Where Monsters Dwell 3 (September 2015)

Where Monsters Dwell #3 Garth Ennis is being a silly guy. There’s no other way to describe Where Monsters Dwell; it’s silly. It’s well-written and Braun’s art is great, but it’s silly. There’s not so much a story as a series of good jokes, ending in a funny hard cliffhanger. It’s not even a dangerous one because Ennis doesn’t care about his characters and he doesn’t ask the reader to care. He’s just having a good time telling this story.

Maybe if it weren’t a Marvel comic, maybe if Ennis were doing something serious (or even hinting at something serious), it wouldn’t be as amusing. But Ennis still takes the time to get in strong characterizations and the way he paces out the humor is excellent. It’s a beautifully executed, completely unambitious amusement.

I guess it’s something of a bridging issue, with the humor disguising the lack of plot momentum. Regardless, real fun.

CREDITS

Tipping the Velvet; writer, Garth Ennis; artist, Russ Braun; colorist, Dono Sanchez Almara; letterer, Rob Steen; editors, Jake Thomas and Nick Lowe; publisher, Marvel Comics.

Spider-Man & the Secret Wars 4 (May 2010)

On the other hand, Tobin seems to think the last issue is a useful place to totally waste not just the reader’s time but his or her money as well.

This issue is an imaginary story. It’s a few pages of Spider-Man having the power of the Beyonder, then it’s all about how Doctor Doom set Spider-Man up to have that power for a brief instant (Tobin apparently got tired of trying to set actual Secret Wars scenes around Spider-Man and just went for making up his own stuff). Wolverine got the powers too but we don’t get to see Wolverine’s dream life (Peter just keeps bringing Uncle Ben back, though he’s apparently destined to die multiple times a page).

Until now, the comic wasn’t earth-shattering, but it was decent. But this issue is a complete waste of time. Tobin clearly ran out of story ideas.

CREDITS

Writer, Paul Tobin; pencillers, Patrick Scherberger and Clayton Henry; inkers, Terry Pallot, Scherberger and Henry; colorist, Brad Anderson; letterer, Dave Sharpe; editors, Michael Horwitz and Nathan Cosby; publisher, Marvel Comics.

Spider-Man & the Secret Wars 3 (April 2010)

Can we get one introspective Spider-Man story without the burglar or Gwen Stacy? How’s this comic an all-ages book if you’ve got Gwen falling in it? It doesn’t seem like something a six year-old would really engage with.

Anyway, more expanding and updating from Tobin here–Spidey talks text messaging, which they didn’t have in Secret Wars–and something about Galactus affecting the mind. The whole issue is Spider-Man and the Enchantress talking while the good guys fight Galactus. Spider-Man’s lost in his head because of Galactus’s reality-altering powers.

I wasn’t aware fighting Galactus altered the mind, but I don’t really know. It’s a good idea, I suppose, because otherwise he looks sort of goofy. I’ve never read a Kirby-illustrated Galactus comic, so I don’t know if Kirby managed not to make him look goofy.

It’s a well-executed issue, but not useful.

CREDITS

Writer, Paul Tobin; penciller, Patrick Scherberger; inker, Terry Pallot; colorist, Brad Anderson; letterer, Dave Sharpe; editors, Michael Horwitz and Nathan Cosby; publisher, Marvel Comics.

Spider-Man & the Secret Wars 2 (March 2010)

Tobin switches gears here (and breaks continuity with his first issue, no less) with an untold Secret Wars story. It’s the kind of aside I’m not sure ever would have occurred to Jim Shooter as he was writing the originals (or whatever his scripting is called… not sure writing is an appropriate term). It’s about Ben Grimm (having lost the Thing powers) and Spider-Man teaming up with Dr. Doom to save Denver. Denver being on the Beyonder planet. Except in the origin, I think it was a part of Denver, not the whole city. But whatever.

It’s an effective story. Doom is calculating, Grimm is experienced, Spider-Man is funny. Ben and Spidey meet a bunch of regular people (Tobin’s Denver is a lot more racially integrated than the actual Denver, but maybe the Marvel Universe is a nicer place to live); bonding and humor ensue.

It’s decent stuff.

CREDITS

Writer, Paul Tobin; penciller, Patrick Scherberger; inker, Terry Pallot; colorist, Brad Anderson; letterer, Dave Sharpe; editors, Michael Horwitz and Nathan Cosby; publisher, Marvel Comics.

Spider-Man & the Secret Wars 1 (January 2010)

I wish I remembered Secret Wars a little bit better, not enough to go read it again, of course. What Tobin’s doing with this series–it’s a retro book masquerading as an all-ages book; if it really were an all-ages book, I don’t think Patrick Scherberger would be going so far to show how eye holes in masks really do show off a lot of face around the eyes.

Anyway, what Tobin seems to be doing is retelling Secret Wars with a more immature Spider-Man. Maybe it’s a post-“One More Day” or whatever it’s called now story, because he seems young and… maybe a bit Ultimate influenced.

Tobin does a decent job with it, showing how Spider-Man’s take on things doesn’t really compare to Captain America’s or even the Hulk’s, he’s just not enough of a grown-up.

So–not faithful to continuity, but okay.

CREDITS

Writer, Paul Tobin; penciller, Patrick Scherberger; inker, Terry Pallot; colorist, Brad Anderson; letterer, Dave Sharpe; editors, Michael Horwitz and Nathan Cosby; publisher, Marvel Comics.