Thursday Night is Movie Night
The Good
Another month goes by and another spectacular...er, superior (sorry, Marvel branding guys) issue of Superior Foes of Spiderman hits the shelves! Romance! Betrayal! Deep-fried rats! Yes, boys and girls, very few books will titillate the audience with such promises AND actually deliver on them. But enough compelling buzz-words to get you lining up at the door for this month's tale of blue-collar criminals. Let's dive right in to why you should by this book.
You probably don't need me to gab on incessantly about the art and the writing because, simply, most people have already done that. Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber should be known by now for knocking it out of the park with this title monthly. However, it's more than snappy dialogue and brilliant pencils that make this book shine. Spencer's scripts seem so commanding that he gets away with an unusual (for most comics) amount of panels per page without sacrificing dialogue or space. What's more--and this is something I've praised his work on Secret Avengers for--his books have impeccable pacing. The cliffhangers never feel forced, and each story manages to be episodic while still synching up with the over-arcing plot so the reader never feels cheated of story en masse or issue-unique fun.
The art doesn't schluff off either. Leiber has a commanding approach to body language that makes me seriously wonder why bigger books aren't taking notes. From the way a character stands or sulks we can read more into the scene than even Spencer's scripts alone can portray. But what I really love is how the pencils and colors work in perfect concert with one another. I know it's an oddly specific thing to go giddy over, but when I look at the page, I never have to guess whether the characters are inside or outside or what time of day it is. Not to mention, it can't be an easy task to make someone with a color scheme as dark as Bullseye's.
Plus, did I mention it's gut-bustingly, knee-slappingly hilarious? The art and writing are a knockout when it comes to delivering humor like Hydro-Man's inventive means of egress or Boomerang trading on his loser-cred. If you pick this book up and don't find yourself with at least one guffaw, please consult your life-coach immediately, as you may be short one soul.
The Bad
Uh...Marvel limiting single issue length to twenty-two pages? Um...Crimea probably isn't enjoying this book at the moment? I mean, seriously, I need help coming up with an answer for this one. Only the jadedest of Viners need apply.
The Verdict
You'd think I'd get tired of fantastic issue after fantastic issue, but as luck would have it, I'm sitting pretty with the way things are. If you're not picking up this title, do so. That's as basic as it gets. You'll be robbing yourself of one of the best books Marvel has published in way too long. And if you can't afford to add a title to your monthly roster?
Well, you only need one kidney, right?
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