First issue of FNSM hits the stands. Whaddaya think?
PAD
126 comments on “Out this week–Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1”
Overall, I liked it. I would have preferred that you were able to start your story without it being this crossover, but you handled that well.
I especially liked the “Heloooo, nurse” line.
I added this to my pull list before it ever came out, and that won’t be changing any time soon. (I already get JMS, so will “splurge” on the issues written by the other guy.)
I wanted to have Peter and Mary Jane in bed together being loving in the very beginning, but knew perfectly well that the average seven year old would look at them kissing, go, “Ewww,” and put the book back. So I kept everyone–Peter, Mary Jane, the readers–in the dark, and wrote dialogue so vague that it could be anything. Everyone reads into it as little or as much as they want.
Sorry, don’t buy it. I know this won’t surprise you, but even as vague as you kept it, I think this is inappropriate for a title truly aimed to include the younger set. The setting for the scene — whatever was happening — did nothing to advance the story.
That aside, I look forward to seeing where you take this once the crossover is finished and the story direction is more fully your own.
Iowa Jim
PAD
to agree with so many, i thought you handled all the characters very well. you really brought the Peter i grew up with (not you, that guy in the comic) to life without simply using some cliche stuff as some writers do.
Personally, i have enjoyed most of JMS’ Spidey run and my only real complaint is the New Avengers. i’ve always been a big fan of Spidey interacting with other heroes, and thought he deserved the recognition of being an Avenger, but i thought the whole ‘honorary member’ thing was good enough (although apparently that didnt REALLY happen since he’s in such awe of being an Avenger).
the POINT here is to say that i am interested in your take on what JMS has started and how you’ll move on from there because, well, youre awesome.
and Weiringo is pretty good artist for Spidey and im glad to see that he has a little less… scrawny (?) of a Spidey to give us.
oh yeah, one last thing:
kudos on the opening pages!
I know this won’t surprise you, but even as vague as you kept it, I think this is inappropriate for a title truly aimed to include the younger set. The setting for the scene — whatever was happening — did nothing to advance the story.
The information we got during that setting was necessary exposition, and PAD needed *some* way to make it more interesting than a flat infodump. I think he kept it sufficiently vague — any members of “the younger set” who have an inkling of what’s going on in those pages didn’t get that inkling from comics in the first place.
TWL
I enjoyed it. I like MJ and I found it believable that she would be concerned for Peter to go out while he’s injured.
I also liked the Dr. I’m guessing she’s appeared in other Marvel titles, but I’ve never seen her before. I liked her and the interaction between her and Peter.
Fuuuuuuch. This is a crossover? Gah! Will someone just leave a little note that summarizes everything up when the crossover is done? I just refuse to buy a bunch of different titles to try to follow a story. Not worth my time or money or the darn effort. A little note would be nice, though.
Yay! Thanks for a fun read, PAD.
“Sorry, don’t buy it. I know this won’t surprise you, but even as vague as you kept it, I think this is inappropriate for a title truly aimed to include the younger set. The setting for the scene — whatever was happening — did nothing to advance the story.”
And I know this won’t surprise you, but I think you’re completely wrong. Every comic is someone’s first, plus any number of people were stating that they were going to be picking up FNSM because I was writing it, even though they weren’t buying any other Spidey titles. So I needed to establish up front (a) Peter’s current status as an Avenger, (b) the themes I intend to explore, (c) Peter and Mary Jane are a loving, married couple, and (d) something of Peter’s background vis a vis Uncle Ben. And I had to do it all in a way that would be visually interesting.
To claim that it’s “inappropriate for the younger set” is just asinine. The younger set won’t know what’s going on in that sequence on ANY level and will just glide over it and into the cool action sequences on the very next page. The ONLY way that a member of the “younger set” is “informed” of any particular adult interpretation of that sequence is if an adult tells them. In that event, I think the problem is not the comic, but the adult.
And by the way, Jim, if you were remotely as straight thinking and righteous as you pretend to be, I’d have to believe that you’d read that sequence and only see it as a couple being affectionate. Shows where your mind truly is.
PAD
Sex scene? What?
I thought she was just giving him a massage.
He was sore after a long day of webslinging.
Shame on you, Matt Adler, for having a dirty mind. 🙂
And by the way, it’s not “aimed at the younger set.” I find myself wondering, yet again, what part of “all ages” is unclear.
PAD
And the rest of you guys, too!
______________________________
This is my first Spider-Man title since Romita Jr left Amazing Spider-Man. I will be back for more.
As to Weiringo’s art, I am not a great fan of cartoony art in most superhero books. I like his work here much more than I did his Fantastic Four work.
I have to agree with a previous poster that this is the best written Spider-Man in a long time.
I loved seeing Peter and Steve practicing Tai Chi together. Their dialog was hilarious, as was the scene with the bullet catching. Nice work!
highly bemused by people who don’t like the crossover and profess to enjoy PAD’s work not picking up the title with Issue 4. That’s a collector’s mentality, not a reader’s.
(Assuming “…not picking up the title with issue 4..” to mean “…not picking up the title until issue 4…”)–
For starters…my mistake for making the typo…I meant #5, not #4. Issue 4 is the last FNSM issue of “The Other.” 😉
But, I don’t see how it’s “not a reader’s mentality.” In fact, it’s purely from a reader’s point of view that I made my decision. Follow…
–As a reader, I enjoy PAD’s work.
–As a reader, I don’t enjoy JMS’s work.
–As a reader, I don’t enjoy Hudlin’s work.
–As a reader, I don’t see much point in reading chapters 1-3 and 10 if I know going in that I won’t be reading chapters 4-9 and 11-12.
As a reader, when it comes to these big, honkin’ crossovers, I decide whether or not to read the thing on a case-by-case basis. If all the creators involved (particulary the writers) produce work I enjoy, then odds are that I’m already reading all of the books involved. If there’s a mix of those whose work I enjoy and those whose work I don’t enjoy, however, I let the ratio of like to don’t like help inform my decision. In the case of “The Other,” fully 2/3 of the story, including the conclusion, are by writers whose work I don’t enjoy. So…I’m holdin’ out ’til #5.
I enjoyed it. The problem with multi-part stories is that sometimes characters behave strangely in the first issue and the reader has no idea if it was simply sloppy writing or that a payoff will occur in a later issue. I trust both MJ’s trepidation and Tracer’s backstory will eventually be explained in the story. The part with JJJ was great–not the usual, stereotypical “web-headed menace” jabber most lazy writers assign him, but a succinct “drop dead” look in his eyes and the words “Read my paper tomorrow” response! I liked how Peter thinks he’s far wittier when he’s wearing the mask, and is somewhat insecure without it.
Mike’s art was okay–but I expect he’ll reach “FF-level” goodness after he’s had a few issue into his run. Perhaps he’s uncomfortable and feels a bit restrained setting up things that won’t be resolved in an issue he’ll be drawing.
Also: I LOVED Peter’s short Monstrollo story in this week’s WHERE MONSTERS DWELL one-shot! Very funny sequel to the original Lee/Kirby story, with a very human revenge story at its center!
“I know that Mike is still working on this interpretation of Spidey and I’m willing to let him work it out, since I trust what will come out on paper.
jeff”
Jeff- actually Mike Wieringo has drawn Spider-Man quite a bit (with other spidey titles), but yes he could be thinking about making a different appearance for this particular title.
alot on the plate when there is so much out there.
as always though, Peter brings a good read to this issue and I’m on board for the moment.
“I know that Mike is still working on this interpretation of Spidey and I’m willing to let him work it out, since I trust what will come out on paper.
jeff”
Jeff- actually Mike Wieringo has drawn Spider-Man quite a bit (with other spidey titles), but yes he could be thinking about making a different appearance for this particular title.
alot on the plate when there is so much out there.
as always though, Peter brings a good read to this issue and I’m on board for the moment.
“I know that Mike is still working on this interpretation of Spidey and I’m willing to let him work it out, since I trust what will come out on paper.
jeff”
Jeff- actually Mike Wieringo has drawn Spider-Man quite a bit (with other spidey titles), but yes he could be thinking about making a different appearance for this particular title.
alot on the plate when there is so much out there.
as always though, Peter brings a good read to this issue and I’m on board for the moment.
Shame on you, Matt Adler, for having a dirty mind. 🙂
Heh. Like I said, doesn’t bother me (even if I were a parent, and my kid asked me what they were doing, I don’t think a biological explanation is going to “corrupt” a child), but you just know some people are gonna be up in arms over it. Case in point…
Nytewyng, I think he was referring to those people who have stated that they enjoy PAD’s work, but since FNSM is starting off with a crossover, they don’t intend to ever pick up the title at all, ever, because then there’d be a gap in the ol’ collection.
I like PAD’s writing. I also like JMS’ writing. And I’m curious enough about how all this will be working out to pick up the other guy’s issues, too. That’s my perspective as a reader – I don’t expect these issues to last long enough to become “collectible”. If I’m lucky, they’ll last long enough to pass on to my daughter, or perhaps my not-yet-born son. As long as I get my three bucks’ worth of entertainment out of them, though, that’s all I require – and PAD fulfills that and more.
“And guys, as for Mary Jane expressing concern: It doesn’t mean I’m going to depict them with their marriage in trouble. To me, quite the contrary: If she wasn’t concerned about an injured Spidey going out after Tracer, THEN their marriage is in trouble. A woman not caring is certainly the first sign of that, don’t you think?”
Kinda. Kinda sorta. Her telling him not to go out didn’t seem so bad. The comments she made after he’d gone kinda sounded like she was beginning to doubt her love for him.
Worrying about his well being is good, but some of us have been reading her worrying for *decades* now. Maybe it won’t bother new readers so much, but worry after that long sounds more like a lack of trust.
Having Peter take lessons from Cap: Cool way to show her doing something to make Spidey safer.
Having her try to talk Peter out of going after the bad guy: I don’t know if cops have to have this conversation with their wives every night for 20 years, but I really hope not.
“Sorry, don’t buy it. I know this won’t surprise you, but even as vague as you kept it, I think this is inappropriate for a title truly aimed to include the younger set. The setting for the scene — whatever was happening — did nothing to advance the story.”
Hardly inappropriate. It isn’t as though we have graphic scenes of raunchy behaviour. It is suggested to those who know what to look for and interpret it in their own way. If the kids already know what they’re supposed to be thinking of, they’ve already been ‘corrupted’ as some might say.
Too, it’s good to be occasionally reminded that there are good reasons why those two are together. And this is one of them.
“Having Peter take lessons from Cap: Cool way to show her doing something to make Spidey safer.”
‘Bout time.
Makes me wonder if super hero universes have no Role Playing Games. Take SMALLVILLE. You’d think Clark would realize he needs to develop and train his abilities, and that creating a character which just happens to have his abilities and using him in a MARVEL UNIVERSE-like RPG campaign with his friends, where he is forced to think of strategies to use against baddies would be almost as good as a currently unavailable Danger Room session. Save him a lot of grief down the line. It’s certainly part of what I’d do.
Nytewyng, I think he was referring to those people who have stated that they enjoy PAD’s work, but since FNSM is starting off with a crossover, they don’t intend to ever pick up the title at all, ever, because then there’d be a gap in the ol’ collection.
By golly…I hadn’t considered the original wording that way. Good point.
I must admit, I’ve occasionally been guilty of that kind of “collector’s perspective,” particularly when it comes to titles near and dear to my heart.
Case in point: It’s taking a lot of willpower right now to learn to live with creating the only gap in my Titans collection since 1980. But even the Titans can’t get me to buy the two Liefeld issues. 😉
Hey, Peter? Looking forward to your new Spike comics, but any chance you’ll pen an Angel comic at some point?
I can’t think of a better person to get a hold of Angel’s often elusive characterization than you, the guy who writes Mackenzie Calhoun.
Peter, you brought me back to Spider-Man. Thumbs up for a great issue, both storywise and artistically.
And by the way, Jim, if you were remotely as straight thinking and righteous as you pretend to be, I’d have to believe that you’d read that sequence and only see it as a couple being affectionate. Shows where your mind truly is.
I believe sex is a good and appropriate thing in the right setting. And in this case, it is with a married couple. I don’t think the act is bad, so there is nothing wrong with where my mind went. But it was unnecessary to use that setting to deliver that dialogue. Humorous, ironic, yes. But in an “all ages,” not necessary.
As “affectionate” scenes go, obviously it was as “safe” and “neurtal” as is possible. Having read two issues of Fallen Angel, I know the alternative, so I do give you credit for that. We will just have to disagree on the appropriateness of the page.
Iowa Jim
“I believe sex is a good and appropriate thing in the right setting. And in this case, it is with a married couple. I don’t think the act is bad, so there is nothing wrong with where my mind went. But it was unnecessary to use that setting to deliver that dialogue… We will just have to disagree on the appropriateness of the page.”
“In the right setting?” A married couple in a bedroom at night in the dark. Obviously the right setting. Therefore good and appropriate…except, no, in your last sentence, you imply it’s “inappropriate.” How is dialogue so vague that it could mean anything inappropriate? Because it appeals to the dirtiest recesses of YOUR mind, while to a kid it will mean nothing? Surely that’s your problem, not the kids’ and not mine.
Now if you want a disagreement to translate as I’m right, you’re wrong, fine. Because I am and you are.
PAD
As someone who hasn’t ever purchased a Spiderman comic, but is familiar only with the character from the newspaper, television and movie versions…and has recently begun reading PADs comics because I like his novels…
I enjoyed the issue. I was fine with the artistic depictions. The 2nd page was a little strange for me to see in an ‘all ages’ comic, but I agree with PAD, no ‘innocent’ kid will see anything. And if they do, they aren’t innocent.
However:
If MJ and Peter have been married for five years, and MJ actually is thinking that her love of irony is quickly approaching her love of Peter…those are her exact thoughts if I read them correctly…that’s serious. Maybe it’s just sarcastic, and she doesn’t mean it, but that’s not really clear. This is combined with her sarcastic ‘and that would be a bad thing?” to suggest Peter stop being Spiderman. Worry? yes. Concern? yes. Not understanding after five years why Peter does what he does, and questioning her love? no. One poster above, though, suggested we might see a reason for this in an upcoming issue. So I’ll let it slide.
I have a problem also with the idea that learning Chi can help you stop bullets with your bare hands. Yeah, it didn’t work completely, but it shouldn’t have worked as well as it did. Unless Peter evolved or is evolving new superpowers I was unaware of. The subtitle of the crossover is Evolve or Die. But hopefully there will be a better explanation than Chi.
I have no problem with bullets that seek out a particular person…This is a comic book.
I liked the cartoonish Tracer. He reminded me of some of the cartoonish villains I enjoyed as a kid.
Somewhat familiar with PADs past work on a different comic title….I did briefly wonder (in a humorous vein)…with the injured wrist and all…if one of the evolutions would involve a hook?
“I have a problem also with the idea that learning Chi can help you stop bullets with your bare hands. Yeah, it didn’t work completely, but it shouldn’t have worked as well as it did. Unless Peter evolved or is evolving new superpowers I was unaware of. The subtitle of the crossover is Evolve or Die. But hopefully there will be a better explanation than Chi. “
I don’t think it was really about Chi at all. I think the point was that Cap was trying to tell Peter that he needed to learn to focus. So instead of running away from the bullets until he eventually became tired, Spidey stopped for a moment and thought up a plan. Maybe not the best plan, but a better plan than hoping the bullets got tired before he did.
The bullet stopping doesn’t seem outside the limit of Spidey’s abilities. A bullet doesn’t exert any more force on the guy it hits than on the hand of the person firing the gun. It’s just that all of that energy hits at the point of the bullet. Spidey’s fast enough to dodge bullets, so he’s fast enough to grab them and spread the force out through his fingers. He’s just never tried it before.
Personally, I liked it when MJ grabbed Peter’s peter. 🙂
I picked it up today along with Infinte Crisis #1 and Street Fighter II #0.
FNSM was the best by far. Infinte Crisis, for all the hype, I felt had a weak lead off issue. And Street Fighter II was decent, but the book just had a few pages of actual content. Everthing was just interviews and previews for two of their other lines. Maybe Udon should concentrate on getting one tittle out montly for more than 14 moths before talking on other projects. But their other stuff is looking good I guess. I just hope everything comes out on a regualr basis now that they’re their own publisher.
Whoops. Sorry for the mini-rant. With (all) that said, I can’t wait to see what happens in MN:SM #19. I wonder what Parker has.
I got FNS today and I really liked it. Classic Spiderman! The wisecracks were great, the action was really good, the storyline was interesting, the new villian was too, and I liked Wieringo’s art in this too and I’m usually not a big fan. Its a bit cartoonish, but it reminds me of Ditko and Romita too. I like it! Best of all, like I said, PAD’s writing. Excellent issue. I can not wait to read more! I hope I can get my hands on the MK Spiderman issue by PAD and also the Amazing Spiderman issue too!! 🙂
DF2506
” The previews I’ve read of both issues were really good! “
Put me in the ‘artwork isn’t great’ camp. Very interesting story, but the art doesn’t quite feel right in places.
Pretty good, Peter. This is the first monthly Spidey book I’ve picked up with the intention of reading it regularly in like 15 years or so, and it takes some getting used to the notion of Peter being an Avenger, living in Stark Towers and having Cap know his identity (I was going to ask about the latter two, but your mention of his being an Avenger explains it). Tracer’s a good villain, but I coulda done without the orange parts of his costume, and the manner in which part of it was shaded with hatching, and the rest was not. For the most part, though, I’m glad Wieringo is the artist. He’s the only artist I have a sketch from, which is on my wall. (Rogue, incidentally.)
I do have a couple of questions:
When did he become an Avenger? Is he a regular member, and if so, is he in the Avenger titles? Does everyone in the team know his identity, or just Cap?
He’s a teacher, but he’s still taking photos for the Bugle? Why is this? Doesn’t his teaching job pay enough? I know that externally, it’s because that’s such a classical, traditional aspect of the character, but has there been an internal explanation given?
Thanks.
Iowa Jim: Sorry, don’t buy it. I know this won’t surprise you, but even as vague as you kept it, I think this is inappropriate for a title truly aimed to include the younger set.
Luigi Novi: Why? For all we know, MJ was giving Peter a massage. Or they were kissing. That’s bad for kids to see? Kids already know that men and women sleep in the same bed and cuddle and stuff. I certainly knew when I was a tyke that my parents didn’t have twin beds like on I Love Lucy. 🙂
Iowa Jim: But it was unnecessary to use that setting to deliver that dialogue. Humorous, ironic, yes. But in an “all ages,” not necessary. As “affectionate” scenes go, obviously it was as “safe” and “neurtal” as is possible. Having read two issues of Fallen Angel, I know the alternative, so I do give you credit for that. We will just have to disagree on the appropriateness of the page.
Luigi Novi: No one has argued that it was “necessary”. It was a choice. You then state that it was not “appropriate,” but you don’t state why. Can you elaborate on this?
A bullet doesn’t exert any more force on the guy it hits than on the hand of the person firing the gun. It’s just that all of that energy hits at the point of the bullet.
Huh. Is that true? I know it sort of makes sense with the whole “equal and opposite reaction” bit but it doesn’t sound like a gun should even work were that the case.
Hey Tim, why don’t people who fire pistols go flying off into car hoods like Will Smith shooting a Noisy Cricket?
The more I think about it, the more I decide that there could be a lot of emotional/physical reasons MJ would say things she doesn’t really mean in those scenes with Peter.
I guess I can accept the ‘spreading-out-of-force’ explanation for the bullet…especially combined with the explanation given by someone else that the bullets would have to be slowed down due to the technology inserted that allows it to lock on someone. As a long time Trek fan, I know it’s possible for fans to explain almost anything.
Ed…..MJ grabbed Peter’s ear in one scene, but I don’t recall the scene where she grabbed his ‘peter’. (Or at least what I have generally heard referred to as a ‘peter’) Your mind must have been working overtime.
I don’t think there was anything in the conversation between MJ and Peter in bed you wouldn’t have heard between Mike and Carol Brady in bed. (Sure…details such as Mike didn’t have superpowers, but you know what I mean.)
We wouldn’t have seen Carol Brady in shadow the way we saw MJ. But what passes for all ages has changed since the 70s. I suspect the Disney Channel wouldn’t have a problem filming it for one of their family movies. But I could be wrong.
Ah, never mind. Has to do with the different masses of the bullet and the gun/shooter.
Uh, I think there’s a LOT more action in the Parker household than Mike and Carol ever had. Just a hunch…
I liked the issue. It’s the first (new) Spidey comic I’ve read in the last few years, so I was glad of the recap at the start. The sex aspect caught me by surprise (“Oh, *that’s* what they’re doing”), but it didn’t seem particularly graphic to me; in particular, I just read that last panel on page 2 as “contented sigh” rather than anything else.
As for the whole crossover thing, I’ll get the next two issues of the other Spidey-titles (as written by PAD), and I’ll be getting all the issues of FNSM (to avoid confusing my comic shop too much) – after that I’ll decide whether to read the remaining issues. It’s a bit of an unfortunate sequence (Hudlin before JMS), since I gave up on “Black Panther” because I couldn’t understand it (after a 6 issue trial run), whereas I gave up on JMS because of the “Rising Stars” delays (which are no longer relevant). Ah well, wait and see, I guess.
I liked the sub-plot with the doctor, which made sense; it reminded me of the tailor who turned up in a JMS story a while back (“I do hero costumes on Mon/Wed/Fri and villain costumes on Tue/Thur/Sat”), although I don’t know whether he’s been seen since.
I also liked the Tai Chi bit. The basic premise seems sound, although I haven’t done it myself (I bought a “teach yourself at home” video a few years back and couldn’t get past the mysticism of “draw down the life force energies into your body” enough to take it seriously). I was glad to see MJ training with them, and this also reminded me of PAD’s (too-short) run on “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”.
Regarding the bullets, I’m wondering how quickly they were supposed to be moving. Unless Tracer was really gabbling his words, it implies that the bullets were travelling fairly slowly, say at 1 metre per second. By contrast, normal walking speed is about 4 miles per hour, which is about 1.7 metres per second. So, they’d be annoying (and relentless), but not amazingly dangerous. Having said that, it is something of a genre convention that people can make huge speeches mid-leap (as mentioned in a Deadpool issue), so this may just be dramatic licence.
This links in to the issue of catching them. I don’t have a problem with the idea of someone catching arrows (e.g. Xena, or Robin and Superboy in “Young Justice”), and I’d put these bullets at a similar threat level – they’d hurt if they hit you with the point, but less so if you grab them side-on. Similarly, thinking about playing cricket, the way to catch a ball (bare handed) is that you follow through, i.e. your hands start moving as soon as the ball touches them, and you can then slow it down, rather than it breaking your fingers. It seems reasonable that you could do a similar thing here.
I initially misread the scene with his hands, and thought that the bullet had burrowed into the same hand by itself (after seeing it resting on his glove), as part of Tracer’s “self powered homing rockets” scheme, and I went back to re-read it after I saw other comments here. However, I don’t consider that to be a fault of the writer/artist, since it all seemed much more obvious on my second reading, so that was just me not paying enough attention.
Anyway, all in all I’m happy, and I look forward to more issues to come.
PAD,
I apologize that I was not clear enough.
Sex between married people is the right setting.
Putting a scene of sex between married people in an “all ages” comic is not.
Obviously, you went to great pains to make it as vague as possible. It is completely in the mind of the reader. Any intelligent, mature reader of a normal mind would know that something “intimate” is going on between a husband and wife. But it is by implication.
Bottom line: It is obviously the principle of the thing. I think it is unnecessary. I also think in a comic book that is aiming for “all ages” it is inappropriate. The reason is because I value protecting the innocence of a child. That does not mean you wait until a kid is 21 to tell him or her about sex. But our culture goes too far the other way and ignores the need to protect a child’s innoncence.
This comic does not overtly do so, but it does so in a way I think is unfortunate when seen from a bigger picture. You asked what I thought about the comic, and I told you. And I initially said my case in very concise terms without trying to run you down or say you are a pervert, etc., etc., since I know that is not the case. I think protecting innocence in a healthy way is something worth fighting for.
And with that I will drop the subject. I appreciate your work overall, I am just telling you what I think. Take it or leave it. It is up to you.
Iowa Jim
Iowa Jim
I liked this issue a lot, but I do agree with other posters who pointed out that the last scene between Peter and MJ reminded me too much of some 90’s stuff.
I’m torn about whether I should continue reading Spider-Man or not though, since Quesada is again talking about “putting genies back in the bottle” and while he doesn’t say it out loud, everyone knows he hates the Peter/MJ marriage and would love to get rid of it. Me, I like it a lot and have no interest in reading Spider-Man if they’re planning to retcon it in the future. Sadly, I’m 99% sure this is the other genie he mentioned in the newsarama talk this Friday.
We’ll, see I guess, I’ll stick through this crossover and then decide what to do.
Why is child less “innocent” if they know about sex? Doesn’t that imply that sex is something one should feel guilty about?
I’m all for protecting children, but the question always seems to be “from what?” I don’t think my 1-year-old daughter Katherine particularly needs to know the graphic details of sex at this point in time, but I don’t think that’s what the issue was heading towards at all. If Katherine were reading that scene (and were older, more like 3-4 than 1), I suspect the conversation would go something like this:
“Daddy, what are they doing?”
“They’re playing a game.”
“Oh. ‘Kay. Peter should really pay attention, then.”
End of problem, so far as I see it.
Jim, I don’t remember, so please just take this as an honest but clueless question: do you have children of your own? When I think of all the things I worry about when it comes to Katherine’s health and well-being, running across an ambiguous depiction of married sex in a comic book is so far down the list as to border on Utopian. Obviously you don’t feel that way, but I’m wondering how much of it is direct parental experience and how much is conjecture.
TWL
P.S. Does anyone else have the Monty Python “storytime” sketch in their heads at this point? “Old Ned the Sea Captain…” Maybe it’s just me.
Tim,
Are you sure you aren’t thinking about Old Nick, the Sea Captain? He was a rough tough jolly sort of fellow. He loved the life of the sea and he loved to hang out down by the pier where the men dressed as ladies…
(So no, it isn’t just you 🙂
Bill,
Well, I’ll be dámņëd.
I was about to write “No, it’s very definitely Old Ned”, but I decided to actually check the “All the Words” book sitting on the shelf — and it is in fact Old Nick.
I’ve heard it as Old Ned for 20+ years. Personally, I think Old Ned scans better, but I can’t very well argue with the people who wrote the thing.
I have learned something this evening. Many thanks.
I’m glad it’s not just me, though. Now to discuss Rumpletweezer…
TWL
“with a melon?”
Well, as long as you aren’t upset. I know I HATE it when a quote I “remember” turns out to be different. I only posted becuase I’m always eager to quote Monty Python or Love & Death. I hope I didn’t make you feel worse than the chicken at Kresgies.
Luigi Novi – When did he become an Avenger?
When Marvel decided that the real Avengers need to be disbanded so they’d have an excuse to put Spider-Man and Wolverine in yet *another* montly title.
Iowa Jim – The reason is because I value protecting the innocence of a child.
There’s a big difference between ‘innocence’ and ‘unnecessary sheltering a child from reality’.
Worse than the chicken at Kresgies … well, life goes on.
TWL
thinking about wheat
One thing …
Why didn’t Spidey simply web the bullets? If his webbing can stop missiles, it can stop bullets. Or was he out of webbing and this was left out? Hmmm … I need to go back and re-read …
Wheat… lots of wheat… fields of
wheat… a tremendous amount of wheat…
All in all, a very strong issue. For those who want to whine about the whole crossover thing “as part of the crap from the ’90s”, well, first, sales were pretty dámņ good back then. It seems many of those who complain about things are stuck in the ’90s themselves. I mean, this is the first major Spidey crossover in at least SEVEN YEARS. And it’s being driven by three talented writers. And guess what? FNSM#1 sold out at my locak comic shop within two days, and the shop owner ordered comparable to what he would order on JMS Spidey or Ultimate Spidey. Which means. for those who are staying away because they’ve made up their minds before even reading the story, obviously PAD fans who haven’t picked up the other Spidey titles bought it, and it is also attracting fans interested in the other two writers.
Everyone wins. Which is probably, you know, what Joe Q and everyone involved was thinking when they thought up the crossover.
PAD has a hit on his hands, and we should all be happy about that.
The “Helloooo Nurse” line completely sold me on this book. Loved Ringo’s art too.
• 
Overall, I liked it. I would have preferred that you were able to start your story without it being this crossover, but you handled that well.
I especially liked the “Heloooo, nurse” line.
I added this to my pull list before it ever came out, and that won’t be changing any time soon. (I already get JMS, so will “splurge” on the issues written by the other guy.)
I wanted to have Peter and Mary Jane in bed together being loving in the very beginning, but knew perfectly well that the average seven year old would look at them kissing, go, “Ewww,” and put the book back. So I kept everyone–Peter, Mary Jane, the readers–in the dark, and wrote dialogue so vague that it could be anything. Everyone reads into it as little or as much as they want.
Sorry, don’t buy it. I know this won’t surprise you, but even as vague as you kept it, I think this is inappropriate for a title truly aimed to include the younger set. The setting for the scene — whatever was happening — did nothing to advance the story.
That aside, I look forward to seeing where you take this once the crossover is finished and the story direction is more fully your own.
Iowa Jim
PAD
to agree with so many, i thought you handled all the characters very well. you really brought the Peter i grew up with (not you, that guy in the comic) to life without simply using some cliche stuff as some writers do.
Personally, i have enjoyed most of JMS’ Spidey run and my only real complaint is the New Avengers. i’ve always been a big fan of Spidey interacting with other heroes, and thought he deserved the recognition of being an Avenger, but i thought the whole ‘honorary member’ thing was good enough (although apparently that didnt REALLY happen since he’s in such awe of being an Avenger).
the POINT here is to say that i am interested in your take on what JMS has started and how you’ll move on from there because, well, youre awesome.
and Weiringo is pretty good artist for Spidey and im glad to see that he has a little less… scrawny (?) of a Spidey to give us.
oh yeah, one last thing:
kudos on the opening pages!
I know this won’t surprise you, but even as vague as you kept it, I think this is inappropriate for a title truly aimed to include the younger set. The setting for the scene — whatever was happening — did nothing to advance the story.
The information we got during that setting was necessary exposition, and PAD needed *some* way to make it more interesting than a flat infodump. I think he kept it sufficiently vague — any members of “the younger set” who have an inkling of what’s going on in those pages didn’t get that inkling from comics in the first place.
TWL
I enjoyed it. I like MJ and I found it believable that she would be concerned for Peter to go out while he’s injured.
I also liked the Dr. I’m guessing she’s appeared in other Marvel titles, but I’ve never seen her before. I liked her and the interaction between her and Peter.
Fuuuuuuch. This is a crossover? Gah! Will someone just leave a little note that summarizes everything up when the crossover is done? I just refuse to buy a bunch of different titles to try to follow a story. Not worth my time or money or the darn effort. A little note would be nice, though.
Yay! Thanks for a fun read, PAD.
“Sorry, don’t buy it. I know this won’t surprise you, but even as vague as you kept it, I think this is inappropriate for a title truly aimed to include the younger set. The setting for the scene — whatever was happening — did nothing to advance the story.”
And I know this won’t surprise you, but I think you’re completely wrong. Every comic is someone’s first, plus any number of people were stating that they were going to be picking up FNSM because I was writing it, even though they weren’t buying any other Spidey titles. So I needed to establish up front (a) Peter’s current status as an Avenger, (b) the themes I intend to explore, (c) Peter and Mary Jane are a loving, married couple, and (d) something of Peter’s background vis a vis Uncle Ben. And I had to do it all in a way that would be visually interesting.
To claim that it’s “inappropriate for the younger set” is just asinine. The younger set won’t know what’s going on in that sequence on ANY level and will just glide over it and into the cool action sequences on the very next page. The ONLY way that a member of the “younger set” is “informed” of any particular adult interpretation of that sequence is if an adult tells them. In that event, I think the problem is not the comic, but the adult.
And by the way, Jim, if you were remotely as straight thinking and righteous as you pretend to be, I’d have to believe that you’d read that sequence and only see it as a couple being affectionate. Shows where your mind truly is.
PAD
Sex scene? What?
I thought she was just giving him a massage.
He was sore after a long day of webslinging.
Shame on you, Matt Adler, for having a dirty mind. 🙂
And by the way, it’s not “aimed at the younger set.” I find myself wondering, yet again, what part of “all ages” is unclear.
PAD
And the rest of you guys, too!
______________________________
This is my first Spider-Man title since Romita Jr left Amazing Spider-Man. I will be back for more.
As to Weiringo’s art, I am not a great fan of cartoony art in most superhero books. I like his work here much more than I did his Fantastic Four work.
I have to agree with a previous poster that this is the best written Spider-Man in a long time.
I loved seeing Peter and Steve practicing Tai Chi together. Their dialog was hilarious, as was the scene with the bullet catching. Nice work!
highly bemused by people who don’t like the crossover and profess to enjoy PAD’s work not picking up the title with Issue 4. That’s a collector’s mentality, not a reader’s.
(Assuming “…not picking up the title with issue 4..” to mean “…not picking up the title until issue 4…”)–
For starters…my mistake for making the typo…I meant #5, not #4. Issue 4 is the last FNSM issue of “The Other.” 😉
But, I don’t see how it’s “not a reader’s mentality.” In fact, it’s purely from a reader’s point of view that I made my decision. Follow…
–As a reader, I enjoy PAD’s work.
–As a reader, I don’t enjoy JMS’s work.
–As a reader, I don’t enjoy Hudlin’s work.
–As a reader, I don’t see much point in reading chapters 1-3 and 10 if I know going in that I won’t be reading chapters 4-9 and 11-12.
As a reader, when it comes to these big, honkin’ crossovers, I decide whether or not to read the thing on a case-by-case basis. If all the creators involved (particulary the writers) produce work I enjoy, then odds are that I’m already reading all of the books involved. If there’s a mix of those whose work I enjoy and those whose work I don’t enjoy, however, I let the ratio of like to don’t like help inform my decision. In the case of “The Other,” fully 2/3 of the story, including the conclusion, are by writers whose work I don’t enjoy. So…I’m holdin’ out ’til #5.
I enjoyed it. The problem with multi-part stories is that sometimes characters behave strangely in the first issue and the reader has no idea if it was simply sloppy writing or that a payoff will occur in a later issue. I trust both MJ’s trepidation and Tracer’s backstory will eventually be explained in the story. The part with JJJ was great–not the usual, stereotypical “web-headed menace” jabber most lazy writers assign him, but a succinct “drop dead” look in his eyes and the words “Read my paper tomorrow” response! I liked how Peter thinks he’s far wittier when he’s wearing the mask, and is somewhat insecure without it.
Mike’s art was okay–but I expect he’ll reach “FF-level” goodness after he’s had a few issue into his run. Perhaps he’s uncomfortable and feels a bit restrained setting up things that won’t be resolved in an issue he’ll be drawing.
Also: I LOVED Peter’s short Monstrollo story in this week’s WHERE MONSTERS DWELL one-shot! Very funny sequel to the original Lee/Kirby story, with a very human revenge story at its center!
“I know that Mike is still working on this interpretation of Spidey and I’m willing to let him work it out, since I trust what will come out on paper.
jeff”
Jeff- actually Mike Wieringo has drawn Spider-Man quite a bit (with other spidey titles), but yes he could be thinking about making a different appearance for this particular title.
alot on the plate when there is so much out there.
as always though, Peter brings a good read to this issue and I’m on board for the moment.
“I know that Mike is still working on this interpretation of Spidey and I’m willing to let him work it out, since I trust what will come out on paper.
jeff”
Jeff- actually Mike Wieringo has drawn Spider-Man quite a bit (with other spidey titles), but yes he could be thinking about making a different appearance for this particular title.
alot on the plate when there is so much out there.
as always though, Peter brings a good read to this issue and I’m on board for the moment.
“I know that Mike is still working on this interpretation of Spidey and I’m willing to let him work it out, since I trust what will come out on paper.
jeff”
Jeff- actually Mike Wieringo has drawn Spider-Man quite a bit (with other spidey titles), but yes he could be thinking about making a different appearance for this particular title.
alot on the plate when there is so much out there.
as always though, Peter brings a good read to this issue and I’m on board for the moment.
Shame on you, Matt Adler, for having a dirty mind. 🙂
Heh. Like I said, doesn’t bother me (even if I were a parent, and my kid asked me what they were doing, I don’t think a biological explanation is going to “corrupt” a child), but you just know some people are gonna be up in arms over it. Case in point…
Nytewyng, I think he was referring to those people who have stated that they enjoy PAD’s work, but since FNSM is starting off with a crossover, they don’t intend to ever pick up the title at all, ever, because then there’d be a gap in the ol’ collection.
I like PAD’s writing. I also like JMS’ writing. And I’m curious enough about how all this will be working out to pick up the other guy’s issues, too. That’s my perspective as a reader – I don’t expect these issues to last long enough to become “collectible”. If I’m lucky, they’ll last long enough to pass on to my daughter, or perhaps my not-yet-born son. As long as I get my three bucks’ worth of entertainment out of them, though, that’s all I require – and PAD fulfills that and more.
“And guys, as for Mary Jane expressing concern: It doesn’t mean I’m going to depict them with their marriage in trouble. To me, quite the contrary: If she wasn’t concerned about an injured Spidey going out after Tracer, THEN their marriage is in trouble. A woman not caring is certainly the first sign of that, don’t you think?”
Kinda. Kinda sorta. Her telling him not to go out didn’t seem so bad. The comments she made after he’d gone kinda sounded like she was beginning to doubt her love for him.
Worrying about his well being is good, but some of us have been reading her worrying for *decades* now. Maybe it won’t bother new readers so much, but worry after that long sounds more like a lack of trust.
Having Peter take lessons from Cap: Cool way to show her doing something to make Spidey safer.
Having her try to talk Peter out of going after the bad guy: I don’t know if cops have to have this conversation with their wives every night for 20 years, but I really hope not.
“Sorry, don’t buy it. I know this won’t surprise you, but even as vague as you kept it, I think this is inappropriate for a title truly aimed to include the younger set. The setting for the scene — whatever was happening — did nothing to advance the story.”
Hardly inappropriate. It isn’t as though we have graphic scenes of raunchy behaviour. It is suggested to those who know what to look for and interpret it in their own way. If the kids already know what they’re supposed to be thinking of, they’ve already been ‘corrupted’ as some might say.
Too, it’s good to be occasionally reminded that there are good reasons why those two are together. And this is one of them.
“Having Peter take lessons from Cap: Cool way to show her doing something to make Spidey safer.”
‘Bout time.
Makes me wonder if super hero universes have no Role Playing Games. Take SMALLVILLE. You’d think Clark would realize he needs to develop and train his abilities, and that creating a character which just happens to have his abilities and using him in a MARVEL UNIVERSE-like RPG campaign with his friends, where he is forced to think of strategies to use against baddies would be almost as good as a currently unavailable Danger Room session. Save him a lot of grief down the line. It’s certainly part of what I’d do.
Nytewyng, I think he was referring to those people who have stated that they enjoy PAD’s work, but since FNSM is starting off with a crossover, they don’t intend to ever pick up the title at all, ever, because then there’d be a gap in the ol’ collection.
By golly…I hadn’t considered the original wording that way. Good point.
I must admit, I’ve occasionally been guilty of that kind of “collector’s perspective,” particularly when it comes to titles near and dear to my heart.
Case in point: It’s taking a lot of willpower right now to learn to live with creating the only gap in my Titans collection since 1980. But even the Titans can’t get me to buy the two Liefeld issues. 😉
Hey, Peter? Looking forward to your new Spike comics, but any chance you’ll pen an Angel comic at some point?
I can’t think of a better person to get a hold of Angel’s often elusive characterization than you, the guy who writes Mackenzie Calhoun.
Peter, you brought me back to Spider-Man. Thumbs up for a great issue, both storywise and artistically.
And by the way, Jim, if you were remotely as straight thinking and righteous as you pretend to be, I’d have to believe that you’d read that sequence and only see it as a couple being affectionate. Shows where your mind truly is.
I believe sex is a good and appropriate thing in the right setting. And in this case, it is with a married couple. I don’t think the act is bad, so there is nothing wrong with where my mind went. But it was unnecessary to use that setting to deliver that dialogue. Humorous, ironic, yes. But in an “all ages,” not necessary.
As “affectionate” scenes go, obviously it was as “safe” and “neurtal” as is possible. Having read two issues of Fallen Angel, I know the alternative, so I do give you credit for that. We will just have to disagree on the appropriateness of the page.
Iowa Jim
“I believe sex is a good and appropriate thing in the right setting. And in this case, it is with a married couple. I don’t think the act is bad, so there is nothing wrong with where my mind went. But it was unnecessary to use that setting to deliver that dialogue… We will just have to disagree on the appropriateness of the page.”
“In the right setting?” A married couple in a bedroom at night in the dark. Obviously the right setting. Therefore good and appropriate…except, no, in your last sentence, you imply it’s “inappropriate.” How is dialogue so vague that it could mean anything inappropriate? Because it appeals to the dirtiest recesses of YOUR mind, while to a kid it will mean nothing? Surely that’s your problem, not the kids’ and not mine.
Now if you want a disagreement to translate as I’m right, you’re wrong, fine. Because I am and you are.
PAD
As someone who hasn’t ever purchased a Spiderman comic, but is familiar only with the character from the newspaper, television and movie versions…and has recently begun reading PADs comics because I like his novels…
I enjoyed the issue. I was fine with the artistic depictions. The 2nd page was a little strange for me to see in an ‘all ages’ comic, but I agree with PAD, no ‘innocent’ kid will see anything. And if they do, they aren’t innocent.
However:
If MJ and Peter have been married for five years, and MJ actually is thinking that her love of irony is quickly approaching her love of Peter…those are her exact thoughts if I read them correctly…that’s serious. Maybe it’s just sarcastic, and she doesn’t mean it, but that’s not really clear. This is combined with her sarcastic ‘and that would be a bad thing?” to suggest Peter stop being Spiderman. Worry? yes. Concern? yes. Not understanding after five years why Peter does what he does, and questioning her love? no. One poster above, though, suggested we might see a reason for this in an upcoming issue. So I’ll let it slide.
I have a problem also with the idea that learning Chi can help you stop bullets with your bare hands. Yeah, it didn’t work completely, but it shouldn’t have worked as well as it did. Unless Peter evolved or is evolving new superpowers I was unaware of. The subtitle of the crossover is Evolve or Die. But hopefully there will be a better explanation than Chi.
I have no problem with bullets that seek out a particular person…This is a comic book.
I liked the cartoonish Tracer. He reminded me of some of the cartoonish villains I enjoyed as a kid.
Somewhat familiar with PADs past work on a different comic title….I did briefly wonder (in a humorous vein)…with the injured wrist and all…if one of the evolutions would involve a hook?
“I have a problem also with the idea that learning Chi can help you stop bullets with your bare hands. Yeah, it didn’t work completely, but it shouldn’t have worked as well as it did. Unless Peter evolved or is evolving new superpowers I was unaware of. The subtitle of the crossover is Evolve or Die. But hopefully there will be a better explanation than Chi. “
I don’t think it was really about Chi at all. I think the point was that Cap was trying to tell Peter that he needed to learn to focus. So instead of running away from the bullets until he eventually became tired, Spidey stopped for a moment and thought up a plan. Maybe not the best plan, but a better plan than hoping the bullets got tired before he did.
The bullet stopping doesn’t seem outside the limit of Spidey’s abilities. A bullet doesn’t exert any more force on the guy it hits than on the hand of the person firing the gun. It’s just that all of that energy hits at the point of the bullet. Spidey’s fast enough to dodge bullets, so he’s fast enough to grab them and spread the force out through his fingers. He’s just never tried it before.
Personally, I liked it when MJ grabbed Peter’s peter. 🙂
I picked it up today along with Infinte Crisis #1 and Street Fighter II #0.
FNSM was the best by far. Infinte Crisis, for all the hype, I felt had a weak lead off issue. And Street Fighter II was decent, but the book just had a few pages of actual content. Everthing was just interviews and previews for two of their other lines. Maybe Udon should concentrate on getting one tittle out montly for more than 14 moths before talking on other projects. But their other stuff is looking good I guess. I just hope everything comes out on a regualr basis now that they’re their own publisher.
Whoops. Sorry for the mini-rant. With (all) that said, I can’t wait to see what happens in MN:SM #19. I wonder what Parker has.
I got FNS today and I really liked it. Classic Spiderman! The wisecracks were great, the action was really good, the storyline was interesting, the new villian was too, and I liked Wieringo’s art in this too and I’m usually not a big fan. Its a bit cartoonish, but it reminds me of Ditko and Romita too. I like it! Best of all, like I said, PAD’s writing. Excellent issue. I can not wait to read more! I hope I can get my hands on the MK Spiderman issue by PAD and also the Amazing Spiderman issue too!! 🙂
DF2506
” The previews I’ve read of both issues were really good! “
Put me in the ‘artwork isn’t great’ camp. Very interesting story, but the art doesn’t quite feel right in places.
Pretty good, Peter. This is the first monthly Spidey book I’ve picked up with the intention of reading it regularly in like 15 years or so, and it takes some getting used to the notion of Peter being an Avenger, living in Stark Towers and having Cap know his identity (I was going to ask about the latter two, but your mention of his being an Avenger explains it). Tracer’s a good villain, but I coulda done without the orange parts of his costume, and the manner in which part of it was shaded with hatching, and the rest was not. For the most part, though, I’m glad Wieringo is the artist. He’s the only artist I have a sketch from, which is on my wall. (Rogue, incidentally.)
I do have a couple of questions:
When did he become an Avenger? Is he a regular member, and if so, is he in the Avenger titles? Does everyone in the team know his identity, or just Cap?
He’s a teacher, but he’s still taking photos for the Bugle? Why is this? Doesn’t his teaching job pay enough? I know that externally, it’s because that’s such a classical, traditional aspect of the character, but has there been an internal explanation given?
Thanks.
Iowa Jim: Sorry, don’t buy it. I know this won’t surprise you, but even as vague as you kept it, I think this is inappropriate for a title truly aimed to include the younger set.
Luigi Novi: Why? For all we know, MJ was giving Peter a massage. Or they were kissing. That’s bad for kids to see? Kids already know that men and women sleep in the same bed and cuddle and stuff. I certainly knew when I was a tyke that my parents didn’t have twin beds like on I Love Lucy. 🙂
Iowa Jim: But it was unnecessary to use that setting to deliver that dialogue. Humorous, ironic, yes. But in an “all ages,” not necessary. As “affectionate” scenes go, obviously it was as “safe” and “neurtal” as is possible. Having read two issues of Fallen Angel, I know the alternative, so I do give you credit for that. We will just have to disagree on the appropriateness of the page.
Luigi Novi: No one has argued that it was “necessary”. It was a choice. You then state that it was not “appropriate,” but you don’t state why. Can you elaborate on this?
A bullet doesn’t exert any more force on the guy it hits than on the hand of the person firing the gun. It’s just that all of that energy hits at the point of the bullet.
Huh. Is that true? I know it sort of makes sense with the whole “equal and opposite reaction” bit but it doesn’t sound like a gun should even work were that the case.
Hey Tim, why don’t people who fire pistols go flying off into car hoods like Will Smith shooting a Noisy Cricket?
The more I think about it, the more I decide that there could be a lot of emotional/physical reasons MJ would say things she doesn’t really mean in those scenes with Peter.
I guess I can accept the ‘spreading-out-of-force’ explanation for the bullet…especially combined with the explanation given by someone else that the bullets would have to be slowed down due to the technology inserted that allows it to lock on someone. As a long time Trek fan, I know it’s possible for fans to explain almost anything.
Ed…..MJ grabbed Peter’s ear in one scene, but I don’t recall the scene where she grabbed his ‘peter’. (Or at least what I have generally heard referred to as a ‘peter’) Your mind must have been working overtime.
I don’t think there was anything in the conversation between MJ and Peter in bed you wouldn’t have heard between Mike and Carol Brady in bed. (Sure…details such as Mike didn’t have superpowers, but you know what I mean.)
We wouldn’t have seen Carol Brady in shadow the way we saw MJ. But what passes for all ages has changed since the 70s. I suspect the Disney Channel wouldn’t have a problem filming it for one of their family movies. But I could be wrong.
Ah, never mind. Has to do with the different masses of the bullet and the gun/shooter.
Uh, I think there’s a LOT more action in the Parker household than Mike and Carol ever had. Just a hunch…
I liked the issue. It’s the first (new) Spidey comic I’ve read in the last few years, so I was glad of the recap at the start. The sex aspect caught me by surprise (“Oh, *that’s* what they’re doing”), but it didn’t seem particularly graphic to me; in particular, I just read that last panel on page 2 as “contented sigh” rather than anything else.
As for the whole crossover thing, I’ll get the next two issues of the other Spidey-titles (as written by PAD), and I’ll be getting all the issues of FNSM (to avoid confusing my comic shop too much) – after that I’ll decide whether to read the remaining issues. It’s a bit of an unfortunate sequence (Hudlin before JMS), since I gave up on “Black Panther” because I couldn’t understand it (after a 6 issue trial run), whereas I gave up on JMS because of the “Rising Stars” delays (which are no longer relevant). Ah well, wait and see, I guess.
I liked the sub-plot with the doctor, which made sense; it reminded me of the tailor who turned up in a JMS story a while back (“I do hero costumes on Mon/Wed/Fri and villain costumes on Tue/Thur/Sat”), although I don’t know whether he’s been seen since.
I also liked the Tai Chi bit. The basic premise seems sound, although I haven’t done it myself (I bought a “teach yourself at home” video a few years back and couldn’t get past the mysticism of “draw down the life force energies into your body” enough to take it seriously). I was glad to see MJ training with them, and this also reminded me of PAD’s (too-short) run on “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”.
Regarding the bullets, I’m wondering how quickly they were supposed to be moving. Unless Tracer was really gabbling his words, it implies that the bullets were travelling fairly slowly, say at 1 metre per second. By contrast, normal walking speed is about 4 miles per hour, which is about 1.7 metres per second. So, they’d be annoying (and relentless), but not amazingly dangerous. Having said that, it is something of a genre convention that people can make huge speeches mid-leap (as mentioned in a Deadpool issue), so this may just be dramatic licence.
This links in to the issue of catching them. I don’t have a problem with the idea of someone catching arrows (e.g. Xena, or Robin and Superboy in “Young Justice”), and I’d put these bullets at a similar threat level – they’d hurt if they hit you with the point, but less so if you grab them side-on. Similarly, thinking about playing cricket, the way to catch a ball (bare handed) is that you follow through, i.e. your hands start moving as soon as the ball touches them, and you can then slow it down, rather than it breaking your fingers. It seems reasonable that you could do a similar thing here.
I initially misread the scene with his hands, and thought that the bullet had burrowed into the same hand by itself (after seeing it resting on his glove), as part of Tracer’s “self powered homing rockets” scheme, and I went back to re-read it after I saw other comments here. However, I don’t consider that to be a fault of the writer/artist, since it all seemed much more obvious on my second reading, so that was just me not paying enough attention.
Anyway, all in all I’m happy, and I look forward to more issues to come.
PAD,
I apologize that I was not clear enough.
Sex between married people is the right setting.
Putting a scene of sex between married people in an “all ages” comic is not.
Obviously, you went to great pains to make it as vague as possible. It is completely in the mind of the reader. Any intelligent, mature reader of a normal mind would know that something “intimate” is going on between a husband and wife. But it is by implication.
Bottom line: It is obviously the principle of the thing. I think it is unnecessary. I also think in a comic book that is aiming for “all ages” it is inappropriate. The reason is because I value protecting the innocence of a child. That does not mean you wait until a kid is 21 to tell him or her about sex. But our culture goes too far the other way and ignores the need to protect a child’s innoncence.
This comic does not overtly do so, but it does so in a way I think is unfortunate when seen from a bigger picture. You asked what I thought about the comic, and I told you. And I initially said my case in very concise terms without trying to run you down or say you are a pervert, etc., etc., since I know that is not the case. I think protecting innocence in a healthy way is something worth fighting for.
And with that I will drop the subject. I appreciate your work overall, I am just telling you what I think. Take it or leave it. It is up to you.
Iowa Jim
Iowa Jim
I liked this issue a lot, but I do agree with other posters who pointed out that the last scene between Peter and MJ reminded me too much of some 90’s stuff.
I’m torn about whether I should continue reading Spider-Man or not though, since Quesada is again talking about “putting genies back in the bottle” and while he doesn’t say it out loud, everyone knows he hates the Peter/MJ marriage and would love to get rid of it. Me, I like it a lot and have no interest in reading Spider-Man if they’re planning to retcon it in the future. Sadly, I’m 99% sure this is the other genie he mentioned in the newsarama talk this Friday.
We’ll, see I guess, I’ll stick through this crossover and then decide what to do.
Why is child less “innocent” if they know about sex? Doesn’t that imply that sex is something one should feel guilty about?
I’m all for protecting children, but the question always seems to be “from what?” I don’t think my 1-year-old daughter Katherine particularly needs to know the graphic details of sex at this point in time, but I don’t think that’s what the issue was heading towards at all. If Katherine were reading that scene (and were older, more like 3-4 than 1), I suspect the conversation would go something like this:
“Daddy, what are they doing?”
“They’re playing a game.”
“Oh. ‘Kay. Peter should really pay attention, then.”
End of problem, so far as I see it.
Jim, I don’t remember, so please just take this as an honest but clueless question: do you have children of your own? When I think of all the things I worry about when it comes to Katherine’s health and well-being, running across an ambiguous depiction of married sex in a comic book is so far down the list as to border on Utopian. Obviously you don’t feel that way, but I’m wondering how much of it is direct parental experience and how much is conjecture.
TWL
P.S. Does anyone else have the Monty Python “storytime” sketch in their heads at this point? “Old Ned the Sea Captain…” Maybe it’s just me.
Tim,
Are you sure you aren’t thinking about Old Nick, the Sea Captain? He was a rough tough jolly sort of fellow. He loved the life of the sea and he loved to hang out down by the pier where the men dressed as ladies…
(So no, it isn’t just you 🙂
Bill,
Well, I’ll be dámņëd.
I was about to write “No, it’s very definitely Old Ned”, but I decided to actually check the “All the Words” book sitting on the shelf — and it is in fact Old Nick.
I’ve heard it as Old Ned for 20+ years. Personally, I think Old Ned scans better, but I can’t very well argue with the people who wrote the thing.
I have learned something this evening. Many thanks.
I’m glad it’s not just me, though. Now to discuss Rumpletweezer…
TWL
“with a melon?”
Well, as long as you aren’t upset. I know I HATE it when a quote I “remember” turns out to be different. I only posted becuase I’m always eager to quote Monty Python or Love & Death. I hope I didn’t make you feel worse than the chicken at Kresgies.
Luigi Novi –
When did he become an Avenger?
When Marvel decided that the real Avengers need to be disbanded so they’d have an excuse to put Spider-Man and Wolverine in yet *another* montly title.
Iowa Jim –
The reason is because I value protecting the innocence of a child.
There’s a big difference between ‘innocence’ and ‘unnecessary sheltering a child from reality’.
Worse than the chicken at Kresgies … well, life goes on.
TWL
thinking about wheat
One thing …
Why didn’t Spidey simply web the bullets? If his webbing can stop missiles, it can stop bullets. Or was he out of webbing and this was left out? Hmmm … I need to go back and re-read …
Wheat… lots of wheat… fields of
wheat… a tremendous amount of wheat…
All in all, a very strong issue. For those who want to whine about the whole crossover thing “as part of the crap from the ’90s”, well, first, sales were pretty dámņ good back then. It seems many of those who complain about things are stuck in the ’90s themselves. I mean, this is the first major Spidey crossover in at least SEVEN YEARS. And it’s being driven by three talented writers. And guess what? FNSM#1 sold out at my locak comic shop within two days, and the shop owner ordered comparable to what he would order on JMS Spidey or Ultimate Spidey. Which means. for those who are staying away because they’ve made up their minds before even reading the story, obviously PAD fans who haven’t picked up the other Spidey titles bought it, and it is also attracting fans interested in the other two writers.
Everyone wins. Which is probably, you know, what Joe Q and everyone involved was thinking when they thought up the crossover.
PAD has a hit on his hands, and we should all be happy about that.
The “Helloooo Nurse” line completely sold me on this book. Loved Ringo’s art too.