Spider-Girl

Rating:
Summary: Spider Girl, Spider-Girl, I wanna live in her spider-world..
Review: Hi, there! I'm Frank, and I'll be fillin' in for Zaggy while he catches all the arenaball action at the local pizza parlor. My review for this week is one of my all-time fave comic books: Spider-Girl! Y'know, there's only two kinds of girls I really dig: chicks who look kinda like John Denver, and chicks who look kinda like Spider-Girl™! Yep, I sure enjoy readin' the adventures of May "Mayday" Parker™ and her Spandex™-clad, crime-fightin' alter-ego! Boy, does she-- uh, what's that you say? You say you're kinda gagged out by my romantic thoughts about some fictional comic-book character? Sorry 'bout that, it was the Pepto-Bismol talkin'...

Anyway, I really like this here trade paperback collection of the series' first eight issues (& issue #0). Now I can read the stories without messin' up my near-mint original single issues! And what neat stories they are: there's plenty of family strife as young May tries to carry on the legacy of her dad (Peter Parker, the original Web-Head) over her parents' adamant protests! Throw in her duties of trying to keep the peace between two of her high school buds, the return of the Green Goblin (3rd generation) and Venom, the high-school janitor turning into a big ol' dragon-thingy that proceeds to trash most of the campus, and a few new faces on both sides of the super-powered fence, and you've got... uh... a lotta stuff to read. And a lotta really colorful drawings to go with the words, too... can't forget to mention that. But then again, it is a comic book, right? At least I remember Spider-Girl bein' a comic book. Just to make sure, I'd better take another look at the trade paperback that I've got with me. OK, let's see now... there's pictures, word balloons, big ol' fights between costumed superbeings... yep, it's a comic book all right! Won't Zaggy be proud when I tell him I figured that out all by myself!

Oops, gotta go-- my break's up, and Ro'y's got a few more tasks for me to complete. He says if I do a really good job, he'll spring for my Mickey D's value meal-- super-sized, no less! It doesn't get much better than that...

G'Bye

Rating:
Summary: I know great writing when I see it.
Review: I'm not a huge comic book geek, but I know great writing when I see it. Tom DeFalco is a highly skilled but highly underrated writer. The stories are fun and wonderful--like comic books used to be before everything went "Ultimate" or "Mature" or "Anime". More than that, though, there's a lot of depth to these stories that, while not neccessary to its enjoyment, is rewarding to anyone who digs beneath the surface. Little kids and grey-haired adults are reading this--a firm testament to the simple complexity of the stories and the skill of the writer. It's a continuation of the Spider-Man story with a new generation in May "Mayday" Parker, Peter Parker's daughter. The universe isn't mainstream Marvel--which turns away a lot of comic book traditionalists, but they're losing out. The characters are real, and their emotions move the reader. The themes are timeless. The fun is contagious. EVERYBODY can read this, and get something out of it. What are you waiting for? Buy it now!

Rating:
Summary: Impressed with this book
Review: I'm really enjoying the book due to the way the artist drew the characters. I'm also a spider-man fan which led me into purchasing this book.

Rating:
Summary: Peter Parker's daughter decides to become Spider-Girl
Review: Once upon a time there was a Marvel Comic about a creature called "Spider-Woman" that was pretty bad ("How bad?" I hear you ask; it made Krypto the Superdog look like a prize-winner). In this trade paperback we are introduced to "Spider-Girl," which is supposed to constitute "the next generation of Spidey excitement" because this time around the female web-spinner is the daughter of the original Spider-Man ("How can this be?" I hear you ask; keep reading and stop interrupting me). The phrase "this time around" is key because this storyline, which collects issues #0-8 of "Spider-Girl," is set in the future. This is a future in which a lot has happened and not everything we know still holds true. Case in point: In the battle in which Green Goblin/Norman Osborn was killed, Spider-Man was seriously injured and while Reed Richards was able to save his life, Peter Parker lost a leg. Of course the head of the Fantastic Four came up with a pretty good replacement, but Spider-Man retired and now he has a high school aged daughter (named May, naturally), who suddenly has the ability to do a backboard-shattering dunk on the basketball court. Could the fact that her father is Spider-Man have anything to do with it? You think?

Tom DeFalco authored these first nine adventures and the chief attraction of "Spider-Girl" is nicely summed up on the back cover with the declaration that Peter Parker did not know what it meant to climb walls until his daughter put on his Spider-Man costume. So we have a retired superhero repeatedly trying to ground his daughter so she will not go out and fight crime, a nice twist on the old parental dictum, "do what I say and not what I did." "Mayday," as she is known, must have already been a source of aggrevation to her father Peter already has a streak of white in his hair, and a goatee, when the story begins. Of course, this leaves Mary Jane in the middle and one of the nice things about this collection is that it ends at what will clearly be considered the end of the opening act of Spider-Girl's career.

Long time readers of Marvel comics will find some interesting glimpses of the future in DeFalco's stories, as Peter and his daughter cross paths with the Fantastic Five headed by the Human Torch and Darkdevil, who is apparently no relation to the late Daredevil. Meanwhile, the Kingpin might be in prison but by no means is out of the picture, and Flash Thompson is Mayday's basketball coach. The first issue is co-plotted by penciler Ron Frenz (with finished art by Bill Sienkiewicz), while the rest of the issues are drawn by Pat Olliffe and inked by Al Williamson (competent, but nothing special). Overall, these first issues establish the foundation for the rest of the series by figuring out the relationship between father and daughter. The supporting case of characters is being fleshed out (May has a crush on Franklin Richards), and the one thing the series is clearly missing at this point are some defining villains. But DeFalco should be able to come up with those in due time.

Rating:
Summary: Peter Parker's daughter decides to become Spider-Girl
Review: Once upon a time there was a Marvel Comic about a creature called "Spider-Woman" that was pretty bad ("How bad?" I hear you ask; it made Krypto the Superdog look like a prize-winner). In this trade paperback we are introduced to "Spider-Girl," which is supposed to constitute "the next generation of Spidey excitement" because this time around the female web-spinner is the daughter of the original Spider-Man ("How can this be?" I hear you ask; keep reading and stop interrupting me). The phrase "this time around" is key because this storyline, which collects issues #0-8 of "Spider-Girl," is set in the future. This is a future in which a lot has happened and not everything we know still holds true. Case in point: In the battle in which Green Goblin/Norman Osborn was killed, Spider-Man was seriously injured and while Reed Richards was able to save his life, Peter Parker lost a leg. Of course the head of the Fantastic Four came up with a pretty good replacement, but Spider-Man retired and now he has a high school aged daughter (named May, naturally), who suddenly has the ability to do a backboard-shattering dunk on the basketball court. Could the fact that her father is Spider-Man have anything to do with it? You think?

Tom DeFalco authored these first nine adventures and the chief attraction of "Spider-Girl" is nicely summed up on the back cover with the declaration that Peter Parker did not know what it meant to climb walls until his daughter put on his Spider-Man costume. So we have a retired superhero repeatedly trying to ground his daughter so she will not go out and fight crime, a nice twist on the old parental dictum, "do what I say and not what I did." "Mayday," as she is known, must have already been a source of aggrevation to her father Peter already has a streak of white in his hair, and a goatee, when the story begins. Of course, this leaves Mary Jane in the middle and one of the nice things about this collection is that it ends at what will clearly be considered the end of the opening act of Spider-Girl's career.

Long time readers of Marvel comics will find some interesting glimpses of the future in DeFalco's stories, as Peter and his daughter cross paths with the Fantastic Five headed by the Human Torch and Darkdevil, who is apparently no relation to the late Daredevil. Meanwhile, the Kingpin might be in prison but by no means is out of the picture, and Flash Thompson is Mayday's basketball coach. The first issue is co-plotted by penciler Ron Frenz (with finished art by Bill Sienkiewicz), while the rest of the issues are drawn by Pat Olliffe and inked by Al Williamson (competent, but nothing special). Overall, these first issues establish the foundation for the rest of the series by figuring out the relationship between father and daughter. The supporting case of characters is being fleshed out (May has a crush on Franklin Richards), and the one thing the series is clearly missing at this point are some defining villains. But DeFalco should be able to come up with those in due time.

Rating:
Summary: Like fun exciting adventure stories - Grab this book!!
Review: This trade collects the first 8 issues (and origin story) of Marvel Comics highly contagious Spider-Girl comic book series. Why they don't publish more of her adventures is beyond me. These stories of a very likable young superheroine are thrilling to this middle-aged comic reader and should be to very youngest of readers. Forget about finding a bad review of this one - every one who reads it loves it! The stories are done in Tom Defalco's "one and done" style. This means they don't drag on and on like most of today's comic book yarns.

The stories are very reader friendly, done in a very lighthearted style. You won't find grim and gritty adult stories here, only fun stories that are apporpriate for the whole family. Highest recommendation. Makes a great present, too.

Rating:
Summary: As good as her dad used to be
Review: While the core Spider-Man comics were stagnating thanks to the ill-advised John Byrne relaunch, Tom DeFalco introduced Spidey's teenage daughter in an "unofficial" future. Very quickly it became clear that DeFalco's tales of May "Mayday" Parker -- wonderfully illustrated by Pat Olliffe -- captured the qualities of the earliest Lee-Ditko Spidey stories plus DeFalco's own great Spider-Man work during the 1980s. Mayday inherits her father's superpowers even though she never knew her dad was once Spider-Man (now retired). This collection of her eight earliest tales charts her uncertain entry into the superhero game as she tries to earn her father's respect, beat the bad guys and keep up her grades. A comic that shouldn't be overlooked, "Spider-Girl" provides a strong female role model and is Marvel's only current comic that's suitable for young readers. Even though the Spider-Man books have improved in the last few years, "Spider-Girl" still swings above them in quality. This book will show you why.

Rating:
Summary: What a great book
Review: Wow what a book, if you are planning in just buying one thing get this, it's well worth your time, what a wonderful read!