OK, so, I'm current with most of my titles, but I'm still making my way through the backlog of Spidey books that I accrued during my move. The cover date of this batch is June. Yup, we have a long way to go.
Amazing Spider-Man Annual #39: I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm not a huge fan of time-travel stories. They're used way too often and usually contain so many logic inconsistencies that it's hard to focus on the plot at hand because you're too busy trying to figure out the various implications of the Butterfly Effect. For example, we never really get an explanation why Uncle Ben is able to recall who Peter is but no one else can. If I'm reading between the lines, it's because Uncle Ben is actually in Heaven, so he exists outside the normal constraints of the time stream. But, we never actually get confirmation of that (probably because it's a bit of a ridiculous premise from the start). Moving beyond the inconsistencies problem, I feel like this issue is cursed by using another plot device that's been used way too often recently, namely, bringing back Uncle Ben from the dead. Maybe I've just read Spider-Man for too long, but we seem to have gotten to this well a little too much lately. Reed actually did better than most in conveying the emotion that sort of moment would provoke in Peter, but, I have to say, I've read this sort of story too often for it to have any emotional impact on me. Finally, are we really supposed to believe that the only positive contribution Pete made to the world was accidentally saving Anna Watson from getting hit by a car? This issue seems to be more portraying a nightmare that Peter would have where, despite all his sacrifices, the world is demonstrably better without him in it. I mean, if you look at a recent example, wouldn't everyone be dead because Peter wasn't there to keep Grady from making the mistake on his time machine? [Sigh.] It's not a terrible issue, but time travel combined with Uncle Ben combine with a dubious assertion about Peter's value left me feeling cranky by the end of it.
Avenging Spider-Man #8: This issue is in theory an epilogue to "Ends of the Earth," but in reality it doesn't have much to do with it. It begins shortly after the events of "Amazing Spider-Man" #688, with the Avengers and Spidey searching for Silver Sable's body. But, then, the Avengers depart to take Doc Ock to the Raft and Spidey recounts a story of one of his adventures with Sable to Cap. I can't say that I was particularly moved by the story. In theory, it was supposed to show how Silver Sable was, under her cool exterior, really a big softie, as she helps Dr. Strange and Spider-Man aid a Symkarian princess in avoiding an arranged marriage with Dr. Doom. (It's better if you don't ask for the details.) Templeton relies on way too many convenient plot devices to get where he needs to go here; for example, Dr. Strange, for no good reason, apparently neglected to convey an important piece of information to the princess that would've essentially precluded Spider-Man's participation in this story if he had divulged it earlier. The heroes eventually win the day and we return to the present, where we see Spidey dismiss Doc Ock over the course of two panels. As expected, we also get hints that Sable might still be alive since, shocker, they can't find the body. Given how abruptly "Ends of Earth" ended, I had really been hoping that this issue would tie up some of the loose ends. But, instead, we get a pretty silly story and essentially no actual plot development, other than confirmation that Sable's body hasn't been found. You can definitely skip this issue, even if you liked "Ends of the Earth."
Scarlet Spider #6: I love this series. Yost is doing a spectacular job of keeping his eye on the ball as he takes us on Kaine's journey from villain to hero. After six issues, a lot of authors would've already discarded some of the original concepts of the series for expediency's sake. (Remember how quickly "Venom" ditched the restriction that he could only be in the suit for 48 hours at a time when it started getting difficult to believe?) However, Yost has really stayed focused on Kaine's struggles here. We don't see Kaine suddenly embrace his superhero responsibilities and he's certainly not suddenly forgiven himself for his past sins. It's Yost's continued attention to Kaine as he struggles with both his responsibilities and sins that really drives this series.
Yost is smart to separate Kaine's struggles as a superhero from his struggles with his past. After all, you get the sense that Kaine is starting to enjoy being a good guy. I mean, he does keep saving people. If he didn't want to be a good guy, he could just stop saving people. Plus, a guy bothered by whether his alias is cool enough can't be all that upset about the fact that he has one in the first place. (I thought his whole "Dark Spider" commentary was great. Yost has managed to keep injecting these moments of humor into the series. Given the darkness of the stories he's telling, it's a welcome effort. It helps you really see Kaine as something more than tall, dark, and grim. See also Kaine's frustration with Aracely at the dinner.) In fact, most of the humor in this series comes from Kaine's increasingly ridiculous insistence that he's not a hero.
By contrast, as we see with his conversation with Annabelle and the priest, Kaine is having a lot harder time reconciling his present with his past. He's worried that Annabelle is going to hate him when she learns who he really is, and that worry fuels the most poignant scene of the series so far when he tells Annabelle to leave him before she gets hurt and she tells him that she's not going anywhere. Part of the reason why it's so poignant is that Yost isn't rushing anything with them. A lot of authors would've had them in a committed relationship already or would've annoyed us with forced tension. Yost isn't playing a "Will they or won't they?" game here. We're actually just seeing two people get to know each other and starting to trust one another. It takes skill to show that sort of restraint, and I'm glad that Yost has that skill.
But, it's Kaine's conversation with the priest that really shows us how deep his guilt goes. I don't think that I had realized that Kaine is not only struggling with his own past, but also with the fact that he's still alive and a "better" man, Ben Reilly, isn't. It's an existential question, sure, but, again, it's really these questions of who Kaine is and who he wants to be that make this series so great.
In terms of the events of the issue itself, it's a great sequence of events. Ryan Stegman and Edgar Delgado pull out all the stops: Kaine's fight with Ana Kraven in the fire is spectacular. But, most of all, I'll remember this issue for perhaps the best page of a comic I've seen all year: Kaine standing in the middle of normal people, contemplating what it would be like to live a normal life, and then the crowd parting to reveal Ana. It's a spectacular scene and I had to do a double take the first time I read it before I realized that it was Ana Kraven. Awesome. Later, when he saves Ana from the falling ceiling, we the reader realize that Kaine's transition to good guy is complete and his concern over the death of a "better" man is misplaced. But, it's clearly going to be a while before he realizes that.
If it's not clear, I absolutely cannot wait for next issue.
Venom #19: Holy crap. I may have to strop reading this title, just because it's so grim. Flash's brother-in-law getting lanterned by Jack O'Lantern, his mom possibly devoured by the Fly: this issue is tough. Ever since "Venom" #9, when we watched a woman and her child get killed, this title has put everything on the table. Throughout this issue, I wasn't sure if even Betty Brant was safe. As such, Remender created real tension as Flash searched for his sister, since it was entirely possible that she was already dead. I really have no idea how Flash is going to win this one. Crime-Master and his Savage Six just seem to be one step ahead of him. Can he really kill all of them? I guess we'll see. Poor Flash, man.
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