Your Friendly Neighborhood Bi-Curious Spider-Man

I used to read the Amazing Spider-Man all the time throughout the 1980s. I followed him through the Secret Wars, the black suit, Todd McFarlane's art, etc. Spidey was my favorite Marvel comic, other than the Fantastic Four and Uncanny X-Men back then. In the past couple of years, I've started reading comics again (mostly DC characters), but picked up the recent "American Son" storyline in Amazing Spider-Man. I have to admit that it was pretty cool reading about the webslinger again, and I liked that his story wasn't crossing over into other comics that I'd have to pick up.

The humor was still there, and there have been some interesting turn of events: his nemesis J. Jonah Jameson is now the mayor, Peter is no longer (and apparently never was) married to Mary Jane, Aunt May is engaged to JJJ's father, Norman Osborn (aka Green Goblin) is in charge of the Avengers, and -- what's this? -- Peter Parker has the hots for his best friend, Harry Osborn? Yes, folks. There were some definite heavy homoerotic undertones throughout the story. The first one caught my eye, but I let it go, figuring it was a fluke. Then there was another...then another...and suddenly I was wondering if these were purposely placed.

Could it possibly be true? After almost 600 issues, could our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man be gay and have a secret crush on his best friend Harry? I'd love to see Peter Parker, one of the most famous, well-known, and beloved comic book characters come out of the closet. How awesome would that be? Especially since he's no longer married to Mary Jane. Alas, this will probably never happen in my -- or any -- lifetime, but I just had to ponder the thought of it because I felt some definite "vibes" from Spidey toward Harry. Sadly, even if Spidey/Peter were to come out, it doesn't seem like Harry would return his affections. This could be an interesting storyline in itself, though, as Peter wrestles with the feeling of rejection and coming to terms with himself as he once did with the death of his Uncle Ben.

At any rate, I look forward to seeing what Marvel has cooked up for our Friendly Neighborhood Bi-Curious Spider-Man.

Captain Snoozer

I don't normally read Captain America, but since he was getting a reboot, I thought I'd give him a try. I picked up Captain America 600 and 601, as well as Captain America Reborn #1. At the higher pricing of $4.99, $3.99, and $3.99, respectively, I feel Marvel could have provided something a little more interesting and exciting to get new readers hooked on their flag-clad icon. The issues had some interesting ideas in bringing the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, back to life, like introducing a "second shooter" ala JFK. Plus, I enjoyed seeing the Falcon, if only briefly.

Unfortunately, the rest of the story fails. I had no emotional connection and was truly bored. Even the "tributes" to Steve Rogers weren't interesting, and the "very special issue" touted on the cover of #601 wasn't special by any means. I expected something with some emotion attached, not a flashback story from the 1940s. It didn't move the character or story of Captain America forward in any way and certainly didn't intrigue me enough to continue reading Captain America, the comic. For the money, I'll stick to DC's rebirth of the Flash.

OLD MAN LOGAN

I'm not a regular Wolverine comic reader. I do love his character but usually steer clear of all mutant-related comics except for Uncanny X-Men because there are SO MANY X-Men and Wolverine comics out there that I can't keep up...and neither can my budget. Plus, I've always been more of a DC fan than Marvel, mostly because of the writing quality (with a few exceptions).

A friend of mine told me about the "Old Man Logan" storyline that recently ran through the Wolverine comic (issues 66-72) and told me it was a "must read." On his advice, I picked up all eight issues (at $2.99 each, that's a lot of cash to drop on a new series just on the advice of one person). They were all third or fourth variants; I guessed the story was that popular and in-demand, although I had heard nothing about it previously.

The story centers around Wolverine -- now just going by Logan -- 50 years in the future. And what a bleak future it is. The superheroes have all gone away and the US is divided into five parts, four parts being run by a different supervillain. The fifth -- in the middle of the country -- is just overrun with dinosaurs. (Yup, you heard me.) Wolverine is making a home with his wife and two kids in the Hulk Family-controlled part of the country when an old, blind Hawkeye pays him a visit and asks for his assistance. There are also random Marvel characters placed throughout the entire storyline. Not only is this a story about an aged Logan, it's a story about ALL Marvel superheroes (and villains!). We get to see their existence (or non-existence, as the case may be) fifty years from now.

I sat and read all eight issues in one sitting. All I can say is...WOW. That has to be the best Wolverine story I've read since his very first limited series back in the 80s (before he was super-popular and so well-known). It was SO well-written by Mark Millar and so beautifully drawn by Steve McNiven. What I loved most about the story was that there were so few words on the pages. I got to see the beautiful, realistic artwork, yet get a fantastic sense of the story. That's the sign of a great writer. He showed his audience the story; he didn't tell it.

The finale of the Old Man Logan story can be found in the September 23, 2009, release of Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-Size #1. I, for one, can't wait. After this, I would love to see (and buy) an Old Man Logan monthly series. This is one of the best pieces of work Marvel has produced. Ever. I, too, will recommend it to everyone.

Green Lantern, Interrupted.

I've always liked Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) as a character, but have usually always gotten bored with the stories that writers have presented him with. So throughout the 80s, I was very selective with my Green Lantern comics.

In the past year, I've picked up the Secret Origin storyline (issues 29-35) and started to enjoy that Hal was finally being written with supporting characters other than the multitude of GLs. Of course, I already knew most of this story (being that it was his origin all over again), but I enjoyed it nonetheless. First and foremost, he is an Earth man and should be treated as such, going through the same problems with his personal life that we, as non-metahumans, do. It brings life to the characters. That, to me, makes a really successful comic book.

But then after the Secret Origin storyline was finished, I got bored again. I had to keep checking the cover to make sure I had picked up a copy of Green Lantern and not Green Lantern Corps. What were all the other GLs doing in Hal's comic when they have their own? It was issue after issue... YAWN. I purposely don't buy Green Lantern Corps because I'm only interested in ONE Green Lantern: Hal Jordan. Just like with Star Wars, I'm basically only interested in one Jedi at a time.

Then in Green Lantern came the introduction of Agent Orange who was like a greedy, little kid (more yawns), and, whom, by the way does NOT look like the Gonzo the muppet as mentioned in the comic; he looks like an orange Uncle Deadly. It's not that it's a big deal...but if you're going to make a pop culture reference...please get it right!

Anyway, I'm still buying Green Lantern (at least through the Blackest Night storyline/event). I began reading GL #43 with sheer dread, hoping it wasn't going to be another GL Corps redux. WOW! It wasn't! It was an actual, decent storyline! Sure, there was no GL, but getting the background of the Black Hand was fascinating. That's the kind of storytelling I expect. Thank you...FINALLY. Let's hope the great storytelling continues after Blackest Night so I can continue reading the adventures of Hal Jordan, Green Lantern and not the ENTIRE GL Corps. Can we separate the two since they have their own books? Pretty please???