Superior Foes of Spider-Man #9 – Review

by Nick Spencer (Writer), Steve Lieber, Rich Ellis (Artists), Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist)

The Story: It’s Boomerang versus Bullseye. Who will emerge victorious?

The Review: There is a certain trend that has been going around for a good number of years in the comic market, one that has changed the very way books are written and sold. For a good period of times, arcs and long saga were varying in their lengths, with creators having a certain control over the whole thing. Cue the arrival of the trade paperbacks, hardcover’s and the overall collection of storylines. With them came the popular expression ”written for the trade”, indicating a story that has been created specifically to be collected in one single book, leading to decompression sometimes and a general presentation that creators had to recreate as to get work. Long gone was the approach that made such epics like Walter Simonson’s Thor and other such work.

However, with a more open approach nowadays for creators, there is a certain resurgence of complete stories in a single issue, more stream-lined stories and experimentation more akin to the past of the market. One of the books that is clearly part of the new wave is Superior Foes of Spider-Man, with Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber simply making the story progress with each issue, the book being an evolving arc instead of a series of stories leading to a massive progression made step by step.

This issue, in itself, is a wonderful example of why that is a good thing, with plenty of the plot threads moving forward, yet without sacrificing what makes the title fun to begin with. Continuing the adventures of Boomerang, a loser super-villain, and the rest of his crew, the title entertain not only through its vision of what it means to be a lower-class villain in the Marvel universe, but also through its emphasis on showing them as people and not just as antagonists.

Case in point, perhaps one of the best scene of this issue is the one that focus on Shocker, a character that is mostly shown as a coward and loser. Balancing the humor of him having a movie night with Hydro-Man to help him get a steady life, there is a focus on Shocker actually being a human being, one with hopes, dreams and a desire to see things through. While his misery is a source of comedy for readers, there is an endearing quality to him having such a hard time, yet seeing him try so much to get through his situation.

Still, on the very other end of the spectrum is Fred Myers, also known as Boomerang, whose absence of redeeming qualities provide for quite a few laughs. The way he deals with Bullseye, how he tries to manipulate the environment, his reputation, his date and everything he can get across, his greed and lack of scruples makes for a really entertaining vision of how a little guy tries to scrape by. His constant obstacles, the humiliation he is always receiving makes for a certain amusement, with him always being the butt of the joke yet for karmic reasons.

Still, even with all the humor and the character work, there is an actual plot to the whole thing. While it certainly isn’t the most important aspect of the book, the whole Silvio Silvermane head job, how it mess Boomerang’s life and the others and how it mess the reputation of many criminals associated with it does get a certain progression here. It is interesting, yet serves more as fodder to the much more amusing aspects of the book more than anything.

Another part of the entertaining qualities of the book, of course, is Steve Lieber, along with Rich Ellis. While the general attention to progression and the minimal attention to precision is something that is clearly appealing, what makes some elements a standout in this book is the actual effort in putting fun as an emphasis. The little touches like the deformed and cute little characters, the side panels, the visual jokes, the illusion of movements, the replica of twitter and many smaller moments such as these are the heart and soul of the book. With a very vibrant and visible attempt from Steve Lieber and Rich Ellis to shake things up and provide a unique experience, it’s the fact that they succeeds that makes this an amusing read.

Still, despite this attention to all of this, Lieber and Ellis are talented storytellers as they creates funny panels, possess a fluid sense of movement and development and are able to convey actual emotions from his characters. With a wide range and a certain subtlety to how each panels can follow each others, Lieber and Ellis shows that despite their few rough spots at times, they are more than skilled at what is important to make this book work.

Of course, not all the visual credit can be attributed to him, with Rachelle Rosenberg playing very well with the book and Lieber. At the risk of sounding like a broken record in praising her work, it’s really the way in which she divides the super from the normal that makes the coloring that notable. The costumes, the characters, the action surrounding them and many are all colorful, showing a great handle on contrasts as the rest is much more subdued and a bit duller in comparison. With the line between super-villains and the real world being clearly shown, some moments like Boomerang in a bar with other villains or how Shocker clash with the rest of his apartment makes the book work, especially in terms of themes and tone, setting up an identity that is simply permeating the book in every aspect, coloring included.

The Conclusion: It’s funny, sometimes touching and simply very entertaining in close to every aspects. With a clear handle on what can be simply fascinating and grotesque about super-villains and their place in the society set up by Marvel, this book is a great one worth every cents.

Grade: A-

-Hugo Robberts Larivière