Tuesday 2 September 2014

An Old Birds Tale...


Looking through my collection this week and I came upon this Amazing Spider-man, written by Dan Slott and that got me thinking, how long has he been behind the friendly neighbourhood Spider-man? It has been for some time, the modern time spider we all know and love has been crafted and moulded by Slott for sometime now. I think to the upcoming Spider-verse arc that is coming up and I wonder on how far ahead have the writers and editors been planning these events, I am curious about all the little hints and clues as well, the things we may have overlooked. And since I've been enjoying the current run of ASM, I decided to take a look back at this issue, spanning just after the events of "Spider Island" and with a classic Spidey villain, the Vulture! Although this time he's got a flock of Vultures at his disposal to do his dirty work, he is old or lazy or both, who knows with that guy? So how bad can it be for our hero, let's find out...

We see Spider-man with his new ex girlfriend, Carlie Cooper investigating the recent "accidents" from teens literally falling from the sky. The theory is these are teens who have been de-powered after the events from Spider Island, were everyone in Manhattan had Spider-man powers and also eventually transformed into giant hairy spiders. Meanwhile we see the Vulture getting his gang ready for another robbery, letting the newest member of his group understand the situation he is in and who is really pulling the wings around here. We see that while each of these young hooligans are under the Vulture talon per say, they enjoy the benefits and the powers that come with it, the money and the respect as VIPs at their hideout club. As they fly off for the next heist, Spider-man and Carlie connect the dots and are off to stop the Vulture and his crew. Action ensues and we see the fight break out between the spider and the vultures, the young ones and the really really old one...who I gotta wonder, how old is he? I mean shouldn't he, you know retire or something, especially if one punch from Spider-man could turn him into dust. But no, actually he ends up throwing a large water container at Spider-man and ends up getting away. The ending though is pretty great, with both Carlie and Mary Jane meeting up to talk about Peter. The look on his face as he has the feeling something bad is going to happen is pretty priceless. Sucks to be Parker.


The whole issue had a really nostalgic feel to it, really felt like watching an episode of the cartoon Spider-man. And in some ways, isn't that we want from our web headed hero? The art and the writing feel perfect for this kind of story, it's a light hearted comic book adventure, if you looking for something dark and gritty call Frank Miller or something. In retrospect, maybe that's why some people didn't like Spider-man Reign, the book was pretty dark. But I really liked it and will definitely review it here when I find myself a copy. The one thing though out of a light hearted Spider-man book, is that it is something you can share with the younger generation and in many ways, we need to get the kids involved with comics, make them care and love the characters. And also, let them find the other characters as well, the other books aside from the mainstream classics. And while it may not be the most epic story ever written, it's a good light hearted super hero read. Worth a check out for every Spider-man fan. An easy read is what was needed after the events of Spider Island and this one fits the bill just right. 


So remember, while it may not do much for the bigger picture, I can't find any problems with issue 675, any problems without being a super nit picky comic book guy. And trust me, no one wants to be that guy. The only thing I would say is to find issue 674 first, only because it completes the entire story. And since it has been some years now, you should be able to find this one at a really low price. That's all the time I have for today, going to go grab a coffee and look through some more potential books to read and review. But as always I am open to any and all suggestions in the comment section below, be sure to subscribe and tell others about this page, until then, keep chasing the storm.

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