Retro Spider-Man Video Game Commercial

Does the Green Goblin actually boast about having a "gang of Nazis", or have I just misheard that entirely?

Things I Find Terribly Vexing This Month, Vol.1

I'd completely forgotten about this until I heard a mention of Mr. Coffee on an episode of Seinfeld a a minute ago (the episode where Jerry dates the Miss America pageant contestant for anyone curious). There was a comic book that came out about the time the first Spider-Man film was released that, not surprisingly, featured a return of the Green Goblin. Following a heated battle between Spidey and the Goblin, the two were so winded that they had to rest against a wall; it was during this downtime that the Goblin told Spider-Man that before settling on the "Green Goblin" he'd briefly considered calling himself "Mr. Coffee", making the two laugh. But only the two of them. I thought it was a pretty lame joke, but at least I get why the characters would laugh.

So, seven years later I'm in a supermarket and I find a copy of this... how can I put this... "deluxe edition" comic book that had a few pages of new material, some remastered old issues from the 1960s all dolled up with modern coloring techniques, a couple of handbook profiles, and a history of the Green Goblin done with some text and images from older issues. Since I was catching the bus home and had a good half hour to kill, I started reading some of that back-matter, specifically the skippable the "Green Goblin Saga" history thing. (Just so we're clear, it's just the history thing that's pretty skippable. Not the handbook profiles -- I get a real kick of those. The "Saga" stuff leaves me cold.) But anyway, I'm reading this thing and it gets to the origin of the Green Goblin and mentions that Norman Osborn considered Mr. Coffee as a name before going with Green Goblin.

Now I'm normally big on obscure references and callbacks and archaic trivia and all that, but really now -- "Mr. Coffee" is canon? A lame joke is now an arguably key component of the Green Goblin's history?

Just so we're clear, I'm not angered or anything by how "Mr. Coffee" has seemingly become such an important part of the Green Goblin's back story. It might read that I'm full of rage, but I assure you I'm, if anything, relaxed to the point of distraction here (I've had to proofread this post several times already just to be sure it makes sense). Still, I find this terribly vexing. I mean, really -- Mr. Coffee? Yeesch.

 

Thoughts at the Moment

Well, I pre-ordered a copy of the third printing of the Spider-Man comic book with US President Obama on the cover. I already have a copy of the 2nd printing, so I'm not sure if springing for another version (even if the cover is slightly different) is okay or just kind of dumb. Still, in the event I win the contest I've entered for a copy of the first printing, I suppose it'll be good to have all three. I'm just hoping there isn't a fourth, since I'd probably wind up buying that too, because, as we've well established here, I'm a dope when it comes to these things.

On a semi-related topic, how neat was it for Obama to tell the Citibank folks to cram it with walnuts when they wanted to buy a 50 million dollar private jet. Good show. It hasn't completely sunk in that Bush is no longer the President of the United States, but it's starting to. And now that the US is finally in good hands I can start worrying/caring about my own domestic politics, something I've neglected while the global superpower forty minutes from where I live was going all bowling ball-ish.

On another semi-related topic, I read the seventh and final issue of DC Comics big crossover series Final Crisis last night. And I'll probably be reading it again soon since I have no idea what actually happened there.

This issue I understood better, and while it's contents are slighter and less all-encompassing than Final Crisis, I still enjoyed it a great deal since I quite like the featured villain, the Parasite. He's one of those B-level villains, that's too important to kill off for good, but not important enough to, you know, take over the world or cause any serious trouble. I have an affinity for those middle-of-the-road folks, and in this case it's coupled with a great visual. Nice that they did some work with his characterization as well, since he's often neglected in that area.

Inquiring Minds Ask: "Did Spider-Man Sleep With a Married Woman?"

Now you can question the validity and necessity of such a question in times such as these when things are unquestionably tumultuous around the world, both politically and economically, especially when the subject in question refers to a couple of comic book panels from a story published 30 years ago. But if I did that it'd make me a hypocrite for all of the nonsense I've wasted time debating over the years. Besides -- it's pretty obvious he did. But to lessen the blow (no pun intended -- whoops, there goes the 'G' rating), she was in the middle of a messy separation and when the ball-and-chain confronted good ol' Spidey, he roughed him up some.

Even Spider-Man deserves "a good break" every "now and then" too, right? A tip of the hat to the fellow who added "Peter should be happy that the caption said two hours later and not ‘an awkward, unfulfilling 15 minutes later’". That tickled me.

Images Care of Comics Should Be Good: Did Spider-Man Sleep With a Married Woman?

Hi there.

Still not feeling too good. Had a good day last Sunday -- I went to an Indigo book store with a couple of friends and got a few things to read and a Starbucks coffee. Had a nice dinner afterwards and even won a toy from a claw machine game. It's kind of been mixed since. Was riding the good day into the week, but it just got crummier after. My grandmother woke up with a sore back that got progressively worse until she had to go to the hospital. I spent about three hours with her and effectively screwed up my back on an uncomfortable chair in the process. Didn't sleep well last night and woke up aching and with a headache today. Still, the new episode of the Spider-Man cartoon wasn't bad, so there's that. Not feeling too good still. Hoping things get better, but I'm not overly optimistic. I think I need to get a new anti-depressant prescribed. I'm seeing my therapist on Thursday, so I'll bring it up then.

Anyway, hope to have more upbeat things to report on next time.

Stick People Comic Reviews: Amazing Spider-Man #545

Here's a Stick Man look at Amazing Spider-Man #545:

Well, geez...

If the last few issues of Spider-Man weren't indication of the dissolution of Peter Parker and Mary Jane's twenty year marriage (which is, like, five years in comic time), this comment from writer J. Michael Straczynski seems to spell things out:

"In the current storyline, there's a lot that I don't agree with, and I made this very clear to everybody within shouting distance at Marvel, especially Joe. I'll be honest: there was a point where I made the decision, and told Joe, that I was going to take my name off the last two issues of the OMD arc."

Thanks, I guess, to the Comics Should be Good guys to pointing this out.

I don't know... I liked them as a married couple. Guess there were enough higher-ups at Marvel who felt otherwise though.

Marvel Delays "One More Day"

So, Marvel's issued a press release today, announcing a second set of delays to the story that's going to "shake Spider-Man's foundation to the core!™"

The books were supposed to come out weekly in August, with the final issue in the first week of September. Then the first weeks of September, October, November and December. Now the final two issues are set to arrive the last weeks of November and December. I'd like to think this would be the last delay, but I wouldn't be surprised if the last issue came out next year.


At least the fan commentary on a book that artist and Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada touted earlier in the year as coming along nicely has made up for having to wait another month for the next part.

Here's probably the best thing I've heard on the subject: "It's also not lost on me that because of this crossover and its delays, there will be two months with only one Spider-Man title out there for me to sell instead of just the one. If they had kept Sensational and Friendly alive during this event then we could at least be selling those."

Read more here.

So... Has DC Cancelled Justice League Unlimited or Not?

Because if they have, well, that'd be a real kick in the head. The latest issue was a lot of fun. Great story by Justice League Unlimited TV writer Matt Wayne, great art by Dario Brizuela, and is was a neat follow up to the bit in the JLU series finale when Giganta (pictured above), kissed the Flash (pictured running away from Giganta, above). It was a cute story too, and a solid entry in a pretty solid series.

I'm not 100% on this, but I think DC is cancelling the series. I got the impression they were also axing the Teen Titans animated-style comic, but I think they're keeping it around for a while. I don't see why they can't do the same with JLU. Unless sales are just awful. It's too bad really, especially since they seem to be cancelling it and replacing it with a new "Superfriends" title, based on the kid-friendly Mattel toys. I don't want to get ahead of myself or anything, but it looks terrible.

I also got a copy of the latest Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man with the Mary Jane-on-white variant cover. I asked about the other white variant covers and if there was one for the last Amazing Spider-Man. Not that I'd ever seen that particular Spider-Man-on-white variant in the three shops I've been in since it came out. Turns out they had a few copies in my local shop and I'd been passing by them since the reordered copies came in. So I'm glad. Just hope I can snag a copy of the last white variant cover with Peter Parker. It looks neat.

And now I'm just rambling.

Hey folks.

Mike Wieringo, artist on Spider-Man, The Flash, the Fantastic Four and many other books, died yesterday of a heart attack. He was only 44 years old. He was one of my favorite artists when I started reading Spider-Man back in the 90s, and did some really nice stuff in the Fantastic Four book a few years back. Most recently he did a ten issue run on Spider-Man, and just finished a Spider-Man/FF mini-series. I've always kind of wondered what it'd be like if folks whose work I admired died and what my reaction would be like since I'd assumed that would still be some years away. Turns out it's kind of like a punch to the gut.

(The sketch to the left is from Mike's blog at http://www.mikewieringo.com/. The Site's a busy right now, but I recommend you stop on by and check out his work. It's worth it.)