Amazing Spider-Man #1 Printing Damage!

Considering the very high cost I paid for the latest and greatest version of the Amazing Spider-Man #1 (V3 2014) I am disappointed.  If I have to pay $5.99 for a comic book I assume the paper quality will be better than a regular issue, heavier paper and maybe even glossy paper.  Unfortunately this new number one comic book was printed on low quality paper and every single copy I found had been damaged during printing / shipping.  I actually went to more than one comic book store looking to see if the problem with the comic was specific to my regular comic book shop or not.  This damage may also have something to do with the issue having more pages than is the norm.  But in the end Marvel Comics made a bad choice when printing this comic and it shows.  The book arrived at stores damaged.  The paper feels weird when you hold the comic.  The artwork does not look good with this choice of paper.  I am very disappointed and I have yet to actually read the stories contained in this comic.  I just do not get it this comic was important and heavily promoted the least that the publisher could have done was to put some effort into making for a nice presentation.  It is not like price was going to be a problem as I already see this comic selling for above cover price.

Now that Rant is out of my system time to go read some Spider-Man!

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #1

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #1 – This comic was actually better than I expected.  So far my exposure to the updated Spider-Man has been subpar as this is a terrible character.  It was also annoying that the entire conceit of the comic is that Spider-Man is an asshole who goes around beating and nearly killing people.  But with the help of others he saves the day so everything is ok.  It would be nice if the creative team at Marvel Comics was not so bent on destroying Peter Parker and the  Spider-Man character.  I have said this before but it bears repeating it makes me sad that the Comic Book character that helped me got through life as a teen has been destroyed.  I am sad to see this trend continues and really if the creative team wants to stop publishing Spider-Man stories they should just stop.

Morbius the Living Vampire #6

Morbius the Living Vampire #6 was disappointing.  Having Spider-Man show up should be great as him and Morbius have history.  Unfortunately we get the lame assed girlfriend beating bystander murdering Superior Spider-Man.  So when the new villain shows up she / he kicks Spder-Man’s rear.  We expect Morbius to get beat up as that is how this comic has been going.  But as for the Superior Spider-Man?  Let us just say he was lacking in the Superior aspect of his name.  It all winds up with a meeting between the super science villain and the Rose.  Why people would be surprised they had something bigger planned is beyond me.

Deadpool #10!

Deadpool #10 was rather amusing; but first the sad part with the Necromancer and Ben Franklin leaving the group because they could.  The next guy Deadpool is to kill turns out to be some guy also being chased by Spider-Man.  So of course we get a bunch of Spider-Man’s second rate villains to fight.  There is a big fight with the Taskmaster, Lady Stilt Man (is that really her name?), Paste Pot Pete and the Leaper.  With a team like that you know they are going down quick.  There were some good jokes in this issue and I was amused when Deadpool manages to steal a web shooter.   This comic reminded me how much I dislike the “New Superior Spider-Man” just such a terrible character and insult to Spider-Man fans everywhere.  But despite that problem this was a good comic none the less.

Age of Ultron #4

Age of Ultron Book Four was interesting.  The Luke Cage and She-Hulk plan failed badly with the She-Hulk throwing Luke Cage out of the building hoping he would get what they learned about Ultron to the other heroes.  The other survivors made their way to the Savage Lands.  The Red Hulk and Taskmaster disagreed and the Red Hulk kills the Taskmaster and then the Red Hulk exits Chicago.  The Moon Knight and Black Widow were hiding in a Nick Furry bolt hole and found that Nick Furry had a plan for when Ultron took over the world or at the very least the end of the world.  When the group of Heroes from the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier reaches the Savage Lands they find that the Savage Lands had also been attacked by Ultron and as in other parts of the world there were survivors; they also find the remains of an Avengers Quinjet.  Almost immediately they meet up with Ka-Zar: Lord of the Savage Lands who leads them to his village.  Here they find a dying Luke Cage whom relays the information from when the She-Hulk and he met with the Vision.  It turns out that Ultron is attacking the world from the future and that is why no one has been able to find where Ultron was hiding.   With that information provided the three groups of heroes meet up with the Red Hulk, Moon Knight and Black Widow make themselves known.  It is now time to go get Ultron the Black Widow says.

Deadpool #7!!!

Deadpool #7 was entertaining.  This issue was supposedly a comic that had been finished but not been published in the past for whatever reason.  In this issue Deadpool is hired to make Tony Stark aka Iron Man drink.  The story starts out simply enough in the Daily Bugle with Peter Parker admitting to everyone he was Spider-Man during a pitch meeting.  Everyone ignores Peter and sends him off to get more pictures of Spider-Man.  He meets Flash Thompson who has parked in a Handicap spot and then Deadpool steal the car. Deadpool almost runs down the Power Pack but only promises them that their comic book was already doomed.  Deadpool is then met by an agent of the devil who wants Tony Stark to take a drink; they debate contract conditions until Deadpool agrees in exchange for ownership of a Laser Disc factory.  There then were some entertaining events and Deadpool knocks out Tony Stark, takes the Iron Man armor and saves the day.  Things end badly for the demon working for Mephisto and Cable arrives asking for Deadpool’s help.  This issue was good and from some of the quips not some long lost issue but a clever and entertaining story.

Age of Ultron #3!!

Age of Ultron #3 was good.  This issue moved the story along as the Heroes have finally set on a plan.  She-Hulk and Luke Cage are going to try and infiltrate Ultron’s Headquarters and try to learn something about what Ultron wants and why there are survivors.  That plan has Luke Cage “Selling” or trading She-Hulk to Ultron.  They got the idea from Hammerhead and the Owl who until killed claimed to have bought safety from Ultron by trading (selling) it Heroes.  We then cut to Chicago where we see the Red Hulk, the Taskmaster and Black Panther trying to capture part of an Ultron Unit to examine.  This gives us a chance to see the Red Hulk have a big fight trying to buy time for the others to escape, unfortunately the Black Panther dies; it appears that the Taskmaster does escape.  We then return to Luke Cage and She-Hulk whom are brought to see not Ultron but The Vision (dun dun dun… cue dramatic music).  This issue was a great improvement over issue two as something happened. 

Superior Spider-Man #6AU

The Superior Spider-Man #6AU (Age of Ultron) was interesting.  I am still not a fan of the Superior Spider-Man and could rant about how evil the people whom allowed Doctor Octopus to kill Peter Parker and replace Parker’s mind with his own.  This story starts right at the start of events in Age of Ultron #3 before the She-Hulk and Luke Cage plan can start.  Spider-Man is plotting a way to escape from his helpers and destroy Ultron on his own.  Tony Stark (Iron Man) tells Spider-Man that the Horizon Labs survived and Tony had a way to destroy Ultron if he could get a hold of some tech from the labs.  Spider-Man agreed to help but as soon as Quicksilver dropped him off Spider-Man betrayed the other survivors and tried to take down Ultron on his own using his own robot control powers.  Spider-Man almost succeeds but was tricked into a false fight and is almost killed.  He attempts to carry out Tony Stark’s plan but fails at that as well.  Spider-Man barely escapes and returns to give the bad news to the other remaining Heroes.  The story ends with Doctor Octopus realizing how good it is to have friends (queue the G.I. Joe “And knowing is half the Battle” music) just as the She-Hulk and Luke Cage are getting ready for their mission.

Age of Ultron #2 !!!

Age of Ultron #2 was just a long and uninformative monolog by Spider-Man.  We got to see the Black Widow and Moon Knight in the ruins of San Francisco but that was just more set up of the main story.  We do get to see Moon Knight kill a guy that looks a lot like Paul Giamatti before the guy could steal from the Black Widow.   This issue seemed to just be a holding spot and stalling until Captain America finally says something.  The cover art is completely and totally false and misleading.

Age of Ultron!!

Age of Ultron Book One was good.  It was better than I expected or hoped.  The art is really good thanks to Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary and Paul Mounts.  I am a bit disappointed that the story begins mid disaster or post disaster which was Ultron taking over the world or at least Manhattan.  The world is in a post-apocalyptic state with Manhattan under what appears to be a giant spaceship or building (a dome?).  The action starts with Hawkeye attacking what appears to be a drug den or at least a place with bad guys running the show.  It turns out Hawkeye is trying to save Spider-Man (we do not know which Spider-Man yet) from Hammerhead and the Owl.  During the rescue the action attracts the notice of many Ultrons whom attack the hideout even though there was a deal possibly made between Hammerhead and Ultron that kept those bad guys safe from the big and powerful Ultron.  That deal seems to fail as the Ultrons the building and such explode.  The good guys get away and reach their hideout in the crashed remains of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier where we meet more survivors.  These survivors are not happy that Hawkeye has returned and run tests on Hawkeye and Spider-Man.  They are greeted by Luke Cage and She-Hulk followed by Tony Stark (Iron Man) who runs tests on Hawkeye and Spider-Man to make sure they had not been infected with a tracker of some sort.  We then get a quick look at additional survivors Emma Frost, Wolverine, Sue Storm and finally after some more plot exposition we finally see Captain America whom we are told is devising a plan.  First off Hawkeye?  We just had an end of the world mini-series that followed Hawkeye around while the world burned under the fist of Doctor Doom and the crazy zombie plague known as the Avengers vs. the Marvel Universe.  So we have been there done that with Hawkeye and considering the number of mid power super heroes it seems like Marvel could have gone with a different character to follow.  I was entertained, when at the beginning of the book Hawkeye continues to use his trademark arrows even if he has switched to hand crossbows.   Second the good guys are waiting on the good Captain America for a plan?  Even though they have Tony Stark one of the world’s smartest people available to make plans and fix stuff.  In the end I did enjoy this comic nitpicking aside it was entertaining and a good attempt to draw in the reader.

A + X !!

A+X #4 is still holding to the two stories one book part one is the Beast and Spider-Man and the second story is Captain America and Quentin Quire.  Planet of the Beasts was very good I would go so far as to say it a one of the best stories I have read in a long time.  It was funny and the two smart characters got to sound smart while doing their super thing.  I am sure they both appreciated the chance to not be mocked for having and using their brains.  The whole planet of the beasts was apparently lifted directly from the Planet of the Apes movies.  Spider-man got in some good quips; the storm moved along and ended in a park.  Good Stuff.  The second story is alright but the whole earn each other’s trust is a little old.  I do not even know who Quire is or where he has appeared or where he ends up at the end of the story.  The M.O.G.O.D.! were used well for entertainment and comic relief. 

Amazing Spider-Man 700

Amazing Spider-Man #700

Well that was horrible.  I do not really know what to say beyond that statement.  The Amazing Spider-man ended a 700 issue run with a horrible horrible final issue.  I could go on a long rant about how disrespectful the story was not just to the character history and story but to the fans of Peter Parker the Amazing Spider-Man.  The worst part is this is all some plan so that Marvel Comics and publish another number one comic in a “new” series hoping to duplicate the popularity of the DC Comics new 52.  The problem being many of the New 52 comics were actually good and more than just a reboot.

It makes me sad.