J. Michael Straczynski

Twelve superheroes and/or masked vigilantes are cryogenically frozen by Nazis at the height of World War II. Before the Nazi scientists can unleash their nefarious plans for the dozen, the war comes to an end and the sleeping heroes are forgotten by history. That is, until construction work in 2008 unearths the underground lair where they've been sleeping away the decades. Newly awakened to all kinds of newfangled contraptions, a culture they don't understand, and family members aged or show more gone, the heroes are offered and choose to accept an offer from the United States government -- live together expense free in a designated house and consider the option of fighting for good (or at least the government) when needed.

I can't recall anymore how I first heard about this comic, but I thought the concept was interesting. Let's see what happens when a group of people awaken to their future and it's not what they expected. To make things more fun, these aren't new creations but golden-age Marvel heroes who haven't had new reboots recently. So again, let's see what happens when something older makes it way into the modern world.

But the actual book itself was disappointing. For starters, there are 12 heroes and literally ONE of them is female. And, of course, she's barely clad, is built like she'd topple forwards if she were a real person, and every male in the comic is salivating over her even though she's deadly. There's even a creepy scene where the main lead of the comic peers into her door and stares at her naked body while she's sleeping. And to add insult to injury, her powers aren't of her own making like everyone else in the book; instead, she acquired them by making a deal with the devil, quite literally, and as a result is arguably not a "good guy" in this universe. There are also other parts of the book when it's made clear that "hero" and "he" are synonymous. The comic book industry has long had difficulty understanding the very basic concept that women read comics, too. We're not going away and we want content that isn't sexist, plain and simple.

Beyond this initial problem, I found the book was way too choppy. Having 12 characters who your average reader doesn't know well means it's difficult to keep track of them all. Giving them all masked names and real names and backstories is very interesting, but it's a lot to juggle. It doesn't help that Straczynski tells his story in all kinds of chronological order. There's attempts to make this a sort of Watchmen-esque endeavor by making the heroes dark, complex, and sometimes not even acting like a hero at all, but it seems to fall flat somehow. To put it simply, the characters are just not that interesting. The best and most touching story in the book is a brief one about the Rockman's past but it's just a short snippet in a larger, mainly mundane work.

Although this book leaves many, many plotlines up in the air, I did not find the writing stunning enough, the characters interesting enough, or the overall story compelling enough to want to continue on with volume 2. Nor would I recommend this volume except to diehard Marvel fans who can't get enough of that universe. show less

J. Michael Straczynski and Mike Deodato's Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 8: Sins Past collects Amazing Spider-Man nos. 509-514. Sins Past is one of the most controversial Spider-Man stories of all time, not just in recent memory. It begins with Peter receiving a letter that Gwen Stacy wrote prior to her death. When he visits her grave to think, two shadowy figures attack him. After recovering the second half of the letter and some DNA, Spidey discovers that these two are the children of Gwen Stacy show more and Norman Osborn, born in France during the events of Amazing Spider-Man nos. 119-120. Peter must deal with this shocking revelation while trying to save Gwen's children, who Norman Osborn raised and trained to kill Peter Parker and Spider-Man if Osborn should die. The story is certainly one of the more daring for this time period and retcons a beloved character, but it's not necessarily as bad as most remember it. Straczynski based his Spider-Man stories on the relationships between Peter, Mary Jane, Aunt May, and other side characters. This shocking revelation led to some action sequences, but worked well to create emotional drama for the characters to confront and process. That said, the flashback of Gwen Stacy sleeping with Osborn is an unnecessary full-page sequence. If that had been omitted or described differently, the story would likely not get as much hate as it does currently. For those who enjoyed Straczynski's run on Amazing Spider-Man, this fits in with the character-driven stories he developed during the 2000s. Also, Deodato's art was a nice departure from the exaggerated caricature style of John Romita, Jr., who illustrated most of the previous Straczynski Amazing Spider-Man stories. show less

Civil War: Avengers was an exceptional tie-in to the main event. So, I eagerly started with the Fantastic Four hardcover collection, and found that the book covers more than just that team. A large section is devoted to the Black Panther, with smaller sections for She-Hulk and the Runaways. This turned out to be a good thing as I felt the FF section was the weakest part.

The book opens with the Fantastic Four. Before Civil War had even begun, Reed Richards determined that Tony Stark was right show more and the Superhero Registration Act should be supported. At the end of the Illuminati one-shot, he joked that he needed to go home and spend the rest of his life arguing over it with his wife. Instead, it broke the FF entirely. After Goliath dies at the hand of the Thor clone Reed and Tony created, Sue defects to the rebels. Johnny follows, leaving only Ben undecided. The critical aspect of this tie-in is learning Reed's motivations for his support of the Act; he used a mathematical formula! I personally felt this was a cop-out for the writers, especially since they make it clear that he knows his actions are morally wrong. Ben decides to leave the country and fight bad guys in Paris, which I thought sidelined the main story unnecessarily. Sue's actions were better covered in the Avengers tie-in. There is a quick section after this which covers the Sentry visiting the Inhumans on the moon. I'm not a fan of the Sentry, and this didn't add anything to the main event.

The next section begins with Black Panther's Wedding to Ororo Monroe/Storm. This was the strongest section of the book which expanded on the Civil War event in a big way - from an "outsider's" point of view. Black Panther is the ruler of a foreign nation, and so not subject to the SHRA (Storm's status is more ambiguous). Once married, he and Storm set off on a world tour of major powers including Britain, Latveria, Atlantis, etc. The story intercuts with US officials discussing the tour and T'Challa's possible motives for doing so. The powder keg ignites when the tour comes to the US. This section had some exciting action sequences, and because Black Panther is also one of the "geniuses" he pulls some excellent gambits in support of the rebels. His relationship with Storm was also well done, touching on their newlywed status, and their strengths as a power couple. This was my favorite part of the tie-in.

After Black Panther, a small section covers the She-Hulk, who decides to help some of the New Warriors (who were responsible for the Stamford incident) to close down a hate site targeting their members. This section wasn't essential and didn't add much to the overall event but was at least more interesting than the Sentry.

Lastly, the Young Avengers go on an unsanctioned mission (meaning Cap said no!) to help the Runaways who have caught the attention of SHIELD as unregistered heroes. I am completely unfamiliar with the Runaways and only a little with the Young Avengers. Never-the-less, I found this section to be fast-paced and gripping. The teens are in over their heads, but fight for each other without reservation. This section made me eager to read the Young Avengers collection I haven't gotten to yet!

Overall, though I felt the FF section was weak, the collection as a whole was very good and expanded on Civil War in a meaningful way. Highly recommended. show less

Spider-Man: One More Day collects Amazing Spider-Man nos. 554-555, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man no. 24, and Sensational Spider-Man no. 41 written by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada with art by Quesada. The story works to resolve the last threads from Civil War, with Mary Jane and Peter Parker striking a deal with Mephisto to save Aunt May, still in a coma from an assassin's bullet care of the Kingpin. Straczynski's contribution in Amazing Spider-Man no. 554 reflects the tone of show more his previous issues, with Quesada's art remaining relatively low-key, though the subsequent issues leave a lot to be desired.
Due to disagreements, Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada took over writing the conclusion of this story to impose his limited vision on Spider-Man and undo the significant character growth of the preceding twenty years since "The Wedding!" in Amazing Spider-Man Annual no. 21. He writes Mephisto to say things that are vaguely impressive, though lack the emotional weight of Straczynski's writing in previous stories. The very idea of Spider-Man making a deal with the devil seems outlandish. True, he gave into vengeance in the "Back in Black" storyline that preceded this, but he acknowledged that there would be a cost as he counted felonies. Though Wizard magazine praised Quesada's art, it grows more and more sloppy as the story continues, with Spider-Man's eye lenses looking tiny and ridiculous while Quesada attempts to put as many muscles on the human face as exist on the Hulk's entire body. Quesada's covers and their attempt to ape the sensationalist style of the 1960s Marvel covers look sloppy and forced.
I stopped reading the main Spider-Man titles when this first came out and stuck to the Ultimate universe stories. It betrayed twenty years of character growth all because one petty tyrant did not like Peter and MJ's marriage. Re-reading this now, I still don't find it enjoyable. Though Straczynski was no stranger to controversy, he always grounded his stories in the emotional core of the characters and took time to develop plots. Quesada threw that all away for a rushed deus ex machina. The only potential saving grace is that this wasn't a total erasure of canon and Dan Slott recently began teasing a potential return of Peter and MJ's memory of their marriage, if not the marriage itself, in Amazing Spider-Man no. 797. show less