Fast Recovery

Yes, we know Peter hit his head. He seems to have recovered quickly compared to most previous incidents (including the bit during the Dara Dorset storyline, where he spent a week being woozy). The image of the Vulture carrying off Jonah Jameson is pretty funny, though. I like that.

Metapost: Larry Lieber in the Funnybooks

So I have this other Blog called Third Attempt, see? It's a new version, dealing with various other bits of entertainment, like full-fledged comic books. So I was going through my comics to review, and I found one. It was a Spider-Man comic, of course, and when I cracked it open and looked at the credits, whose name should be looking up at me?

Larry Lieber's, of course.

Larry Lieber is the gentleman who is supposed to be drawing the Amazing Spider-Man comic strip right now, so you may or may not be interested in seeing a little bit of his comic book work from the mid-eighties.

Here's the review.

The More Things Change...

Jameson being carried off by the Vulture, high above the streets of New York, with the unstated promise that the Vulture plans to drop Jameson to the pavement at any moment: Fun, new, and somewhat exciting.

Peter Parker being hit in the head by debris: Same old nonsense.

Honestly, we all knew that Peter was going to get hit in the head at some point during this storyline. Ah, and chances are Maria Lopez is going to save Jameson with her news 'copter.

Huh...

...well, I wasn't expecting that. Touche, Stan Lee. Touche.

Also, in the third panel, it looks like Peter is about to snap Mary Jane's neck.

Resolution Forthcoming

This is getting pretty monotonous, but that little blurb in panel two sort of promises some sort of resolution to the whole thing pretty soon. Unfortunately, tomorrow will probably have Maria Lopez boarding her helicopter, for the folks who don't get Sunday Spider-Man. Perhaps by Tuesday Peter will be off going to be Spider-Man.

Metapost: Help!

This is a post so that you, the reader, can give me constructive criticism and whatnot.

Helicopters

Mostly recap, with a zany picture of Jonah being flung into the air. Ah, and we find out that Maria Lopez is taking a helicopter to check things out. In case you missed that, she is basically going into what is going to be ground zero for a super-fight (a lame one, but still a super-fight) where one of the combatants doesn't really care about collateral damage. Spider-Man has significantly more luck with helicopters than he does with any sort of villain, though. (See here for proof of that) I'm also a bit disappointed that the solid gold file cabinet has turned gray. Still confused about why there's a file cabinet there.

Also, I was reading some old Spider-Man comics (from the Evolutionary War crossover thing they did in the annuals twenty years ago) and found this little bit of fun:I would like to see an in-universe version of the Spider-Man comic strip. It'd no doubt be the most bizarre thing ever seen, if it was anything like that in-universe version of the Spider-Man comic book they did a while back. I could also rant about how they should continue to restrict massive crossovers like the Evolutionary War to annuals instead of inflicting them about the main books, but this is a blog about the Spider-Man comic strip. Not for rants on the comic books.

Violent Jameson

He could have also said that, since the battle would most likely be fast-paced and filled with movement, then a room with windows only on one side of it would not be the best place to take pictures of it. Since that's true. After all, I'm sure that the Vulture wouldn't be considerate enough to keep the battle in view of that window. Besides, won't Peter be getting glare in every picture since he's taking them through glass?

I do like how Jameson is getting violent against Peter. That's pretty fun. I hope it continues.

I'm still confused about that solid gold filing cabinet, by the way, but am beginning to hope it's in every strip from now on.

Too Soon to Tell

It's still too soon to tell how long Peter is going to spend trying to get a better shot. However, it's pretty odd that Jameson wouldn't let Peter, who is a somewhat professional freelance photographer, go do his job. The very job that Jameson brought him to the Chrysler building to do. Also, what's with the solid gold file cabinet in the second panel? In fact, what's with Jameson's pose? What an odd second panel.

Non-Excitement

I don't care who's saying something in the second panel, but none of them should be excited about the freaking Vulture. One is Spider-Man, for god's sake, and the other two regularly interact with Spider-Man and his rogues. Besides, they knew the Vulture was coming. In any case, Peter will most likely cut out to "get a better shot" pretty soon, and then he'll fight Spider-Man.

If we're bizarro-lucky, we'll get two weeks of Peter attempting to get out of there so he can fight the Vulture. I'm hoping this is not the case.

Scooped? No.

So the Chrysler Building is in Midtown? Wonderful.

Also, is it really a scoop if everyone in the city knows what's going down already? No, it's not. Hopefully tomorrow's post will go up in a more timely manner.

Clingy

Watch as Mary Jane clings to her husband, refusing to let him go for even a moment. She has the power to cling to those who cling to walls.

That sounded funnier in my head.

Mary Jane, Sidekick? (No)

The only way Mary Jane would be of any help to Peter would be if he collapsed while he was taking photos. If this was the case, I'm sure Jameson (who is gruff, but has some degree of humanity left) would take care of him. The only way she could help him while he was Spider-Man would be if he just happened to fall by her (in which case he'd most likely land with a splat) or if they just eschewed the whole secret identity thing and Mary Jane stood by waiting for him to fall.

Also, what's this "if"? We all know there's no way you're not going after the Vulture.

The Week in Review

Today is basically a recap of the previous week of strips. What sort of nonsense is that? The bad sort, that's what kind!

Ah, and unless Jameson is being sarcastic, he is putting way too much stock in Peter's photos here. My goodness.

Showdown at Noon

My only knowledge of New York's neighborhoods and whatnot is based on the "Spider-Man 2" video game. I know that these different neighborhoods exist, but not where they exist (other than New York). As such, Jameson wanting Peter to meet him in Midtown at noon to take pictures of a showdown atop the Chrysler Building, also at noon, might be a doable endeavor. I have no idea if it is or not, though.

I'm sure we're supposed to be feeling a sense of triumph over Peter's return, but I'm not feeling it. I feel only ennui.

Messages in the Sky

The Vulture has obviously put up several messages. I do not know why the Vulture has done this, but presumably he's putting them up all over the city. Some only tell Spider-Man to meet the Vulture at noon, while some (such as the above message) tell him where to meet. Spider-Man, and everyone else in the city. Good going, Vulture. You two won't be able to move with all the media and police around.

Ah, and while the Vulture may be a good speller, he's not that good at grammar. Unless he's going for a telegraph thing.

Oh, and I pose the question again: what is the Vulture using to write these messages? My hopes to see him flying around in a biplane remain afloat until this is revealed.

Message in the Sky

Ah, so the Vulture had to go to the airfield to get something that would allow him to skywrite. If there's any justice in the world, we'll get to see a picture of the Vulture in an old biplane while he writes his message.

Oh, and hopefully, he was able to write the rest of the message somewhere.

I also like how Peter is just magically well. That's how you can tell this storyline is almost over.

Terrible Punning

I'd like to think that the Vulture is saying "That's it!" in regards to Maria's terrible pun.

I have no idea what the heck a man who can fly would want from a local airfield. Unless it's some sort of gun. It's probably some sort of gun, isn't it?

Rockin' the Ascot

Jameson still has a crush on Maria Lopez. That's both sweet and creepy. More creepy, though. Much more creepy. Also, note how Jameson is rocking that ascot. Not since Fred from "Scooby-Doo" or Hank Venture has an ascot been rocked so thoroughly. Good job, Jameson.

Ah, and so I don't have to put up another Metapost, my web-comic (PC/MS) hit 100 comics today. I am proud.

NEXT: In Media WAR!

Perhaps this will degrade (upgrade?) into an epic media war between Jameson and Lopez over who gets to hate on Spider-Man.

Challenge of the Clowns

I like the last two panels. The Vulture's pose in the center bottom panel is priceless. The final panel pretty much promises that this is the last part of the storyline, as well, which is a double-edged sword. Peter will be free of his flu, but we'll have to put up with some random no-name gangster once the Vulture is back in prison.

I thought the NEXT box said "The Challenge of the Clowns" at first. It does not, though some may argue that my misread is accurate.

Blathering

So I was reading some Spider-Man comics earlier, and one had the Vulture in it. The Adrian Toomes Vulture, though. The good Vulture. It was mainly a cameo, but do you know what he was doing?

Holding up some sort of roof-top restaurant with a gun.

Of course, in the comic, the Human Torch showed up and showed the Vulture a thing or two (it was from the Spider-Man/Human Torch mini-series) by burning off his wings, and boy was Spider-Man embarrassed.

This was really jut a roundabout way of filling up a post about a strip which is going in circles. I can only assume that, since Maria has taken up the role of Spider-bashing, then Jonah is going to come up with a talk show and beg for Spider-Man to be on it. At some point, Spider-Man will fight the Vulture inconclusively, then appear on Jameson's talk show. Then he'll come home and collapse. While Spider-Man is bed-ridden again, Mary Jane will force him to stay in bed forever and ever until he's feeling better and the Vulture will pull off another low-level crime.

I think Stan Lee has gotten sick of the strip, and is just going to keep on going in this loop for years and years. I'll keep this Blog going, though, but expect me to eventually start calling it in and putting up blog posts which are so generic and unmemorable that you'll eventually stop reading this. Stay tuned, folks!

Update on Peter

Just in case you were wondering where Peter was, there he is. Still stuck in bed, with the flu. Watching television. Amazing Spider-Man: The Most Exciting Comic Strip EVER.

Man With Wings!

A man with wings can't not look stupid. That's one thing. Swim, maybe? Not sure about that one. Carry more than one measly bag of money, apparently. Well, folks, anything else a man with wings can't do?

Retro Repeat

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you today's strip:When I saw this, I was appalled. Why, you ask? Simply because the exact same thing happened in "Amazing Spider-Man" #2:For shame, Stan Lee! For shame!

I have to admit that I do like the moneybags, though.

Tired of This

Shoot him with a sniper rifle while he's menacing a group of elderly rich people atop a building. Seriously, not that hard.

Human Buzzard

Once again, no promise was made. Mary Jane is being pretty smart here, though, as Spider-Man would probably get killed if he tackled the Vulture in his condition. I do like the term "Human Buzzard" for him, though. You could probably get a whole other villain from that.

Repeats and Regrets

Nothing but a repeat of the same old song we've been hearing this whole storyline.
-Spider-Man promised nothing, but everyone is acting as if he did
-Mary Jane won't let Peter leave the bed, and will tie him down with his own webbing if she needs to
-The Vulture is flying about, looking to do some crime and defeat some Spider-Man
-Mary Jane has, for some reason, decided to wear a bright pink midriff-baring tank top and mini-skirt. This is not a repeat, but pretty much the only thing in today's strip actually worth mentioning.

I can't wait to see what the hero regrets. Most likely the fact that he promised to catch the Vulture. Except that's not a fact at all, and therefore nothing he should regret.

Shortness

Mary Jane gives the recovering Peter a seizure in panel three. Good going, Mary Jane.

Mary Jane, Dark and Bright

Once again, no promise was made and I have no idea what "lace into" means. The site of an angry Mary Jane in her signature nightgown makes me giggle, though, as does her radical shift in personality in panel three.

No Promises

Spider-Man has made no promises to capture anyone tomorrow. He just said it wouldn't happen tonight. People are jumping to conclusions all over the place with this. Also, Mary Jane's line would have made more sense if she had said Vulture instead of flu, because there's really no sign that the flu is anything other than a minor annoyance for him at this point.

Spider-Man Screws Himself Over

1) Spider-Man admits he's just going to go home and sleep after the show.
2) Spider-Man realizes he just told every criminal in town that tonight was going to be free of Spider-Man
3) The Vulture also realizes this, and further realizes that if Spider-Man is too tired to fight crime, then he is easy pickings.

Spider-Man just totally screwed himself over, folks.

Flu-Based Puns

This strip is beginning to make embarrassingly bad flu-based puns, and I really hope they stop. Seriously.