Avenging Spider-Man #5: "SoOoO...did you get beat up a lot?" "Excuse me?" "You know, in high school." "I guess I did." "Yeah. Me, too." "That's nice --"
I loved this issue. I even teared up a little at the end. First, Yu, Alanguilan, and Gho produce a truly beautiful book. I had so many images that I thought were really great, but I particularly loved Spidey running into Cap's chest and Cap and Pete sitting together on the couch. I thought Yu did a great job of contrasting Pete and Steve physically, something, to be honest, we don't see often. I feel like most pencilers will remember to make sure that Colossus or Rulk tower over everyone, but everyone else often feels roughly the same size. Yu, instead, has a really amazing sense of height, and you're reminded how compact Pete is, how compact he has to be to be swinging all over New York with the ease that he does. (Imagine someone like Cap trying to do that.) But, it also subtly conveys the message that Wells is sending here, because it's not hard to see Pete as a kid and Cap as a bully. Yu manages to project a real sense of the physical insecurity that Pete probably feels when he's standing next to Cap, and it's exactly that insecurity that drives Pete to seek out common ground with Cap in this issue. It's just great to see a penciler do such a great job complimenting the story that the author is trying to tell.
Speaking of Wells' message, I just really loved the story. Both Slott and Wells have focused on Spidey as a nerd AND a geek. Everyone in the Marvel Universe pretty much idolizes Cap, but Wells does such a great job showing how almost paralyzed Pete is by his idolization. He's so eager to find a connection when he discovers that Cap used to be a geek who drew comic books and Wells does a great job of showing how embarrassed he is when Cap rebuffs his efforts. It felt like it would if you were watching a high-school geek realize that he made a huge mistake telling the football-team captain that he collected comics or liked math. (I teared up a bit for Pete when he sheepishly admits to Cap that he lied to him about not playing with his first chemistry set.) But, by making Pete embarrassed, Wells actually turns around that relationship by showing that Pete had the strength to stay committed to doing what he loved, even if he got teased for it, whereas Cap ran from it. I mean, Pete's still ready to throw away his first chemistry set because Cap made him feel embarrassed by it, so it's not like Cap's going to be looking to Pete for leadership tips any time soon. But, Cap clearly gets the message that Pete's trying to send to him, and it's a really lovely moment when he appears in front of Pete with his drafting equipment.
Basically, I could read this issue again and again. I know that Wells somewhat sketched over the fact that Cap actually used to be an artist, and I did some Google research and (re-)discovered the fact that he used to be a commercial and comic-book artist in the 1980s. (X, if you're reading this review, do you remember that? I don't think I do, but I might. Was it before, during, or after the Diamondback era?) But, if you can put aside that nagging continuity moment, something I usually don't easily do, this issue is perfect. (Entering "No-Prize" territory, maybe Cap just is a lot harder on himself than other people, so he didn't "forget" about his time as a comic-book artist, he just didn't think he was very good at it. See, Cap has doubts!)
Scarlet Spider #4: We all knew, starting this series, that the first few issues (if not the first few dozen) were going to deal with figures from Kaine's past seeking to settle scores with him now that he's decided to stay in one place for a while. If all these future stories are as tight as this one, this series is going to seriously rock.
Yost chooses a pretty innocuous first enemy from the past in the form of the Assassins Guild. I say "innocuous" not because the Assassins Guild is a bunch of pushovers (as we see in this issue, where it gives Kaine a run for his money), but because it's a pretty straight-forward story: Kaine stole a few jobs from the Guild, and the Guild has to kill him because it has a rep to protect. It's not too complicated, but it provides for an entertaining (and illuminating) story. I'm not a Kaine aficionado, but I assume that Yost invented the Assassins Guild connection; in other words, I don't think that we've ever seen Kaine connected to the guild before. I think Yost was wise to start trolling through Kaine's past with this sort of story, because it avoids the baggage that we're inevitably going to address when Yost begins exploring the "Clone Saga" era. But, Yost still makes a new story an emotional one. You can really feel Kaine's heart-break at the end of this issue, as he fears that he'll never be anything more than a killer. Yost seems to be building a supporting cast for Kaine that believes in him, who will remind him of the good he does. But, Yost makes it clear that he's never, ever going to fully escape his past. (I think we're going to need a visit from Pete at some point for a little spider-to-spider mentoring.)
I'm also intrigued by where Yost is going with Aracelly. He clearly has plans for her, given that she hasn't disappeared to the Land of Previous Plot Devices yet. Plus, the revelations that she can "feel" Kaine fighting the Assassins Guild on top of the Chase Building and that she suddenly speaks English both lead me to believe that the Salamander wasn't after her just because he was OCD and needed to finish killing off her family. (I'm going to have to re-read the first two issues, because I'm pretty sure Salamander hints at why Aracelly was important.)
All in all, it's another great issue. This series is quickly becoming top five for me.
Venom #15: This issue is a transition issue, and it does a good job of doing just that. Remender clears the decks of both Betty and "Project: Rebirth," and, despite the fact that I'm pretty sure Betty will re-appear soon (if the future covers at the back of this issue are to be believed), it's clear that Remender plans on focusing more on Flash's role as Venom and a Secret Avenger in the coming issues. Basically, I'm just glad to have "Circle of Four" behind us and "Venom" finally sync with "Secret Avengers," which has been running a few issues ahead of it for a while. I think this new arrangement is going to work a lot more smoothly than the "Project: Rebirth" one (I particularly love the idea of him "downloading" the symbiote). I'm intrigued by Eddie's crusade, even if I'm somewhat stunned that all these symbiotes exist. (When did that happen? I'm going to have to go to Google for that.) I'm also excited to see where Remender goes with Crime-Master. Stuff was just getting interesting on that front when we got waylaid by "Circle of Four," and I get the sense that Remender is preparing to bring it to a head soon. I'm not sure if I'm going to stick with this book for the long-haul, but I'll consider the next few issues.
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