lilradridinghood's reviews
475 reviews

Spider-Man vs. Wolverine by Tom DeFalco, James Owsley

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I love Spider-Man's characterization in this. In the beginning he's struggling to care about the heart of what he does because he's so focused on getting money out of necessity. But he'll always remember that with great power comes great responsibilty, and those words are finally attributed to Uncle Ben here. I also appreciate Peter's friendship with MJ.

Any major characters get introduced so you could totally read this without reading any previous comics. I was not very interested in everything going on between Wolverine and Charlie, but it was interesting to see how inexperienced Peter is at this point compared to Wolverine.

Jackpot & Black Cat by Celeste Bronfman
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.

I read the content from ASM, Jackpot #1, and Jackpot and Black Cat #1. I'm giving up.

I expected MJ to be more fun than this--or that she'd at LEAST know how to ACT. Now she's just a generic superhero with no unique character strengths. Her powers are thoughtless and boring. It's also annoying how she needs Paul as her "guy in the chair." I don't like the plot of Felicia having to take orders from an app.

Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo: Ultimate Collection, Book 2 by Mark Waid

medium-paced

4.0

Interesting Doom story involving magic, and it was nice to see Johnny show a little emotional maturity with Reed toward the end. I don't care much for the kids at this point though.

The Amazing Spider-Man: One Moment in Time by Paolo Rivera, Joe Quesada

4.0

I read this out of curiosity. I haven't actually read the prior comics about MJ and Peter's relationship, so I have no strong feelings about the fact that their marriage was erased.

I thought this was an interesting story, besides some weird details like how Peter missed the wedding (seems like his spidey sense should've saved him from that) or how Aunt May was saved. I thought the emotional beats felt very believable given everything that happens, and I liked the interactions between Peter and MJ in the present day. If they had to move on, this wasn't a bad way to show it.

Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo: Ultimate Collection, Book 1 by Mark Waid

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

If anyone asks, this is what I'm recommending as a good starting point for the Fantastic Four comics. The first issue is a great introduction since it's about someone from a PR firm getting to know the family. I'm usually the least interested in Reed, but these issues got me to really like him.

I don't looove Johnny's characterization because I feel like he seems more mature in prior comics, but at least he's still competent. I also don't really understand how Sue's motivation is guilt-driven and why everyone would assume that, but eh. Overall still a great start to the run.

Civil War: Fantastic Four by J. Michael Straczynski

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Reed and Peter made me cry with such a short interaction. I don't really like Reed by himself, but I love Peter and I love their relationship. Unfortunately, Reed's real motivation, while in character for him, kinda taints the previous interactions with dishonesty.

Still, it was interesting to see how the Civil War would affect a team/family where not everyone is on the same side. And the last bit with Spidey and Johnny was cute.

The Amazing Spider-Man by Steve Ditko, Stan Lee

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I haven't read much of the older comics, but I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. I like Peter's ongoing internal conflict and how he cares most about getting money for Aunt May. I think the pacing's a lot better than some of the more recent comics that can drag a story on for many issues. It's also nice to see some complexity already shown in the side characters too, like JJJ. Even Flash is shown to have a heart pretty early. Liz gets kind of annoying though lol. But I love Johnny Storm always.

The comics themselves would not be worth five stars for me without the additions from Ben Saunders and Jason Reynolds, which help me appreciate how revolutionary these comics were given the context of their time. It's interesting to read about how collaborative the comic making process was between Lee and Ditko. I just wish this collection included at least one more issue of ASM rather than the non-Spidey parts of Amazing Fantasy.

Spider-Man: Matters of Life and Death by Dan Slott

4.0

I haven't read the issues leading up to this point but I was still able to enjoy it. I got this for issue 657 with the Fantastic Four, which is one of my favorite ASM issues. Other than that, there was some good and some meh.

It was interesting to see the start of Flash as Venom, and I liked Peter's nightmare sequence about everyone he knows who died. However, I do find it naive for Peter to come out of this believing that he can prevent everyone around him from dying. I feel like there should've been a different conclusion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Mary Jane & Black Cat: Dark Web by Jed Mackay

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I definitely preferred their previous team-up in the Beyond issue, but I still love the way Jed MacKay writes Black Cat. I just don't like this book's place in the continuity because I don't like how MJ has kids. And they really don't stop mentioning those kids.

Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 8: Spider-Man's First Hunt by Patrick Gleason, Zeb Wells, Marcio Menyz, Ed McGuinness

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

0.0

Nothing good. Rek-Rap is annoying.