Tag: Comics

Nick Spencer’s Spider-Man: Your worst fears may meet you half way

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Nick Spencer Spider-Man

Marvel’s Nick Spencer is the guy who essentially turned Captain America into a Nazi for its infamous Secret Empire event. Given the fallout from the creation and extended stay of “Hydra-Cap,” one would hope that he would be extra careful with his handling of The Amazing Spider-Man.

Spoiler alert: It didn’t happen.

Mr. Spencer’s preview of The Amazing Spider-Man for Free Comic Book Day managed to undermine the hero’s origin within two panels, and at one point he lets a criminal get away in a manner that clearly echoes his failure to stop the robber who killed his uncle.

Ask yourself this question: How sick is it for the main character to pivot from one of the defining moments of his life — his culpability for Uncle Ben’s murder — to a yuk-yuk joke about how New York City’s views also played a role in convincing him to become a hero?

If you want to hear the full story, then check out my latest YouTube video. As always, make sure to hit the subscribe button if the format is up your alley.

Tom Brevoort mocks Marvel customers; evil worm casting backfires

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Tom Brevoort mocks fans

Question: What happens when Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort sees the success of the Jawbreakers: Lost Souls INDIEGOGO campaign and then decides to take out his anger on customers?

Answer: Mr. Brevoort likens readers to an evil worm while he’s in a blind rage, but it only comes across as projection. People know that he is such an angry man that he even uses Twitter to call his son an “entitled white a**hole.”

Ak yourself, dear reader, who is more of a worm: Comic book readers who think it’s gross to call Peter Parker’s “devil deal” a form of medicine, or the guy who airs his own family’s dirty laundry on Twitter for cheap “likes” by total strangers.

Tom Brevoort Twitter son tweet

If you want to know what Jawbreakers: Lost Souls has readers energized while Tom Brevoort only has people shaking their head disgust, then look no further than his Twitter feed.

Check out my latest YouTube video for the full story regarding Marvel’s meltdown, along with the growth of the Comicsgate/Save Comics community that lives rent free inside Mr. Brevoort’s head.

Captain America 700: Mark Waid’s political wish upon a mushroom-cloud star comes true

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C4

Here is a social experiment for you: Ask your average person on the street what they would expect from the 700th issue of Captain America. Ask them what the cover might look like. Ask them about the themes a writer would be expected to highlight by his editors. Ask them how they should feel after closing it.

More than likely the individual will telegraph that a 700th issue of Captain America should be a celebration of Steve Rogers.

What they won’t tell you  is that it should be a lament over the election of President Donald Trump.

What they won’t tell you is that Marvel Comics should design a cover that puts the hero into the background as a new character basks in the limelight.

Cap700

Sadly, writer Mark Waid has delivered a book for long-time Captain America fans that is little more than a Trump allegory for angry people who don’t buy comics. He wished upon a mushroom-cloud star for the ability to shoehorn his personal politics into an important issue and the wish came true — at the expense of loyal customers.

You can get the full rundown in my latest YouTube video. Be sure to subscribe for regular updates if the format is up your alley, and let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Captain America #699: Marvel writer Mark Waid is ‘King Baby,’ aka Trump

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Mark Waid Captain America

Regular readers of Marvel Comics know all too well that its writers have been obsessed with Donald Trump since his primary campaign. Twitter rants coincided with weird editorial decisions (e.g., turning the man into an alternative-universe M.O.D.O.K.), and writer Nick Spencer used multiple books — including the Secret Empire event — to throw political tantrums.

Marvel scribe Mark Waid, however, has taken the industry’s Trump Derangement Syndrome to a whole new level for the company’s “Legacy” run. Captain America #699 is a fascinating read for all the wrong reasons.

Yes, it is boring. Yes, it is predictable. Yes, it comes across as if it were written by a freshman college student who just completed his first semester of political sciences classes.

What makes Captain America: Out of Time it interesting, however, is the psychology behind it all. Mr. Waid does not seem to even realize that all of his irrational fears regarding the president are rooted in his own ideological extremism. He fears Mr. Trump because he sees much of himself in the man.

Mr. Waid is, whether he wants to admit it or not, eerily similar to the villain referred to as “King Baby,” aka Donald Trump. Check out my latest YouTube video for the full rundown, and as always feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Dan Slott writing Iron Man: Will Tony Stark be wearing ‘Ask Me About My Feminist Agenda’ armor?

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Tony Stark

The universe works in mysterious ways.

Those who have followed this blog for years know that two Marvel characters hold a special place in my heart: Peter Parker (The Amazing Spider-Man), and Tony Stark (The Invincible Iron Man).

Those who have followed this blog for years know also know that your friendly neighborhood blogger has a unique relationship with Marvel scribe Dan Slott — I was writing reviews that had him rage-reading and rage-tweeting years before making the leap to YouTube.

Given this history, I thought we would both go our separate ways with the announcement that he was exiting The Amazing Spider-Man. He may have put Peter Parker into an “Ask Me About My Feminist Agenda” t-shirt, but that was in no way going to prompt me to follow his work on some random character.

The universe, my friends, had other plans!

Watch my latest YouTube video for a preview for what is to come in the years ahead as Dan continues to write for Marvel and I continue to review his work (always, mind you, with the goal of making him a better writer).

Max Bemis of Moon Knight represents Marvel by telling fans: ‘I f***ing hate you’

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Comic book fans know that Marvel Editor in Chief C.B. Cebulski has a slew of problems to deal with as he gets settled in his new job. Some issues are more complex than others. He will need to wisely pick and choose his battles.

One issue, however, that can be dealt with over night is the behavior of writers like Max “I f***ing you hate personally” Bemis.

Every normal company has a social media policy. Every normal company would fire an employ who told paying customers “I f***ing hate you.” Therefore, it makes absolutely no sense why Disney and Marvel turn a blind eye to the behavior of Mr. Bemis of Moon Knight.

Check out my new YouTube video for a rundown of the latest unprofessional turn by a Marvel writer. Feel free to contact Mr. Cebulski and Disney with screenshots of Mr. Bemis’ Twitter feed. Some of us would love to hear them explain how, exactly, this promotes the industry.

 

Iron Man #593: Bendis dragged kicking and screaming to honor Tony Stark’s “Legacy”

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Iron Man 593

It’s here — Marvel’s attempt to tackle the “Legacy” of Tony Stark, aka The Invincible Iron Man. There’s only one problem, my friends: Writer Brian Michael Michael Bendis really wanted to keep the main character dead (for all intents and purposes) for a long, long time. Those pesky fans got in Editor in Chief Axel Alonso’s way, and now everyone who wanted to crown Riri Williams “the” Iron Man must to pretend as if they’re not backtracking against their will.

My latest YouTube video covers The Search for Tony Stark: Part 1, although what’s really going on is a search for ways to placate Disney overlords while still undermining Tony Stark’s long-term credibility.

Give my latest “quick-take” on the situation a listen and then let me know what you think in the comments section below. And, as always, if the video format resonates with you then make sure to like and subscribe. I don’t always cross-post these days (I need an intern!), but I try to do so as time permits.

Dan Slott acts like online psycho, anti-Christian bigot: Will Marvel step in?

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Sometimes Marvel write Dan Slott tells Christians to go to “Christ-Land” after they win supreme court cases. Sometimes Marvel writer Dan Slott mocks prayer after terror attacks with “God isn’t fixing this” Twitter re-tweets. And sometimes Marvel writer Dan Slott mocks serious prayers by yours truly when he knows deep down that he would never do that to a Muslim comic book critic.

Check out my latest YouTube video if you want to see just how low modern Marvel Comics has fallen. Then ask yourself the following question: When will Disney step in?

BONUS: When all else fails and Marvel writer Dan Slott doesn’t know what to do about my videos, he goes back to his tried and true option — he lies.

 

Marvel’s Tom Brevoort and ideologue pals blame “toxic” fans for comic woes; hypocrisy exposed on YouTube

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Tom B toxic

Thoughts become words. Words become actions. Actions become habits. Habits become character, and character becomes destiny.

Therefore, it’s incredibly sad that Marvel’s Tom Brevoort and his activist friends make a habit of lying — to themselves, to fans, and anyone else who is willing to listen.

The House of Ideologues has attempted (and failed) for months to defame YouTube creators who are exposing its hypocrisy, and the latest effort involves blaming “toxic fandom.” It’s not going to work because, as my latest YouTube video demonstrates, the partisan propaganda spewed by Marvel’s writers and editors can always be juxtaposed with their laughable moral grandstanding.

As always, let me know what you think of the latest developments in the comments section below. If you like the format, make sure to subscribe for regular updates since I don’t always have time to cross-post onto the blog.

 

Marvel’s ‘Clerksification’: Dante Spencer’s and Randal Zdarsky’s effect on comics

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Over 20 years have passed since director Kevin Smith made Dante Hicks and Randal Graves famous. Clerks put him on the Hollywood map and endeared him to a generation of young writers, but there is no doubt that many of them learned the wrong lessons from his 90s “slackers.” Two contenders include Nick Spencer and Chip Zdarsky, who are guilty of what I’ve deemed the Clerksification of Marvel Comics.

To give you an idea of what my latest YouTube video is about, consider the tagline for Clerks, which goes as follows:

“Just because they serve you doesn’t mean they like you.”

Indeed, Marvel creators these days make no secret of their disdain of long-term customers, and will even tell fans not to buy the product during political disagreements. To better understand what’s going on, we must examine Mr. Smith’s work and how its sensibilities continue to reverberate in the minds of Marvel’s employees.

If you read through Secret Empire and Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man, then you should see the creative fingerprints of Mr. Smith, Quentin Tarantino, and a slew of others. Unfortunately, instead of Pulp Fiction-quality work fans received Hydra-Cap and Hipster Spider-Man.