Deamentia
pozzyfreak
Ray Hilario
tonyrak
rsg8101
paladinking
DS Arsenault
joelopez101
SoldierHawk
dfstell
jtmazz
Roman Colombo
Writer Dan Slott (writer), Mike McKone (pencils) Andy Lanning and Kris Justice (inks), Jeremy Cox (color)
Story: As Molten Man’s powers get out of hand, Spidey battles him in the house, then the lawn, and then finally the street before Harry permanently finishes the battle. Following the episode’s aftermath, Liz and Harry reconcile.
What’s Good: This issue was printed in color and written in English in a medium called the “comic book.”
What’s Not So Good: Let me preface by saying, I’m not a “Brand New Day hater.” I don’t really care what happens to continuity as long as the story is good. I’ve never been a purist, so I a have no biases coming to this issue. Yet, this issue is simply bad. You have a villain– Molten Man, that Petey essentially treats like a punk the whole issue. At no point do you think, “Hey, Spider-Man might lose this one!” So, no real conflict dives the story. Then you have Harry and Liz’s relationship that is so inconsequential and boring that one wonders why the Spidey “brain trust ” decided to explore such a banal situation in the first place. Lastly, you have the one thing that I hate most about Spider-Man comics, which is when it is so obvious that any character with a heart beat and cerebral cortex would figure out that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. It shows an overall laziness on the writer’s part to make the secret identity switch believable and logical.
One more thing. Peter is endearing as a humble, spastic, and a yeoman super-hero. When he calls himself a genius in his inner monologue, all those attributes are totally negated.
Conclusion: Skip this two-parter. It’s becoming a rule of thumb that any issue that involves the new supporting cast warrants grabbing any other comic off the rack. Go for Sonic the Hedge Hog or Archie. You’ll probably enjoy those much more and feel much better after reading it.
Grade: F-
Rob G
Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews | Tagged: Amazing Spider-Man, Amazing Spider-Man # 582, Amazing Spider-Man # 582 - Review, Andy Lanning, Brand New Day, Dan Slot, Harry Osbourne, Jeremy Cox, Kris Justice, Liz, Marvel Comics, Mike McKone, Molten Man, Peter Parker, Spider-Man
LOL I just read your “What’s Good” portion of this review and almost bust a gut, I was laughing so hard.
Well done, sir.
“Let me preface by saying, I’m not a ‘Brand New Day hater.’ …”
“It’s becoming a rule of thumb that any issue that involves the new supporting cast warrants grabbing any other comic off the rack.”
Nice try. This might sound like a bad Jeff Foxworthy joke but…
If you have a ‘rule of thumb’ to skip issues with the ‘new supporting cast’, you may be a ‘Brand New Day hater.’
If you give an ‘F-’ to a book and don’t even give it points for its good Mike McKone art, you may be a ‘Brand New Day hater.’
If you say Spidey ‘brain trust’ with snark, you may be a ‘Brand New Day hater.’
But the most obvious sign?
If you complain about people not being able to figure out Spider-Man’s secret identity, even when the clues are right in front of them, even though it’s happened in the new book multiple times, they’ve alluded to it being part of a bigger mystery, AND they’ve drawn attention to it every time it’s happened… you are obviously a ‘Brand New Day hater.’
Hey Greg– Thanks for your comments and your challenges.
I have a confession to make: I haven’t read the “One More Day” or “Brand New Day” arcs. I came back to this series on the “New Ways To Die” arc. I have recently invested in buying all the TPB’s of MJS’s run to catch up and see what all the hoopala surrounding the BND change.
That being said, just coming clean to this series, I find the supporting cast to be horrendous. Every time one of them opens their mouth the comic flat-lines. I think they all need to be reworked and weeded out to make their roles more conducive to the stories.
As far as your comment about McKone’s art–I didn’t feel it was enough to salvage it from the pits. For me, art alone never saves a comic.
Regarding the secret identity thing, I hate it when it is done cheaply in all comics with any hero. It grinds me more with Spider-Man because Peter is supposed to be a genius and the switching of identities makes for a cool oppurtunity to show off his wits. I detested the lame excuses in the 90′s when I read this book habitually, so my critique is not localized to BND.
I can tell that you are passionate/defensive about this series. Right on! I hope you’ll continue to read our site and share your opinion.
Thanks Tony!
Not sure if Dan Slott would be laughing…..