AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #612
- Writer: Mark Waid/Joe Kelly
- Penciler: Paul Azaceta/JM Ken Nimura
- Inker: Paul Azaceta/JM Ken Nimura
- Story Title: Power to the People Part 1/The Other Woman
“Power to the People Part 1”
Plot
Max Dillon’s not happy. Bailout for the DB. Wall Street showdown. Electro: Hero of the People.
The Commentary
I’m kind of torn about this issue.
(I also have a Glenn Campbell song stuck in my head now. I mean I actually like that song, but still.)
On one hand I want to applaud the solid writing of this issue after being rather disappointed with the last few months of this title. Waid is one of my favorite writers and while I didn’t care a whole lot for the last issue he wrote this one had me from the first page. There was a lot of depth to the characterization. We saw exactly why Dillon felt the way he did and Waid did such a good job I bought into what Dillon was saying. The concept of the public being against Spider-Man because he is fighting the man they see as a hero is valid and a really great twist on the usual, “We hate Spidey” plot point. I dug what was going on. A lot.
On the other hand I usually get uncomfortable when I read “torn from the headline” stories. I waffle between thinking that a writer should be able to write about anything that inspires them and wanting the comics I read to be escapist entertainment. I hate that I go back and forth on this because there are stories that deal with real world issues that I find compelling and really enjoy and in other cases I’m like, “Man, I just wanted to read about Spider-Man fighting one of his bad guys.”
Sigh. I am such a moody S.O.B.
I guess the main “problem” with this issue is that I agreed with a lot of what the bad guy had to say in this issue. At the risk of having the comments section explode yet again I admit that I am also upset that the government is using tax dollars to bail out businesses. I understand both sides of the issue, but I’m kind of a simple soul and it kind of upsets me that the money I put into the system is saving people that through greed or ineptness or both messed up the big corporations they were working for or owned. Seems kind of unfair but that’s me and how I feel. So while I agreed with Dillon’s position, to a certain extent, I think that maybe the issue was dealt in a heavy handed manner. Waid seems to kind of shove the issue down our throats. It makes for a compelling read but at the same time it was a little too “real” if you catch my meaning.
Waid may have gone a little too far, is what I am saying. This is a truly emotional reaction and I really can’t back it up with examples. It’s just how I feel.
Parting Thoughts
A good story overall despite my reservations. The first part of The Gauntlet definitely has my attention, which I wasn’t expecting at all. For the first time in months I am looking forward to the next issue though this is a very cautious looking forward to.
Wait. I nearly forgot.
Peter was n’t drunk at the wedding?
Seriously?
He just thought he was drunk?
Really?
So Peter doesn’t have drunken hook-ups, he’s just an idiot.
Great. I feel much better about the situation because now it seems Michelle tricked Peter into thinking he was drunk to sleep with him.
Or did they not have the drunken hook-up now? Was this just a trick played on Peter by Michelle?
God I hate what writers keep doing with this sub-plot.
“The Other Woman”
Again the art kills a story for me.
It’s kind of odd that for two stories in a row Joe Kelly has crafted a tale that I care little to nothing about and it is drawn by someone that has a style I absolutely cannot stand. The point of this story seemed to be that Peter is having doubts about his arrangement with the Black Cat, she tells him not to and he meets a woman he’s attracted to.
This was a back-up story and it felt like one.
I mean the scene with Felicia and the woman that was attacked was nice but it was too little too late.
In any case the art did noth ing for me. I am not a of manga/anime/whatever the hell this style was. I really don’t want to go in it anymore because it will just end in me spitting a lot of bile.
In any case, a good main story and a mediocre back-up.
Not bad, all things considered.
3 out of 5 Webheads
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I can’t stand Ebay! They have way too many charges. Ran me out of business. When they first opened, I earned $20,000 a month with them. Now, fees are so high, I try to sell on free listing auction sites now like GoodForge.com and some of the other freebies. Ebay lost my products forever!
Well…I really liked the Electro story. Interesting twist of the “people hate Spidey” syndrome. But the “drunken” sub-plot…You see, something really didn’t fit. I mean – we all know Spidey has been juiced before, gee, he even fought the motherfriggin’ Hobgoblin, when he was drunk (Web of Spider-Man #38 – otherwise stupid story, BTW), so he DEFINITELY should know, when he is or isn’t drunk.
I mean – I was ready to accept it as Pete’s misstep/screw up and move on. He always screws something up, right? But what do we have now? Michelle: first yells at Peter, because he’s eating her food and waltzing ’round the appartment naked, then she suddenly starts to be friendly, then swaps Pete’s drink for non-alcoholic beverages, then misuses his NERVES (from seeing an ex-gf) to make him act goofy and giddy, then seduces him in his “drunkness”, sleeps with him…Then, when he thinks he has a hangover (gee, it’s just so stupid, now I’m summarizing it) and thinks he doesn’t remember anything (stupider yet) (BTW – he was so “drunk” he couldn’t remember where and when was he supposed to meet MJ? Gee…), well, THEN she starts acting like a friggin’ maniac, pulling out a gun, then she lets HERSELF to be seduced (by Chameleon, but she doesn’t know that – my head hurts), and then after a “breakup” she starts acting like a maniac again, even crashing Pete’s stuff and so on. This seems like Pete lives with somebody, who is VERY seriously mentally ill.
Either Wacker has really bad experience with women or he hasn’t bothered to read the issues at all.
I mean – I can enjoy a slight share of misogyny pretty much as the next guy, but everything has to have limits.
I didn’t really care for the back-up story. Boring and awful art.
Am I the only person who actually liked the Joe Kelly back up story?\ I thought it was excellent actually. Read through it at least 3 times. I may be biased because I’m a manga fan, although to be fair I think Nimura has his own thing going on and cant say I’ve ever seen a style quite like his in manga. I’m also of Kelly and Nimura’s “I Kill Giants” ( which is awesome. you should all pick it up). I was excited to see them work together again and see Nimura get some mainstream exposure.
It’s so sad to see Bailey cheering on the ASM book when he first took over these reviews, then watch as he slowly becomes revolted with these storylines. Sad indeed.
I totally agree about the writing MB, but the art in this issue irritated the hell out of me!!! Terrible art. And I stopped reading the backstory less than halfway in. I feel cheated out of my 3.99.
this issue was medocre at best
Oh for the love of…
So now they go back on Peter being drunk and have him just give in to his depression over seeing MJ? And MJ let this happen? Didnt stop to wonder if Peter was down?
I am beyoned tired of Marvel treating it’s characters, even ones that have potential like Michelle, characters they created to champion the most ABYSMAL era of Spider-Man in years, like idiots. There doing this to their own creations…and why? Are they that bored? Are they that boxed in?
And if Wacker said Peter was drunk after one sip, yet now it turns out it’s just emotional dissarray…well done for lying to your customers and getting them to waste their money.
Dude, you can’t blame a company for making money. If the variants didn’t sell they wouldn’t make them.
Good review, haven’t read the issue yet, and I won’t till I buy them cheap off ebay. My main reason, is I wrote Marvel (actual snail mail) and told them enough with the variant covers. I gave them till 2010 to stop putting them out, or I’ll stop buying issues from them. I can’t walk into a comic shop or trade show without being totally confused as to what cover is what? this whole variant thing to me is worse than the whole die cut, solid gold, bagged/cards, blah blah that killed the comic shops in the 90s. In 20 years I won’t be able to look back to these issues with any cover recognition…it’s rather stupid and annoying. I’ll keep my run complete with buying the issues thru ebay in a year or two. But I’ll just buy whatever variant/cover that is the cheapest at that time. Thanks for nothing Marvel
Sam (Marvel Zombie since the the early 70s)
Great job posting the variant covers. I added the black cat one too.
@Spider-Girl: I think it was primarily because it was the kick-off of the Gauntlet storyline. If you notice, each time another classic Spidey villain gets a story as part of this “mini-event” they get their own variant. Of course, the issue with the Rhino coming out in January is going to have THREE VARIANTS in addition to the regular cover. Utterly ridiculous and an obvious money grab, if you ask me.
As for the review, I felt pretty much the same way. The whole revelation that Peter wasn’t actually drunk at the wedding (or, at least according to Steve Wacker, he got drunk off one glass of champagne, which means he has the worst metabolism in the history of mankind despite having powers which include self-healing) was an unnecessary addition to the whole “drunken hook-up,” took you out of what was otherwise a pretty good Electro story, made Michelle look even worse than she did before (if such a thing were possible at this point) and pretty much proved the braintrust/webhead never should have bothered with this whole subplot to begin with.
Why is this issue so special as to have multiple variants? Is it just because of Electro?