War has come to the shelves of your local comic store…on all fronts. Be it a webbed war against the green skinned goblin, one royal standing up for his beliefs during a time of national war, or a shadowy pursuit during the Cold War, this week’s titles all had a similar need: one man against all odds. With one hell of a week in comics the odds were certainly in the favor of your steady Comic Apostle, with hopefully some of the brighter choices on the shop spinning racks. With that said, it’s time for these soldiers to put up their dooks and recite the famous words of “Judge” Mills Lane and/or Marvin Gaye: “Let’s get it on!”
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #27
727 issues in the making, “Goblin Nation” has risen. Long live the Goblin King! With such a possibly amazing/spectacular/superior story arc starting, the Superior Spider-Man #27 takes premise as my featured write-up this week.
Through Dan Slott’s (Ren & Stimpy) capable writing and the works of numerous artists, currently beautifully illustrated by Giuseppe Camuncoli (Avengers Academy), Doctor Spider-Pus has had his hands full in recent months. Although his egotistical self has taken precedence over most spider duties, Otto has also went web-for-web with Agent Venom, found defeat through the loss of his Superior 6 teammates, and teamed up with Punisher/Daredevil. All this– while losing control over the city unbeknownst to him by the Goblin.
“Goblin Nation” has been brewing for some time — ever since Octo-Spidey took down several criminal families — but it’s this issue that may very well be the pinnacle third arc of Slott’s well-planned run. If you have been following the Green glimpses that have been popping up over the last year, you know that “Norman” has been building an army of leftovers ever since the Arachnid started tightening his webbed fist on NYC.
Not without moments of excitement, this issue does more to set-up a likely dramatic battle for island domination than anything else.
The Goblin King makes his initial assault on Superior, amassing quite the list of generals to get his back. After a shocking turn — that attempts to “make love, not war” — Part 1 offers a double-page climatic ending that even rivals Marvel’s recent big events for chaos and panel work, with the Green Goblin finally able to put the ringer on ole’ Webhead.
As an avid Spider-fan and Slotts’s run, I loved this issue. And thank God! I have been waiting for “Goblin Nation” ever since it was hinted at Comic-Con. Plus, when you throw in the additional subplot of Friendly Neighborhood Peter Parker’s inevitable return (to which you can thank the new Spidey film for), this issue actually makes a a great jumping-on point for new readers and all fans of the web-slinger alike. I look forward to where this story goes and how the it ends.
(Flip the page for more reviews…)