Posts tagged Mark Waid
Review: The Amazing Spider-Man Issue #677
The Amazing Spider-Man #677 (Mark Waid, Emma Rios)
The Good
For starters, I have to applaud Marvel in bringing Mark Waid over to write a few issues of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN while pulling double duty on DAREDEVIL. It’s fitting, because the latter teams up with Spidey in this issue for some hi-jinks.
But here’s the thing: Waid writes Spider-Man and Daredevil in having a kind of comraderie that I never thought them having before. In short, Spidey and Hornhead act like long-time bros in this issue, and it suits them immensely.
Hearing Daredevil saying that his swining routes have changed because of renovations to a building and a lack of “grip points” switched on a lightbulb in my head that made me think “Hey! They do travel using the same method. Why wouldn’t they talk about “traffic conditions” like any other commuter?
Spider-Man has a great personality in this issue, and it shows during certain exchanges with Black Cat; as a recently-dumped dude, his desperation shows, and the boiling over point where he tells Daredevil that he’s “Having a bad day, dammit!” really made me smile. We can tell this is one of the many bad days Peter has dealt with during his life, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better.
The Bad
The only thing I can say that I didn’t like about this issue is the art; I find that it was far too messy/gritty for the story it was telling, and at times Peter simply didn’t look like Peter. I know the brown-hair-and-lean build isn’t exactly unique, but there’s always been unique indicators that keep Pete, Pete.
In this issue there was some of those missing, which is a pity, considering the praiseworthy art that’s been present in DAREDEVIL and this title in the past.
The Verdict
Like I said above, this issue makes great use of characters, and has a witty use of technology to involve both Spider-Man and Daredevil’s powers. There’s a bit of misdirection with DD’s blindness that pays off in a big way, which left me grinning.
I think what’s most important to realize in this issue is that it harkens back to the old-school team-up, and it manages to refresh it nicely. No longer does Daredevil “just happen to be in the neighborhood”; Spider-Man finds him due to their past association, and characters from both stories intertwine. I loved seeing continuity between the two titles, and it only served to reinforce that these are some of Marvel’s best books right now.
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Pages: Matt’s favourite comics of 2011
Happy New Year, everyone! It’s gotten off to a great start for me, so I thought I’d throw together my favourite comics of 2011. This year had a bunch of ups and downs with a lot of crossover success in films; I can’t applaud all the “successes”, but I’m glad that the medium seems to be puttering along.
Let me know what you think of my list with a reblog, tweet or comment. Give me a follow, too! Cheers!
Daredevil (Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera)
Mark Waid taking over the book and reinventing Daredevil has got to be one of the best moves Marvel have made all year. The book is fresh, inviting, has amazing art and simplistic stories. After the clusterfuck that was Shadowland, this series was exactly what the character needed.
Marvel’s been doing great things with artists like Chris Samnee and Paolo Rivera, who have a very retro style. I’ve never liked Daredevil at all, and their art is partly what’s doing it for me.
Punisher (Greg Rucka, Marco Checchetto)
Another revived series, but a great one all the same. Greg Rucka knows how to write gritty stories, and that’s something that’s in this book in spades. Again, like Daredevil above, Punisher has managed to take a property that was veering into the weird and refresh the concept. Frank is brooding, stoic and going through hell; just the way he needs to be.
This series gave me one of my favourite individual issues of the year with its Thanksgiving story. The book lacks the wanton destruction of MAX, but still manages to tell great tales.
Huntress (Paul Levitz, Marcus To)
While not officially a New 52 title, Huntress was launched as part of that wave of new titles, and I can applaud its quality. Marcus To’s pencil work is amazing, and it captures the tone of the “Birds of Prey” Huntress that I liked so much.
There’s subtle things that make the book so much better than a lot of New 52 series; like Nightwing, the character seems more like an actual person, instead of a name, a pair of tights and powers. It’s a pity it’s only a mini series - emerging talent like To are have the potential for some great runs.
Nightwing (Kyle Higgins, Kevin McCarthy)
As one of the two books that’s really impressed me out of the New 52, Nightwing has great character work and pacing. A lot of my problems with the other books stem from the inability to get the story going, or terrible set-up otherwise.
Sometimes, in an effort to get people to read the book, the writer will throw too much action with little meat to the story. The inverse is true as well, where the characters are written bland (I’m looking at you, new Blue Beetle and Mister Terrific) and reading the series becomes tedious. Nightwing has managed to balance personal drama, action and genuinely likeable people in an effort to give Dick a good base to work off of.
I still maintain that Barbara Gordon has been written better in Nightwing than her own book.
Animal Man (Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman)
This book has been a surprise in that I didn’t think I would like it. Buddy Baker has impressed me in his ability to carry himself as a hero, and I applaud Jeff Lemire for not making his daughter a Layla Miller-esque know it all. While presumptuous youths aren’t an automatic death-knell for books, they tend to undermine the hero’s actions by throwing second-guesses most often than they should.
But, like I said, this book is great. It has a tendency to have at least one panel/page an issue that drops my jaw and leaves me with a smile on my face.
DMZ (Brian Wood, Riccardo Burchelli)
DMZ finished last week, and I can say it gave me one of the most satisfying ends to a book I’ve ever read. I’m not afraid to admit that I’m a little bit of a Brian Wood fanboy, but so much of this book just spoke to me as a person. As a journalist, I identified with a lot of the problems and issues Matty Roth ran across, and his character arc made me think about the type of man I want to grow up to be.
The character work in this book is some of the best I’ve ever read; the degree to which some characters were fleshed out in only one issue was absurd, and I found myself fascinated that I could care that much about someone I’d never read about again. If you haven’t read this book, do yourself a favour and pick it up.
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This week’s comic pick: DAREDEVIL #6 (MARVEL COMICS)
Written by: Mark Waid
Art & Cover: Marcos Martin
Spoilers ahoy
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I’ve been really digging this new Daredevil series because of its lack of continuity and its back-to-basics approach to super hero stories. After the clusterfuck that was Shadowland, I think Matt Murdock needed a bit of a reprieve from the whole “ninjas and demons and possession” thing.
This issue has Daredevil fighting Bruiser, who kind of struck a chord with me as a unique villain; he wants to “move up the ranks” of fighting heroes in order to fight people like the Hulk, but realizes that he has to gain experience at doing so, lest he get whupped.
This seemed to be quite a weird quality to have, but I ended up enjoying it a whole bunch; Bruiser didn’t seem necessarily evil, just misguided. I mean, the guy could have easily been a wannabe hero starting at street level with aspirations of taking down the mob, but sometimes the villain-y role just seems more alluring.
Sometimes, simplicity is best: he’s a hired thug, but he’s not dull and/or dumb. He brings the fight to Daredevil and is taken down by logical and practical means. I also found it kind of cool that he’s sponsored by various terrorist groups, and wears patches like a NASCAR suit: a guy’s gotta eat, I guess.
As usual, Martin’s art is phenomenal, and the above sequence was easily my favourite part of the book. The contrast between Daredevil’s silhouette and red eyes on the blue of the water really gave me the feeling of sensory deprivation.
There’s also a sequence later in the book where Daredevil uses his radar in order to figure out that Bruiser’s skeleton can’t support the strain that his center-of-gravity-shifting powers are putting on his body. I found this a novel and interesting way to expand DD’s power set without crossing into ludicrous territory; having him being able to sense the guy’s bones cracking doesn’t seem to be too farfetched.
All in all, I’m impressed by Mark Waid’s ability to write a likeable, interesting Daredevil. Matt Murdock is personable and competent, giving readers a likeable protagonist between his stints in red pyjamas. His supporting cast — hopefully supplemented by an addition this issue — remains robust and important.
Martin’s art can be described as a “rough Samnee”, in that it’s “old school” without ageing the content that’s being shown. I’d say it’s different from Darwyn Cooke, whose art tends to make the stories he tells seem just as antiquated (DC: The New Frontier, his Catwoman stuff).
Martin’s cover has an old-school boxing/wrestling poster vibe to it, which I just love. It frames the conflict of the issue, introduces both parties and lets us know we’re in for a hell of a ride: it doesn’t disappoint.
If you’re not reading this book, you should be. Even if you don’t like Daredevil, you’ll find this book is very newbie-friendly, and the art will make it look amazing on any shelf.
(Source: comicbookresources.com)
