Tag: the amazing spider-man

Happy Birthday Spider-Man!

Oct. 14 Comic Books no comments

Today is Spider-man’s birthday and to celebrate Marvel has dedicated some time each day from October 11th to the 14th to celebrate this event. Recently Marvel also had the 50th anniversary of The Amazing Spider-Man and soon the grand finale of the series will come with issue 700 landing December 26th. (Way to bring down the Christmas vibe Marvel!) I would like to share with you why I love Spider-Man.

When I was a kid,  I had gotten my hands on a few comic books featuring the ol’ webhead, but my local comic book shop was too far away and I was too loose with my allowance to be a dedicated follower. Then stepped in Spider-Man: The Animated Series letting me get to know the whole story of Peter Parker, Spidey, and his gallery of rogues. As one of my favorite shows as a child, it is responsible for the beginning of my friendship with the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.


Recently, I dove into comics for the first time with an adult funded bank account and a car of my own. One of the titles I knew that I must collect was The Amazing Spider-Man. Spider-Man: The Animated Series and the first wave of films released by Sony had never let my love of the character fade. Reading the latest story arcs has reaffirmed that love and I will not let go even as The Amazing Spider-Man ends and we don’t know what the future holds for Spider-Man come The Superior Spider-Man in January.

The first issue I grabbed as my foray into comics began was issue #688 of The Amazing Spider-Man. The issue featured the return of the Lizard and the beginning of the No Turning Back story arc. Not being familiar with the writing of Dan Slott, I had no idea what to expect, but it didn’t matter. As soon as I began, I was seeing Spider-Man again, reading his adventures of web-slinging, bad guy beat-downs, and wise-cracking. Then I read the letter columns in the back, and it cemented my feelings for Spider-Man. The letter read as follows:

 

Dear Spider-Crew,

I’m sixty-three years old, I’ve been reading Spider-Man since 1967, because I watched the television show with my brother when I was young. I loved everything about the Web-Head; my brother happened to be a big fan of Captain America, which spurred more than a few fist-fights over who was better. Boys being boys, I guess.

Well, my little brother passed away three days after he heard his number one hero, Joe Simon, died. In 2007, he was diagnosed with Osteo-Sarcoma, which ended up consuming most of his body. He wept over Joe Simon’s death; even though he was in so much pain, that loss still was the only thing that brought him to tears. It made me think about who the real heroes are.

Spider-Man has always been my hero, I love his story of redemption, and he gave, and still gives me hope. Hope that someday, we could all learn to forgive ourselves. God knows that’s what Peter wants to do.

I thought, maybe, the real heroes aren’t the Avengers, or the X-Men, or anyone like that. The real heroes are people like Mr. Slott, Mr. Wells, Stan The Man, and Joe Simon. I really would love to say thank you, to the entire Marvel Community, for giving me heroes, and for giving my brother and son heroes also. I would really appreciate you printing this in any upcoming issue of Amazing Spider-man, in memory of my brother Liam De young and his hero, Joe Simon.

Ron De Young

‘Nuff Said


Stephen Wacker was the Senior Editor who responded to this letter as follows:

Ron, we’re flattered by your kind words. However, we’re just trying to entertain you each month. It sounds like the real hero in Liam’s life was the guy who wrote this letter.

I hope you and your son continue to enjoy the books. It’s an honor to have you here.


This is an very emotional sentiment from one man in honor of Spider-Man and his creators all along the years. What I realized is that the emotional impact of Spider-Man and his adventures has forever been the pull for me regarding the character.

Spider-Man is honorable, selfless, and, above all else, he uses his powers responsibly and holds himself responsible for his actions. My emotional bond to him is stronger than it is for any other comic book character.

Recently in an issue of the Avengers vs. X-men crossover, Round 9 to be more exact, Spider-Man informs Hope that “Sooner or later the time comes when it’s your turn to step up to the plate. You just gotta make sure you’re ready.” In the issue, his time comes, and he is ready to sacrifice himself (and that he does. I suggest you pick up that issue just for those panels alone) for the greater good as he has every time before. He is the one hero we can count on to give all of himself for the betterment of the world around him. He lives his lessons. He feels pain and gets hurt, but he always picks himself back up again. He loses loved ones and feels the sorrow and sadness that lasts a lifetime. All of the ordeals he has gone through have weight and the reader can feel the gravity of them. We have been with him through all his highs and lows, and as loyal fans we will always be. Come whatever may. (I’m looking at you, The Superior Spider-Man. You are warned Slott, make us not revolt)

Phew! Now that I’ve said most of what I wanted to say, I want your feelings! I want how you feel about Spider-man. How has he and his stories affected your life? Please let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPIDER-MAN!!!!

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The Drunken Nerd Discovers Nerds Are Now Cool

Jul. 22 Comic Books, Editorials, Movies no comments

With the success of comic inspired movies over the past few years, I’ve noticed something a tad unusual for us nerds…we’re becoming cool.

I know you’re probably re-reading that gasping again as the Omni-present voice in your head screeches, “WHAAAA! How could this be?” But fret not; being “cool” seems rather strange to us nerds, but it’s actually a good thing.

Like I was saying, with the success of comic inspired movies like, The Avengers, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and The Amazing Spider-Man just this summer alone, it’s hard to argue that after conquering Hollywood that nerdom is now a full fledge social phenomenon. Granted, comic fans have always been around and there’s always been some sort of Hollywood production involved with the fanfare. Whether it be the classic 80s TV series, The Incredible Hulk, with Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk or even the success of animated series like Batman, X-Men, and Spider-Man during the 90s.  Yet, even with those compliments to the comic universe, nerds were still a low-key sub-category in culture that garnered a reputation for being anti-social. Now though, it seems like everyone is talking comics, games, or something nerdy.

Lou Ferrigno as ‘The Hulk’

And it’s not just comics I’m talking about either. I’d have to argue that with the success of sci-fi and fantasy in literature, we’ve seen an influx of new interests in mainstream American culture.  The Lord Of The Rings trilogy was huge, The Hunger Games even bigger, and the mother of all books to screen was Harry Potter. Each of these series had a small contingent of followers (just like anything geeky ever has) and then as soon as it hit the big screen, well you’re starting to get the point here. I’d even have to throw Game of Thrones into this conversation as well. I’ll be honest, I didn’t hear of the Fire and Ice series until HBO took the reins and made an extremely compelling series out of the acclaimed books.

For example, three years ago if I walked into a bar, stuck up conversation with an attractive female and dropped the word Batman, she’d probably have laughed, said, “What are you a nerd? How old are you again?” And…that would be about the time she’d begin walking away. However, if I were to drop the same six letter word now in a bar now, that same girl would join in the conversation. I know it’s shocking, but somewhere over the past decade being a nerd became socially acceptable, dear I say hip.

So, how exactly did we go from lame to cool? If I’m not mistaken there once was a time when holding a comic or a Harry Potter book in your hand made you socially infected, contaminated with the inability to look cool or fit in. Yet, Hollywood’s success at the box office has had a direct positive correlation on nerd culture; catapulting nerdiness into mainstream, making it possible for me to talk nerdy to a girl. After all, everyone goes to the movies, everyone wants to see the next big blockbuster, and everyone wants to talk about it-allowing geeks to step out of the shadows and into the limelight.

Although, it’s not just Hollywood pushing nerds out of the comic book store- I have to give some credit to the increase of hipster culture in just about every city in America. Hipsters have always been present throughout the decades and whether you approve or not, have to be given credit for bringing comic-conikazes to the main stage. Their admiration for all things “retro” and “low-brow” includes comics, video games, and fantasy/sci-fi, but more importantly the clothing and style of such interests. The hipster culture has created an outlet for nerd culture to shine. I am now able to wear my superhero tees without feeling like a man-child.

 

I can go into a bar wearing Captain America on my chest, proudly displaying my affection for Stan Lee’s genius while someone remarks, “Ah man, awesome shirt dude. Loved the movie.”  Let’s be honest to, hipsters have always looked like nerds (whether or not they are trying to be), so it may seem like a stretch, but the rise of the hipster has directly affected the rise of the nerd as well.

It’s quite an amazing elevation for nerd culture, from going to basically bullied outcasts to the now “in” thing. The migration from timid nerds to cool nerdsters has happened slowly over the past decade, but has become ever so apparent in today’s culture. Nowadays anywhere, you go you can see someone wearing a Spider-Man shirt or hear two jocks talk about what LOTR was the best. A progressive sharing of hobbies/interests born from the geek universe has snowballed nerds into mainstream America and its due largely to success of movies. It may sound bit unnerving to some out there, seeing how some of us nerds enjoy being below the radar, but I say enjoy it while it lasts. It may be a novelty for everyone else right now, but this is still our passions lets enjoy the experience of being cool for once. Besides, it’s not every day I can use the pick-up line, “Hey want to see my comic collection?”

 

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The Drunken Nerd Enjoys a Gwen Stacy vs. Mary Jane Catfight

Jul. 15 Comic Books, Editorials 1 comment

After seeing, The Amazing Spider-Man, this past week it sparked  an age old debate between some friends of mine. The age-old debate of course being over Peter Parker’s two most popular love interests, Gwen Stacy vs. Mary Jane Watson.

Much of Spider-Man’s allure has been his “ordinary guy” type of persona. Peter Parker is just a nerdy guy, who happens to be a super-hero. This “everyday Joe” persona is greatly manifested by the ever-present love-triangle Peter Parker has between himself, Spider-Man, and his love interests. Spider-Man will also be Peter Parker’s responsibility, but Peter Parker doesn’t always love being Spider-Man and his love interests through the years have greatly highlighted this dilemma.

I’ll be honest, I’ve always been a very big supporter of red heads, but for some reason when it comes to this comic love triangle my allegiance is with Gwen Stacy.  From the beginning it was clear that Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker’s first true love. They shared an un-dying connection for one another, which only evolved and grew with time. Whereas, Mary Jane and Peter, despite affections shared between them, was more a flirtatious relationship that evolved into a full-blown romantic relationship due to a series of less fortunate events and circumstances.

Yet, affections, love at-first sight, and first dates aside my true argument between the two is the mere fact Mary Jane always seemed to be too selfish. Always putting her modeling/acting career first, then relationships second. Such an attitude carried over into her relationship with Parker where she’d always tangle with the difficulty of dating a super-hero. Naturally, this can cause a rather large amount of turmoil in a relationship. MJ admired Peter for being Spider-Man, yet when they were committed to each other that selfishness would shine through to the point she’d feel neglected by Peter’s responsibility to the suit.

It wasn’t really until Maximum Carnage that MJ realized how fortunate she was to have a super-hero boyfriend in her life. After her (and half of New York City) life was put in an uncharacistically large amount of danger, at the hands of Carnage, she truly saw that the pros far outweigh the cons of dating both Peter Parker and his alter-ego, Spider-Man.

Gwen Stacy on the other hand no matter the amount of absences Peter Parker managed to have (due to his responsibility to Spider-Man) she would always find a soft spot for forgiveness. It was that true love ideal that pulls me towards Gwen Stacy over MJ. Gwen was a self-less person, having a father who was always in the line of danger, I believe helped her understand and accept Peter Parker’s life-style and the necessity for him carry on as Spider-Man.

Gwen could relate to Peter’s dutyto protect innocent lives, after all her father did it for so many years, she complimented Peter’s dilemma between ordinary guy and super-hero. In the end, a man is only as good as his better-half, which in Peter Parker’s case happens to be his better third.

I also have to give the nod towards Gwen because her death in essence created the modern Spider-Man we have now. Her death cemented the Green Goblin as Spider-Man’s greatest nemesis and inevitably led to Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s relationship. Mary Jane may be seen as Spider-Man’s main love-interest and perhaps true love by many fans, but in this particular fan’s eyes Gwen Stacy is the foundation that built Spider-Man.

 

 

 

 

 

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The Amazing Spider-Man Takes $341 Million

Jul. 09 Movies, News 1 comment

A new Spider-Man film? Just ten years after the first Spider-Man film? Nobodies going to see that, are they? Well, you’re wrong, as it seems they are. The Amazing Spider-Man is continuing to pick up momentum and defy skeptics as it rakes in the money.

The film has even broken some records along the way, even if they are records that don’t really matter. So far the film has taken $341 million worldwide with $65 million coming from it’s opening weekend in North America. Add that to the $75 million it took on the opening weekdays and you get a a US total of $140 – not too bad.

The untold story isn’t doing quite so well in the UK though, taking just $18.1 million. A lot of people probably expected more from it.

However, the film is the best ever grossing film for a Tuesday. That may only be a minor record and it may be because it is one of the only blockbusters to open on a Tuesday but still, a record non the less.

If you compare this $341 million to The Avengers, Prometheus or The Dark Knight Rises, then yes, it could be considered a flop. If you compare it to the original Raimi Spider-Man films, then yes, it is also a flop – Raimi’s took $822 million, $784 million and $892 million respectively.

Even with the 3D and IMAX ticket prices it still hasn’t broken any of the previous films which is surprising seeing how much of a boost that normally adds to the takings. Maybe due to it being a younger audience, money is more of a factor at the cinema so fans are skipping the pricer versions.

$341 million isn’t too shabby though. When placing it against the above films it does fall flat, and maybe this was a bad year to release it. But if you compare it to Thor ($448 million) or Captain America ($369 million) it’s standing up.

Two sequels have already been announced so money doesn’t seem to be too much of a factor here, but when Spider-Man 3 took $892 million, should be just have had a Spider-Man 4 instead? Which would you prefer?

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