The Lizard returns to menace our Webhead in this latest installment of the ASM Classics podcast! But even more important, the debate rages, and it’s time for you Spider-philes to cast your vote — did Gwen Stacy date Flash Thompson?
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Hide your brains, Venom is on the prowl in this week’s installment of Webs Weekly. Why, you ask? Well for starters, he’s a huge fan favorite. That was evidenced by the large outcry from many Spidey fans when the sinister symbiote was not featured in the latest Marvel vs Capcom 3 fighting game. The Venom symbiote has been on a roller coaster ride of highs and lows over the past few years after bonding with the villainous Mac Gargan and leaving his most famous host, Eddie Brock. Now the alien creature is bonded to disabled war hero (and former Peter Parker tormentor/current friend) Flash Thompson, serving the U.S. government as a black ops agent. I can even tie this installment into the two previous Webs Weekly entries. Venom does not set off Spidey’s spider-sense (when he had it) and there is a huge collection of Mary Jane as Venom pictures over at deviant, surprisingly enough. Finally, the former host of the alien symbiote, Eddie Brock, has developed a new persona thanks to Mr. Negative: The Anti-Venom! And we’ll be seeing Anti-Venom return to the pages of Amazing Spider-Man in the next issue due to hit shelves. So enjoy these saliva-dripping, teeth-baring pics of Venom!
If there’s one thing Venom is known for, it’s the long, slimy tongue coming out of a grotesque, unhinged jaw lined with rows of sharp teeth. adonish nails it perfectly here. He also manages to capture a good bit of humor in an otherwise perilous situation for Spidey. I enjoy when you can see some of Spidey’s features through the faceless mask, such as his nose in this piece. The squinting eye is also a nice touch. adonihs has some more awesome paintings on his deviant page, as well as his website which is a great place to check out his project called Last Man Standing. There are some great pieces from the movie Kick-Ass, a scary looking Alien, an intimidating Boba Fett, and some concept art for the movie Your Highness.
I said it last week, but I have no problem repeating myself – I like when a background helps frame the character. nathan’s picture of Venom is wonderfully accented by the blue-grey to red gradiant in the background. It compliments the pink, slobbering tongue coming out of Venom’s mouth as well as the red highlights on his body. The tendrils coming off of Venom’s back is another nice touch. nathan does not have too too much on his deviant page but he does have some nice pictures of DC comic’s big guns: Superman, Batman and Green Lantern. (more…)
Little Tidbit That Goes On For Too Long: This is the third incarnation of the Heroes for Hire title. Though Luke Cage and Iron Fist were operating as the Heroes for Hire back in the ‘70s, an actual comic titled Heroes for Hire (with both on the roster) would appear in 1996 following the fallout of the Onslaught saga (say, weren’t we just talking about Onslaught?). It was cancelled after 19 issues.
Vol. 2, written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, was published following the Civil War event and was more in the vain of the writers’ previous work, The Daugthers of the Shadow mini, starring Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. Then Zeb Wells took over and everything went down the drain.
Following the Daredevil event Shadowland, which reunited many of the former Heroes for Hire, Vol. 3 was launched, following the format of the original series with a rotating roster but with Misty Knight back at the helm. Or at least she appeared to be, as the Puppet Master is revealed to be pulling the strings at the end of the first issue.
So anyway, Spider-Man is in this issue.
Heroes for Hire #6
“Neighborhood, Part One”
Writer: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning Penciler: Brad Walker Inker: Drew Hennessy Colorist: Jay David Ramos Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna Cover Artists: Doug Braithwaite & Rob Schwager Variant Cover Artists: Harvey Tolibao & Morry Hollowell
The Substitute. This is a story in which Peter goes undercover at a Miami high school because his teacher girlfriend is injured by a student and he needs to find out why. He ends up uncovering gang activity and has to fight Winston from Ghostbusters and…
Wait.
That’s the plot to a decent action movie from the nineties starring Tom Berenger. This is a story about Spider-Man having to substitute at Avengers Academy.
Little Tidbit That You May Not Care About But It’s Still Here Anyway: So who’s Onslaught? That’s the question I asked myself back in the old days when I was just a wee Two-Bit Boy in the arcades. I was watching the cooler teens play the original Marvel vs Capcom and get all the way to the final boss, this Magneto look-alike. When you beat him once, he would switch to his second form, and the guy took up almost the ENTIRE SCREEN. Despite the awesome music, Onslaught was so stinking cheap, and when you lost, he taunted you with “The Dream is Dead!” It was crazy.
Remember, at this point I thought they had stopped publishing comics altogether. It wouldn’t be until several years later that I would learn of the Onslaught saga that was published two years prior to the game.
Will we be seeing the cheap Onslaught that we all know and love in this mini?
Onslaught Unleashed #2 of 4
“A Razor-Thin Line”
Writer: Sean McKeever Artist: Filipe Andrade Colorist: Ricardo Tercio Letterist: Dave Lanphear Cover Artist: Humberto Ramos & Morry Hollowell
The Secret Avengers: Commander Steve Rogers, Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff), Moon Knight (Mark Spector), Beast (Dr. Hank McCoy), Ant-Man (Eric O’Grady), Sharon Carter
The Young Allies: Nomad (Rikki Barnes), Spider-Girl (Anya Corazon), Toro (Benito Serrano), Gravity (Greg Willis), Firestar (Angelica Jones)
According to Tom Breevort’s recent column at CBR the Amazing Spider-Man title will get less pages yet still cost $3.99. In the past the extra buck was made up by having extra pages. Now it will just be a standard 22 page book. What are your thoughts?
Penciler: Mike McKone (pages 1-17), Stefano Caselli (pages 18-20)
Inker: Mike McKone (pages 1-17), Stefano Caselli (pages 18-20)
Story Title: Fantastic Voyage Part 2
What’s up with the new Sinister Six? What tattoo did Carlie get? Will Spider-Man ever be alone in his title again? Two of those questions are answered in this issue. Read on…
Little Tidbit That You May Not Care About But It’s Still Here Anyway: Jeff Parker, the current writer of the Thunderbolts, announced some time ago that besides the current roster of the T-Bolts he would be also introducing a “Beta” team. He also left the choice of one of these Beta members up to a vote over at Marvel.com. There were some interesting choices, including Madame Masque (last seen in the Avengers), Batroc the Leaper (currently featuring in Heroes for Hire against Spidey, review forthcoming), Shocker (who ended up winning), and Ana Kraven. I really thought that this last one would make it into the team, considering what happens in this issue.
After a long delay, we’re picking right back up where we left off in our Spider-Girl reviews, as we take a look at the conclusion of the two-parter “Kraven’s Next Hunt” (yeah, I know; just go with it).
Spider-Girl #5
“Her Father’s Daughter”
Writer: Paul Tobin Artists: Matthew Southworth w/Sergio Cariello Colorist: Chris Sotomayor Letterist: VC’s Joe Caramagna Cover Artist: Jelena Djurdjevic
Interesting Tidbit That Goes On For Too Long: You may already know this, but there is a sad and frustrating backstory leading up to the publication of this giant-sized annual. Originally, this book was going to be published in three parts, as the Young Allies Annual, Spider-Girl Annual, and Avengers Academy Annual, with a story that would tie into all three books, much in the manner of the Spider-Man/Deadpool/Hulk annuals or the X-Men/Steve Rogers/Namor annuals (the latter set of which I’ve heard very good things).
Of course, with the cancelation of both Young Allies and Spider-Girl, Marvel instead repackaged the annuals and decided to solicit them as a three-part miniseries titled Arcade: Death Game. This is actually when I originally learned of this mini’s existence and was eargerly anticipating it, since it features my two favorite Marvel teen teams at the moment. Of course, plans for this mini got scrapped as well.
FINALLY, this story showed up again in the May solicits, now as one giant-sized issue (80 pages) with all three parts combined. Now that I finally have my hands on it and had a chance to read it several times, it’s time to see if the wait was worth it.
Avengers Academy Giant-Size #1
Writer: Paul Tobin Penciler: David Baldeon Inker: Jordi Tarragona Colorist: Chris Sotomayor Letterer: Dave Lanphear Cover Artists: McGuiness & Sotomayor Variant Cover Arists: Samnee & Wilson
The Avengers Academy cadets: Reptil (Humberto Lopez), Veil (Madeline Berry), Striker (Brandon Sharpe), Finesse (Jeanne Foucalt).
The Young Allies: Spider-Girl (Anya Corazon), Firestar (Angelica Jones), Toro (Benito Serrano).
Two-Bit Fears: As we now enter into Fear Itself with the Avengers, I figured I should follow suit with what the other reviewers have done and list some of my fears for your… amusement?
Fear #1 – Comic Book Events. I’m not kidding around. I was dreading reviewing this book. Just fyi, I’m not getting any Fear Itself related books besides this one, so if I inadvertedly miss out on something because it happened somewhere else, now you know why.
What? You wanted some real psychological stuff? We got three more of these, so chill.
Avengers #13
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Penciler: Chris Bachalo Inkers: Townsend, Mendoza, Vey, & Faucher Colorist: Chris Bachalo Letterist: VC’s Clayton Cowles Cover Artists: Alan Davis, Mark Famer, and Javier Rodriguez
Marvel.com sent me this press release about some upcoming variants.
Spider-Man Saves Your Comic Shop Variants as SPIDER-ISLAND begins!
Marvel is proud to unveil the highly anticipated comic shop variant covers to Amazing Spider-Man #666, the kick-off to Spider-Island! That’s right True Believers, we’re putting YOUR comic shops on the cover to the biggest Spidey event of the decade! In the Amazing Spider-Man #666 Comic Shop Bugle Variant by Ryan Stegman, an actual photograph of your comic shop will be front page news of the Daily Bugle! Then, in the Amazing Spider-Man #666 Comic Shop Battle Variant by Humberto Ramos, Spider-Man leaps into action defending your favorite comic shop from the villainous lizard, complete with store name and logo prominently featured!
Be sure to head on over to your local shop immediately and tell your retailers which one you want because both of these commemorativeAmazing Spider-Man #666 Comic Shop Variants can’t be ordered together. Here’s your chance to show your comic shop some support as these personalized variants are a one of a kind, must-have item! With heroes and villains crawling all over Manhattan with Spider-Powers, can Spidey figure out a cure in time before mass chaos runs wild? Find out this July as Spider-Island begins and you show store spirit with the Amazing Spider-Man #666 Comic Shop Variants!!
The tornado that struck Joplin, MO has been ranked as the deadliest to hit the United States since 1950. At this point more than 100 people were killed and survivors are still being dug out of the rubble. As many of you know I live in Joplin and this is just devastating to see my town leveled. It will take years to rebuild and we’re going to need some help both in manpower and in money.
So if you’ve ever visited this website I’m asking you to donate $10 or more to the Red Cross relief efforts. On a good day I can have 10, 000 unique visitors and if everyone of those people donated $10 we could raise $100,000 from the Crawlspace alone. So click on this link to donate to the Red Cross.
If you would like to text a donation here are the numbers.
American Red Cross: Text “REDCROSS” to 90999 Salvation Army: Text “JOPLIN” to 80888 United Way: Text “JOPLIN” to 864833
If you would like to see some amazing pictures of Joplin before and after check out this link. Thankfully my family and house were not affected. However, we were a mile away from the destruction. So we are so fortunate, but there are countless others who weren’t. So please lets pull together on this one. Also feel free to use social media like Facebook to spread the word about donating to the cause. Also once you donate please leave a comment below.
Beep, beep, beeeeeep. That’s the sound of my interest in this storyline flatlining. Seems everything and everyone is dying in this comic. That is, everyone besides the one person who is supposed to be dying. Mockingbird continues to knock on death’s door as this plot is dragged out. At this point, I’d rather someone put her, and this arc, out of their misery so we can move on to a new New Avengers story. You know, one that actually focuses on the New Avengers.
The New Avengers, vol. 2 #12
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Art: Howard Chaykin & Mike Deodato Color Art: Edgar Delgado & Rain Beredo Letters & Production: VC’s Joe Caramagna Cover Art: Mike Deodato & Rain Beredo
The New Avengers: Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel, Thing, Iron Fist, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Dr. Strange, Mockingbird, Jessica Jones, Victoria Hand, Squirrel Girl.
Plot: Hawkeye watches from behind an observation window as doctors operate on his ex-wife, Mockingbird. A handful of New Avengers look on with him and the leader of the Avengers tells them that he wants Superia, the woman responsible for H.A.M.M.E.R.’s recent act of aggression, arrested or killed before Mockingbird is out of surgery. (more…)
As I round out my first year as an educator, I feel like I must say some things in favor of children reading comics in order to further their education. This is, I know, a subject upon which many parties have disagreed, and the Crawl Space Podcast has highlighted the debate. I hope to, in as succinct an article as I know how, explain why comics equal a love for education.
Jon Wilson (site contributor and host of Amazing Spider-Man Classics) is joining forces with Michael Kaiser of Legends of the Batman to bring you The Mighty Shield: A Captain America Podcast, which will be taking a monthly look at every adventure of Captain America from the Golden Age, Silver Age, and today! The first episode examined the origin and other stories presented in Captain America Comics 1. Episode 2 just hit today, presenting his Silver Age revival in The Avengers 4 and every story involving Cap leading up to his regular appearances in Tales of Suspense. Future episodes will include books from both eras, and when the movie hits in July, and the series gets a new #1, the modern books will be reviewed as well.
Combined with last week’s entry featuring Spidey’s long, lost love Mary Jane, I may be working on a theme here. Things that cause a tingling sensation? No, that’s not it. It’s things that I miss seeing out of the current Spider-Man. Thanks to a recent storyline featuring a true act of heroism by Peter Parker, our hero has been without his most unique power – his spider-sense. I think Spidey’s extra-sense is (was) his greatest asset, and recently we’ve seen just how much he had come to rely on that power. Think of all the ways it’d come in handy in your own life. Brad could have been aware of the tornadoes that swept through his home town, I wouldn’t have locked myself out of my apartment the other week, we’d all be aware of when Wacker was about to post on the latest Amazing Spider-Man review! Personally, I was a little let down with how the spider-sense was represented in Sam Raimi’s movie trilogy and hope that we get a much more visual approach to it in the new movie. For now, let’s take a look at how some artists get their squiggly lines on.
So let’s get some of the professional artists out of the way. Many of us are familiar with Skottie Young’s very distinctive art style, and I think his crazy, sketchy look is a really fine example of Peter’s silent alarm going off. I dig the half Peter/half Spidey look when the spider-sense rings. Young had another chance to showcase the spider-sense when he was a guest artist in Ultimate Spider-Man #150. Some other non-Spidey work Skottie is known for is his brilliant work on Marvel’s Wizard of Oz comics. His style is perfect for the land of Oz and all it’s zany inhabitants, I recommend giving it a look.
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Spider-Man vs Elektra by Frank Cho (right)
Also found in Ultimate Spider-Man #150 is a series of backup stories drawn by various artists. Frank Cho takes on the mini Elektra storyline and has possibly the best example of how severe Spider-Man’s spidey-sense can be when danger is imminent. Cho has Elektra in some pretty questionable, pornstar-esque poses, and since I never followed up with the review for the second part of Ultimate #150, I never got the chance to talk about it. Well I’m talking about it now because not only is her costume in danger or garnering a MA17 rating for the comic, but Spidey’s in danger of being impaled on her sais, and his spider-sense knows it. (more…)
“Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, united against a common threat! On that day the Avengers were born, to fight foes that no single hero could withstand!” That’s how the story goes, right? Well, in reality, it is quite different. As told by Tom Breevort, delays in Daredevil #1 forced Stan Lee and crew to come up with a replacement comic for that month. That plan was to create an analogue to the JLA, using their existing heroes and villains. And thus we got Avengers #1.
Avengers #12.1 is meant to be a “jumping-on point” for readers who want to get back into the Avengers title. You know what else is a “jumping-on point”? This review, of course! If you skipped my Spider-Girl reviews for reasons I can’t possibly imagine, then I invite you to read on, true believers, for my take on the premier Avengers title!
Avengers #12.1
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis Penciler: Bryan Hitch Inker: Paul Neary Colorist: Paul Mounts Letters: VC’s Cory Petit Cover Artists: Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary, and Paul Mounts
Hey, all. Michael Bailey here with some good news in a bad situation. As many of you know our webmaster and grand pooh bah of the Crawlspace lives in Joplin, Missouri. At around 6 PM on Sunday night a tornado hit Joplin leaving telephone connections largely cut off and many without power. While there were numerous injuries and, sadly, a few fatalities Brad wanted me to let everyone know that he and his family are fine. He is without Internet service at the moment otherwise he would have posted this himself. Joplin is the home of the Crawlspace, so let’s keep its citizens in our thoughts and prayers tonight.
If you would like to contribute to the relief and rescue efforts visit the Ozarks Red Cross, which you can find by clicking on this link.
I am sure Brad will be on as soon as he can to give us more details but until then let’s keep those positive thoughts coming and leave a comment on this post letting Brad know that we all are thinking about him and his hometown. I think this is one time where we can all put aside our negative thoughts and come together as a community to support the guy that makes all of this possible.
I found this while doing research for a future project. It’s from “Spectacular Spider-Man” issue 22 and the first panel may be one of the most offensive stereotypical things I’ve seen.
Heeere’s Johnny! An unusual greeting for the Ultimate Spider-Man review, but everyone’s favorite flamethrower has a pretty nice role in this issue. Norman Osborn is having everyone stand up to him and this time around it’s the Human Torch. While Peter recovers from being shot, Johnny Storm and Bobby Drake are left to defend the Parker household against some of Spidey’s deadliest villains. Find out how they fare below.
Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #158
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciler: Mark Bagley Inker: Andy Lanning Colorist: Justin Ponsor Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino Cover Art: Mark Bagley, Andy Lanning & Justin Ponsor
Plot: Spider-Man comes to after being shot by the Punisher at the end of last issue. Groggily, he comes to his feet, all the while beseeching his spider-powers to give him the strength to make it to a hospital. Spidey sarcastically thanks the other super heroes who left him behind to bleed to death while engaging in their epic battle. Peter realizes that a trip to the hospital means he will need to reveal his identity to the public, but he sucks it up and webs the bullet wound to keep himself from bleeding out any further. Before he can leave, Spidey witnesses the remaining members of the Sinister Six fly overhead. He hangs his head, and then with much pain, shoots a web-line to follow. (more…)
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Macho Man Randy Savage has died. He had a heart attack while driving and passed away. He had a great scene in the first Spider-Man movie from 2002. Here’s the clip.
The Lizard returns to menace our Webhead in this latest installment of the ASM Classics podcast! But even more important, the debate rages, and it’s time for you Spider-philes to cast your vote — did Gwen Stacy date Flash Thompson?
Onslaught Unleashed #2 of 4
Avengers #13
