By: Dan Slott, Mark Waid Publisher: Marvel Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 192 Publication Date: July 01, 2009 Reading Level: Young Adult Studio: Marvel
Product Description: THE THUNDERBOLTS are coming to New York to take down Spider-Man! Spidey's a villain? Norman Osborn's a hero? What kind of crazy, mixed-up world is this? Next thing you'll tell us is that black is white and white is black... or maybe that has something to do with Venom, Mister Negative, and the birth of an all-new Spider Villain! Or would that be an all-new Spider-Hero? Spidey's Brand New Day will be changed forever! Collects Amazing Spider-Man #568-573.
Brand New Day ^ If your a Spider-Man fan and have found the Brand New Day interesting I highly recommend that you pick this book up, The best of the Brand New Day arcs, as of yet, Spidey meeting Anti-Venom is priceless and the ever feared "Ven-orpion". As I said if your a fan of Spider-Man get this book.
Excellent Brock's comeback ^ This book presents the birth of the antivenom, and the beginning of Norman Osborn full goverment power, the art of JOHN ROMITA JR. is great (as always), and Dan Slot's writing is really interesting, this book is a must have.
That old Peter Parker luck: the Thunderbolts come to town, the rise of the Anti-Venom, and Peter's roomie is dogging him ^ It's always gonna go back to the abominable ONE MORE DAY (thanks again, Joe Quesada), that stinkaroonie story arc which had Peter and Mary Jane making a deal with Mephisto to save Aunt May's life. The result is a rebooting of the Spider-Man mythos, but most significantly the wresting away of Peter and Mary Jane's marriage. In fact, in this new continuity, that marriage and Peter's public unmasking (during the CIVIL WAR event) never happened, and Peter's buddy Harry Osborn is alive again (and dude's opened up a Coffee Bean).
So Peter Parker is back to his not-so-swinging bachelorhood (except that he's Spidey, so of course there IS a certain amount of swi- never mind), back to being a lowly photog, and has a revamped set of supporting characters. All this is established in the pretty good Amazing Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Vol. 1 (don't confuse that with ONE MORE DAY), even though it all feels like the '70s all over again (oboy, where's Glory Grant?). Even though I miss Mary Jane, there's no doubting that this reboot has breathed new life into the series and has gotten readers interested again. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN now consistently falls in the top tier of best-selling comic books. Fresher stories. Better artwork. And it comes out three times a month. I'm still very cheesed at ONE MORE DAY, but this is as close as it gets to being a worth-it tradeoff.
Warning: Possible SPOILERS from now on.
In the rotation of Spidey's brain trust of writers, Dan Slott's turn comes 'round again. He calls this story arc NEW WAYS TO DIE, with this trade collecting its entire six parts (issues #568-573). As we catch up with Spidey, wallcrawlin' dude is still on his can't-catch-a-break schtick. Still considered the numero uno suspect in the Spider-Tracer serial killings, his life gets even more messed-up when Norman Osborn and his Thunderbolts come a-gunnin' for him. This, even as Menace is still doing his best to sabotage/influence the upcoming mayoral election and that dubious philanthropist Mr. Li (a.k.a. Mr. Negative) is still up to who knows what in that soup kitchen Aunt May likes to volunteer in.
On a personal level, the old Parker luck is also running true to form. His roomie, the NYPD copper, is busting his chops over the rent. Pete parts ways with the trashy tabloid, the DB (formerly the Daily Bugle). Luckily for him, he soon gets a new gig with the crusading Frontline newspaper, reuniting him with Rob Robertson and Ben Urich. Tugging at the soap opera thread of things, Peter, with no lovelife to speak of, does receive romantic overtures from an unexpected source. Also, some worrying stuff about Harry Osborn begins to surface.
It's been a stretch of issues now since BRAND NEW DAY and Spidey in his own comic book has been doing his own thing, but insulated from the rest of the Marvel universe. This story arc plonks him squarely back into the overall 616 continuity, this particular timeline obviously taking place sometime before SECRET INVASION. NEW WAYS TO DIE pits Spidey against three of his most classic heavy-hitting Big Bads: the original Green Goblin (and his "World's Greatest Dad" coffee mug); Eddie Brock, formerly Venom-ridden, now cancer-ridden; and Mac Gargan, who used to be the Scorpion but is now the host of the Venom symbiote but then dude re-assumes the Scorpion mantle (or as Spidey calls him: "Ven-orpion, the turducken of supervillains"). To supersize Spidey's migraine, this arc also introduces the shabbily-monikered, not-exactly-a-symbiote Anti-Venom, and I won't mention too much about this cat except to say that his abilities and self-righteous motivations immediately put him in direct conflict with Spidey. Is Anti-Venom a new supervillain? I'm not sayin'.
Dan Slott, with the ace storytelling, but we're used to that by now. John Romita Jr. is the showcase superstar here, returning to draw Spidey for this arc. Romita Jr. is an awesome comic book artist with a distinctive style, and he treats us to plenty of dynamic visuals. One of my favorite sequences in this arc features the three-way slugaway with Spidey, Venom, and Anti-Venom, even as Norman Osbourne (in a business suit but with his Goblin shoulder bag) faces off against Menace, the Goblin wannabe. Sometimes I've a tendency to dismiss Norman Osborn, even though the man has recently come up in the world. But Osborn demonstrates that he really belongs in that elite supervillain class. I'm not talking about his throwdown with Menace, although he mostly holds his own against him even when not Goblined-up. I note the deviousness he unveils as he formulates a scheme to take down Spidey (hint: it involves Spidey's camera); his plan would've worked, too, if not for a certain X-factor which comes into play. And Osborn reveals again how insiduous he is, in his solution to Gargan's malady and in his incidental reaction to a miracle cure: "What amazing restorative properties it must have. God, I can't wait to kill it."
Slott and Romita Jr. do us another solid with a one-on-one I've been waiting on for a long time: Spidey vs. Bullseye. The unerring killer proves just how absolutely deadly he can be, and, yeah, it takes Spidey tricking him silly to end up not getting killed.
Issue #568 also features a backup story, "Fifth Stage," which has Mark Waid and Adi Granov spinning a little tale about cancer-stricken Eddie Brock's struggles to come to terms with his disease and his past as Venom.
Bonus stuff in this trade features the original and variant covers, Marvel Spotlight's interviews with John Romita Jr. (including his thoughts on his father's legacy) and then with Spidey editor Stephen Wacker, as well as a brief article (with the tongue-in-cheek title of "Old Ways to Die") which promotes the two trades Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt and Spider-Man: Death of the Stacys (Marvel Premiere Classic).
One last thing to tantalize the reader: When Peter walks into his apartment and finds Norman Osborn and the Thunderbolts, and Osborn asks, "Where can I find Spider-Man?" - Peter's thought processes go like this: "Ah, right. He doesn't remember anymore. He has no idea I'm Spidey. Nobody does. Everything we did is still up and running. I'm safe." This should set off the alarms for those who'd wondered exactly how that whole "the-world-again-doesn't-know-Peter-is-Spidey" thing works. Color me curious. What's with this "we" stuff? And, no, it's probably not Mephisto; that'd be too easy. Is it S.H.I.E.L.D.? Dr. Strange? Is it MJ?
Man, I'd still rather have MJ back.
Dan Slott and JRJR can do no wrong ^ Dan Slott's work on She Hulk is among the best original writing I've read in Marvel. Once I found out he was part of the writing team on Brand New Day I figured it was worth giving it a shot, since anything had to be better than One More Day.
The fact is One More Day happened, it's time to get over it, Mary Jane isn't really around and Peter Parker's identity is once again a secret. I, like most fans, find that total crap, with that being said Brand New Day and the new "Spidey Braintrust" are doing a damn fine job. Besides interesting stories, these guys REALLY know how to write in the voice of Peter Parker, which is of course very important to a successful Spider-Man book.
New Ways to Die is the best yet, partly because of the always awesome John Romita Jr. artwork and a great story with great villians
Everything Old is New Again: The Return of Eddie Brock ^ Despite my personal feelings about "Brand New Day" Spider-Man reboot, "Amazing Spider-Man" has been consistently entertaining for the first time in years. "New Ways to Die," featuring the triumphant return of Eddie Brock, is one of the better chapters to emerge in the BND-era.
The former Scorpion now wears the Venom (alien) costume, and Brock's turned his life around after being diagnosed with cancer. His new alter-ego, Anti-Venom, is a fresh take on the Venom mythos and feels like a natural progression of Brock's character. Of course, Venom also appears here, along with his fellow Thunderbolts. Since this is a Brand New Day story, neither Norman Osborn, Venom, nor Eddie Brock remember that Peter Parker is Spider-Man--a plot point that is handled with a wink and nod to the audience by writers Dan Slott and Mark Waid.
Osborn is a "good guy" and Spider-Man is a "bad guy," although readers know the true score. Osborn doesn't have it all together, though--the dude dresses up as the Green Goblin again, a bad omen for his fragile psyche. Now that he's in charge of the Avengers (see "Dark Avengers #1" and "Dark Reign"), how long can he hide his evil intentions from the American public? And, what secrets is his son hiding? The Spider-Man team has done an excellent job setting up new and old characters on a collision course with "New Ways to Die."
Could Marvel have re-launched Spider-Man without undoing Peter Parker and MJ's marriage? Of course they could have. Will Peter and Mary Jane get back together? Eventually. In the meantime, I'm content to forget about the whole "One More Day" cluster-**** and just enjoy Spider-Man's new lease on life.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
