The introduction to Mattie Franklin from “Amazing Spider-Man” issue 441 . This was the final issue of the series before it was rebooted to back to issue 1 and we are straight in the middle of the “Gathering of the Five/Final Chapter” mess.  As some of us know, Mattie had a role in the recent “Grim Hunt” storyline so be warned of spoilers in the comment section!

Didn’t we just have one-shot like this? Betty’s comment is helps with a constant debate that comes up among fandom. No Cissy, Peter doesn’t remember you and neither do any of the fans. Mary Jane’s comment….well I’m not even going to go there!

Back in the 70′s, when Marvel first published “Spectacular Spider-Man”, they jokingly informed the readers that they wouldn’t be diluting the waters by giving him as many spinoffs as Superman has. One example that they made was that they wouldn’t be giving Harry his own series. It’s 2010, and things have changed..

The Basics

Things aren’t going well for Harry Osborn. He’s struggling the keep the Coffee Bean afloat and the press at bay. Someone wearing an American Son costume, who may or may not be Harry, is out playing hero which only adds to Harry’s problems. The young Osborn also begins taking pills again. Plus, a fun backup story about the pressures of running a coffee shop.

What everyone is talking about

Gabriel Stacy returns and finally meets his brother Harry. Gabriel hasn’t been mentioned in years. While he’s not a popular character, his absence has been very noticeable since the Osborns have been running the world. It’s very glaring when Norman and Spider-Man mention things about Harry being Norman’s “only son”.

The Good

* Gabriel Stacy is finally being dealt with.

* Reed is actually doing something with the Watson/Osborn roomies situation.

* The backup story (written by Joe Caramagna and drawn by Todd Nauck) is actually fun.

* Harry is starting to feel like Harry again. When he was first brought back it felt more like the writers were copying what they had seen in the movies.

* Everytime Screwball is used, we get “hit you over the head” exposition about her motivation. This time it was alot more subtle.

* Todd Nauck drew the backup!

The Bad

* Harry and Mary Jane’s celebrity status varies for the purposes of the plot. Granted, all the books with them have this problem but it’s really apparent here. Harry is so famous that paparazzi follow him and he’s a household name…but nobody will come to his coffee shop. You would have thought that Mary Jane was Justin Bieber with the way people reacted to her in the backup, yet in every other story she walks the streets ignored. How famous are these people?

* More continuity errors in the recap page. Second time noticed in less than a month. Someone needs to start checking these stat. This time it says Harry’s “death” was in a building collapse. No.

* We’re told that the events of this mini-series tie into “Age of Heroes”. In fact, one of the major plot points is something that American Son does in “Age of Heroes”. It’s really annoying that the story for this mini-series can’t be self contained.

* Philippe Briones cannot draw eyes, especially for women. Look at Mary Jane and Norah’s eyes.

* I’m really not getting a consistant vibe from the Norah Winters character.

The Final Word

This isn’t “Kraven’s Last Hunt” by any means, but it’s a fun Spider-Man story. It’s also great to see how all this “Rise and Fall of Norman Osborn” stuff has been affecting Harry, a character who has gotten lost in all “The Gauntlet” madness. Pick it up!

3 out of 5 webheads. It loses a webhead for all the references to the stuff I’m missing in “Age of Heroes”.

The Slideshow

Check out the slideshow to see selected panels of the issue!

The Replacement

Due to the recent sex scandal and laundering accusations, Brad and I felt it was best if I stepped down as mini-series reviewer. Make way for Jon Wilson!

COVER BY: Jason Levesque
WRITER: Brian Reed, Chris Yost and Roger Stern
PENCILS: Michael Ryan, Nick Dragotta and Ron Frenz

The great loves of Peter Parker’s life. Gwen Stacy, Felicia Hardy, Mary Jane Watson-Parker and…Carlie Cooper?!?!

The Basics

This book is a one-shot featuring three stories, each focusing on a different love interest of Peter Parker. Three different creative teams are on each story. We get a tale taking place at some unknown point in the past where Black Cat and Spider-Man team-up against a wannabe sorcerer who curses Peter in an interesting way. We see Carlie Cooper look back on a night she and Gwen spent together as children. The last story is about Mary Jane’s current status quo.

What everyone is talking about

The Gwen and Carlie Cooper story has gotten alot of attention online. Lots of fans have felt it unnecessary to shoehorn (their words not mine) Gwen into Carlie’s history. What everyone SHOULD be talking about is Roger Stern and Ron Frenz reuniting for a story. Shame that it hasn’t gotten more attention.

The Creators

Chris Yost is currently known for his recently completed run on “Red Robin”. I was very hot/cold on his “Red Robin” run so I wasn’t sure what to expect here. He was able to write good Spider-Man humor which is very hard to do these days. He gets Spider-Man’s world real well, with the possible exception of Black Cat. Brian Reed’s story was an interesting concept but the way he pulled off showing the differences between Gwen and Carlie was poor. That story was the weakest of the three. Roger Stern has always been able to write engaging Spider-Man stories and that hasn’t changed here. He was able to get inside Mary Jane’s head in a convincing way.

The Good

* As mentioned before, you get a Stern/Frenz reunion.

* We get to see Mary Jane’s life outside of Peter. Her own independent thoughts, dreams and goals.

* The Black Cat story could have very easily been hooky and annoying. It delivered the goods though.

The Bad

* Some really poor editing in here. The recap page has a few continuity errors that inside content downright contradicts.

* Has Yost read any Black Cat stories between 1980 and 2005?
* Ever since Carlie Cooper appeared, fans have compared her to Gwen because Carlie is a shy science geek. I personally think some of the Gwen comparisons are exaggerated. It’s speculated that Brian Reed used this opportunity to show us how different Gwen and Carlie are. How did he do it? By having Gwen say the exact opposite of almost everything Carlie said throughout the story. It was really annoying.

The Final Word

If you’re a die-hard fan this is a fun book. If you’re on a budget skip it. Nothing really important.

The Slideshow

Check it out here!

COVER BY: Rafael Alberquerque
WRITER: Bob Gale and Fred Hembeck
PENCILS: Pat Olliffeand Fred Hembeck

Those of you who couldn’t read this because it was “digital only”, turn that frown upside down! The former “digital exclusive” comic is now being released as a print series. Worth it?

The Basics

Bob Gale is back in this “digital only” comic. Well, it was suppose to be digital only but I think Marvel figured nobody was reading it so they decided to release it in the comic shops. Michelle tricks Peter into promising to financially assist with the redecoration of their apartment, high school rejects get vow revenge and Mayor Jameson teams up with a Paris Hilton knockoff (seriously).

What everyone is talking about

For all intents and purposes, this looks like another ongoing series and not a mini. Why did we switched to “Amazing” three times a month again? Wasn’t it because they felt the satellite titles felt less important? We now have Amazing (3x), Peter Parker, Web and a few different mini-series. This isn’t even counting the out universe titles like “Ultimate” or team books. I like more Spider-Man just as much as everyone, but I’m starting to see old patterns repeat themselves.

The Creators

Bob Gale had less than spectacular reputation among Spider-fans during early “Brand New Day”. Anyone remember Freak? Perhaps the time off and change of format did Gale good. The writing isn’t anything that will knock you out, but I found it to be an enjoyable read. Pat Olliffe is on board for art and I couldn’t be happier. Olliffe has a history of drawing great Spider-Man stories and he keeps it up here. I find his art to be the just right fit and it’s not too wacky, dark or cartoony like some of the rotating “Amazing” artists have been.

The Good

* As you can read above, Pat Olliffe draws a great Spidey. Nuff said.

* Actually playing with the fact that JJJ is mayor.

* New villain called the Spectrum has the power to…..change colors? Actually it’s not that bad visually. Perhaps future issues will make this villain seem less lame, but the concept is nice.

The Bad

* We are shown the “unpopular” girls in high school. It’s a common tv, movie or comic trope that the unpopular people are actually quite attractive and it’s really annoying. I am tired of seeing movies where people like Jennifer Aniston complain about not being able to get a date yet they have a smoking body. It’s the same situation here. I find it very hard to believe that three girls who look like they do would have a hard time being popular in school.

* This was originally a digital comic published online months ago. Now that it’s released it’s place in continuity is confusing. When does this take place? Luckily it’s easy to workout due to the text, but it takes some pondering before you figure it out, especially given Michelle and Peter’s “relationship”.

* JJ teaming up with a Paris Hilton knockoff??

The Fun

Fred Hembeck wrote and illustrated a back-up story about “Petey”. “Petey” is a cartoony out of continuity feature about Peter and the Marvel Universe cast before they got their powers. It’s a fun feature, but nothing special. Mostly the characters getting into situations that foreshadow their future roles like Johnny turning on a lighter saying “flame on” and people saying that Sue came out nowhere like she’s invisible. Get it? Nothing that will win an Eisner, but will make you smile.

The Final Word

3 out of 5 webs. Mostly due to Pat’s art. This issue was better than some of the current issues of “Amazing”, but it mostly gets the grade it does due to the awesome Olliffe artwork.

Tomorrow afternoon I’ll be interviewing Fred Van Lente at a Free Comic Book Day event. I’ll be acting as Brad’s Florida correspondent. The question thread is open, but we haven’t received many fan questions yet. Be sure to get them in before tomorrow afternoon. Props to Thomas Matis for showing me that Van Lente would be in town.

Now everyone scroll down and read George’s awesome “Friday Night Fights” segment!

Face it tiger, you just hit the jackpot.

In the spirit of giving the people what they want, “Peter/MJ week” continues!

Amazing Spider-Man issue 193 is often touted as the issue where Peter and Mary Jane break up. Really what we see above is MJ’s full appearance in the issue. We don’t even get to see both of her eyes! Just that one line and (aside from a few cameos) she’s out of the book for years! To be fair the breakup was a slow burn that started ten issues earlier when she turned down his proposal of marriage. Well Peter doesn’t seem stressed out because his consolation prize just walked in.

In the spirit of giving the people what they want, “Peter/MJ week” continues!

Going backwards a bit from yesterday, here is Peter and Mary Jane’s first kiss. One of my favorite first kisses in comics ever. I love how Robbie is so obviously looking at them out of the corner of his eye. This classic moment can be found in “Amazing Spider-Man” issue 143 and is collected in the “Clone Genesis” trade paperback.

In the past I’ve tried to avoid some Peter/MJ heavy selections for “Spidey Memories” so we’d avoid a “marriage flame war”. With all the OMIT talk I figured it’s time to give the people what they want. So here begins a week of Peter/MJ heavy “Spidey Memories”.

This one is from “Amazing Spider-Man” issue 149 and is a much cited scene. It’s the conclusion of an emotional journey of Peter’s where he moves past the memory of Gwen (albeit through her clone) and is ready to start a relationship with MJ. Some speculate that this panel has them starting an “adult relationship”.