Ultimate Spider-man pros/cons

[murph0]

Just thought I'd start a thread about this as I think the series thus far has been really good. However, there's some good and bad.

 

Good

-Art's been decent and it depicts the characters well, stories are interesting and varied

-Lots of good H.S. prank stuff, like when Flash hits him in the back of the head with a football, I really like how he very slowly develops his Spider-abilities.

-Story arc's don't last forever, but some of the repurcussions effect Spider-man long term..I think him getting shot was an excellent story.

-I like the idea of lots of people knowing about his identity, adds to that risque part of the character.

-Lots of implications from old stories and lots of cameos of characters from early in the original ASM series.

-The writers also do a good job of making it difficult for Spidey to just take off from school, he has to dodge the principal and parent teacher meetings, etc.

 

Bad

-MJ is hot, yet there isn't a soul in Spidey's H.S. trying to steal her away? Come on..let's see some more school stuff.

-Peter doesn't seem as dorky as he probably should, he is in some places but they really haven't touched all that much on how smart he is and yada yada

-Villains seem to come and go too quickly (after G.G.), that Rhino story sucked. He looked pretty lame.

-JJJ isn't in the story enough, and Peter's job at the Bugle seems to be very off-and-on?

-Occasionally an issue suffers from the "Star Wars Episode 1" syndrome..where nothing really happens..it's just a whole bunch of small stuff that leads up to the next issue.

 

Any other comments from the reader's out there?

 

Brian

[comicartfan]

brian,

i will add to this post since everyone else is ignoring it...course the server has been down.

 

i really like the series myself. I find that it really does take the essence of what made the ASM series so popular in the 60's. Three dimensional (sp?) characters are represenated very well. I agree with your assessment of both MJ and Peter. PP in the begining looked like Harry Potter. He had the nerd look down....yet, even though he isn't so dorky, he is no Keanu Reeves....yet he has two totally hot, completely different type of chicks into him ??!! ...like BOTH Mary Ann and Ginger want him !!! -

 

And what ever happened to the story arc where the fat, bold kid kind of put two and two together and realized that Parker and Spider-man are possibly one and the same ? - I may be missing something that was explained. If i am , sorry.

 

I think the writing is top notch. Bendis is at his best here.....even more so than hiw Powers stuff ...which is good. - art work is also terrific...even if Spider-man is about 110 lbs and looks like he couldn't open a bottle of soda, never mind take on GG, Venom and Dr. Ock ! - Course, this is coming from a guy who has a Bagely Spider-man tattoo.

 

But, i am wandering...what is going to happen to the series when Bendis/Bagley leave ?? - Are those WHITE variants and # 1 issues going to go south ??

[Kevin76]

But, i am wandering...what is going to happen to the series when Bendis/Bagley leave ?? - Are those WHITE variants and # 1 issues going to go south ??

 

Yes sir!

[Midnight8992-migration]

. He had the nerd look down....yet, even though he isn't so dorky, he is no Keanu Reeves....yet he has two totally hot, completely different type of chicks into him ??!! ...like BOTH Mary Ann and Ginger want him !!! -

 

C'mon. This is the whole reason it's "fantasy". As a kid wouldn't you have hoped that chics would want you, not for you nerdy looks, but because of who you weere on the inside?

 

Cheesy premise, but probaby the lesson they are going for...

[Illiterati-migration]

. He had the nerd look down....yet, even though he isn't so dorky, he is no Keanu Reeves....yet he has two totally hot, completely different type of chicks into him ??!! ...like BOTH Mary Ann and Ginger want him !!! -

 

C'mon. This is the whole reason it's "fantasy". As a kid wouldn't you have hoped that chics would want you, not for you nerdy looks, but because of who you weere on the inside?

 

Cheesy premise, but probaby the lesson they are going for...

 

This is why people on the "outside" KNOW that comics for the most part SUCK. You can't just slap a label of "it's fantasy" on a story and use that as carte blanche for throwing together whatever crappy plot twist you want. If the characters are supposed to be "normal" human beings, they should be NORMAL HUMAN BEINGS. They should have normal human desires, they should respond to stimuli the way normal humans would.

 

They should not have total babes attracted to a geeky little bookworm just because he's the protagonist.

 

Marvel knows that kids aren't their target audience any more. They know that the people reading comic books are a little beyond the age of needing "lessons" like the one you mention. It's just weak, gimmicky writing; unfortunately, most comic book readers wouldn't know GOOD writing if Will Durant came up and started typing on their foreheads.

 

 

[Smokinghawk]

Pro: It's easy, fun reading. It's not trying to be too clever, and that makes it even better, not worse. Bendis writes complex stuff in his unending DD arc (for example), and this is just pure fun to read.

 

Good high school stuff. Bendis correctly remembers the bullying and social alienation that describes HS for a lot of people.

 

Humor. Some don't like Bendis' humor, but I do. He remembers that Spider-man isn't just cool, but fun too.

 

Con: Peter Parker looks like an 18-year-old Harry Potter.

 

Cover art is bland, usually.

 

The physical book is subject to too many flaws.

 

 

[chrisco37]

I really liked the series when it started and have enjoyed it for most of the run. Unlike Brian, I kind of liked the "villain an issue" format. It made for good, fast, fun reading. That's what I want in a Spidey title. The Venom arc was too long, and this current arc w/ Gel-DOOF is boring me to tears. I'm considering dropping the book if the storylines don't pick up, or shorten.

 

I love Bendis's writing on DD, and don't mind long arcs in that title. The character lends itself to much more complex issues that can't be concluded in a single issue.

 

USM (used to) remind me of the original ASM stories. Fast and fun. Spidey should be fun! If I want long drawn out arcs, I'll take Bullets or some other Vertigo book where the payoff will be worth the wait. (Unlike the Venom story....6 issues just to have Eddie zapped by an electric wire. No thanks!).

 

 

Chris

[thecomicsheet]

. He had the nerd look down....yet, even though he isn't so dorky, he is no Keanu Reeves....yet he has two totally hot, completely different type of chicks into him ??!! ...like BOTH Mary Ann and Ginger want him !!! -

 

C'mon. This is the whole reason it's "fantasy". As a kid wouldn't you have hoped that chics would want you, not for you nerdy looks, but because of who you weere on the inside?

 

Cheesy premise, but probaby the lesson they are going for...

 

Mary Ann definitely! Ginger is too high maintenance!

[Midnight8992-migration]

 

They should not have total babes attracted to a geeky little bookworm just because he's the protagonist.

 

Marvel knows that kids aren't their target audience any more. They know that the people reading comic books are a little beyond the age of needing "lessons" like the one you mention. It's just weak, gimmicky writing; unfortunately, most comic book readers wouldn't know GOOD writing if Will Durant came up and started typing on their foreheads.

 

 

I agree with your statment. The item I really am trying to point out is similar to that of television of today. How many times have you watched a TV show or movie and knew exactly how it would end and which character would have which personality traits.

 

The breakout sucsesses and the memorable books\shows\movies (to me) are the ones that break this "cookie-cutter" mold and do something that is actual different.

 

Once this happens consistantly, we will have a brand new batch of trite and overdone story molds to look for....

[Illiterati-migration]

 

They should not have total babes attracted to a geeky little bookworm just because he's the protagonist.

 

Marvel knows that kids aren't their target audience any more. They know that the people reading comic books are a little beyond the age of needing "lessons" like the one you mention. It's just weak, gimmicky writing; unfortunately, most comic book readers wouldn't know GOOD writing if Will Durant came up and started typing on their foreheads.

 

 

I agree with your statment. The item I really am trying to point out is similar to that of television of today. How many times have you watched a TV show or movie and knew exactly how it would end and which character would have which personality traits.

 

The breakout sucsesses and the memorable books\shows\movies (to me) are the ones that break this "cookie-cutter" mold and do something that is actual different.

 

Once this happens consistantly, we will have a brand new batch of trite and overdone story molds to look for....

 

Aaaaaaaaaaaaamen!