#37 - PUNISHER MAX: END OF THE LINE

The Punisher Max Review

 

End of the Line

By

Jake Estrada

Spoilers.

Punisher Max was a series that was written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Steve Dillon, and it was often regarded as a sequel series to Garth Ennis’ tenure on the title character the Punisher.

A BRIEF LOOK AT WHAT CAME BEFORE!

Now, some that don’t follow have to take note. The Punisher for many years was written by Garth Ennis under the Marvel Knights banner before he got his wish and had the series re-launched under a mature imprint that Marvel owns called MAX. Here, Garth Ennis took the Punisher right out of the proper Marvel Universe and threw him into what he called the real world. There were no superheroes or supervillians to combat. The Punisher was a cold, bloody killer who murdered real people who were ex-military operatives and gangsters that had an axe to grind.

This Punisher also aged in real time, and it kept his original origin pretty much intact which was that he served in the Vietnam War, and he lost his wife and children during a gang war in Central Park in 1976. Frank Castle had been punishing criminals for decades and he was getting older and older each passing year.

In Garth Ennis’s seminal run, he had the Punisher killing for decades. He wasn’t a hero; he was just a stone-blooded serial killer who rinsed and repeated his actions year in and year out. Of course, during his run the threats got bigger and bigger each passing year, but the central character always survived to kill another day.

Yet Garth Ennis left, and he left his mark on the series. Others tried to pick up the reigns, yet they were all short-lived until Jason Aaron was given a new series, which had him taking over Marvel staples such as the Kingpin, Bullseye, and Electra and throwing them into this Punisher universe.

A LOOK INTO THE ENTIRE PUNISHER MAX SERIES

 When Punisher Max started, we bore witness to the rise of Wilson Fisk as a lowly bodyguard for a mafia Don who has a plan to take out the Punisher for good. At this point in the story, they decided they were to create a Kingpin figure that would have the Punisher coming with his guns blazing on this guy who ran the show. Of course, this idea was orchestrated by Wilson and Vanessa Fisk to really take over the show, but the other families didn’t know this as they believed it was just an idea to weed the Punisher out and kill him. The plan had the appearance of killing the Punisher, but Fisk always wanted to be the real Kingpin and he ultimately got his wish as he betrayed the other mafia figure heads using the Punisher.

What Wilson never expected during this course of action was that he too would lose his son and wife to become the Kingpin. The Punisher would become Wilson Fisk’s mortal enemy, and Frank Castle wouldn’t stop until he got his person.

Now Wilson Fisk as the newly minted Kingpin recruited assassins to take out the Punisher and they all failed. Fisk grew more paranoid and frightened by Frank’s crusade against him, and this is when Fisk came across a man known as Bullseye. Bullseye wasn’t a superhuman with great powers. He was a lunatic who enjoyed killing and was pretty good at what he did. So, once Fisk hired Bullseye to take out the Punisher, it became a contest between the two when they would finally meet up with each other at Fisk’s high-rise.

The Punisher had to fight against a much younger, faster, and potentially crazier foe. The Punisher’s fight was long and very brutal against Bullseye and ultimately it would take the Punisher down a notch or two. Surely, he survived but by the skin of his teeth, and it got him jailed as he recouped from his injuries at Rikers Island.

 

During his time on Rykers he was severally beaten, and his injuries were on the mend. We are taken back to Frank’s time with his wife shortly after returning from Nam. We see how he tried to re-enter society and how he didn’t have any real coping skills. He felt numb inside, and all he could do was revert to violence over and over. There were threats on his life as the mafia tried to make him join their organization, and his reluctance to becoming a hitman for the local heavy resulted in his family’s death.

 As the story progresses, we learn that Frank during that fateful day in Central Park asked his wife Maria for a divorce, but that would never play out as his family’s lives were snuffed out giving birth to the Punisher as we know him today.

During this storyline, we learn about Nick Fury’s hand in trying to get Frank to work for him, and helping him avenge the death of his family. Nick Fury finally told him that it would never end well, but Frank didn’t care; he knew his role in life and that was to murder scumbags.

Finally as Frank went down memory lane, he is aided by a convict known as Big Jesus and escapes from prison, and once freed, the Punisher goes back to the only place he knows, which is home. Yes, the Castle home that is now abandoned. Here, the Punisher is weaponless, penniless, and doesn’t have the gear to combat the thugs on the street, but that doesn’t stop Frank. He goes out on the street, kills the first thug he sees and takes his gun, and he does it because this is all he knows and he knows he has to try to find a way to bring the Kingpin out of his ivory place high in the sky. Of course as the Punisher goes back to the streets, he notices that the vermin aren’t as scared as they used to be of him. He has to run away from a lot of gun battles now, and his presence doesn’t bring that chill to their bone like it used to. The new gangsters know what he is, an old man living the last days of his life, but this does not stop Frank Castle. It only makes him more determined to get his hands on Fisk.

Frank went the most extreme route; he went to Wilson Fisk’s son’s grave and unearthed his son’s body and brought it to Vanessa Fisk’s penthouse while Kingpin was being guarded by Electra from the Hand. Now of course, Kingpin was being played by Electra to amp up Fisk’s confidence. Fisk finally leaves his Ivory tower to face off against the Punisher. The ulterior motive was for Vanessa to have her revenge against Wilson. You see, Vanessa was distraught over the loss of her son at the hands of his own father, and she felt he had to learn a lesson and the only one to do this was to use the Punisher himself.

Finally, Fisk does leave his tower, he finally has the confidence to go toe to toe against the Punisher and he goes to the Punisher’s old abandoned home and they square off against each other in Punisher Max #21. The Punisher is wounded at this point due to the previous issue battle he had against Electra, but this doesn’t end here as Fisk has his entourage of men unleash their hailstorm of bullets down on Frank.

Frank stands tall and goes to war on these men. As they wreck his body with the bullets, he continues to plow through the hell his body is going through to kill each and every single man that Fisk has brought with him. One guy urges Wilson Fisk to run, but Fisk says no. He was tired of running, and he was going to deal with this himself.

The guy standing by Fisk is gunned down. Fisk picks up the man’s body, and he hurls it towards the Punisher as the Punisher unloads a round of bullets into Fisk’s stomach.

The battle between the two became a violent no-holds-barred fight to the end, and finally when the Punisher is down, Fisk goes on a rant telling the Punisher that his son died for a reason and that his son gave him this city and that he as Kingpin will leave his mark on the city forevermore, while Frank’s family’s death was pointless, it amounted to nothing and that he, Frank himself, was nothing. He wanted him to die knowing this as he, the Kingpin, would live on.

Frank, of course, took Fisk on by turning around grabbing his throat biting off his tongue, whacking him in the head with a hammer, Wilson Fisk would stagger away and find his way to Vanessa’s place of residence and beg to be let in, but he was refused as the Punisher would appear behind the Kingpin and blow his brains out.

This is when a very poignant and destroyed Frank Castle told the Kingpin, “Your city. My world!”

The Punisher walked away; he was completely destroyed as drops of blood fell with each step taken. He was an utter mess. Yet, he was determined to go rest. He knew he defeated Fisk, yet knew another would someday rise up and take his place, and he wanted to be ready to take on this menace. He was not as lucky as he was previous times. This time, he finally fell to the ground as a pool of blood beneath him formed and the issue ended.

When Punisher Max #22 opens up, we are presented with a very dead Frank Castle. His lifeless body lies on a coroner’s slab as they removed the bullets from his body. A very old and saddened Nick Fury looked down at this tortured soul. Here, we bore witness to the end of Frank Castle, this version was dead. The only man who had aged as if he was in real time, this 65 year-old Frank Castle had come to an end. His war was over. There was no more punishing coming from him.

A few dangling plotlines were tied up, such as Electra being revealed to have lived yet she was severally handicapped from the neck down so the Hand finished her off. Vanessa Fisk was elected to Kingpin Status to end up being taken out by Nick Fury.

The point was stressed over and over  how old Frank really was, how each year his enemies were getting younger and younger, and how it must’ve been getting harder for him to contend with that and the sheer fact he wasn’t getting any younger. This was always destined to be his fate, and he met that fate. It drove home the fact that his war on crime was meaningless because it changed nothing and he was just a minor footnote in history to be easily forgotten by the next big thing. Just as Nick Fury makes these observations, a news broadcast plays out that people have taken to the street, that tenets to a building just had an uprising against their slumlord landlords and drug dealers and took action against them, and these people adorned the shirts made-up of Frank’s skull. So, in a way the Punisher did live on after Frank.

We are finally given a tombstone with Frank’s name on it. The war was over. The Punisher, at least this version, was dead. I know Marvel says this was the Garth Ennis version that passed, but it makes you wonder what Garth would have done considering he did write a Punisher the End story sometime ago that had a totally different ending. In the end, this version which was an old Frank Castle died and this is the story we were given.

                                       

 How did I feel over this issue? I was sad to see him go, but at the same time I did think it was a well enough put together story delivered to us by Jason Aaron and Steve Dillon.

My score for Punisher Max #22:

4 STARS.

Enjoy folks!

Jake Estrada

Email me at estradajake@yahoo.com for website suggestions. Thanks.

Jake Estrada is a published author who holds degrees in Multimedia Design and Criminal Justice. He is a father to three wonderful children and married to his beautiful wife, Beth. You can find his comics at http://graphicly.com/estrada-mediaand other fine online stores.

Amazing Spider-man:Big Time #648 - 651

Welcome Ladies & Gentlemen to the beginning of a revolution. A beginning of where heroes, villains and stories all clash. This is where comic books will be graded and challenged to see where the story and the art mesh together.  We will start with the Big Two for the first 2 weeks. And considering this is the first week out our illustrious blog. And a battle it will be:

It’s Amazing Spiderman’s Big Time 

How have these storylines and books grabbed readers? How have these characters changed or grown? 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

Issues #648 – 651

Story(arc) Name: Big Time

Written by Dan Slott; Penciled by Humberto Ramos

Marvel Comics


Review by Frankie Rodriguez

            Let us begin. Spidey, in Marvel proper, has not been treated well in some time. And while many fans LOVE him in the New Avengers (and now Avengers) book, working and interacting with other heroes it’s almost a complete opposite in his solo book. To be honest, things have not bode well for Spidey in Amazing at all.

            One More Day changed most of Spidey’s world, by keeping Aunt May alive by changing reality. You know how that happened. In short, Spidey revealed himself during Civil War, Kingpin ordered a hitman to kill him but Aunt May was shot. Spidey asked almost everyone he knows to help his Aunt May from dying and they couldn’t but Spidey, along with then wife Mary Jane, meet up with Mephisto, Marvel’s Satan, and makes a deal with him in order to erase their marriage. Why? WE STILL DON’T REALLY KNOW!!!!

            Then we get a slap in the face with One Moment In Time as we some how find out exactly what MJ whispered to Mephisto before the deal was made. Which was bullshit!! Seriously, most fans, like me, find it to be bullshit. They come up with a crappy “what if” situation that supposed to be the altered reality which only, according to Quesada, only has 2 big changes: 1. MJ & Peter never got married & 2. everyone’s minds were altered by Dr. Strange and friends instead of Mephisto. Which means everything else happened  . . . including the birth of MJ & Peter’s daughter, May. WHAT THE HELL?!

            Since then, Peter got to work with Frontline, a new web/print news magazine ran by Robbie Robertson, lives with a woman who doesn’t like him, J. Jonah Jameson became married to the woman who helped created the Spider-Slayers, Marla Madison-Jameson; Aunt May got married to Jameson’s father, Jay. Spidey, alongside the New Avengers, survived the Osborn era, and just started dating a new woman, Carlie Cooper who is actually a forensics scientist. ???? Confused yet?  Now that we have that out of the way . . .

            Amazing Spiderman #648, according to Dan Slott, was to be a jump on point. Did he succeed?

            #648 opens with Spidey leading, yes, you heard me right, leading the Avengers against a bunch of Doc Ock Octopus-robots. The Avengers follow his lead as we get narrative from Spidey. As the Avengers, and later the Fantastic Four, join forces against the Octopus-robots; the Sinister Six work on sneaking into a military instillation in New Jersey. Well, only Chameleon & Electro sneak in. The rest of the new Sinster Six: Rhino, Sandman (yes, he’s evil again), Mysterio and Doctor Octopus watch from their little secret lair. Doctor Octopus has nearly 40 robots, the size of Sentinels, attacking New York. And while the Sinister Six talk about Ock’s  psychosis, yet the eight-limbed villain gave a very powerful statement about Spider-man: “For years I thought he was a buffoon . . . a child. But he defeated me in a battle of minds. Trust me. The man is a genius . . .and I shall never underestimate him again!”

            After Spidey beats out Reed Richards & Tony Stark to a solution to the Octopus-robots simultaneously exploding, we get to see more changes in Peter’s life in one day than we have since OMD & OMIT. Peter deals with being behind on his rent then getting kicked out, saying good-bye to Michelle, who didn’t really catch on with my hands. Peter also dealt with being blackballed from the newspaper business, so working for Frontline under the table but could not get money. So homeless and with little to no cash, Peter hunts for a place to stay, leading to several different confrontations with people including Carlie Cooper, Flash Thompson & MJ before he walks into Aunt May’s. More on Peter’s trip to Flash’s later.

            Yet, unbeknownst to Peter, while he was out and about, Marla and John Jameson (J. Jonah’s son) met up with May & new hubby Jay Jameson (John’s grandfather). Marla wanted to make amends for Peter being blackballed thanks to Jonah and help her new family heal. Marla offers to find Peter a job and Aunt May comes out a scrap book. Marla looks impressed on Peter’s achievements in science and makes a call.

            Peter enters the fray and Marla seeming hooks him up with an old scientific idol of Peter’s Max Modell. And the meeting becomes a cushy new job as a scientist for Horizon Labs; where Peter is one of 7 top scientists who can come and go as they please with their own private labs; even winning his job after solving a problem with fake vibranium, reverbium, made by one of the other 7 scientists.

Meanwhile, the Kingpin, yes, Wilson Fisk, has gained control of the Hand and is working on getting his criminal empire where he wants to be. He has hired the Hobgoblin, who is once again the original Hobgoblin, Roderick Kingsley. Yet, during their meeting, he does not show his face to the Kingpin.

            Hobgoblin is getting more weapons till he runs into another character that is known throughout Spidey lore, a former Goblin in fact. (No, not Harry or Norman Osborn).  They even meet up in one of Norman’s old goblin labs that he kept secret to produce new goblin weapons. And sure enough, this former Goblin ends up taking over the Hobgoblin’s spot in one of the most gruesome scenes in a Spidey comic I have seen in years. The “new” hobgoblin shows up and set up to be a dark reflection of Peter as we see a character that was once considered good decent into madness. And the new Hobgoblin wastes no time in trying to move up in Kingpin’s organization, mocking Kingpin’s right hand guy and attacking Horizon Labs, which Kingpin had targeted for the Reverbium. During the attack, the “new” Hobgobin  uses his “Goblin laugh” to fend off Spidey and steal the Reverbium. Spidey, disoriented, barely escapes but does so with help from Black Cat.

            Meanwhile, Peter is getting his life together with his first pay check and really learning to be on his own. Yet after the defeat of Hobgoblin and his new job, Peter decides to use his new job, creating a new costume. The new costume was made to deal with the new Hobgoblin’s laugh powers with some other features, including stealth. And while fans were initially scared of it cause of the green color . . . the spider changes color so it goes from green to blue to red, etc. Using his brain to make the suit, he also enlists help from Black Cat, who agrees to both stick it to Kingpin & to make herself look good cause she wants to join the Avengers. (WOW. Black Cat as an Avenger?! Eh . . .Maybe New Avenger.)

            So they go in to steal the reverbium, getting separated and its Spidey vs “new” Hobgoblin round 2, but this time with new Spidey suit while Black Cat tries to steal stuff from Kingpin, only to get her neck caught by a lasso from Kingpin’s number 2 guy. (Honestly, his name doesn’t escape me but he’s NOT that important.) Spidey fends off the new Hobgoblin then starts up the Reverbium to explode, starting to make the building collapse. Spidey and Black Cat escape, Kingpin’s number 2 dies and the “new” Hobgoblin sees to have sworn loyalty to Kingpin. The comic ends with a shot of Peter, Carlie, May & Jay (lol. May & Jay) having dinner and Peter picks up the tab.

CLASH TACTICS

            Clash tactics is how I break down the story line or arc and see how things measure up. There is a point system, the point system will lead to my special rating system:

Ubersuck Crown – Run away from the story &/or book. It is bad. Treat it like the plague. Think of it as a 1 or 1 star. Pretty much VERY BAD.

Cruiserweight Contender – A book that has some great flash and ability to entertain for a while. Not a definite buy but still not too bad. It’s ok. Aka 2 stars.

X Division Contender-  Something that is out there. Brings out something a little different. Something entertaining and over all enjoyable but still not enough to make a huge impact.  3 stars or Average.

Intercontinental Contender – Something polished, some what thought provoking. Great story telling. Fair characterization but things not completely utilized to the best of their ability more than it should. Something that is on the verge of greatness but just falls short. Good or 4 stars.

World Heavyweight Contender – Outstanding. Great art. Great characterization. Great storyline. Excellent plot. Outstanding use of characters, area. Great use of new concepts or old concepts in a new way. Frellin’ awesome or 5 stars.

Why Contenders and not Champs . . . that is my little secret for now.

Onto the actually Clash Tactics:

            First, this was supposed to be a new jump on point for readers as well as Dan Slott’s first solo issue of the book. And I have to say . . .THANK YOU GOD. These first 4 issue not only reestablished Spiderman in his solo title as the big star that he is, he was finally treated as one amongst his peers (for the most part) and by the writers. This isn’t some half-assed storyline to erase the past or pretend things didn’t happen while at the same time, moving forward.

I think the biggest problem with Brand New Day when it got started was that a lot of people thought it was TOO MUCH of a throw back. Many fans have quoted that the tales were just too reminiscent of the 70s. Going back is ok but only to reflect and move forward, not to completely do the same thing over, just with new people. And I think that was a very big problem with Spidey over the last few years. And I have read a few storylines here and there but none just seem that interesting.

Big Time though, Big Time respected what was done before, deconstructed it nicely enough and added new without spitting in the face of the past. Not only that, it gave us different sides of Spidey we have not seen in his solo book for a while. The Avengers were included in the first part of Big Time, showing his importance to being a member of that time and how he was Big Time in the super hero community. That his experiences and intelligence were much needed in the Marvel super hero community as much as Reed Richards & Tony Stark. That other heroes truly did give him respect, unlike Jonah.

Another facet that I loved about Big Time for Peter was that fact that he had been through this cycle before and he knew it. He went through quite a few people after he was thrown out of his apartment with Michelle, who actually was also moving out. Yet what struck me most was the scene between Flash and him. First, the laughter I got from Peter forgetting what putting a sock on the door means. The other was the statements Flash said about Peter after he slammed the door on Peter. Betty Brant, who Peter had called, was there and they talked for a moment. When Betty asked Flash who was it, he answered the following:

“Parker. Looking for a place to crash. Again. It’s like going in circles with him.”

Betty said what was wrong with circles since they were now back together. Flash replies with: “. . .But with Pete? He’s supposed to do more than ‘get by.’ Don’t ever tell ‘im I said this … but back in high school, we all thought he was gonna be the next bill gates. Just wish he could be more like me . . . and move forward . . .”

That whole exchange was one of the most profound statements about Peter to ever been said. And it’s very true. Peter, writers or not, has been going in circles for sometime. And moving forward is not easy. Especially when you get into adulthood and may adult readers know exactly what I am talking about. Jumping from place to place. Job to job. Still finding your way in the world is a hard thing. And while Peter has done that as Spiderman, he hasn’t really done that with Peter Parker. He’s been a photographer, a lab assistant . . . even a teacher but still been going in this weird circle. Mary Jane was along for the ride till One More Day but now, she’s just in the background. This was Slott’s way of showing us that circle and showing what has come before and how it affects the present. Giving Peter a new job as a scientist that will help out with his both financially and as Spiderman was definitely a defining moment for Peter.

The fact that Peter later on uses his new job to create his suit and able to keep his Spiderman stuff there is also a plus. Peter is really growing into his new job and after his first confrontation with the “new” Hobgoblin, Peter decides to use his brain. He creates a suit that not only looks like a “Tron Ad”, according to Black Cat, but also can nullify sound and make his invisible . . . to NINJAS. Again . . . invisible to ninjas! And thankfully, it changes color.

 Plus, Peter’s relationship with Black Cat has come down to to respectful friends. Yet, this one friend likes to steal and wants to be an Avenger. Poor Peter.  Peter’s humor is better than it has been in years in his solo book. It is finally on par, if not better than Bendis’s portray of Peter in Avengers & New Avengers. The fact that in #650, Spiderman barely got away from being beheaded by the “new” Hobgoblin with one of Peter’s new co-workers (Blonde named Bella) playing Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance to drown out the Goblin Laugh was genius and made me nearly wet my pants in laughter.

Slott’s take on Peter was not only refreshing but let us examine the other characters, starting with Aunt May. May and Peter shared probably one of the funniest talks in a comic book in years . . . over Peter’s possible collection of Porn. You have to read it to believe. 

As outraged as some fans were by the fact that Aunt May is talking about porn, that one scene gives May her motherly touch in a whole new way. And while it started with her seeing Peter off on his first day, that conversation was hilarious. Only to book end it with an old shot of May seeing Peter off to school, saying that he’ll be a scientist someday then May looking up to the sky, thinking of her dead husband (Ben Parker), and saying that he’s made it. It actually made me tear up for a second in #649.

Speaking of the interpersonal relationships of the cast of the book, there has been some shake ups; with Phil Urich having a “special” part in the book. As well as Frontline becoming the new Daily Bugle, now owned by Robbie Robertson thanks to a very funny yet almost touching scene with Jonah, Marla & Robbie was a definite highlight. The Kingpin’s slow reemergence began with this storyline and honestly, I have to say I like it. This sets up for some major changes with crime in the Marvel Universe and I hope they utilize Fisk and the Hand well in Amazing Spiderman and in the Marvel U as a whole.

The “new” Hobgoblin. He’s been controversial to say the least. For the fact the original Hobgoblin is killed in such a gruesome manner (for an Amazing Spiderman comic), was an exclamation point on the dawn of this new era of villainy. Back in #648, Doctor Octopus showed little remorse for becoming a mass murder that could destroy a city, which is something far more disturbing then he’s ever been.  In #649, the birth of the NEW Hobgoblin showed that this person was going to be a character to watch. And again, being set up as a dark reflection of Peter made it all the more creepy. And with true and tried motives, this Hobgoblin is not some Joker rip off but a very disturbed young man who wants acceptance & power. The evolution of this “new” Hobgoblin will definitely be a sight to see, given that the readers get to see that evolution done at a good, steady pace.

Carlie Cooper did not get too much pay here but we get to learn that Ms Cooper likes to also fight in roller skating league. Um . . . ok. She said she does it to relieve stress. Ok Slott. Interesting choice. Mary Jane in the story seemed to be there, happy for Peter but still had another great scene with him when he was trying to find a place to live that only people who have friendly relationships with their exs can only truly understand. I appauld Slott for that. Yet, when MJ visits Peter at his new job with Carlie . . . I felt as awkward as Peter. MJ, for a person not wanting to be with Peter, you are certainly hanging around.

Jonah is still a prick but little by little, Marla, his new wife, has been having a somewhat positive effect on him. Marla is trying very hard to repair her family has thanks to Jonah’s hatred of both Spiderman and Peter. And the somewhat back and forth relationship between Jonah and his father was barely touched but still seen.

We lost Michelle but we gained the big brains over at Horizon Labs. While the majority of the other scientists are not seen, Max Modell stands in the forefront. He seemed to like Peter and a different kind of boss. Plus, Peter idolized Max for years so working for Horizon Labs has literally turned to a dream come true for the web-slinger.  Max is smart. Perhaps too smart? Time will tell.

            Artistically, this was Humberto Ramos’s best work in some time. And I have become convinced that it truly depends on his inker and/or colorist that works on his stuff. Sometimes, his stuff doesn’t seem to have as much life but this . . . Big Time was a tour de force. Particularly want to say big ups to Carlos Cuevas on inks and Edgar Delgado on inks & colors. They always added something positive to Ramos’s art that was clean and finished, yet always fit the mood of the scene readers were enthralled with. If you don’t believe me, look at the transition of Hobgoblin’s scene during #649. It was as dark and horrific as it needed to be in a Spiderman comic. It was a great way to open the second part of Big Time and truly established the “new” Hobgoblin as a player. And a major player. The covers, whether the first printing or second printing, gave you a sense that this was a new era for Spidey. And while many people think of Humberto’s style as cartoony or manga like . . . it has that but evolved. The expression give enough emotion and excitement when they need to, which was always an issue before. This time, nothing looks out of place. People who are supposed to be menacing, are. People who are supposed to be happy, definitely look it. Hands down, some of Humberto’s best work he’s ever done.

 Now this is how Spidey is supposed to be. Big Time closed the chapter on things before and gave readers a new starting point to be proud of. The dialogue fit the characters but Slott was not above evolving characters, which is great. In just his first issue alone, Slott gave us some memorable moments in one comic that were comical and serious that will hold as milestones and reflections of adults who are looking for their way. Slott did a great job of also giving plenty of possible plots that can and will surface throughout his run on the book that did not retract from the main story. Humberto Ramos & company conveyed Slott’s script with such passion that it will make readers feel a multitude of emotions. You will laugh. You will cry. You will be horrified. You will be satisfied. I really tried to find something wrong with it. Some kind of flaw. Some kind of thing I can latch onto that didn’t involve those missed abortions called OMD & OMIT. Yet, for the first time in over a decade, I WANT to collect Amazing Spiderman. And that is truly Amazing.

Comic Book Clash Proudly gives its first review, Amazing Spiderman’s Big Time, a World Heavyweight Contender placing. But who will Big Time Spidey's opponent be . . . why non other than one of the Dark Knights . . . Batman. Next Week, it will be Eye of the Beholder as we pit Peter Parker vs. Dick Grayson.

          VS.

See ya Then. And If you are on the side of evil, say goodbye!