Mr. Spidey vs... Nothing.
Once upon a time, Little Edward* was looking for another place to buy digital comic books after the shutdown of the Marvel Comics app. He found Google Play Books, but the books there were crazy expensive, but he found volume 2 of the ASM trade paperback for an efficient price. What he found was one cool story.
*Dear Water, I mean LITTLE as in YOUNG. This is not about height. I AM 6 FOOT.
Well, it's time to look at the J. Michael Straczynski run on Amazing Spider-Man once again. The TPB contains issues 36 to 39. We'll be skipping over issue 36 because it's the 9/11 issue, but we will be looking at the other 3 issues today.
ISSUE 37. By JMS and John Romita Jr. Released in January of 2002.
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As you may remember, during the last storyline, Petey boy got beat up by Morlun, but Spidey-Manz won eventually. He's now sleeping in his bed peacefully... Not so peacefully, though, Aunt May has found Peter's secret pornography stash AND his Spider-Man costume!
INTERLUDE. Aunt May takes Spidey's costume. After that, Peter is once again teaching his class about... Uh... I forgot to take notes. Anyway, a girl was sleeping during class. Class is over, and Peter decides to talk to the student, whose name is Jennifer. She's been sleeping during class A LOT lately, she says that she just has a lot on her mind lately, she doesn't want to talk about it right now.
Later on, he calls Aunt Anna to see how May is doing, she tells him that May went out for a walk, but she seemed a little tired and distracted. But other than that, she's doing okay.
Peter goes to the address listed on Jennifer's student record, but the building is condemned. He asks a missus about what happened to the building, apparently, the parents were not very nice people, and both left their kids to live on their own. He goes to a shelter, where Jennifer is located. Peter and Jen both talk about how these conditions are not really ideal, and they mention how Jen has an older brother, whom she cannot lose.
Meanwhile, the brother (whose name is Steve) is currently getting beaten up by some thugs. Peter and Jen both find him, he's barely alive. Peter changes into Spider-Man and quickly takes him to the nearest hospital. Peter goes back home and calls Jennifer to let her know that her brother is currently being treated, Peter also wants her to know that he will not turn her in to the school under one condition, she has to call him if she gets into trouble, with all honesty. It turns out that the thugs were watching, and they are talking about how they need to cover their asses if they don't wanna be found by Spider-Man. Looks like they are up to no good.
Peter is changing into his civilian outfit, and he gets a call from Aunt May, she tells him that they need to talk... OH SHIT.
Well, wasn't this just a good issue? Yes, it was. I feel like it really showcased how Spider-Man will do everything in his power to help the civilians of NYC. Shows that Peter has a good heart and how he's very selfless. The artwork is great, and the colors really do fit with the story. 10/10.
UP NEXT, Issue 38, by the same crew.
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This story's titled "The Conversation", it's one of the most iconic moments in Spider-Man history, and you're about to find out why.
Peter is patiently waiting for Aunt May to come to his apartment for a chat. Peter is worried because May said things were not okay. She has finally arrived, carrying the Spider-Man costume in her hand. Peter tries to justify himself, but May isn't buying any of it. She knows. Peter IS Spider-Man.
Peter says that he was just trying to protect her. And that this isn't the only thing he's hiding from her. He tells May the story of how he used his powers for showbiz and NOT stopping a crook, how it was his fault that Uncle Ben died. To which May responds by telling him that it was an argument that caused Uncle Ben to walk away from the Parker house before getting shot.
Well, Aunt May seems to be taking this whole "Spider-Man is her nephew" thing well, she wasn't initially, but it's okay now. Aunt May goes home, and Peter goes into Spider-Man duty. The issue ends.
This comic is damn near perfect. The entire thing is so well-written and it's so well-drawn, it really shows that Spider-Man isn't just a superhero comic, but a soap opera in comic book form. 10/10. One word that really sums up this comic is "honesty", because they both tell the truth and they both understand most of the time.
One continuity issue, May says that Ben left the Parker house and that's when he was murdered... But other flashbacks tell us that the murder happened at 12:00 AM while Ben was inside the house. This doesn't really take away from the comic, I just wanted to point that out.
Up next is issue 39. Titled "Meanwhile". This was made during an event at the Marvel offices called "'Nuff' Said", where every Marvel publication at the time had a textless story. This issue came out a couple of months AFTER the other issues published that month. This was meant to be issue #36, but it was changed to be published as issue 39 after they made issue 36 the 9/11 story.
Good news for people that only speak one language, it doesn't matter in what country you get your copy, it's all the same!
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Here's someone we haven't seen in a while, Mary Jane. She's waking up because she has to go to her supermodeling job in LA*. She sees Spider-Man on the TV before going to the photoshoot at the beach. After the supermodeling job (she ate btw), she goes to the red carpet premiere of Raving Madmen, funniest movie of the year, according to the LA Times. Back home, she sees Spider-Man on the TV once again. She then goes to sleep... Or maybe she doesn't sleep, I don't know.
*Eddie's note: Peter and MJ were separated at the time, check the Amazing Spider-Man annual of 2001.
At the New York Public Library, Aunt May is sending emails to various newspapers, requesting for them to say nicer things about Spider-Man... This is not biased at all. She cancels her subscription to various anti-Spidey newspapers, and she prevents a kid from looking at LIVE NUDE CHEERLEADERS.
TIME FOR SPIDER-MAN DUTY! He saves a bunch of people from a burning building, because he's heroic. He spots one of the many TVs in Times Square playing the live coverage of the Raving Madmen premiere, and Mary Jane is there! So, he just watches for a bit. Yeah, if I saw my wife on TV, I'd be pretty frickin happy too. Wow, nothing more wholesome than a guy that loves his wife. Peter goes home, talks to Aunt May, they both go their separate ways and the issue ends.
This issue is SO good. It really shows that the guys at the Spider-Office knew how to tell a story without speech bubbles and onomatopoeias. The story is pretty dang good! I don't think anything like this could be made today. 9/10.... Well, maybe it COULD be made today, but they'd have to try really hard.
I am optimistic for this run; I've read these issues over 6 times now because they're SO good. Next time, we look at something that isn't as good. But it's probably still good. The TPB is over, and I never have to look at it AGAIN!
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