Amazing Spider-Man: More or Less Amazing Since Brand New Day?

The Fantastic Four may be the first family of Marvel. Iron Man may be it current cash cow. But make no mistake, Marvel's golden child has always been Spider-Man. Right behind Superman and Batman, heroes with much longer shelf lives, Spidey is probably most well known character in the pop-culture lexicon. So when Marvel began a dramatic shift in their main character's preeminent book, the comic book world took notice. Gone would be the object of Peter Parker's affections and constant source of odjita Mary Jane Parker. The storyline was called One More Day. The story read well in parts, but the entire angle pulling MJ out of Peter's world fell flat in a big way, Straczynski's low point on the book. But I'm not here to talk about One More Day. I'm here to discuss the Brand New Day that followed: Spidey hits the shelves like the plague, upping publication to a whopping 3 books a month. Parker awakens in what amounts to the '70's Spidey mythos with a few twists to keep it modern day. Harry Osborn, once deader than Uncle Ben, is reincarnated ("Harry's been in Europe") and owns his own coffee house. But most importantly, MJ is nowhere to be seen. She is only a ghost from Pete's past only mentioned in whispers. For this reason ASM has really taken off.
I don't want to come off sounding like a MJ hater here. I have nothing against the red-headed population, nor the super-models. But since the increasing of tensions between Tony Stark and Parker since pre-Civil War, every other panel of the book was dedicated to the emo whining concerning MJ or Aunt May's safety. Talk about dragging a book to a swift halt. Staczynski did what he could, but its impossible to write anything backed into such a creatively stifling corner. While I would have moved towards killing MJ, Marvel decided to take their lumps now and bring back Harry as well. This removes the later calls of bullshit when MJ mysteriously rises from the ranks of the temporary Marvel deceased.
Brand New Day also introduced the concept of the "Spidey Brain trust"- a number of the Marvel writing stable both collaborating on where the book was headed in a big picture sense while rotating the actual writing duties. The concept has given the book a fluidity that makes it read as if a single writer was diligently firing off scripts. The group introduced some interesting new villains and redesigning almost every main baddie from Spidey's history during "The Gauntlet."
While the writing has been sharp, the artwork has been schizophrenic. There has been some inspired work, particularly that of Chris Bachalo and John Romita, Jr. But the break neck pace of 3 books a month has left Marvel seemingly scrambling for artists to get the book out on time. This has left the talent level well below where a book of this stature should be as ASM motors toward number 650 likely early next year.
So the book has been markedly better since wiping Peter Parker's slate clean. The only real suggestion I would make is to absorb a few top name artists into the Spidey Brain trust and get them in a rotation to improve the book's artwork. It is a comic after all. I suppose I'll look back at this in a year or so when Marvel reunites the happy couple, only to watch sales decline as ASM once again writes itself into the corner. Mary Jane's a nice girl and all, she just ain't comic material.

Niedermeyer, Halak, and Futbol, Oh My!

-> The retirement of Scott Niedermeyer marks a dark day for the NHL. In my opinion Nieds lands right behind #4 Bobby Orr and Nicholas Lidstrom in the discussion of all time great D-men. 4 Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe and mysteriously only one Norris trophy. I think Niedermeyer's understated style left flashier but less talented peers to steal his deserved hardware (Chelios, MacInnis, and Bourque are prime examples) When on-ice his play controlled both teams. Even as a 13-year Devil I can proudly give Nieds a standing ovation on an amazing career.

-> Today I watched my first soccer match, start to finish. The US played great offensively, really deserving more than the one dramatic stoppage time tally. I found that while I really still don't like soccer, all out desperation soccer with my country involved is appointment television.

-> Days later and I still sit flabbergasted at the Canadiens' dealing of their playoff hero. Halak had by no means the best playoff performance I've ever witnessed, but nobody came up bigger in desperation spots against two better teams. The new NHL dictates bold decisions to maintain salary cap compliance, but this move has little justification. The Habs can't say he tried to break the bank; Halak was never approached in formal negotiations. Halak's value is at its peak, so Habs management got two potential players to fill his roster for future years. More importantly, both players' rights will be controlled by the Canadiens for years. Its a sound investment, you just have to gamble on your team's most integral position. Carey Price is unproven in any meaningful playoff action and was benched in order to help the Canadiens slide into the playoffs through the back door. I'm still baffled.

-> After the first round at Wimbledon is (almost) complete, it should be pretty obvious I know nothing of tennis. I've already lost two of my male semifinalists in what has been a wild opening round. I can't remember this many high seeds getting knocked off in their first matches. If Isner and Mahut keep going the coolest opening round will just keep truckin' as they hit 200-200 fifth set some time Saturday afternoon.

-> Congratulations to Tom Renny in becoming head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. Tom was a class act whose Ranger teams always worked in the defensive end. His teams struggled to score, as should the Oilers next year, but they will hang in every game. He was really jobbed by Sather's decision to let Jagr walk.

-> Now on to the underachieving San Jose Sharks: How is replacing Joe "Mr. Invisible" Thornton with Jason Spezza an upgrade? Spezza and Heatley playing at their absolute peaks to will a team in the Eastern Conference to the Finals, where they were then outplayed. Bringing back Patrick "Mr. Softy" Marleau for the money he will seek is insane. The Sharks have already informed Nabokov, their talented but expensive and overworked goalie he is free to find new employment. Evgeny will rake in huge cash from some goalie-deficient franchise, and it will prove a prudent financial move for the Fins. Now they should tell Marleau the same and send Jumbo Joe packing, for draft picks preferably. No need to handcuff yourself with another immovable Senator contract (or any other team's headache). Re-sign Joe Pavelski and reluctantly focus your attack around Heatley, whom you are stuck with for the duration. The core didn't get it done when they had their numerous chances. Time to reinvent on the fly.

-> Glen Sather is still employed by the New York Rangers.

Wimbledon Begins! Fearless Predictions

Today the tennis world delivers my birthday present. I love Wimbledon. The tradition, the history. With the tourney starting any minute, I give you my Wimbledon 2010 winners:

Women's Draw: Semifinalists- Serena Williams, Caroline Wozniaki, Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams
Final- Venus vs. Serena, Venus Williams wins

Men's Draw: Semifinalists- Roger Federer, Igor Ljubicic, Fernando Verdasco, Rafa Nadal
Final- Federer vs. Nadal, Federer wins

I am holding out hope that Verdasco vs Nadal and Nadal vs Federer happen, as these could prove the matches of the tournament. The picks may look like "chaulk", but can you honestly bet against Rafa and Federer?

Review: Moving Pictures

Unlike Rush's seminal album, this Moving Pictures leaves you wanting more. Moving Pictures is a WWII drama set in occupied France. The talented Immonens (Kathryn writing, Stuart artwork) document the real life struggle of Ila Gardener. Ila, a Canadian museum curator, sets forth on a dangerous task of hiding priceless works from the Nazi war machine. That is about as exciting as this true (and mind-numbingly boring) story really gets. Ila is a terrifically boring heroine with very little ways to impact the book. Along the way Ila meets the German officer Rolf Hauptmann, whom has been charged with cataloguing the museum in which Ila works. The two have a standoffish relationship that inexplicably leads them into an implausible romantic entanglement. The relationship costs the relative of a coworker her life.
This story was first published as a web comic, as can be seen in the pacing. Bad web comics have a choppy start-and-stop quality when read. Its much like a movie overusing the jump cut. Something just seemed a little off with how Moving Pictures reads. It leaves me wondering if it was better suited staying web-based for readability. Another of the curious choices the pairing made was their presentation of occupied France. I have never once seen a picture of France during the occupation that didn't have a swastika somewhere in the frame. While I admire a unique take on any story, the lack of Nazis in a WWII story set in Europe is like the Smurfs without Gargamell. This is also the first time I have been left disappointed in the usually fantastic artwork of Stuart Immonen. His Marvel work has a certain flair, a passion that translates onto the page and seems to come alive. His work on Moving Pictures, being a main drawing point to even reading the book, left me flat. The characters lacked diversity, which is further compounded by a lack of color that left me unable to tell certain characters apart. While I love b&w artwork as much as, if not more, than work in color, the lack of detail left me begging for a colorist's touch.
As a fan of the Immonens in the little I have sampled, this book seems like a good idea without the factual drama to make it a good story. As both a history buff and comic reader, I must recommend you move on past Moving Pictures.

A State of the Rangers Address

Another hockey season has concluded. Another year without a Rangers Stanley Cup victory. The season played out much the same as others in the regime of Glen Sather. The team started well, floundered till the last conceivable moment, and then made a mad dash for the playoffs. To see the season end on the stick of Oli Jokinen against a third stringer from the loathsome Flyers drives me mad. How was this overrated, over payed, under performing second line center with no aptitude for defense considered the answer at the trade deadline? Sather received credit for his deadline moves, but they were largely done to correct mistakes made just last offseason. Couple that with the disastrous contracts Sather has handed key veterans (Drury, Redden, Roszival) and a seeming ineptitude in concern to free agent evaluation, it leads to a stark conclusion. Glen Must Go.
But banishing Sather to the golf course and away from key decision-making capacities is just a start. A solid decade of not going the next step or making three terrible decisions to cover a single hole is simply not good enough. Redden and Roszival must join the Wolfpack's crusade for a Calder Cup. Give them their loot, off the roster, and instantly the team improves on a number of areas. Precious cap room needed to secure another sniper (not to mention 1st line center, at least 2 mean veteran D-men, a backup goaltender) is freed up. The young defenseman in Hartford could get a crack in camp, or go sign a veteran or two. Give Grachev a job and let him score up here while refining his overall game. Every roster should have that one-dimensional offensive wunderkind looking toward the next rush vs. backchecking. Also give Stepan, McDonagh and Kreider every opportunity to make the Rangers. The NHL has become a young man's game. Placing all three in the starting lineup is an interesting experiment in risk vs. reward that I fully believe the fans would support.
Who should become the new conductor on Mr. Sather's Wild Ride? Though there has been a groundswell of support for Mark Messier to step into the big chair, I have reservations on giving the reins to a rookie. I would lean toward a man who has shown a stabilizing influence on a organizational level. Doug Risebrough comes to mind. Maybe Dolan could pry Lou Lamorello away from the Devs? A pipe dream, I know. The new GM should be prepared to let Tortorella go. I am personally a fan of the fiery taskmaster, but his message was never received and he was tuned out.
I'm not saying that my plan will bring the Rangers Stanley Cup glory or even the air of legitimacy the Garden is lacking. But they start to right a decade of wrongs and begin to establish a solid base of legitimate young talent around which you can shape a roster. So my suggestion- Adios Glen! Hope the cigar tastes a sweet from the unemployment line.

My Top 10 Favorite Comic Book Writers, #'s 1-5

This is a list of my favorite comic book scribes. I've limited it to works completed since 1980 to the present day. The list will give brief descriptions of my favorite works by each writer.

5. Neil Gaiman
Neil is responsible for my favorite comic title to date, the Sandman. I can't say enough about the story of Morpheus and his kin, other than you must read it if you haven't had the chance. DC asked Neil to eulogize (or so we thought) Bruce Wayne, he did it with his trademark excellence. Gaiman also relaunched the long forgotten Eternals into the Marvel U, only to watch the monthly title flounder under poor writing and artwork. An earlier work like Black Orchid is a good read also.

4. Robert Kirkman
Mr. Kirkman is responsible for bringing me back to comic books after a very long hiatus. His Walking Dead has everything one could want in a great work of literature, set amongst a world infested with zombies. Invincible is rewriting the way to do a superhero monthly. Its witty, engaging and brutally violent (check this month's issue for a top 5 example). Even earlier works like Battle Pope bring an outrageous concept home with trademark Kirkman charm.

3. Mark Millar
I first became aware of Mark after reading Wanted. The book blew me away in both concept and execution. I haven't been disappointed by a thing he's done since. Civil War and Old Man Logan are two classic stories. The Ultimates and Ultimate X-Men run shaped the fantastic road the Ultimate Marvel Universe travelled for a decade. His new creator owned works- Kick Ass, War Heroes, Nemesis- are gutsy, medium-expanding, and most importantly fun.

2. Garth Ennis
Everything I've read from Garth Ennis is excellent. Preacher is amazing. He reinvigorated Frank Castle. Crossed gives a perverse and gloomy look at a world ravaged by plague. The Boys continues to kick the superhero comic in the nuts as only Garth can.

1. Brian Michael Bendis
Kind of an almost default pick by the amount of books I read from the man. I'll just skip the platitudes and give you some highlights by the writer of (almost) EVERY Marvel book that matters- Powers, his Daredevil run, Ultimate Spider-Man, Siege, Secret Invasion, New Avengers, Dark Avengers, Secret War

Honorable Mentions: Warren Ellis, Geoff Johns, Alan Moore, Jeff Lemire, Jhonen Vasquez, Eric Powell


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My Top 10 Favorite Comic Book Writers, #'s 6-10

This is a list of my favorite comic book scribes. I've limited it to works completed since 1980 to the present day. The list will give brief descriptions of my favorite works by each writer.

10. Mike Mignola
Mike writes Hellboy, one of my all time favorite titles. He draws upon myths and legends familiar, forgotten, and rarely told to shape his stories. His characters are engaging, making a book of primarily secondary players like BPRD as readable and fun as Hellboy's. Gotham By Gaslight was a creative slant on the Batman mythos.

9. Brian Wood
Brian's vast talent has produced a number of must-read titles over his relatively short career. Vertigo's DMZ and Northlanders are innovative and thought provoking, while titles like Local, Demo and the New York Four bring slices of life from twenty-somethings onto the comic page.

8. Brian K Vaughn
My list's second of three Brians, BKV has written a slew of critically acclaimed books I have not yet read, but I loved Y:The Last Man. My favorite work by BKV was Pride of Baghdad, chronicling the journey of four escaped lions during the first Gulf War. I am currently reading Ex Machina.

7. Matt Fraction
I first read Fraction on the Immortal Iron Fist, an epic run that really opened my eyes to a budding talent. He's completely changed my opinions on Iron Man. I once hated Mr. Stark, particularly after the Civil War, but Matt brought out the vulnerability and honor that I've never seen in Tony. He has reinvigorated an Uncanny X-Men title that had stagnated creatively. I recommend both Mantooth and Last of the Independents.

6. Grant Morrison
Simply put, Grant is the preeminent Batman writer. Starting with Arkham Asylum, to his more recent Batman story arcs and Batman and Robin, Grant brings a flair, poetry and just the right amount of madness to the Dark Knight. Morrison also brought myself and countless others back to New and Uncanny X-Men with his visionary relaunch. I also found We3 fantastic.

Too Little Too Late

The British Petroleum disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is reaching comically disasterous proportions. After weeks of trying to boondoggle the federal government into believing the situation was well in hand, BP admits its billions in research dollars never went towards stopping any sort of offshore accident. Numerous claims have been made about BP's reimbursement policies and cleanup efforts not being on the level. Throw in a botched pipe cutting operation that has left the tube oblong in shape and infinitely harder to cap efficiently. Now President Obama is storming through Louisiana looking to hold BP's feet to the preverbial fire. I applaud the President's vigor, but its about a month too late in my opinion. The Gulf region, specifically New Orleans, is just 5 years removed from a devastating hurricane in which the government sat back as people died and others begged for assistance. The Obama Administration should have been looking for asses to kick long before this spill became the ecological clusterfuck we see before us. As a pessimist by nature, I see this spill devastating a far greater area than just the Gulf, with far more devastating effects to more of the eastern coastline and the Atlantic Ocean. But I hope I'm wrong, maybe we'll be lucky. 10 years of cleanup is at least better than the death of the Atlantic Coast.

The Second Death Of Captain America

When Marvel announced plans for a series of origin films leading up to an Avengers live action movie, fandom went nuts. Iron Man had shown what good writing, directing, and perfect casting can produce. Robert Downey, Jr IS Tony Stark. Kenneth Brannagh was attached to write and direct Thor, a project easily in the prolific Mr. Brannagh's wheelhouse. Marvel's top dog was also getting a film, but details were sparse. Speculation swirled on the boards as to who would play the symbol of freedom and liberty. Brad Pitt? Leonardo DiCaprio? CHRIS FUCKING EVANS?! Wait, wasn't he ALREADY a character in the Marvel Movie Universe you ask? Of course he was- an abrasive, unfunny Human Torch in the two Fantastic Four abortions. But wait, isn't he abrasive and unfunny in every role he has had? Again, you'd be correct. For someone who quietly read on as Hack Brubaker half-assed a pathetic Steve Rogers return to the Marvel U, this cannot stand. Marvel's movie studio has made major inroads toward gaining legitimacy among Hollywood's major acting players. Pitt and DiCaprio may have been pipe dreams at best, but Chris Evans as Cap harkens to the days of Hasselhoff as Nick Fury. Dolph Lundgren as Punisher. Eric Bana as the Hulk. Foolish casting decisions made by lack of options. Evans has never put out that one performance critics can point to and say "this kid has the potential to be a capable performer of his craft." To leave such a important figure in the pop culture lexicon
in the hands of the star of blockbuster hits like Cellular and Not Another Teen Movie is shortsighted at best.
The most important in a long list of missteps with this project? The most embarrasingly ridiculous origin reboot ever attempted. Even when the Ultimate Marvel Universe debuted, the only origin to stay almost static was Captain America's. The story is patriotic, inspirational and displays the values on which this country was founded on and fought for. Why make Cap a modern day soldier who has to go through a generic film coming of age awakening? The movie was written in 1941 by Simon and Kirby, no reason to revamp what everyone knows and loves. Maybe Marvel will take a page out of Wolverine:Origins and make Red Skull and Cap brothers? We can only hope Marvel gets the reboot right in 5 years when they run out of crappy original ideas to alter the bedrock of their company.