Hello All. I thought it has been awhile since I submitted an editorial, and I thought it would be a good time to do so, since not too long ago, we passed the 6 month mark in the ‘Big Time’ era. Dan Slott launched the new shift in direction in November of 2010 to much fan fare, as was announced at San Diego Comic Con last year. The biggest change, of course, was the fact that Dan Slott would be the person headlining the title after having up to nine writers during the Brand New Day era. This article will give grades out to the first six months of the title in the hands of Brand New Day. I think some will be surprised. Click for more after the jump.
‘Brand New’ Big Time: The First Six Months.
By Zach ‘Spideydude’ Joiner
We’ll first start with the subplots:
Horizon Labs:
When you think of the Big Time, one of the first things that come to mind is Horizon Labs. I think of people who complained that as a component, it is too similar to the ill-fated Spider-Reboot sub-plot known as Tri-Corp. I agreed at the time, but I will say this: It’s so much better because unlike that subplot, there is movement in that storyline. We’ve seen a lot of the team and we still don’t know who is in room 6. It’s a welcome change from the ‘creepy-stalker-loser’ mentality that permeated the Brand New Day story. For far too long, Peter Parker was a loser who couldn’t win. Now, he’s successful. It’s not the first time we’ve seen it, but at least it’s being used effectively, which leads me to my next bit.
GRADE: B. While we’ve seen them on and off, the last 5 issues featured them little.
New Costumes:
The Visuals of the new Costumes are fun, and despite calls for the black and green costume being too close to Tron, it was effective and worked for the story which it was featured. The problem I have is that we’ll probably never see this costume again; much like the Spider-Armor, which again, wasn’t a gimmick, as it was used for story purposes only. The only costume that will be seen again and again is going to be the Spider-Fantastic Costume, which is the only reason that this grade goes from D to a C.
GRADE: C.
Fantastic Four- Err, Future Foundation.
In Fantastic Four 587, Johnny Storm died. In Future Foundation #1 and ASM 657, Peter joins the team, per Johnny’s last will and testament. While it’s an organic and welcome addition to the team, I felt that the story in ASM was merely okay, outside the 657. This is a part of ASM trying to be a part of the larger Marvel Universe, which as it stands is cool, but I feel that this is too early to really give a concrete grade. As such, I’ll give it as straight C.
GRADE: C
Avengers/New Avengers:
This was featured in the first arc (Avengers appeared in 648) and the second arc (New Avengers 652-654) this was largely ignored throughout the JMS run when he joined the team, but it became the supporting cast as time went on. Now, he is on two of the teams, and as such there is a feeling that it’s not Amazing Spider-Man anymore, but Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. Not a huge problem, but it seems that it will be this way until at least November. That’s a problem, because outside one arc, Peter has needed help from at least one of the three teams he’s on. It makes him seem helpless.
GRADE: C-.
The Revamped Villains:
Hobgoblin:
The Roderick Kingsley Hobgoblin we’re to believe to be killed by Phil Urich, who has become much more unstable after previously being the ‘good goblin’. The biggest difference between his Hobgoblin and previous Hobgoblins is that he has the sonic scream that he had in his Green Goblin series, despite it saying in that book that he got that power from his mask.
It certainly started his run in the mask with a bang, and it was effective. We’ve not seen much of the Hobgoblin in the months since, outside of here and there an appearance by Phil Urich himself at the Daily Bugle.
Grade: B.
Spider-Slayers:
Alistair Smythe is back, and he brought a few friends. Smythe is one of those guys who come back around for two things: Jonah and Spidey. He blames the both of them for killing his father, who was driven mad by his quest to build better Spider-Slayers for Jonah. Alistair teams up with someone who has similar motivations, the Scorpion. He revamped him in the suit, and kept Spidey busy while Smythe tried to kill Jonah. It worked, mostly till the end, when Marla Jameson died when Peter took away his own Spider-Sense, in a heroic attempt to save the day.
GRADE: B-
NEW VILLAIN:
Massacre.
When Peter loses his Spider-Sense, he gets shot when a madman starts killing everyone in his way. He was a man who due to a freak accident had a piece of metal stuck in his brain, cutting off the ability to feel emotion. It led to the man wanting to kill, and despite an order by Jamerson to shoot to kill, Spider-Man saves him.
GRADE: B- There’s not enough time to really judge him, in my opinion.
GRADE SO FAR: C+. Three C’s and Two B’s.
So we’ve gone through the nitty-gritty of the run, but what about an overall opinion of the strengths and weakness?
STRENGTHS:
The Run is riddled with things that carried over from the previous run and Carlie Cooper being the prime and shining example. I will admit my bias as a MJ fan. I am not a fan of Carlie. I think she’s a Mary Sue trope that is very thin in terms of character. It was far worse coming in, and we’ve learned more about her, such as she is a roller derby girl. That’s cool and different and unique. We’ve got a long way to go before we learn more about her, but she’s been better written overall since Slott took over full time, dislike aside. Carlie Cooper gets a solid B+ from me, despite that awful scene where she almost got that Goblin tattoo. The overall characterization of the cast is so much better, from Jonah doing something stupid as Mayor, driven by emotion, he want the death penalty for super-villains. (He wants this despite the real world New York State outlawing it.) Robbie is very much the man he always is, Norah Winters is pretty consistent, and they toned back the racist overtones that brought down her character, which is a good thing.
With one man being the person headlining the run, there is not as much inconsistent moments. That hurt the Brand New Day story for 100 issues, because there were too many cooks in the kitchen. Despite that, we’ve seen Van Lente come in and script a couple of issues over Slott’s plot. Despite people whining, this isn’t anything new. I’m fairly certain that DeFalco would script over Stern plots at times and vice versa. I do know that DeFalco would plot issues of Spectacular Spider-Man and Todd DeZago would script in the mid 1990s during the Clone Saga. Overall, only one story I didn’t like. This gets a huge A from me with one person.
I’ll say it now: when it comes to the artwork of the 6 months, it’s been fanfreakingtastic. Humberto Ramos isn’t normally my cup of tea, but he’s brought his A game to this title and it’s a welcome sight. Stefano Caselli is a new addition to the artist ranks, and he’s far and away my favorite of the three main artists. His work on ‘Fantastic Voyage’ and ‘Return of the Spider-Slayers’ was great work, and his work on the details, in particular the faces that he drew have a huge range of emotions and it’s very good line work overall. Paulo Rivera is the artist that is known for being the closest to Ditko since the early days of Ron Frenz. He’s known for his odd angles and the most experimental of the three artists. None of them are bad artists and they all fit the title well. This gets an A+. Even the fill in artists have been good, from the back up artists, to the main story.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This has been a much more consistent run of Spider-Man than what we saw in the previous 100 issues before. The artwork is good, borderline great, the characterization is much more consistent and there is a larger, bigger story building. There is forward progress and the character is growing, even by a little bit, which is much more than I could say for the last era of Spider-Man. Also a shoutout to the Editorial staff, mainly Steve Wacker, for keeping the trains running a bit on time, I believe that there was only one time where we saw a minor delay, and with 2-times a month, every month the chances of that happening are very few. He’s worked hard to maintain the schedule, and does a very good job doing so.
FINAL GRADE: B. There’s room for improvement, particularly with the characterization of Peter, but we’re on the right track.
In the next six months, we’ll have the big event of the year: Spider-Island. Before that, we’ll have Infested occur. Watch this space in November, when we do a one year look back.
Excelsior!
Zach ‘Spideydude ‘Joiner
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I do remember the days Spidey preferred to work alone. And to be honest, he is on way too many teams (which he himself is written slightly complaining about at one point in one of the books, can’t remember).
On aside note though, boy, I thought the behavior by the pro was regulated to CBR. What does Wacker do, go to all the Spider-Man forums and start Flame Bombing them? I’m not sure what the marketing strategy is behind the tone of the replies to ‘fans’, but it certainly is an interesting one.
I notice that thread, even when people are complaining about something, tend to be rather tame until BOOM, here comes a Wacker attacker and then things go to pot. It’s at the least entertaining to read at times, but a bit disappointing when you think these are the people in charge of running the adventures of the character you’ve loved since childhood.
I will agree with one statement though. “a “loser” is someone who loses. Peter Parker has lost. It’s one of his defining characteristics.” Peter has pretty much eternally lost thanks to that big Red guy that changed the course of his personal history/continuity. After facing him once (with the aid of the Beyonder) and beating back every challenge sent his way, Peter finally took the ultimate K.O. in defeat to Mephisto and from the ashes Peter 2.0 rose.
The New adventures of Spider-Man are interesting, but just not for the reason that we were told it was supposed to be interesting. I don’t expect Peter to “be in character” because the Peter we read now isn’t the same guy who existed prior to making THE DEAL. So for those who are complaining about how he behaves now. The sooner you come to grips that the new Peter is as familiar to the one you knew as the Ultimate Spider-Man universe Peter is (who ironically is being killed as well), the happier you are going to be reading Spider-Man. Spidey got a sorta self contained DC Reboot, without the new numbering. Just enjoy it for what it is now, not your father’s (or your) Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. This is the Avenging Spider-Man now.
Which meanings of yours have I twisted here?
“Anyway, It’s an amazing coincidence that absolutely no working on Spider-Man understand the character at all! And for 120 issues! Why does Marvel reward failure?!?! How is this even possible when it’s clear we all hate Spider-Man!”
I haven’t said any of you hate Spider-Man or that any of you “don’t really like the character that much.” I maintain though that most of you do not understand the character or the character’s fandom on key levels. As one example I’ll point to the character being on eighty-seven teams right now.
“It’s really a travesty. I hope you’ve dropped all of your Marvels like I have!”
I have, and did it long ago. After OMD my pull list went to Spider-Girl and JMS’s Thor. JMS left Thor and it wasn’t as fun anymore and… well we know what you guys did to Spider-Girl. I also recall saying that I’d give Rucka’s Punisher a go. And if it’s any comfort I won’t be following DC into their madness later this year.
“Seriously though I do always enjoy that for all your various “points” through the years to work, you need to be the only person who sees the world clearly. To what do you attribute your clear truths having been so ignored on so many comics for so long?”
If I were the only one in the world seeing it clearly then Delta wouldn’t have over a hundred members and you wouldn’t be tossing out the Brevoort Manifesto a piece at a time – almost like someone knows it was a mistake to listen to it in the first place.
On a side note – have Norah and Michelle mended fences over a plate of beans & rice or ensalada? Has the Chameleon called Michelle back after their *cough* on-the-kitchen-floor-kissing session? Inquiring minds want to know!
Also, I was serious about the ASM/Marvel Dozen-in-One question. Or is Wolverine moving in with Peter and going on patrols with him after the latest event du jour is over?
George, few people twist meanings better than you.
Anyway, It’s an amazing coincidence that absolutely no working on Spider-Man understand the character at all! And for 120 issues! Why does Marvel reward failure?!?! How is this even possible when it’s clear we all hate Spider-Man!
It’s really a travesty. I hope you’ve dropped all of your Marvels like I have!
Seriously though I do always enjoy that for all your various “points” through the years to work, you need to be the only person who sees the world clearly. To what do you attribute your clear truths having been so ignored on so many comics for so long?
SW
Stephen, yes – he’s lost before. But he’s not a “perennial” loser, at least not in my mind after decades of Spider-Man fandom. Yet that’s exactly how one of the ‘Brain Trust’ referred to him. “Perennial” loser.
“I suspect you don’t really like the character that much…”
That’s weak bait, even for you. I know you can do better than that. 😉
“Nothing wrong with that, but it’s odd to act surprised when a character is written in character.”
Like the non-drunk drunk hook-up? Or the way Slott’s writing him currently? “IhopeweseepiratesIhopeweseepiratesIhopeweseepirates.” That’s not in character but it *is* annoying. I could count the number of times this character’s actually been in character since the start of Civil War on both hands and have fingers left.
“You may just be too angry at the people involved to see things clearly.”
I see clearly enough to notice a creative team trying to force a square block through a round hole. Oh – and will Spidey get his own book back after Spider-Island or will ASM continue to be Marvel Dozen-in-One?
All my best to Carlie’s chameleon hair. 😉
George, a “loser” is someone who loses. Peter Parker has lost. It’s one of his defining characteristics.
I suspect you don’t really like the character that much. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s odd to act surprised when a character is written in character.
You may just be too angry at the people involved to see things clearly.
SW
Great article buddy!
JGC: I do want to accomplish the adequate responce to your concerns. (As I’ve mentioned the reasoning on and off in the podcast for several months during the BND) I also edited the name Marcos Martin in there as well, thank you for pointing that out.
The whole killing of the supremely cool Roderick Kingsley Hobgoblin caused me to drop this book. I have not bought an issue since ASM #649 and refuse to do so until this travesty is reversed or revealed to have been a ruse the whole time.
@7 – “I feel like most of the subplots Slott was developing are slowed by this whole FF interlude”
I totally agree… thought we had some good Spidey stories and development going and then the FF stuff and Avengers Academy stories kind of halted that in its tracks… couldn’t Johnny have picked a better time to die?? The latest Amazing Spider-Man issue felt much better in my opinion and picked right back up with what I’d like to be seeing in my Amazing Spidey title.
@6 – “so for one story-arc in which Peter was desperate for money, took money for paparazzi pics, and then felt bad afterwards makes him a creepy stalker? Really?”
You forgot the “loser” part – also an important part of the character according to the ‘Bain Trust.’ But hey, don’t take my word for it – the ‘loser’ part came directly from Mark Waid.
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080827-WaidAsm.html
I really enjoyed the first two story arcs. I not really into the FF in Amazing… I feel like most of the subplots Slott was developing are slowed by this whole FF interlude… In general, I agree with Zach that the single write seems to be working much better than BND….
@3: so for one story-arc in which Peter was desperate for money, took money for paparazzi pics, and then felt bad afterwards makes him a creepy stalker? Really? This story took place within the first year of BND, is it fair to paint the entire 3 years of BND with this portrayal of Peter? Should we refer to Peter of the clone saga era as the wife-beater/stalker/loser because in one story he hit MJ and was brainwashed to kill her?
It’s not that I’m “not a fan of you” it’s just that I disagree with your last responses to me during one of Gerard’s reviews. I still don’t think comic reviews should fall off the 0-5 grading scale just because the reviewer thinks they’re bad. If a reviewer needs a larger grading scale to get their point across, then why not use a 10-point scale? Giving a comic a -3 grade for example is an attempt at trying to be funny and “shock-jockish” and nothing else.
Also, I did like your article above (besides your BND opinion of Peter) and agree Big Time has set a consistent tone for the book that was missing during BND. What do you think of the back-up’s that have been featured throughout BT?
Who says we’re negative?
Man, I wish Rivera was part of the rotation of artists.
Great article Zach, I hope to see more as Big Time goes on.
Good summary of the Brand new Big time verse.
There was the paparazzi arc, for starters, had Peter taking pictures at his friends furenal. after that he routinely was portrayed as a down on his luck loser with repeated times where the ‘Parker Luck’ was latex on a little think. Course, you’d be the one to call me out because I know you’re not a fan of me.
@1: Thanks! The black cat thing was indeed a carryover from BND
Paolo Rivera isn’t part of Big Time, it’s Marcos Martin. Also, I still don’t know what you mean when you say Peter was “creepy/stalker/loser during” BND. Are there examples to support your opinion or is this an “attempt” at humour.
Very awesome. Not sure if this is something you’ve done in the past (the 6 month recap, since I’ve been around the site for that long anyway), but I wish I had thought of that. Thought you did a great job summarizing everything and I agree with most of what you said. I really liked how you broke it down into categories and not just by the story lines.
Is the Black Cat as a sidekick considered a storyline from this first 6 months? Or did they start that angle in the BND story when she came back?
And how brave of you, to laud Steve Wacker in such trying times to his character from so many out there 😉 I have to tell you, I don’t really know, or pay attention to, who edits the comics I read. Wacker is the only one I would know now just from being a member of this site. So whether some may dislike him or not, he’s doing his part to get us a comic book out twice a month while interacting with a bunch of Joes on a message board.