Man, what to even say first? I guess the obvious is please welcome back to the blog, The GOAT, John Romita, Jr.! Much like Too $hort, he just can’t stay away (I wonder if I did that reference before). And he’s got Klaus Janson and Dean White riding along with him, so this is gonna be a good lookin’ story. Look at that cover, look at White’s painterly approach. Totally unique in comics coloring at the time, and very cool. Here’s another surprising thing about it: It’s 6 issues long. Like a proper story of its time! And here’s another surprising thing about it: I’ve read it before! some 23 issues later, a comic I’ve actually read. This storyline got a lot of buzz. And it brought back my favorite contemporary artist. And it had an interesting name. Not that that was enough to get me to buy the issues, of course, but I was at least aware of it, which is more than I can say for anything else going on at the time. But then, one day, I got this random catalog in the mail from some comics retailer. I don’t know why. They were selling trades super cheap, including New Ways To Die. So I thought, hey, why not? Did I like it? No. Will I like it this time? I don’t know… let’s see. We begin with a wholly unnecessary recap of Spider-Man’s origin. Page one is AF 15, then a collage of friends & foes, then a few panels showing him fighting Electro and explaining how he sold photos of himself to JJJ. This ends with him saying “that was then…”
Including that bookie in his list of foes is so funny. “All these dangerous enemies like… a guy who takes bets in a bar!” Note that he didn’t name Ana Kravinoff. Maybe no one bothered to decide what she was called yet.
Menace still sucks, but getting a Romita to draw him lends him an instant air of legitimacy. Every single artist who draws that stupid glider has to make up their own version due to LaRocca’s being inconsistent and fakey all the time. Oh, hey, that’s right, LaRocca’s on Iron Man now, I probably don’t have to worry about him coming back. This book needs regular artists! People still care(d) about that! These days, it’s understood that your modern comics artist does way too much noodling to produce 12 issues a year. Some can’t do 6. So most titles have a “main” artist and a “secondary” artist. At least. I would think ASM should’ve had 4-6 regulars instead of just Phil Jimenez and whoever picked up the phone this week. But I guess that’s just me.
Menace’s dialogue sure is corny. Under other writers, I would take it as a sign that the person in the suit was doing their idea of what a villain would sound like, but with some of the jokers writing ASM right now, I think it’s just how they think he should talk. Seems to have traded the axe he never uses for a gun, also.
Maaaan, look. You know this is really a John Romita, Jr. fan blog. And obviously, it’s great to see him doing his thing again. But this team… Klaus Janson has always given Romita a grit and a ragged edge that suits his work to a “T.” And Dean White is only amplifying that grit. Look at those buildings! Look what white does with the negative space in panels 2 and 3! This is the dream team for me. Dean White rapidly becomes my favorite colorist of this period and beyond. He seems to have largely gotten out of the industry at this point, and it’s a shame. I’m already on a tangent, but here’s another one: Marvel loves to take old 60s and 70s art and recolor it for collections and things, using modern personnel and techniques. And it looks awful. Always, always always. Adding that Photoshop modeling and texturing and gradients to art meant to be flat makes it look weird and terrible. It’s not a matter of the colorists’ talent, it’s a matter of making the wrong choice. And that goes for everybody except Dean White. White’s organic, painterly colors applied to Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko actually looks awesome. The difference is stark, every time. Ok, ok. Tangent over. I’m just excited for 6 issues of this art team. I don’t even care what the story is. Uh, well, anyway, Slott having Spidey list even the most obscure goblins before segueing into comedy ones is fun. I had to think about there being 4 Green ones for a minute. I don’t know if Spider-Man actually fought Phil Urich Green Goblin, but he did exist, at least. Anyway, anyway, while Spidey has been quipping away, Menace has been laying a trap for him. All those balls he’s been throwing are embedding in the wall, in a circle, and Menace suddenly produces a detonator.
It’s Menace’s first actually cool supervillain moment, guys. I wasn’t sure one would even happen. Menace flies away laughing in the traditional Goblin manner, and then Spider-Man forces his way out of the rubble, only for onlookers to be scared of him for being a serial killer. Meanwhile, a huge group of people comes running out of the damaged building, all Asian, clearly fleeing before the police arrive. Spidey, curious, snaps a picture for later, then runs away himself.
I mean the characters just look like themselves when Romita, Jr. draws them. He’s been drawing them since the early 80s. And his art may have changed a lot, but they still look like themselves. And he hasn’t gotten to draw Harry in ages! And I’m so happy to see Robbie & Ben. Look. Fan blog. It’s free, you gotta bear with me. I had forgotten Frontline was a rival paper of its own. Our gang compare notes about what Peter saw, which certainly indicated the building that collapsed housed an illegal sweatshop, with Sally Floyd, crusading reporter from those Frontline tie-in comics, who says she’s discovered the owner of that building is mayoral candidate Randall Crowne. Seems like bad news for him! Cut to Crowne furious about this when the story is published, talking to a shadowy associate. That shadowy associate is an old friend who’s currently “mr. law & order,” who we’re told the public can’t get enough of. He says he’ll bring his group in for some quid pro quo. And that old pal is…
I my addled and aging brain, this story happened after Osborn shot Veranke, so I thought I had to read it after Secret Invasion. Whoops. He’s just boss of the Thunderbolts. This goofy exercise of a bunch of unrepentably mass murderers slicing up mannequins is cut short as goons come in and tell everyone Osborn’s ordered them to New York. Meanwhile, at the DB!, Dexter Bennett is furious that Front Line is smearing his buddy Crowne with, you know, facts, so he tells Betty Brant they’re going to run scandal material about Bill Hollister’s pal, Martin Li.
I may not always (often) be having a good time with this era, but I really do appreciate how densely packed with characters it is. We went so long with the entire cast of the book being Peter and May, then Peter, May and MJ, then usually just Peter and MJ. Spider-Man really is at its best when it’s got as many normal people as possible in it, good, bad and indifferent. I still really question their choice to reveal Martin Li as Mr. Negative so soon, tho, and submit he would’ve been an infinitely better shock reveal than “Who’s under yet another goblin mask?” They could’ve even set up a red herring where people thought Mr. Negative had beef with Li. Shamefully, almost no Asian people ever appeared in comics even as recently as 2008, the one new Asian guy in the supporting cast having a bad history with the new Asian villain would’ve been an easy sell (Like Phil Chang and the White Dragon back in ASM 184), and then they coulda pulled the carpet out from under you. They should’ve called me. Well, anyway, look, it’s Eddie Brock! Still not dead! what’s his deal?
Martin Li knowing Matt Murdock seems wrong. Matt getting Eddie off for Venom’s crimes doesn’t sit too well, either, but then, it didn’t sit well back in Trial of Venom, either, so it’s consistently bad, at least. It’s been so long since this series was routinely giving me old issues to reference!
Maybe need to call him Mr. Positive for helping all these people, amiright? At that moment, Peter Parker and Ben Urich have just gotten out of a cab, and it’s official, Peter works for Front Line now. That’s nice. Ben heads for his place as Peter goes into his own, thinking he’s happy about his new gig, when his Spider-Sense goes off at his front door. Kinda reminds one of when Harry blew up their old apartment, but this time it’s because the apartment is full of Thunderbolts goons. Our man dodges and quips until he remembers he can’t be this good against armed thugs and lets them get ahold of him, rough him up a bit, and drag him to to their leader.
Uh-oh! Vin’s never gonna forgive Peter for this one. But that’s not all, True Believer! This one’s got a backup story by the surprising team of Mark Waid and Adi Granov. By this point, Granov has worked on the Iron Man movie, is integrated into the Marvel Studios concept art machine, and rarely paints anything but covers for comics. So that’s weird. Let’s see what we got.
By now the Sam Raimi movies have turned Osborn Industries into Oscorp in the comics.
Feels unlikely that Eddie never sees his face in a mirror. Especially separated from his other. Next, we see Eddie going to FEAST and meeting Martin and Aunt May and starting to work there, and… Well, ok. So Peter’s secret is a secret again. Even from Brock, I do believe. So, then… does he remember going to Aunt May’s house to tell Peter they had to fight in ASM 317? Why does he think he was there? What does he know? Does he hate both Peter and Spider-Man and not remember why? Peter had nothing to do with the Sin-Eater fiasco. Does the symbiote not remember? Messy, messy, messy. Eddie thinks there’s only one thing he doesn’t like about his new gig:
Getcher motor runnin’… Eddie fantasizes about Venom killing that guy for a page, then comes to his senses having actually beaten the crap out of him.
He goes to his doctor, thinking he just wants to be put out of his misery.
Well. That seems both good and bad for Mr. Brock. Are all these going to have backup stories? Were they in the trade I had? I think I still have it. I’m not sure, actually. I do still have it, and the Waid/Granov joint is in there. I just forgot it. As usual around here. Well. this opening salvo was pretty solid, in truth. We’ll see how the rest goes.