Meaningless Awards of the Week- 5/2/07
Horrible Idea of the Week- Jackpot, Amazing Spider-Man: Swing Shift
Mary Jane as a superhero…WTF was Dan Slott thinking?! There was a time when it was commonplace for the non-super-powered friends of superheroes to dress up in colorful costumes and fight crime. That time was the Golden Age, and half the comic blogs on the internets are devoted to calling attention to how ridiculous that time period was. “Super-MJ” is a ludicrous concept that has no place in modern comics outside of a one-time joke, and even that’s pushing it. But according to Joe Quesada, this isn’t the last we’ll see of Jackpot. Face it, tiger…this is stupid, stupid idea. I doubt even Jim could argue that point.
Book of the Week- 52 Week 52
I won’t go into much detail about this particular issue (since Doom DeLuise reviewed it already last Wednesday and we all sort of already had our say), but this issue was hands down the best of the week. The penultimate (that means last, right?) installment of the most ambitious comic book series since I’ve been reading comics delivered in a way I didn’t quite expect to be possible. It was an exciting story a start to finish and had plenty of OMG moments. There are two specific things I was very pleased about from the issue. First, it firmly established Kingdom Come and Wildstorm universes as part of the DC multiverse. Second, it didn’t tie everything up into a nice little bow. We still have 40+ unidentified universes out there, and they even set up a brand new storyline involving Ralph & Sue Dibny: Ghost Detectives that I hope continues into Countdown.
Splash Page of the Week- John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men #21
Love Story of the Week- Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, Sensational Spider-Man Annual #1
Mary Jane always seems to get a bum wrap. If the editor-in-chief isn’t doing everything in his power to kill her off, then some yahoo on the internets is calling her spandex-clad debut a horrible idea. And then of course, there’s Gwen Stacy. She was Pete’s first love, and in the eyes of many readers (and obviously some writers), MJ was just the consolation prize. If Gwen Stacy had never died, she’d probably be the one married to Peter Parker today. She was Pete’s first love, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she was his “true” love, and it certainly doesn’t mean she was his “only” love.
Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson are very much in love with one another. Readers might understandably forget that considering most love stories we see involving Spider-Man (Spider-Man: Blue, Sins Past) deal with Pete’s lost love, Gwen. Matt Fraction did a great job in Sensational Spider-Man Annual #1 of reminding the reader of the connection Pete and MJ have always shared, even when they were “in love” with other people. It was an emotional story that I’m not ashamed to say brought a little tear to my eye. Then again, I’m a bit of a sap, so take that as you will.
This issue actually had a lot in common with another annual released only a couple of weeks ago: Nightwing Annual #2. Both featured stories about one of the greatest romances in comics’ history. Both wove narratives set in the present with flashbacks to various moments in the couples’ pasts. Both featured a different creative team than the one on the regular series. And probably because of that, both were much, much better than any regular issue from the series.
Excuse for Spending an Obscene Amount of Money on Comics of the Week- “It was my birthday.”
Maybe I’m alone in this, but my birthday always seems a little more special when it falls on a Wednesday. This year was even more extraordinary than most: three titles written by Joss Whedon; three issues by Geoff Johns; two books by Peter David; the final chapter of 52; another issue of Jeff Smith’s Shazam!; the second Walking Dead hardcover; a Booster Gold Action figure; and issues of Green Lantern, Teen Titans, Superman, Detective Comics, Checkmate, Dark Tower, MZvAOD, Zemo, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Runaways, Astonishing X-Men and Buffy. To top it all off, I got to go back to Trade-a-Tape three days later and get four more comics for free. This was simply one of the best weeks to be a comic reader in a very long time, and it just happened to fall directly on my birthday. Yippee!!
I think penultimate actually means “second to last,” but it’s been a while since I took English…
-M
I told you no one would get that joke! Well, aside from me.
Also, I really can’t believe this MJ as a hero stuff. The real question is, is that better or worse than having her dead?
Given Slott’s history, there is virtually zero chance that Jackpot is actually MJ. You just fell into his fanboy trap by assuming that’s who it is.
Why is it a “fanboy trap” if you have to have a great knowledge of Dan Slott to figure it out? Or are you just using fanboy as shorthand for tinging your comment with a holier-than-thou smirk? Such a fanboy thing to do.
(Note: This probably comes off a lot snarkier than it should, but I hate the term fanboy very intensely)
Her name is Jackpot (which Peter has hit at some point in his past) and she called him “Tiger.” I don’t see how it could be anyone else.