Tag: Marvel

Dan Slott to fans: Embrace Asian fling feeding Inspector Spider-Gadget with chopsticks in ASM #6

January 1, 2016January 2, 2016by Douglas Ernst24 Comments

ASM6

A man must be incredibly close with a woman before she starts hand-feeding him. A white guy who could convince his “girl-power”-loving Asian fling to feed him with chopsticks would need incredible skills to pull off such a feat. I say this because The Amazing Spider-Man #6 is out, and Dan Slott expects fans to embrace Lien Tang (spelled ‘Lian’ in ASM #1) as a legitimate love interest. The only “evidence” of such a bond between the two came in the first issue — when she said they were “very close.”

Lian Tang SpiderMan

Besides the whole “white guy who dreams of having his own concubine” feel to the relationship with Lian, it’s just poor writing. The seriousness between Lian and Peter came out of nowhere. There was no build-up. There was no courtship. Readers — including those who are wondering why Marvel refuses to reunite Peter with M.J. — are asked to care about a character because she’s responsible for building the Spider-Mobile.

Note to Dan Slott: It doesn’t work that way (even if it is one step above the Cindy Moon “pheromones” debacle).

ASM #6 has other issues as well. Mr Negative is back in town, but the lead-up to Peter’s encounter with the villain involves Spider-Man saving the day with “web shooter cartridge seven: Quick-drying web-cement,” and “web shooter cartridge three: Acid webbing.”

Question for fans of The Amazing Spider-Man: At what point does all drama get sucked out of the book because Dan Slott magically gives Spider-Man the perfect technology to escape any situation?

ASM6 web cement

These days we have Spider-submarines, Spider-jets, Spider-mobiles, anti-poison darts, web-cement, acid-webbing, hologram suits, and … possibly 100 different web cartridges for any occasion.

Perhaps Peter even has depleted uranium webbing in a special cartridge in case he ever has to battle The Hulk.

ASM6 web acid

For readers who continue on after realizing they purchased The Amazing Inspector Spider-Gadget, there is a tale unfolding about Mr. Negative’s return to China, his newest drug spreading on the streets of Shanghai, and his interest in Parker Industries. The potential for a very cool tale is there, particularly since Cloak and Dagger are involved, but at this point it is too soon to say whether Slott’s “The Dark Kingdom” is worth checking out.

In short, if Dan Slott is going to have “web shooter cartridge 64” filled with ‘Positive webbing’ for combat with Mr. Negative (i.e., a lazy creative escape hatch), then readers should save their cash for another book.

ASM6 Cloak Dagger

Jessica Jones Season 1: Marvel scores again with Netflix

December 27, 2015December 27, 2015by Douglas Ernst6 Comments

Jessica Jones

When Netflix first debuted its trailer for the Jessica Jones series, this blog said the writers would have a dark tightrope to walk. That was Oct. 24. Now, having finally finished the series just after Christmas, it’s safe to say that Marvel once again handled a Netflix project just about as well as can be realistically expected.

Killgrave

Jessica Jones is a show about “control,” but it is much more than a rape survivor’s tale as some reviews imply.

It’s about our ability to allow the past to control our future.
It’s about the control parents have over children.
It’s about the control siblings have over one another.
It’s about the control we give our friends and lovers.
It’s about addictions — to drugs, alcohol, self-loathing and more.
It’s about free will.

Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones, David Tennant as Killgrave, and Mike Colter as Luke Cage deliver the goods in their respective roles. Supporting actors like Eka Darville as “Malcolm” more often than not hit the mark, and the end result is a show that nearly matches Daredevil in terms of overall quality.

Luke Cage

Jessica Jones’ one weakness is that its cast of misfits and their problems sometimes become so over-the-top that moments played for drama seem laughably absurd. Scenes involving Wil Traval’s “Simpson” and Colby Minifie’s “Robyn” tend to be the worst offenders. Unfortunately, it looks like Simpson will probably have an important role to play in Season 2.

If Jessica Jones wants to keep the momentum going, then its writers should bring in Colter’s Luke Cage as much as possible. In many ways he was an emotional rock in Jessica Jones’ unstable world. In a sea of bizarre and troubled characters, Cage was the one guy who seemed to have a semi-healthy handle on his emotional baggage.

Jessica Jones needs one character who is consistently balanced from episode to episode, and Colter lived up to the task admirably.

In short, if you enjoyed Daredevil then you should check out Jessica Jones. It’s a dark series done well, and a welcome addition to Marvel’s Netflix library.

Dan Slott stuffs Amazing Spider-Man #5 with plot-presents like Christmas stocking

December 25, 2015December 28, 2015by Douglas Ernst18 Comments

ASM5 Zodiac

Dan Slott has admitted in his Twitter feed that he isn’t a religious guy, but he and Christos Gage stuffed the latest issue of The Amazing Spider-Man with “plot-presents” like a Christmas stocking. But did Santa Slott give fans what they wanted? As usual, it’s a mixed bag.

ASM Parker Industries

In many ways ASM5 seems to be the “beginning of the end” issue for Parker Industries. Peter figures out a somewhat-convoluted plan hatched by the terrorist network Zodiac, which demands “all” of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s and Parker Industries’ surveillance assets be brought to bear on London. Before he and the other heroes are able to confront the group as it raids a museum, the young CEO realizes he has lost control of his company (Sajani announces that nanobots infiltrated the UK’s closed-circuit surveillance cameras), that he’s stretched himself too thin, and that being the head of a major company brings with it different responsibilities than being a superhero.

ASM

As usual, Giuseppe Camuncoli lifts the book up a few notches — his work is consistently gorgeous — but at the end of the day the payoff isn’t quite what it should be because of strange editorial decisions in the past.

For example, Sajani is pinned with the nanobot security breach and fired, even though she had nothing to do with it. Readers have no sympathy for her because the infraction she did commit not long ago was much worse: In Situation A she actively tried to make a deal with someone who was in the process of destroying the company and putting lives at risk; in Situation B — even if she were guilty — she would have been acting to save lives during a terror attack when every second counted.

Besides, if Peter were being intellectually honest, then he would admit that surveillance technology and tactics he and S.H.I.E.L.D. use under “normal” circumstances probably break countless local, state, federal and international laws.

In reality, the British government would not want to publicly rake Parker Industries over the coals for breaching its security apparatus because doing so would make the U.K. look inept. It would have been handled behind the scenes, and officials would have begged him to help identify their systems’ worst vulnerabilities.

ASM5

The whole security debate brings readers to the book’s climax, where Spider-Man must act quickly to save the lives of Zodiac “pawns” before poison pills inside their bodies kill them all. The group’s mastermind, Scorpio, escapes. He does this despite extensive S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the area, other superheroes on site, and Parker Industries’ access to the U.K.’s CCTV cameras. Readers are left thinking, “Ummm, okay.”

In short, ASM5 is probably a book to have for those who are already invested in the series. It has plenty of action, the plot is moved forward on many fronts, and Doctor Octopus’ plans as The Living Brain appear to be rolling along. Not everything in the ASM stocking will thrill fans, but there are still plenty of “presents” for them to enjoy.

Exit Question: Dan Slott’s big lump of coal inside ASM5

During the Zodiac’s attack on the British museum families run for cover (see top image). One cop lies on the ground in a puddle of blood, which seems to have leaked out his ears. Another officer has been slammed so hard against the concrete by Taurus that it cracked. Others are clearly under some kind of mind-control. And yet, for some odd reason, Dan Slott chose to insert a British cop drolly making an anti-American crack.

“Americans. Lovely,” he says as carnage breaks out around him. Would any policeman react that way in the midst of a deadly terror attack?

It’s just one more instance of Slott needlessly pandering to progressive readers. He shoehorns the sentiment into the issue to weirdly win political points, which annoys those just looking for a good story.

ASM5 UK cop

My coverage of the writer’s response to the San Bernardino, California, terror attack on Dec. 2 can be found here.

Dan Slott bashes America

Dan Slott’s Spider-Man: Bailed out by kid after ignorance risked lives

December 9, 2015December 9, 2015by Douglas Ernst38 Comments

ASM4 Goblins

Years ago this blog mentioned that some comic book superheroes are meant for war zones, and some are meant for city streets. Dan Slott’s writing proved that observation yet again in the fourth issue of The Amazing Spider-Man.

ASM4 aircraft

Imagine you’re in a crowd of people when bombs start falling all around you. Terrorists with high-powered rifles and explosives fly through the air on military-grade gliders. A friendly aircraft swoops in and you think you’re saved, but it turns out the “hero” only armed it with web shooters that must be fired perfectly at multiple targets to stop the carnage.

Predictably, the “hero” is shot down, but by the grace of God the aircraft does not careen into the crowd of people he was supposed to be saving.

That, my friends, is Dan Slott’s Spider-Man.

ASM4 crash

Now imagine that said “hero” pulls himself from the twisted wreckage of his multi-million-dollar airborne web-shooter to return to the fight. Outnumbered and armed only with his wits, his response is to ask if his bloated bank account might convince them to “switch sides” (Spider-Justice does not require them to be held liable for dropping bombs on innocent civilians moments earlier.)

When that doesn’t work, the hero is stumped. Luckily, a small child from a third-world country happens to be on hand to indirectly suggest he use surrounding technology (his own, no less) to create an electromagnetic device.

That, my friends, is Dan Slott’s Spider-Man.

ASM4 SpiderMan

The Amazing Spider-Man #4 is a great read …if you enjoy seeing a hero escape a daunting situation created solely because of his own ignorance.

The Amazing Spider-Man #4 is a great read … if you enjoy the hero written as less quick-witted than usual so that a more socially conscious message can take center stage: There are really smart children in third-world countries who could thrive if only we could find a way to give them “free” access to western technology.

ASM4 kids

To recap:

A quixotic superhero needlessly risks the lives of the people he is supposed to save.
The superhero attempts to pay off terrorists because he believes he can out-bid their current employer.
A child tells the superhero the best course of action for saving the day.

Readers who have been following the story know that this comes as S.H.I.E.L.D. was planning to mount a world-wide assault on a terrorist network known as Zodiac. Peter, who was supposed to take part in the mission, bails when he realizes Aunt May and her fellow volunteers in the nation of Nadua are under attack at a charity event.

Who was behind the terror attack in Nadua? What consequences will there be for Peter Parker due to neglecting his commitments to S.H.I.E.L.D? Find out in two weeks if Dan Slott’s Spider-Man doesn’t get himself and those under his watch all killed.

Dan Slott slimes ‘gun owners’; Marvel would fire writer for similar tweet about ‘Muslims’

November 18, 2015November 19, 2015by Douglas Ernst16 Comments

Dan Slott gun

It was only days ago that Marvel writer Dan Slott talked to Newsarama about internet “dicks.” The comic book “news” site saw nothing ironic about asking the guy who regularly acts like an unprofessional clown on social media to espouse on his critics. That is probably part of the reason he has started up again with political attacks that would get him fired if he switched out subjects like “gun owners” with “Muslims.”

Take the following Dan Slott tweet: “Ever notice how every gun owner who tweets is a responsible gun owner? My theory: All irresponsible ones have shot up their keyboards.”

What would Dan Slott think of someone if he came across a tweet like: “Ever notice how every Muslim is a responsible Muslim? My theory: All irresponsible Muslims have prematurely detonated their suicide vests.”

That would be incredibly mean and uncalled for since the vast majority of American Muslims break no laws — just as millions of American gun owners break no laws. A tweet like that would be a low blow and the hallmark of a very immature man.

Ask yourself this question: Why is Dan Slott a “gregarious” guy when he slimes patriotic Americans who have broken no laws, when in your heart-of-hearts you know The Amazing Spider-Man writer would go off on an epic rant if you took his own tweets about “gun owners” and tweaked them to target “Muslims”?

Who said Mr. Slott was “gregarious,” you ask?

Answer: Newsarama (Jim McLauchlin wouldn’t want to risk losing his access to the writer, now would he?)

When it comes to the Internet and comic books, people can be d**ks. Obsessive d**ks. …

We slap labels on all things Internet. It’s a “virtual” world. But virtual can crash into real in a hurry when he Internet Rage Machine gets cranking. But what is the Machine? Is the Rage misplaced? And what fiefdom do you live in? …

Dan Slott, Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man writer, muses that “I could write whole books on this,” but gets very itchy, declining to cite specific examples.

“You never want to let that guy know he got under your skin, and you never want to show people examples of bad behavior to emulate,” he says.

Slott is a gregarious, friendly guy who’s always willing to interact with fans on Twitter and the like. It’s where he’s from.

On the whole, Slott tries to measure his online interactions. He recently called the aggregate a “heightened reality,” where the bright spots get brighter, but the dark areas show up so much darker.

Again, Newsarama found nothing ironic at all about the guy who can flip like a switch between opining on social media “dark spaces” and attacking Marvel readers who exercise rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

Dan Slott Second Amendment

The reason why Dan Slott got “itchy” about citing examples of critics who get under his skin is because he knows this blog is one of the few places calling him out on his mean-spirited Twitter feed (it’s okay if he attacks the “right” targets — emphasis on “right”).

And remember: Dan Slott is done “wasting time on hate” — even though it’s obvious to any objective observer that he spends plenty of time dishing it out.

Perhaps it doesn’t count if you don’t agree with him politically. Once you dehumanize a person it’s okay to mock and ridicule them, right Mr. Slott?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to catch up on the latest Newsarama piece. It’s the one that is quick to call out internet “dicks” without ever asking unprofessional writers to explain their own troubling behavior.

Exit Question:

Consider the following from Newsarama:

The world is full of problems: Ebola, ISIS, potholes, global warming, and more. So you’d think people would spend their time doing something more productive than railing on about Spider-Man.

Newsarama — a site that depends on traffic generated by people who are interested in comic books — will immediately criticize Spider-Man fans who enjoy discussing Spider-Man, but it has nothing to say about Spider-Man’s actual writer for his unprovoked political attacks on entire groups of law-abiding Americans. At what point does Newsarama just admit its role as Marvel’s shameless handmaiden?

Nick Spencer lectures world on refugees; Marvel writer silent on how many he’ll accept into his home

November 14, 2015November 14, 2015by Douglas Ernst19 Comments

Marvel’s Nick Spencer used the Paris terror attacks on Friday as an opportunity to remind the world of its duty to accept millions of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa.

His conclusion: Refusing to force towns like Sumte, Germany (population: 100), to accept 750 people from Syria, Iraq, and Libya is a win for the Islamic State group. Strangely, he refused to say how many he would take into his own home. How about five? Does five work? If Smute,Germany, can be outnumbered 7-to-1 overnight, then Marvel’s Captain America scribe should be able to handle a Syrian family of five.

We don’t know exactly where the thousands of refugees that make it to the U.S. will wind up, but Business Insider assures us they will be able to eventually make contact with Nick Spencer — if he’s willing to put his money where his mouth is.

Business Insider reported Sept. 12:

Those who have relatives in the United States will sometimes be assigned to live near them, and most go to cities like Atlanta, San Diego or Dallas where rents are more affordable than in New York or San Francisco.

Others end up in smaller cities like Boise, Idaho or Erie, Pennsylvania, but regardless of where they are taken they are free to move once they find their footing.

Sure, Mr. Spencer will have to buy less tweed jackets from J-Crew or Banana Republic, but he’ll finally be able to rest easy. He’ll know in his heart that he’s finally doing more than self-righteously pontificating on his social media moral pedestal.

Mr. Spencer, an activist masquerading as a comic book writer, says the “goal of ISIS” is to get countries (what about Captain America writers?) to stop accepting migrants. The odd thing about liberal activists like Mr. Spencer is that they only take Islamic radicals at their word when it suits the liberal-activist agenda.

It is not hard to find Islamic radicals who say they plan to achieve their long-term strategic objectives through various means (e.g., migration coupled with high birth rates). One needs to only look at London and Paris — and soon Berlin — to see Islamic radicals are masters at playing long-ball.

If you get a chance, let Mr. Spencer know that you can’t wait until he starts taking single men off Germany’s hands. It’s always nice to see comic book writers practice what they preach.

Exit Question: Nick Spencer is the type of guy who likes to take shots at Christians with comments like, “42 percent of Americans believe the world was created in six days.” Sure, time to God is not like time to man — and it is understandable that smarmy writers will not get that humans use imperfect language to describe the actions of a perfect being beyond our comprehension — but I digress.

What are the chances Nick Spencer would ever tweet something along the lines of, “78 percent of all incoming refugees believe the death penalty is appropriate for those who reject Islam“?

In Mr. Spencer’s world, taking weird pot-shots at Christians is totally acceptable, but voicing concerns about mass Islamic-migration on the day of a giant terrorist attack in downtown Paris is out of line. Telling.

Invincible Iron Man #3: Stark shows growth, but so does mystery around Madame Masque, Doom

November 6, 2015November 7, 2015by Douglas Ernst13 Comments

Regular readers of this blog know that I have been following the relaunches of Invincible Iron Man and The Amazing Spider-Man. Since one features Tony Stark and the other features “Tony Stark light,” it is interesting to see how each writer handles his respective superhero. One thing readers will get from writer Brian Michael Bendis’ Tony Stark that they will not from Dan Slott’s Peter Parker is a clear understanding of the character’s inner being.

Take Stark’s conversation with his new love interest, Amara Perera, for instance:

Perera: Don’t you have superhero friends that you can commiserate with when things like this happen?

Stark: In my line of work…there’s always somebody with a much worse story. ‘Oh, man. I almost died tonight.’ ‘Yeah? I was almost eaten by Galactus.’ ‘Oh Yeah? I died and was resurrected as my own child.”

Perera: And you found yourself thinking about me?

Stark: I might not actually have a lot of friends.

Perera: You do.

Stark: I know a lot of people. But…people don’t want to hear me talk about any of my problems because, well —

Perera: You’re rich.

Stark: I can see their eyes glaze over. I can hear the ‘Aw, poor baby.’ Like my problems aren’t problems.

Perera: Money can’t buy happiness? That is disappointing to hear.

Stark: Sorry to be the one to break it to you.

Perera: Maybe you don’t know a lot of people that challenge you intellectually.

Stark: A few. But they are very, I want to say…

Perera: Cocky?

Stark: Insane.

Bendis’ Stark is a character who has psychological meat on him. Slott’s Peter Parker literally died and was resurrected, yet he treats the experience like a bad trip to the dentist.

Bendis’ Stark is surrounded people, but lonely. He is rich, but not happy. He wants to become a better person (as demonstrated in another conversation later in the book), but he never can find the right mentor to help him begin the journey.

Anyone can fill a comic book with fights and gadgets and zingy one-liners, but none of that matters if the characters are one dimensional. Bendis’ heroes and villains have depth and breadth. They have gravitas, which makes the magic and the mystery and the fight scenes exponentially more satisfying than anything you will find in The Amazing Spider-Man #3.

For those who are not up to speed, the story breaks down as follows:

Madam Masque is on a mission to collect rare magical artifacts that have essentially slipped through “dimensional cracks” and found their way to earth. Tony does not know why she is doing this, since it does not fit her psychological profile.
Doctor Doom wants to help Tony on his mission, but won’t explain why.
Tony wants to become the kind of man who “deserves” to be with famous biochemical engineer Amara Perera.

It is comforting to read a mystery where the writer methodically lays out a bread trail for readers to follow. Each crumb Bendis places before his audience is there for a specific reason. Whereas Dan Slott lets his imagination toss him around like young bull rider, Bendis controls his imagination like a seasoned rancher overseeing the herd.

If you get a chance, then check out Invincible Iron Man. It’s shaping up to be one of the few books worth a $4.00 cover price.

Dan Slott eviscerated after cyber-stalking Philly charity runner; industry ‘journalists’ M.I.A.

November 5, 2015January 26, 2016by Douglas Ernst26 Comments

What does it mean to be a comics industry “journalist”? Does it mean finding and reporting good stories that readers would be interested in, or does it mean reporting only the happy-happy-joy-joy “Ren and Stimpy” versions preferred by publishers? Consider the dead silence over Marvel’s Dan Slott, who cyber-stalked a Philadelphia YouTuber and then exploited the man’s charity event for digital butterfly kisses.

Two years ago the Spider-Man scribe was verbally lashed by “The Main Event” after stalking him. Then there was a lull — again, for two years.

The Main Event asked fans on Tuesday to vote on the shirt he would wear for a 3-day Marvel/Disney-sponsored charity run (5K, 10K, and half-marathon), which set in motion one of the most bizarre chain of events comic fans will see from a creator in recent memory.

Dan Slott pounced. He exploited a charity event to receive pats on the back and plaudits from his Twitter followers.

Did a close friend request The Main Event use a Superior Spider-Man shirt? Did he even know it was the new costume used by Doc Ock, or did he just think of it as one of 1,000 Spider-Man costume variants created in recent memory?

It’s a trick question — none of it matters, because the guy was running for charity and hasn’t said peep about Dan Slott in years.

What followed was a YouTube video that comic book “journalists” would swarm like bees on honey if The Main Event were a Lena Dunham lookalike who openly shared LGBT struggles on Twitter. Masculine pro-GamerGate YouTube guy who can eat cyber-stalkers for lunch? Nah. “Journalists” don’t want to jeopardize their access to Marvel writers.

The Main Event delivered a rant for the ages on Wednesday. There is a mushroom cloud where Mr. Slott’s head once rested.

Here is just a snippet of his righteous indignation:

Piece of s–t, Dan f–king Slott. I see we meet again. … So let me get this straight: You’re going to sit here … and tell your fans half-truths, because that’s what you’re doing right now. You’re sitting her saying I’ve bagged on Superior Spider-Man for years. I haven’t even talked about the f–king thing in years! After those videos, that was it. … This man just exploited a charity — a charity — because he wants to fish for compliments! That’s the kind of piece of s–t he is. … There is no excuse for this.

The entire response is worth watching, especially since there is an embargo at Comic Book Resources on legitimate news stories that make Marvel editors uncomfortable.

Remember: Media bias can present itself in print, but it also is part and parcel of the power to ignore. These are not the droids you are looking for. Move along. Move along.

Enjoy.

Amazing Spider-Man #3: Dan Slott can’t decide if title should be serious or campy

November 4, 2015November 5, 2015by Douglas Ernst15 Comments

Marvel’s The Amazing Spider-Man and Invincible Iron Man now have three issues in circulation. Dan Slott and Brian Michael Bendis each offer a glimpse into the life of tech moguls, corporate espionage, terrorist organizations, and — most importantly — the heroic men who must navigate the playing field. Just as Peter is out of his element as the CEO of a major corporation, Mr. Slott seems uncomfortable with the kind of story he is writing.

Before getting to some getting into details as to why, exactly, this story seems primed to disappoint, we must first ask the question: Why does Peter Parker keeping responding to blatant insubordination with an impotent line or two about needing to “talk”?

Sajani actively tried to destroy Peter’s vision for the company and got a five-second “talk.” Clayton Cole (aka former criminal Clash) disobeyed him and the response was “It’s okay. … But we will talk about this.”

The situation’s strangeness is compounded because, on some level, Mr. Cole has a point — Spider-Man and The Human Torch were seemingly destroying Parker Industries just to blow off frustration. The “fight” is stopped at one point so Peter can take a call from S.H.E.I.L.D., and then resumed like Rocky Balboa entertaining Apollo Creed’s “favor” fight at the end of Rocky III.

Does The Amazing Spider-Man want to take itself seriously, or does it want to treat its subject matter as something a bit more farcical? Dan Slott doesn’t seem to know, and the result is a disjointed tone.

Consider yet again the difference between Invincible Iron Man and ASM. Everything that is revealed in Bendis’ book appears to be there for a very specific reason. With ASM, it seems as though Mr. Slott just keeps giving Peter more widgets and gadgets and technology for nothing more than a “Wouldn’t it be cool if Peter had Batman’s toys?!” mentality.

One gets the feeling that Bendis actually does legwork into corporate titans and terrorist networks. Mr. Slott seems to rely on preconceived notions about what those worlds might be like based on cursory knowledge obtained through network news.

ASM3 Spider Skimmer — In my last review I mentioned that it was only a matter of time before Dan Slott gave Peter Parker Elon Musk-like Spider-Rockets. We now have a “Spider-Skimmer.” How far down the campy hole will Dan Slott go? Only he knows.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to this story arc’s success is its main foil: The Zodiac. The characters look and act goofy, yet all indications point to revealing the terror network’s plans over many months. That is a lot of creative real estate. Will it be worth it? ASM has a track record of over-promising and under-delivering; The Zodiac does not inspire confidence anything is destined to change.

The issue ends with Peter, Johnny, and Harry ‘Lyman’ (Yes, a former Green Goblin employed by Parker Industries — but wasn’t he running a coffee shop not long ago?), talking about family, friends, and “fourth” chances. Readers can’t help but think of the repeated chances they have given Marvel with its ASM relaunches.

Editor’s note: I will be reviewing the third issue of “Invincible Iron Man” by Sunday.

Jessica Jones: Marvel, Netflix attempt to walk ‘dark’ tightrope

October 24, 2015October 24, 2015by Douglas Ernst4 Comments

Somewhere out in space and time there is an alternate dimension where Marvel’s “Jessica Jones” somehow wound up on network television in the 90s, and instead of Krysten Ritter in the lead role fans got Janeane Garofalo. That is one major obstacle dodged, but there is still a challenge — walking the tightrope between “dark” and “dark for the sake of being dark.”

I was first introduced to Jessica Jones in 2001 when I picked up Brian Michael Bendis’ “Alias.” The book was part of Marvel’s “Max” line (i.e., not for children). It was incredibly well-written for a long stretch. I always thought it would make for good television. However, the one major problem any producer of a “Jessica Jones” show will have is, “How dark should it be?”

There is a fine line between exploring evil that can lurk inside the human heart, and simply wallowing in filth just to get a reaction out of others.

Bendis, at his best, seems to be a skilled tightrope walker. Examples of failure in this regard may include Garth Ennis’ “The Boys” and the Mark Millar-Steve McNiven collaboration “Nemesis.”

Marvel and Netflix did a fabulous job with Daredevil, but it isn’t hard to imagine mindless producers saying, “Daredevil was dark and it was popular. Maybe we should go really dark with Jessica Jones!”

If Marvel and its creative partners avoided this trap, then it is likely “Jessica Jones” will be a show worth watching. At least for now, everyone can stand up and cheer for a.) the inclusion Mike Colter as Luke Cage, and b.) the absence of Janeane Garofalo from the finished product.