Adam Graham's Blog: Christians and Superheroes - Posts Tagged "newspaper"

Spider-Man Newspaper Strips - Volume 2 by Stan Lee

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This second collection of Spidey strips didn't leave with me warm feelings like the first. While this covers 2 years of newspapers strips, we only get to see 2 Spider-man classic rogues. The Kingpin (twice) and Kraven the Hunter.

What happened with the rest of the story lines? 1979 marked the time of the Jim Jones cult, so the Amazing Spider-man featured a cult leader named Loomis and the battles between Spidey, Loomis, and his cult take up months of story line. There's also the appearance of the Prowler (Hobie Brown) a character that had been created in the comics 9 years before.

Most of the stories worked from 1979, but the stories began to drop off in quality with the 1980 strips. Spider-man's girlfriend Carole Jennings had joined the Loomis Cult and then fled when cult members thought she'd betrayed them. Mary Jane returned and Peter was going with her. Then when Carole came finally back, Peter dropped Mary Jane to resume his relationship with Carole, who he'd only started a relationship with because Mary Jane had left town to work for Kraven the Hunter in his act. So are the days of our Spider-man.

There were three things that made this collection not work as well as the first one. The first was Carole Jennings. She became a driving love interest in 1980. Peter was ready to propose to her and actually told her his secret identity. Though she fainted and he figured she couldn't handle it. What Peter saw in her is a mystery.

The second is the balance between crimefighting and personal problems. The personal issues make us relate to Peter Parker, but we really like to see Spidey in action. Spidey is best as a hard luck hero who is misunderstood and struggles with life. If you have too much action he's not relatable. if you have too many struggles and too much self-pity he comes off as a bit of loser.

Unfortunately, this error dogged Lee particularly late in 1979. After an uptick with Spider-man taking on a neighborhood extortionist called the Protector, Spidey decides he needs to get some money and calls himself a Schlemiel and a Schnook for not having done so sooner. (Apparently that's what New York White Anglo Saxon Protestants chide themselves with.) So he tries to make his money in show biz. Reverting to the basic plot Amazing Spider-man #1 even to the point of being unable to cash his check because it's made out to Spider-man. The whole station gets in an uproar and refuses to issue him a new check made out to "bearer" because the Daily Bugle doesn't like him.

I honestly hated the plot because what's somewhat cute or even endearing for a confused sixteen year old kid looks kind of pathetic on a twenty-something year-old college student. From there, The plot did manage to get worse as Spidey decided to turn crook. Had this been at a time when there was a legitimate financial need, there might be a sympathy factor. Instead, it's just ego and greed.

He wants no one to get hurt, so he swipes a priceless gem and is shocked when: 1) local fences aren't willing to sell the gem as is because it's too recognizable and 2) that the theft of the diamond sets off an angry response from the Saudi government that threatens America's oil supply. The actions are that of an idiotic clod, not the intelligent mind of Peter Parker.

The book is worth reading for Spidey superfans and the 1979 strips are pretty good. However, the 1980 strips are much weaker and may kill any chance of future releases despite featuring two cameos by former President Richard Nixon.



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Star Trek: The Newspaper Comics, Volume 2: Complete Dailies and Sundays 1981-1983 by Sharman DiVono

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book collects the second half of Star Trek's Newspaper strip run from 1981-83. The first story, a four-month epic that begins with the Enterprise chasing Klingons and ends up with them battling Cyborgs under the control of the Omnimind. While I think the similarities to the Borg are oversold by the Introduction and the back cover copy, there are similarities there and the story is truly an enjoyable one.

The next two stories by the same creative team (writer Sherman DiVono) are both good space opera stories at the same quality level as the previous volume. The final seven stories are another matter. While they're not universally bad, many are plagued by bad artwork, sloppy writing, and illogical plots. Some are wretched, and the best of them could be said to be average with a few interesting features.

The last story is enjoyable though. It's about the Enterprise slipping into a Universe where they exist as stars of the TV show Star Trek as they travel back in time 1983 and two young boys Joey and Malcolm end up on the bridge of the Enterprise. The story has several logical flaws and some dubious plot twists. However, it's such a lovely bit of fan service, so I can forgive its faults.

Overall, this is an uneven collection, but the lead off story may make the entire book worth reading for die hard Trek fans.



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