[BOOK REVIEW] Spider-Man/Deadpool Volume 0: Don’t Call it a Team-Up by Joe Kelly

Title:  Spider-Man/Deadpool Volume 0: Don't Call it a Team-Up

Author:  Joe Kelly, Fabian Nicieza, Daniel Way, Kevin Shinick, Brian Posehn, Gerry Duggan, and Christopher Hastings

Artist:  Pete Woods, Patrick Zircher, Eric Canete, Carlo Barberi, Aaron Kuder, Mike Hawthorne and Jacopo Camagni

Genre:  Action / Superheroes / Humor

Year Published: 2016

Year Read:  2018

Publisher:  Marvel Comics

Source:   Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 13+ (Some Language and Violence)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

Introduction:

Now, I personally had never picked up a “Deadpool” comic book before since at the time, I was not that interested in reading anything about “Deadpool” despite his huge popularity.  It wasn’t until I watched the “Deadpool” movie starring Ryan Reynolds that I started getting (a bit) interested in the character and I have been trying to figure out where I needed to start reading about “Deadpool” in the comics. So, yeah thanks “Deadpool” movie for getting me into the comics (a bit)!  I had gotten several different recommendations from fellow readers and some have said that I should read either Joe Kelly’s run or Daniel Way’s run.  Since neither run was really available to me at the moment, I had decided to read this collection of stories where Deadpool teams up with Spider-Man called “Spider-Man/Deadpool Volume 0: Don’t Call it a Team-Up” since I had been reading lots of “Spider-Man” comics before this and I must say that this collection was quite good!

What is this story about?

This is basically a collection of issues collected where Spider-Man and Deadpool teamed up with each other.  So, here are the issues featured in this collection and my ratings for each one:

Deadpool (1997): Issue #11:  ★★★★★

Written by: Joe Kelly

Artwork by: Pete Woods

When Deadpool and his prisoner Blind Al ended up going through time, they ended up in a timeline that takes place in the 47^th issue of the 1960s “Amazing Spider-Man” series. In order to not to change the timeline, Deadpool and Blind Al have to masquerade as Peter Parker and Aunt May respectively.  They also found out that the only way to get out of this timeline is to find a younger Weasel and convince him to build a time machine for them to go back into.

Cable and Deadpool: Issue #24: ★★1/2

Written by: Fabian Nicieza

Artwork by: Patrick Zircher

Cable and Deadpool are working together to obtain a secret project called “Cone of Silence” and Deadpool is sent out to provide a distraction towards Spider-Man so that the plan can go by smoothly.

Amazing Spider-Man: Issue #611: ★★ 1/2

Written by: Joe Kelly

Artwork by: Eric Canete

Deadpool and Spider-Man ended up getting into an insult match when they meet up with each other again, while a more sinister plan involving Madame Web is brewing in the background.

Deadpool (2008): Issues #19-21: ★★★★★

Written by: Daniel Way

Artwork by: Carlo Barberi

When a mysterious hit man (I am sorry, hit monkey) ends up killing various people in the city who have committed crimes, Spider-Man and Deadpool are forced to work together in order to take down this hit monkey once and for all!

Avenging Spider-Man: Issues #12-13:  ★★★ 1/2

Written by: Kevin Shinick

Artwork by: Aaron Kuder

When Spider-Man ended up being trapped in his own dreams, it turns out that Deadpool had set him up by making him free his client the Hypno-Hustler from jail.  The Hypno-Hustler then ends up making Spider-Man hallucinate in fighting his foes and it is not long before the Hypno-Hustler hypnotizes Deadpool too!

Deadpool (2012): Issue #10:  ★★★

Written by: Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan

Artwork by: Mike Hawthorne

Deadpool ends up working with Spider-Man in order to take down Daniel Gump.  But little does Deadpool know, Spider-Man’s body is currently being taken over by Doc Ock, after Peter Parker had “died” in the previous issues.

Deadpool Annual: Issue #2: ★★★★ 1/2

Written by: Christopher Hastings

Artwork by: Jacopo Camagni

When the Chameleon caused Spider-Man to hallucinate various innocent people into being the Chameleon, Deadpool ends up taking over Spider-man’s mantle in order to locate the Chameleon and save Peter from these hallucinations.

What I loved about this story:

The writing: I hit the jackpot in actually getting a collection of stories that features both Deadpool and Spider-Man.  I have been trying to find a way to get into the “Deadpool” comics, whether it would be through one run or through a collection of issues that would help me determine which run I should spend my time reading. Well, I must say that I found some of the issues in this collection to be pretty entertaining!  Some of my favorite issues in this volume (judging by the ratings that I gave for each issue) are “Deadpool (1997) Issue #11,” “Deadpool (2008) Issues #19-21,” and “Deadpool Annual Issue #2.” In “Deadpool (1997),” I loved the way that Joe Kelly wrote the time traveling story arc with Deadpool going back in time to the original 1960s “Amazing Spider-Man” run as I was laughing my head off with Deadpool acting like his crude self while dressing up as Peter Parker while insulting Peter’s friends (especially with him making fun of the Osborns’ hairstyles)!  In “Deadpool (2008),” I loved the way that Daniel Way wrote both Deadpool and Spider-Man as it was entertaining seeing them work together to take down a hitman who happens to be a monkey!  In “Deadpool Annual,” I loved the way that Christopher Hastings wrote this story as it was quite entertaining seeing Deadpool act like Spider-Man and seeing his enthusiasm at taking over the mantle while Spider-Man is knocked out.  I was happy to see Deadpool and Spider-Man interact with each other since I always wanted to see how Spider-Man and Deadpool would act around each other.  It was interesting seeing Spider-Man be the sane, straight man to Deadpool’s wacky wise guy as it made their relationship with each other much more entertaining!

The artwork:  The artwork in this volume was quite creative and gorgeous to look at, especially the artwork done by Pete Woods, Carlo Barberi and Jacopo Camagni.  I especially love the artwork in “Deadpool (1997)” as I loved the mixture of the modern artwork with the 1960’s artwork and it just made the story even funnier whenever we hear Deadpool’s crude comments clash with the family friendly 1960s artwork.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The reason why I gave this volume a four-star rating was because even though there were a couple of issues that I did enjoy in this collection, there were other issues that I did not enjoy as much and that brings the rating down a bit.  I did not enjoy the “Cable and Deadpool” and the “Amazing Spider-Man” issues that much since they were pretty bland to me and there were some issues like “Deadpool (2012)” that were just okay.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Spider-Man / Deadpool Volume 0: Don’t Call It a Team-Up” is a great volume for anyone who is a huge fan of both Spider-Man and Deadpool and I would definitely give this volume a try!

You might also like:

• Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon Volume 1 by Matt Fraction

• X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga by Chris Claremont
• Astonishing X-Men: Gifted by Joss Whedon

[BOOK REVIEW] Spider-Gwen: Most Wanted? Volume 0 by Jason Latour

Title:  Spider-Gwen: Most Wanted? Volume 0

Author: Jason Latour

Artist: Robbi Rodriguez

Genre:  Action / Superheroes / Drama / Crime / Music

Year Published: 2015

Year Read:  11/11/2017

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Series: Spider-Gwen #0

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 15+ (Some Language and Violence)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

Introduction:

Wait a minute…Gwen Stacy is…SPIDER WOMAN!?  And who ever heard of a graphic novel having a volume 0?

Before you get confused about this (as I was), there was an event called “Spider-Verse” that might explain about all this (except that I haven’t read the “Spider-Verse” event yet, so that point might be moot at this time).  Anyway, I have been hearing so many good things about the “Spider-Gwen” series that I had to give “Spider-Gwen: Most Wanted? Volume Zero” a shot and I must admit that I actually liked this graphic novel!

What is this story about?

In this universe, it was Gwen Stacy who was bitten by a radioactive spider and possessed spider powers (not Peter Parker).  It turns out that Peter Parker was bullied so much at school that one day he decided to transform himself into the lizard and went on a rampage throughout the city and ended up getting himself killed.  Because of this, Gwen harbored a lot of guilt over what happened to Peter since Peter was doing all this to be like Gwen.  After this tragic event, J. Jonah Jameson had caused the public to turn against Spider-Gwen by stating that she was responsible for Peter Parker’s death and Gwen ends up being on the run from the law, including from her father Captain Stacy (at least until she tells him who she really is).  Now Gwen has to prove to the public that she did not kill Peter Parker and that she is a true hero while also avoiding the people after her including Frank Castle (A.K.A. The Punisher), the Vulture and Matt Murdock himself!

What I loved about this story:

Jason Latour’s writing:  Jason Latour’s writing was quite unique and interesting to read as this universe’s Gwen Stacy is one of the most interesting characters I had ever read!  I loved the way that Jason Latour made Gwen Stacy into such a strong female protagonist as Gwen also cracks jokes like Spider-Man, but she can be moody at times due to her guilt over Peter’s death and I loved the way that Jason Latour wrote Gwen’s struggles with trying to cope with Peter’s death as it made Gwen into a truly relatable character.   I also loved the fact that Gwen Stacy is involved in a rock band as it adds even more dimension to her character and I just loved the fact that we have a heroine who is into music!   I also enjoyed the moments between Gwen and her father, Captain Stacy, as while it was quite intense due to Captain Stacy not wanting his daughter to get in danger, it was nice seeing how much Captain Stacy cares about his daughter and only wants what is best for her.  Jason Latour also did an interesting job at giving us a Spider-Man universe where Gwen Stacy is Spider Woman as I never would have thought that Gwen Stacy of all people could become a superheroine.  But, this version of Gwen Stacy is so well written that I actually loved the fact that Gwen Stacy makes an interesting Spider Woman!

Robbi Rodriguez’s artwork:  Robbi Rodriguez’s artwork was quite creative to look at, especially Spider Gwen’s outfit!  I just loved the reddish hues that cover the pages whenever Gwen is performing in her rock band as it makes those moments really stand out.  But the best part of Robbi Rodriguez’s artwork is Spider-Gwen’s outfit!  I think I have fallen in love with Spider-Gwen’s outfit since it is actually white and pink all over and it makes her look like a savior type being within the pages!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating was because I felt that the dialogue was a bit disjointed at times.  I was not sure if it was because the dialogue was trying to use street slang to make the characters seem more modern or if it was the writing itself.  I often had a difficult time trying to understand what the characters are actually saying due to how the dialogue is being written.  Also, if you have not read “Spider-Verse,” chances are you will probably be confused about what is really going on in this book (although this is technically an alternate universe of the “Spider-Man” universe).

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Spider-Gwen: Most Wanted? Volume Zero” is a great graphic novel to read if you want to see a different take on Gwen Stacy!

You might also like:

• Ms. Marvel: No Normal Volume 1 by G. Willow Wilson

• Daredevil Volume 1 by Mark Waid
• Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon Volume 1 by Matt Fraction

[BOOK REVIEW] Ultimate Spider-Man: Learning Curve Volume 2 by Brian Michael Bendis

Title:  Ultimate Spider-Man: Learning Curve Volume 2

Author:  Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Mark Bagley


Genre: Superhero / Action / Adventure

Year Published: 2001

Year Read: 2013

Series: Ultimate Spider-Man #2

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Source:  Library

Content Rating: Ages 13+ (Some Language and Violence)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads
 



Introduction:

After reading the first volume of “Ultimate Spider-Man,” I was thrilled to get my hands on the second volume of this series!  “Ultimate Spider-Man: Learning Curve” is the second volume of Brian Michael Bendis’ “Ultimate Spider-Man” series and this time, Peter Parker is going to take on a villain bigger than the last time…KINGPIN!

What is this story about?

In this volume, Peter Parker is still going around town, saving innocent people from various criminals that pop up in the city.  Unfortunately, Peter will soon discover that being Spider-Man may not be all that it is cracked up to be as some of the media make him look like a menace rather than a hero and his social life seems to be dwindling.  Also, Peter has to deal with the city’s big-time crime lord, KINGPIN!

What I loved about this story:

Brian Michael Bendis’ writing: Like the first volume, Brian Michael Bendis’ writing is interesting and hilarious at the same time!  I really liked the way that Brian Michael Bendis writes Peter Parker as Peter is shown as being an energetic and humorous teenager. I loved the way that Peter fires various jokes towards his enemies, which is a quality that has often made him famous with the comic fans.  I also loved seeing Peter’s growing relationship with Mary Jane as we get to see how being a superhero does affect Peter’s social life and how he is trying to decide whether or not he should tell his family and friends about who he really is.  I also loved the portrayal of Kingpin here as he is truly ruthless and even scary at times, which made him into a truly worthy foe for Spider-Man.

Mark Bagley’s artwork:  Mark Bagley’s artwork is extremely colorful and detailed, especially with the character’s faces as they show moments of being shocked or angry.  I also loved the images of the buildings in New York as it looks truly realistic and I can actually imagine myself being in New York whenever I looked at the images.  The only problem I have with Mark Bagley’s artwork is that the characters are constantly smiling, even during moments whenever the characters are in an intense situation.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who does not like violence or language in a comic book, there is some language and violence in this volume, although it is not as strong as say something that comes out of “Sandman” or “Saga.”

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Ultimate Spider-Man: Learning Curve” is a fantastic volume in Brian Michael Bendis’ “Ultimate Spider-Man” series and I would highly recommend this volume to any fan of “Ultimate Spider-Man!”

[BOOK REVIEW] Ultimate Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility Volume 1 by Brian Michael Bendis

Title:  Ultimate Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility Volume 1

Author: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Mark Bagley


Genre: Superhero / Action / Adventure

Year Published: 2000

Year Read: 2013

Series: Ultimate Spider-Man #1

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Source:  Library

Content Rating: Ages 13+ (Some Language and Violence)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

Introduction:

I have been growing up with “Spider-Man” ever since I was a child and so far, the only comic I had read from the “Spider-Man” series was “The Origin of the Hobgoblin,” which I did enjoyed.  Now, I had stumbled upon the Marvel Ultimate Universe and after I read Mark Millar’s run on “Ultimate X-Men” and kept hearing so many good things on this run, I decided to give Brian Michael Bendis’ run on “Ultimate Spider-Man” a chance.  Now at first, I was a little hesitant to read this volume because since I had only read one comic from the original “Spider-Man” series, I felt that I need to be informed on how the origins of the original Spider-Man went before I actually read a remake on this series.  However, after I read this volume, I was so happy and satisfied with the results, with or without the original origin stories!

What is this story about?

In this volume, Peter Parker was your average school nerd who is constantly picked on by the popular kids, including Flash Thompson and yet is best friends with Mary Jane.  One day however, when the students ended up going on a school field trip to the Osborn Industries Inc., Peter ends up being bitten by a radioactive spider and he slowly starts to develop powers and a boost of confidence that he never had before.  While Peter is enjoying his new powers, he will soon realize that Harry Osborn is up to no-good…

What I loved about this story:

Brian Michael Bendis and Bill Jemas’ writing: Now from my understanding of the “Ultimate Universe,” it is supposed to be a remake of the original Marvel Universe and after I immensely enjoyed Mark Millar’s revised stories of “Ultimate X-Men,” I started reading “Ultimate Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility” and getting the same results!  Brian Michael Bendis’ writing might feel a bit clunky at times, but I really loved the way that we are able to get inside Peter Parker’s head when he started experiencing the spider powers and how he tries to improve on his powers.  I also liked the fact that Brian Michael Bendis kept some of the concepts from the original “Spider-Man” origin (Peter Parker getting bitten by a radioactive spider and his relationship with Uncle Ben and Aunt May), but is able to reinvent this origin into a more modern day setting, which I found pretty impressive!  I also liked the relationship between Peter and Mary Jane as they just start out as friends in this version and I liked the banter between them as it was hilarious and heartwarming at the same time.  I liked the way that Brian Michael Bendis made us really sympathize with Peter Parker as he is constantly being bullied, while at the same time is trying to find his place in the world, which really brought so much depth to this story.

Mark Bagley’s artwork:  Mark Bagley’s artwork is truly unique to me since the characters’ expressions and bodily structures are extremely different from any other artwork I have seen from other comic books.  I loved the way that Mark Bagley made the characters glow on each page as it made the images so beautiful to look at and it really brought out the intensity of the situations.  There were times however, where the characters’ teeth seem to show up too much on each panel and I was wondering to myself about why the characters are smiling so much, but it did not totally distract me from the story.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The only problem with this comic is that there is some language and violence in this volume, although it is pretty toned down and it is not at all graphic or strong, so young teens should be able to handle this volume.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Ultimate Spider-Man: Power and Responsibility” is a fantastic introductory volume for anyone who wants to read an alternative version of “Spider-Man!”  I will admit that diving into the Ultimate universe of “Spider-Man” was really new and a bit weird for me, but this volume greatly set up the characters and you will definitely not be disappointed!

[BOOK REVIEW] The Amazing Spider-Man: Origin of the Hobgoblin by Roger Stern

Title: The Amazing Spider-Man:  Origin of the Hobgoblin

Author:  Roger Stern

Artists:  Mike Zeck, Marie Severin, John Romita Jr., Al Milgron and Ron Frenz


Genre: Superheroes / Action / Adventure


Year Published: 1983


Year Read: 2013


Series: The Amazing Spider-Man


Publisher: Marvel Comics

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 11+ (Some Intense Moments)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads 

Introduction:

After reading “X-Men” and “Batman” comics for so long now, I wanted to try something new, so I decided to jump into the “Spider-Man” comics and behold, “The Amazing Spider-Man: Origin of the Hobgoblin” was my first introduction into the “Spider-Man” comics and now I am actually geared up to read more from the famous web-slinging superhero!

What is this story about?

Basically, this comic takes place after the events of “The Death of Gwen Stacy” and after Spider-Man had defeated the Green Goblin, Peter Parker decides to finish up his studies at college.  Unfortunately, it turns out that a mysterious man has somehow found the lost journals of Norman Osborn and discovers that Norman Osborn was the Green Goblin!  Using Norman Osborn’s notes on how to improve the weapons he used as Green Goblin, the mysterious man then created weapons similar to the Green Goblin’s and becomes known as the Hobgoblin!  Can Spider-Man defeat this new foe and find out who this foe really is?

What I loved about this story:

Roger Stern, Bill Mantlo and Tom DeFalco’s writing: I have to admit that when I first went into this graphic novel, I thought that I would never understand what was going on in this series since this was the first time I had ever read a “Spider-Man” comic.  However, not only was the writing by Roger Stern, Bill Mantlo and Tom DeFalco extremely interesting to read through, but the story was easy enough to get into since all the writers took great care in explaining to the readers about what happened in previous events and how they all tie into the current storylines.  What I loved about Roger Stern’s interpretation of Spider-Man/Peter Parker is how Peter Parker is portrayed as being good-natured and intelligent and I really enjoyed the scenes where Peter Parker is shown working on a new type of technology, such as his Spider Tracer which works like a tracking device, that could help him defeat his enemies much easier.  I also loved the way that Spider-Man is portrayed as being a wisecracking superhero while at the same time is extremely aware of the situations going on around him, which makes him a well-rounded character.  The mystery surrounding the identity of the Hobgoblin was done extremely well as readers will be sitting on the edge of their seats trying to figure out who the Hobgoblin really is and how he knew about Norman Osborn’s notes on being the Green Goblin.  I also loved the way that the Hobgoblin was not being written as just being a copy of the Green Goblin, but proved to be an extremely difficult opponent for Spider-Man for he was extremely intelligent and used Norman Osborn’s notes to his advantage.

Mike Zeck, Marie Severin, John Romita Jr., Al Milgron and Ron Frenz’s artwork:  With many different artists in this graphic novel, the artwork was extremely brilliant to look at!  I loved the way that Mike Zeck’s artwork had a retro 70’s style look as the characters look extremely realistic and the outlining for the characters are nice and bolded, which really made the characters truly stand out.  Marie Severin’s artwork makes a brilliant transition from the late 70s to early 80s style artwork as the characters are drawn in much brighter colors and have more details on their facial expressions.  John Romita Jr.’s artwork is somewhat similar to Marie Severin’s artwork as the characters’ appearances are vastly improved and I loved the images of Peter Parker having wavy brown hair and gorgeous brown eyes.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

Since this comic came out during the early 80s, I knew that I was going to be reading a ton of dialogue coming from the characters.  This graphic novel actually took me two days to finish because the dialogues with each character, especially Spider-Man, were extremely lengthy.  Even though I enjoyed reading the characters’ inner thoughts on a situation, I found it a bit difficult to get through this graphic novel in one day because it took so long to read through the dialogues.  Also, another reason I gave this volume a four star rating was because the first two stories at the beginning which dealt with Roderick Kingsley felt a bit out of place for this volume since they barely dealt with Hobgoblin. 

Final Thoughts:

Overall, even though this volume was extremely lengthy and some stories felt out of place, “The Amazing Spider-Man: Origin of the Hobgoblin” is a great introduction to the Hobgoblin and “Spider-Man” fans will definitely enjoy this volume!