With Great Power...

Hello All,
As a comic geek I've been thrown for a loop this week. In comic movie news it turns out that Sam Raimi & Tobey Maguire are leaving the Spider-Man movie franchise.
Now I've been a major fan of all three films, even the third one, although I admit it had problems. In my opinion Spider-Man 2 is the best superhero film ever made. It's great performances and script paved the way for movies such as The Dark Knight and Iron Man. I think a lot of credit goes to Raimi for capturing the fun, pathos, and humanity that can be found in this web-slinging hero. It's disconcerting to hear that he has left over "creative differences." What is with Sony Pictures? Don't they realize that Raimi is an able captain for this ship? Apparently not because here comes a reboot with Peter Parker going back to high-school.

In the last two years I've dipped my toes into the Spider-Man Universe. I enjoy the fact that while he's got super powers, he's also a real life guy who is just cannot catch a break. For spider-man if the going gets tough, well then it just gets worse. The best writers, such as Joe Kelly, Brian Michael Bendis, or even Dan Slott, understand that rather than cry over his bad fortune, Peter Parker will throw out a self-deprecating quip. This puts him at odds with the current skinny man-boy greyish brooders that are currently in mode at the cineplex. Peter Parker may be a nerd, but he's not conflicted about it. He's conflicted about where the next dollar is gonna come from, and how he's gonna take care of Aunt May.


So if Sony wants to re-boot Peter Parker back to high school than what source material should they draw from? Many have speculated that Sony will go to Ultimate Spider-man by Brian Michael Bendis. This would be an excellent choice. I've read the first few volumes of this series and enjoyed them immensely. Bendis has a great ability to capture the wise-acre sarcasm and his series features Parker in high school. However I don't think Bendis is interested in writing a Spider-man movie. He's too busy writing every book in the Marvel Universe. Well not really, but pretty close.





Well if I had the chance to bend Sony's ear I think that I have the perfect option: Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. I devoured this series about 2 years ago and I love it. SMLJ actually focuses on Parker and MJ in high school, with their romantic travails. In fact Parker as Spider-Man is pretty much in the extreme background. The action focuses mainly on MJ's developing friendship with Peter, her dating Harry Osborne, and how her crush on Spider-Man is tested. It's a fun, adorable, teen series that anyone can read. It's easily adaptable and is already made for the teen market. If that's what Sony wants to focus on, then this is a great choice.

Are you listening Sony? Really all I ask: Don't Screw It Up. Choose great material: Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane is a winner.

Lit Times Are Good For This Gal

Hello,
How are y'all? I've had a great week! It was full of many highs of the literary kind. On Sunday I attended a matinee of a production of Frankenstein done in the radio show style. The production was really awesome with 4 actors reading all the parts. From what I know it was faithful to the plot line of the original book. I've never read Frankenstein, perhaps I'll give it a shot.

On Saturday was the Utah Humanities Book Festival and I was able to see some author panels. It was fun seeing Ann Cannon, who is a local author. I highly enjoyed a panel with Sara Zarr and Paul Fleischman where they questioned each other. If you want to read Zarr's fine blog, click here. Zarr is the author of Story of a Girl, which was nominated last year for the Newberry. She is also very nice. I was shocked that she remembered my name. Anyway it was fun, although still very low-key. I hope next year there's more that I'm interested.

Tonight I went to another meeting of the Hard Boiled Book Club. I've mentioned it before, to read that click here. Again it was another fun evening of discussion moderated by the mysterious Zach Sampinos. Our discussion centered around the book In the Miso Soup, which is reviewed below. This is a book I would never pick up on my own. Sampinos has thus far done an excellent job finding books that are off the beaten path. It was good times.

Well enough about how awesome my life has been lately. Onward! To the Reviews!

Reviews
Apocalypse Handbook
I picked this up because it looked amusing and is written by a writer from The Daily Show. I found this book very funny in a black humor sort of way. It's very easy to go broad when talking about a subject as crazy as the end of days. While not really highly substantive and serious, I wanted a silly book. This fit the bill.

Ultimate Spiderman Vol. 2
Bendis continues his reboot of Spiderman starting from the beginning. In this story arc young Peter Parker fights the Kingpin and starts work for the Daily Bugle. I love the humor and characterization that Bendis brings to this story. In this volume he makes mistakes and then beats himself up for it. This reminds us again that Parker is just a teenager and he's still learning. Also Bagley continues to bring amazing art to the panels. I love his splash pages.

In the Miso Soup
As mentioned above this is a book I would never pick up on my own. The story revolves around the relationship between Kenji, a japanese guide, and Frank, a strange American. Kenji is hired by Frank to help him traverse the Japanese sex industry. Slowly tension builds as Kenji starts to believe that Frank is a serial killer. There's a lot of interesting ideas and themes, which are not really followed through on. Murakami seems intent on commenting on the objectifying of women in the sex industry, yet does not really stick to any clear statement. On top of all this is an unreliable narrator which makes you waiting for some kind of twist. That twist never comes. This is a book that I think climaxes about half-way through but then slows up to an ambiguous ending. So a great first half is squandered by a ponderous second half.

What's In My Bag
Books
TBA

Magazines
Out

Comic
Spiderman Loves Mary Jane #3

Check Out Count: Fluctuating

Comic Pull List: Northlanders #11, Superman #681, Trinity #22

Have a Great Week! Book Slave.

Hot, Sweaty, and Tired

Hello folks,
Welcome to living on the sun. Seriously it's hot folks. You could fry an egg on my forehead. To me at the moment the best time of day is the golden hour. I've loved taking a walk around my somewhat eclectic neighborhood to cool down before sunset. Love it! Well admittedly this week's reading has been pretty thin. I've had other writing to work on this weekend (Yes, I do writing other than this, my constant readers), so I've decided to include a little autobiography as well.
So Onward to Breach!

Reviews
Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 1
I've decided to dive into more Bendis work after enjoying his work on Secret Invasion/New Avengers. Here we essentially have the Spiderman Origin story, which is very well known by now. I enjoyed the fact that they did write/draw Peter as a 15 year old kid. Watching him go through classic teen angst this book reminded me of a John Hughes movie. I think this is written for teenage boys and fanboys/girls. As someone who hasn't followed the comics for 20 years this was a good introduction.

Middleman Vol. 1
This book is humorous comic fun. The story follows Wendy, an struggling artist, who stumbles into joining a "Men In Black"-style organization and teaming up with a guy who is the classic version of a "dirk square jaw". He just calls himself "The Middleman" and wears a leather jacket while carrying an insanely large gun. All this plot is not the best thing about this book. Javier Grillo-Marxuach's is clearly hilarious because I loved all the jokes and satire throughout this trade. Little touches like Wendy's interactions with her stoner neighbor were just so random and cracked me up. Enjoyed it immensely. Plus there's gangster killer apes!

Life Changing Reads
Kick back as we walk down memory lane.
1. To Kill A Mockingbird
I had seen an old paperback copy of this on the top of our book case for a long time. It was the summer before 7th grade and I had a lot of time on my hands. Even at that age I had heard of the book and the movie, but hadn't picked up either. The cover was simple and the pages were yellowed. I decided that now was the time to pick it up. I read it in about 5 days and loved it immediately. Of course I was struck by the friendship between Jem, Scout and Dell and there adventures. Ultimately though it was the character of Atticus Finch that had the most effect on me. He was the father that everyone wished they had. I still get choked up as I think about the balcony scene.

2. Catcher and the Rye
Picked this up relatively later then a lot of people. I was 18 and I had gotten a gift card for christmas for a multi-media store that no longer exists. It's name escapes me at the moment. Anyway I had picked up some CDs and Videos, but I had about 10 bucks left on the gift card. With the prospect of losing out on $10, which was too little for any good CD or Video, I turned to the puny token book section. What to get? My eyes settled on a $6 buck paperback copy. It had the classic white cover with the rainbow stripe. I finished reading it in 2 days. As I read the final scene between Holden and his little sister on the merry-go-round I found myself tearing up. To me this book is not all about teen rebellion. There is a deeper subtext that strikes me every time I pick it up. Holden Caulfield is looking for unconditional love. Aren't we all?

3. Less Than Zero
First of all let me explain. Before I even had any sense what Brett Easton Ellis was all about he already had a bad reputation in our household. My mom, a librarian, was forced to read American Psycho because of a patron complaint. She hated it in every core of her body. In high school one of my friends Linda read and loved Less Than Zero I avoided it like the plague. Fast forward a few years: I was in a wonderful exchange book store in Sugarhouse and there it was-a paperback copy of Zero. Not any copy though. This one had Robert Downey Jr, Andrew McCarthey, and Jami Gertz staring back at me. It was the movie cover. I had to have it. However I held onto it for awhile without reading it. When I finally picked it up I couldn't believe what I read. I was captured by this story in that "read it till 3 am even though I need to sleep" way.

What's In My Bag
Books
Assassination Vacation
Essential Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1

Comics
Dynamo 5 #13

Magazine
Entertainment Weekly

Check Out Count: Diversifying.

Well kids it's a holiday weekend. 2 days off! It's gonna be awesome and far too quick. Have some fun! Celebrate our country. Throw some prayers to those fighting/dying overseas. Their sacrifice is beyond politics. I think I'll find some way this holiday to take a look over that old "Declaration" of ours. Have a great weekend! Book Slave.