Volume 51: Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America

Capt America #25: Author: Ed Brubaker / Illustrator: Steven Epting
Fallen Son Miniseries: Author: Jeph Loeb (from a premise by J. Michael Straczynski) / Illustrators: Leinil Yu (#1) / Ed McGuinness (#2) / John Romita Jr. (#3) / David Finch (#4) / John Cassaday (#5)

"...[A]nd one day, it'll be different. The load won't feel as heavy. 'Course, then you'll hear a song or somebody will laugh or the wind will blow the wrong way...and the hole will tear wide open again."

A number of heroes died during the Civil War arc (Volume 50), and while every human life should be equal in value, it's a fact that those closest to us leave the biggest vacuum in the world, an absence that's immeasurable in size. For many of the superhero community the death of Captain America cuts deeper than any of the others because of how inspirational he was. He's the reason so many of those able to protect the innocent were moved to do so in the first place. Steve Rogers was a man, but his costumed self was an almighty symbol that had the power to speak in place of the person beneath it.

The stories of how the death affected those closest to Steve is structured like the Kübler-Ross model (aka The Five Stages of Grief, as observed by Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross), with each issue exploring one of the stages: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance. The particular hero chosen to lead each issue isn't random, there's a method at play whereby the emotion will have a special resonance with that particular character.

Before we get to the Fallen Son issues, we're given the issue of Captain America in which the hero was killed (#25). It's a great issue, with the focus split between Steve's situation and the world around him, but favouring the latter, surprisingly.

Stage 1: Denial: Wolverine. No stranger to loss as one of the X-Men, Wolverine needs confirmation of the death before he can begin to heal. The sketchy lines and dark colours suit the tone.

Stage 2: Anger: the Avengers. The team who lost a friend and leader. While some grieve openly, some choose distraction. Choosing not to vent anger doesn't necessarily make it go away; it still affects but quietly, and can do even more damage in the long term.

Stage 3: Bargaining: Capt. America. It's named for Cap, for reasons that will be obvious upon reading, but it's mostly about Iron Man and one specific other. Without going into detail it was the best issue so far, by quite a margin. I loved how the chill of the rainy night adds to the cold reception.

Stage 4: Depression: Spider-Man. Another good issue. Peter carries the weight of the world on an ordinary day, but when his failures (real and imagined) gang up on him as one, past and present blur and the web-slinger aches like only he can.

Stage 5: Acceptance: Ironman. The acceptance doesn't mean an end to the grief, but allows reflection. The future is changed, but for the superhero community it must go on.

The book collects together Captain America #25; and Fallen Son #1-5 (i.e. Fallen Son: Wolverine; Fallen Son: Avengers; Fallen Son: Captain America; Fallen Son: Spider-Man; Fallen Son: Iron Man).

Verdict:

Volume 25: Spider-Man: Blue

Spider-Man: Blue

Author: Jeph Loeb  |  Illustrator: Tim Sale

"[M]aybe by chance, or maybe God has a sense of humour and we're all part of the joke."

Blue is the story of how Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy fell in love, and of how Peter's life seems to him a pendulum that swings repeatedly from good times to bad times. He tries to rationalise the situation by seeing the bad as being a necessary precursor to the good.

It's split into two distinct time periods that work in tandem.

The first is a confessional memoir narrated by Peter in what I'm going to call the present. It mostly takes the form of text boxes (captions) that sit inside the frame and act like a v/o in a film. They're spoken by a Peter that's endured hardship - a Peter that's developed a deeper understanding of his purpose and the dangers inherent in it.

The second time period is a visual retelling of past events. The art and speech bubbles that make up the majority of the frame depict what happened or was said in the past. They show a Peter early in his career as Spider-Man; he's less mature and therefore less acutely aware of how tragedy can shape and scar an individual.

The past and the present exist as one within the same frame and together they tell the full story.

Even though the pictures fill the majority of the page, it's the captions that carry most of the weight and the reason the story works so well. If they were absent it wouldn't need to be retold. Jeph Loeb tinkers with the original very slightly but there's no major retcon happening. I'm willing to bet that, by the end, more people than not will be glad that he did what he did, particularly if you can relate emotionally.

My belief that the art is respectfully subordinate to the text doesn't mean the art is weak. On the contrary, Tim Sale's style is a perfect match for Loeb's words. His colour-blindness doesn't seem to be a handicap at all. His lines are bold and his blacks are striking.

He seems to have a filmmaker's eye. If his frames were taken verbatim to a screen they would make dynamic eye-candy; most likely even better than any of the live-action Spider-Man films that exist at time of writing.

The book collects together Spider-Man: Blue #1–6.
The events that Blue reference can be found in The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #43-48 and 63.

Verdict:

Volume 22: The Amazing Spider-Man: Revelations and Until the Stars Turn Cold

The Amazing Spider-Man: Revelations and Until the Stars Turn Cold

Author: J. Michael Straczynski  |  Illustrator: John Romita, Jr.

"You can't beat this by hitting it. It's not that easy. But that doesn't mean you don't try."

The previous Spider-Man story, collected in Volume 21: Coming Home, ended with something that Revelations addresses. It couldn't not, such was the gravity of the situation, but it does it in such a way that the telling of it is as memorable as the reveal itself.

There's a small amount of suited, web-swinging action, but the majority of it is a people story, a quiet but powerful confessional that significantly alters the life and feelings of those involved.

It's the kind of situation that J. Michael Straczynski is really good at. He uses conversational scenes as multifaceted tools, enabling his action scenes to be justifiably interpreted as tests of character as revealed in the personal moments, working as a commentary that's a much better reason for action than is action for its own sake.

Outside of that, Peter is still settling into his new job as a teacher at a high-school. He's attentive to the kids' moods even when they aren't attentive to his lectures. His teaching is more than academic.

Volume 22 also contains Spider-Man's entry in the 'Nuff Said! event that had all of Marvel's major titles for December be without dialogue or exposition. There is some written word in the Spider-Man tale, but none of it is spoken. It highlights the essential role that pacing and spacing have in a story, and it forced people who may overlook such things to sit up and take notice, hopefully in a lasting way.

The second part of the book, the ...Stars Turn Cold part, is less interesting to me than the Revelations part. It returns to the Villain vs Hero format, something that was maybe considered long overdue by some readers who had to wait four weeks between issues.

I know my own mind well-enough to conclude that I'd likely have been less receptive to the change than I actually was if not for the comparative balancing I mentioned previously. In short, the immediate situation needing a resolution meant less time was available for introspection. And while it's true that the two parts collected as they are could be perceived as giving a reader the best of both worlds, the Revelations part is the main reason I'll be keeping the book when the time comes to choose what stays and what goes.

The book collects together The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol 2) #37-45.

Verdict:

Volume 21: The Amazing Spider-Man: Coming Home

The Amazing Spider-Man: Coming Home

Author: J. Michael Straczynski  |  Illustrator: John Romita, Jr.

"We tell stories, put on masks, build statues and say prayers to a memory."

Have I mentioned elsewhere that the books were released to shops out of order? I'm not sure. But they were. Volume 21 was the first issue, the one that started TUGNC and set a benchmark for the entire series. It was a hell of a good start! J. M. Straczynski nailed it.

It's about the adult Peter Parker, not the wise-cracking teen. He's separated from his wife, and living in a small apartment. It's a temporary, transitional period, but anyone who's been in that same situation knows that the weeks can become months, even years. If Peter is to bounce back, then he'll need to adjust to a new routine.

When not in the suit, Peter has time on his hands to think. JMS uses the time to explore the character's origins: who Peter is, why he is, why he feels like he does, and how he fits into a world that he tries to shape. It's a scenario I can very much relate to; when your own life is shit you sometimes find situations that enable you to improve the life of others, hoping to achieve a kind of universal balance in order to reinforce the belief that the world is worth saving from itself.

In a way, it reworks the character from the ground up, turning the familiar into something new and equally wonderful. It's not a disrespectful approach. The event that changed Peter Parker is exactly the same, but we view it differently, we're given a new plateau upon which to stand and have the benefit of onlooker-hindsight.

That's all I'm willing to say about the story. It's best if you go into it without expectations; not because it won't meet them, but because the story is structured to work upon a reader that way. It's so well-written that I suspect even folks who are unwilling to accept the philosophical side of things will be unable to forget it completely.

As is often the case with J. M. Straczynski's best works, the dilemmas and resolutions have a power that lingers even after the book is closed (or the TV episode ends); the questions and concepts are revisited on a more personal level during the small hours. One such conclusion is that to progress through life it's necessary to use all our available strengths in precise, calculated ways that are tailored to meet each new challenge - but even a perceived weakness can become its own opposite in a time of crisis.

The book collects together The Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #30-35.

Verdict:

Volume 20: Ultimate Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility

Ultimate Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility

Author: Brian Michael Bendis | Illustrator: Mark Bagley

'I was selfish. So selfish — and you paid the price.'

Marvel were in financial difficulty back in the late 90's. The ULTIMATE line was a make or break concept that saw them reboot some of their most popular franchises for a potential new audience. It was a complete wiping clean of the slate, resetting characters back to day one. They didn't abandon the existing books; the new ones ran concurrently with a separate continuity that kept the core values but left behind all the baggage.
In the case of Spider-Man they made him 15 again; he's an adolescent in an adult world, on the verge of learning real responsibility for his actions. It was the most daring, freshest thing to happen to the character in many, many years. And luckily for Marvel it was instrumental in saving their ass financially.
More titles followed, including Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four, and an Avengers style team-up called The Ultimates.

Click the drop-down box above for some brief information about the Ultimate line of superheroes and how they fit into the existing Marvel world. It's not essential to what follows, so you can ignore it if you’re not interested or if you already know.

There's no flaffing around in Brian Michael Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man. It introduces the teenage Peter Parker, his friends and family, sets up the relationship he has with each of them and gives a glimpse of the world in which they all exist, then BANG! The spider bite, the transformation, and the crux of the story takes hold.

Comics are often filled with narrative boxes that document what a character is feeling; it gives a reader an insight into the head-space of the hero, but an over-reliance on them can be a crutch. Bendis makes use of them, it's difficult not to, but he keeps them at a minimum in the early stages. What he does instead is revert to a 'show don’t tell' attitude that gives the story a real vibrancy and immediacy; it filled me with a desire to get to the next page as hurriedly as possible, which is the opposite of what I normally do because I like to take in all aspects of the work (construction, style, art, etc).

Artist Mark Bagley understood the approach and fills his panels with everything necessary to communicate the unspoken parts. In just a few pages writer and artist show Peter's isolation, Mary Jane's compassion, Harry Osborn's arrogance, Uncle Ben's paternal longing, and Aunt May's stern but sensitive role-play.

I know Bendis has his haters, but I would argue that when he didn't dilute himself across multiple titles he was damn good at what he did.

If you want a Spider-Man origin story that closely resembles the Sam Raimi film version, and you want a great comic that starts strong and keeps on giving, then Ultimate Spidey is highly recommended.

The book collects together Ultimate Spider-Man #1–7.

Verdict:

Volume 10: The Amazing Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt

The Amazing Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt

Author: J. M. DeMatteis  |  Illustrator: Mike Zeck

"Don't fear me. Love me. For I intend to bless you. With pain. And blood. And Sorrow. Tonight."

I didn't expect it to be very good because Kraven hasn't held much of an allure for me in the past, but Kraven's Last Hunt turned out to be one of the finest Spider-Man stories I've ever read. Hell, it's one of the finest comics I've ever read. J. M. DeMatteis crafted a dark tale of personal suffering, full of symbolism and primal longings that puts many of the other writers on the Marvel roster to shame.

One of the reasons it works so well is because there's very little dialogue. Often writers use dialogue to bridge the gaps between small parts or to lengthen action scenes. There's no such trickery herein. Instead, there are inner monologues to tell the story; they really get inside the head of each of the three main players: Spider-Man (obviously) and two very different antagonists.

It struck me that reading KLH feels like reading a Noir text, but not any Noir that I've ever encountered before. Neither Spade nor Marlowe could climb walls, for a start.

Quite often whole pages go by with no text at all because it's not needed. The imagery from Illustrator Mike Zeck is able to deliver everything we need to follow the drama. His work oozes dynamic movement and pace. The colouring paints everything with a shadowy, other-worldly brush. The colours act like a kind of curtain or a veil that gets pushed aside just enough to let the person behind it act out their role. It's a truly collaborative effort between writer, inker, and colourists, and no one part would be as powerful on its own.

With a little help from William Blake and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, DeMatteis presented us with an enduring tale of men fighting for their sanity in a world that seems destined to take it away from them piece by piece. It deserves a place on every comic fan's shelf.

The book collects together Web of Spider-Man #31-32, The Amazing Spider-Man #293-294,
and Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132.

Verdict:

Volume 09: The Amazing Spider-Man: Birth of Venom

The Amazing Spider-Man: Birth of Venom

Authors: Tom DeFalco / Louise Simonson / David Michelinie  |  Illustrators: Ron Frenz / Greg Lo Rocque / Todd McFarlane

"Sometimes I feel like I have absolutely no control over my own life!"

Peter Parker returned from Battleworld (Vols 06+07: Secret Wars) on a high, thrilled that he survived the ordeal (he only had to live it – we had to read it) and with his newly acquired black costume intact, but it doesn't take long before the reality of being Spider-Man brings him back down to Earth. He's forced to take stock of his situation and his relationship with Felicia Hardy, aka The Black Cat, a woman who understands the importance of having a secret identity.

Getting back to a more traditional one-on-one conflict after the cluster-fuck that was SW was actually welcome. Spider-Man is being hunted by a villain with an ability that can track the hero over long distances, so, no matter how fast or how cunning Peter may be, his avoidance of a final and decisive bout is only a matter of time.

His life continues to have its usual ups and downs for a while before the Venom character gets properly introduced. The slow build is never boring, though, because amid the usual comic-book shenanigans there's some tender times and some hard-hitting moments, the best of which comes courtesy of Mary Jane Watson. Even if you're not a fan of M.J. (I'm not), it can't be denied that Tom DeFalco used her well, splitting our sympathies between the confessor and the shoulder being cried upon. Sterling work, sir.

With that in mind, I feel it's unfair that only Michelinie and McFarlane get their names on the cover. They're responsible for only one of the included issues (The Amazing Spider-Man #300), whereas Louise Simonson scripted one and Tom DeFalco was responsible for five.

When Venom finally appears in all his blackened glory, the stakes are raised even higher. He's not yet been given the sharpened teeth that he sports on the cover, meaning his toothy grin is at times almost comical, but he still manages to be menacing in all the best ways and push Spider-Man to ever greater levels of desperation.

To keep the page count to an acceptable level, and get the reader to the money-shot sooner, there's a lot of 'black-suited' Spider-Man issues omitted, which is a shame because there's some good stuff not included, such as the four-part The Death of Jean DeWolff. But overall, what's present is quality that should please most fans of the original friendly neighbourhood web-slinger.

The book collects together The Amazing Spider-Man #252, 256-259, 300.

Verdict: