What I'm Reading 4/13/11

Amazing Spider-man #658
Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Javier Pulido
Colors: Muntsa Vicente & Javier Rodriguez

I'm enjoying the direction that Slott has taken with Spider-man. Peter Parker used to try desperately to keep up with his many responsibilities, but he always struggled to get ahead in life while juggling his career, his family, his friends, and being Spider-man. His new research job is more than enough to fix all of the problems you'd find in Parker's life normally. This new, successful Pete could live comfortably because Slott's created a impossibly perfect dream job. Peter can come and go as he pleases, and his office even comes with private storage space for his costume. Peter's new girlfriend even works with the police so she keeps hours as strange as his. They even leave to investigate crimes at the same time.

I would accuse Slott of trying too hard to make Pete's life too easy, but instead this has become an excellent example of how Peter is his own worst enemy. Instead of taking it easy, Peter's sense of responsibility motivates him to do as much as humanly possible with his new resources. He's joining a second super team, loosing a super power, and being more aggressive about his Spider-man duties. Slott's take on Spider-man is a man that will always push himself to the breaking point. He doesn't know how to relax, and I enjoy watching Peter make trouble for himself. He would never neglect a responsibility to make his life easier, and out of his friendship with the deceased Human Torch, he joins the Fantastic Four this issue. Javier Pulido goes from personal, to cosmic, to comedy, and back again with skill and ease; I'm very impressed with his ability to draw both Spider-man's NYC and the FF's cosmic world so well. I also love how cute he makes some of the characters. Slott and Pulido create a series of bizarre little sci-fi problems for the team to solve, and it ends with Peter screwing up his personal life. It's all Pete's fault, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Rating: 7/10

PunisherMAX #12
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Steve Dillon
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth

Jason Aaron (writes Scalped, and you should read it) has done an amazing job of following Garth Ennis' character defining run on the title. He's kept the dark humor, but moved into a much more personal and long term story for Frank Castle. The Punisher has been at war with the Kingpin and Bullseye for over a year in publishing time, and the fight has left Frank Castle physically and mentally broken. The only thing keeping Frank alive is his reputation; he's not even interested in defending himself anymore.

We don't see or even hear about the antagonists that have been troubling Frank for so long because he's main interest is his past. In the previous issue, Bullseye finally made the Punisher realize the kind of man he really was to his family. Trapped in traction, Castle keeps flashing back to his family life after the war, and he's finally aware of how much he failed as a father and a husband due to his time in Vietnam. The perfect family life that he lost is a lie he's been telling himself, and I think we're going to get some dark issues centered around PTSD. I'd expect this from the man that dedicated several issues of his Vertigo book to parallel plots involving abortion and heroin addiction. That arc made Scalped the feel good read of 2010.

This issue is a big change of pace from the previous twelve, but thankfully Steve Dillon is on art. He's great with action, but subtle, emotional, conversation scenes are his greatest strengths. I still look back at Preacher and marvel at how well he handles the long conversations and vast range of emotions in that title. The real downside is that this is four dollars for twenty-two pages, and it's part one of a larger arc. I have faith in Aaron's ability to make this a great arc, but it's still a slow expensive start. The upside is that the more I read it, the more I like it.

Rating: 8/10

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #6
Writer: Nick Spencer
Pencils: CAFU
Inks: BIT
Colors: Santiago Arcas

I'm really enjoying T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and I recommend that you pick up the collected edition when it hits stores. It doesn't matter if you never heard of this property before; everything you need to know is in this ongoing. The UN has its own superheroes, but their artificial super powers slowly kill them. The art and writing have been wonderful, and I just know that the trade will make a great read.

However, this issue is little on the light side, and it feels even less eventful than PunisherMax despite having much more action. It's an epilogue to the first story arc, and it repeats a few things that the reader already knows. The second half introduces some new elements for the next plot, but the issue just reads too quickly. I complained about Punisher being four dollars, but even at the lower price of three dollars, I blew threw this too quickly, in less than ten minutes. It's a shame because I loved the previous issues.

Rating: 6/10