just completely not correct, saying it’s a part of him that’s always on, even when he’s asleep, so that even tho he’s passed out right now, he knows Mary Jane is opening an envelope and it’s upset her. Congrats, buddy, that’s the worst anyone’s ever done it. He wakes up screaming her name.
It’s actually a really interesting thing, comparing Cho to Dodson. Terry Dodson is known to draw very buxom, sexy ladies. That’s part of his thing, it’s what people hire him to do. And yet, compare his MJs and Black Cats to just 2 pages of Cho’s. Cho is also known for drawing buxom, sexy ladies. But this is totally different. Their breasts are cartoonishly huge. They have dead, lifeless faces, Cho more concerned with giving them model faces than facial expressions. His stuff is inferior by a mile in the same category. Anyway, Peter is informed that JJJ has begun a contest, offering a reward for Spider-Man’s secret, because no one can tell who he is in the photo. Which is an absolute cheat after the end of last issue, but what do you want, to be treated with respect as a reader? Wrong author. Felicia leaves and Peter worries that MJ thinks he has more in common with Felicia.
Their conversation is interrupted by a phone call, a bill collector wanting to know why they quit paying their credit card bill. Peter says the bank pays it automatically, but is told they’ve been denying payment for insufficient funds. When he hangs up, a MJ drawn with a tear rolling down her otherwise emotionless face says they have to talk.
Man, this is a parallel reality. MJ is giving up on movies in one book and just got “the big part” in another. And she may have made less money last year from being kidnapped for a long time, just a hunch! And I still have no idea why May is moving into the city.
Next page, Spider-Man’s swinging through and even less convincing in-motion panel and thinking about his problems as a little kid sings a homophobic song about him down on the street, yay. A guy flags him down to pick up his car so he can change a tire, and Spider-Man helps. But then… Doc Ock just walks by on his robo legs. He doesn’t stop, he doesn’t seem to see Spider-Man, just strolls by. Spider-Man wants to go after him, and flips this poor man’s car out of frustration. What a jerk.
Oh no, Glenn Danzig has stolen Doc Ock’s arms! While I knew of Ock’s terrible new look, this was my first comic it sort of appeared in. Well, something’s wrong with the Doc, and it seems his arms are on a rampage while he’s checked out. Spider-Man is able to beat him up pretty easily since he’s not really awake, but he makes Ock fall down and slice a bus in half in the process. Really not a benefit to his community today.
Frank Cho draws a very old school Spider-Man (Even when he’s drawing Ultimate Spider-Man, because he’s not a very serious artist). This is going to become surprisingly common soon. A lot of people are going to be shaking off the McFarlane of it all. For a bit. Anway, it turns out this small army of SWAT guys are just here to collect the reward for Spider-Man’s identity.
ACAB, amirite?