Tag Archives: renew your vows

Review: Amazing Spider-Man Renew Your Vows #4

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asmryv004Secret Wars has been one of the biggest crossovers in comic history but also one of the most confusing.  In the past of comic book crossovers leading into reboots, there have only essentially been two, and both of them at DC Comics.  The first was Crisis on Infinite Earths, a somewhat necessary crossover which was needed in order to propel DC Comics into the future by cleaning up its past of having purchased numerous other small companies and throwing them together in the same continuity.  It was also necessary in order to take a lot of the characters out of the silver age and into the modern superhero medium.  The following game changing crossover was Flashpoint, this time again heading for a reboot of DC, only this time focusing on a marketing campaign as its outcome.  Although it was a risk, it paid off and despite the successes of Marvel NOW! and other replies from Marvel, the other company seemed to be playing catch-up in order to reboot its own properties, at least until Secret Wars.  This mashup of different influences and different universes promises to put everything back together, and to fix what were the few discrepancies between its not-shared universes.

The problem with this crossover has been the scope of the story telling, in that it has been somewhat all over the place, focusing on versions of classic story arcs, but not necessarily explaining the underlying concepts behind the bigger world.  In this case, all of the different miniseries have spun off of the same idea, but it is increasingly difficult to put them together, especially as numerous versions of some characters exist in all of the different series.  Spider-Man is one such example, existing in several series at the moment, including Civil War, Spider-Verse and Spider-Island.  These have had their moments, but definitely the best of the series has been Renew Your Vows, focusing on Peter versus the world, the same kind of story which made him so popular to begin with.  The story continues here, with a bit of the always teased at idea of a Spider-Girl, which is sometimes realized and sometimes more of a suggestion.

The approach here works both as a series and as part of the overall crossover.  Although there are some attempts to tie this into Doom, one can also read this without too much understanding of the bigger series, and instead it focuses on the characters that have made Peter Parker and Spider-Man such an approachable characters since he first graced the pages of comics.  This has been and remains one of the best of the miniseries tying into Secret Wars, and it can stand with some of the other noteworthy story arcs focused on the character over the years, even if it is an alternate universe kind of story.  There is an honesty to the characters, even living in superhero world they seem real enough, and the imposing threat in this series is also a lot more personal than elsewhere in Secret Wars.  Many of this series will go away after Secret Wars and the original heroes will return, at least in part, but this is one series that seems like it has enough of a heart to deserve more of a look

Story: Dan Slott Art: Adam Kubert 
Story: 9.3 Art: 9.3  Overall: 9.3  Recommendation: Buy

Review: Amazing Spider-Man Renew Your Vows #3

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asm ryv003Spider-Man is obviously one of comics most popular characters, but few perhaps take the time to consider why that is.  Although he is superpowered, he is also unquestionably still a street level character, not really all that capable of taking on bigger threats, but this ends up being part of his appeal, as he faces off against anyone and everyone who is a threat, whether big or small.  At the same time, the character’s popularity and characterization have made him one who is difficult to drop in team books.  Although he has served as a member of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, it is usually under the auspices of getting a bump in sales from Spider-Man readers and not so much because he is a good member for the team.  These are dynamics which are important to deal with in the mainstream universe, is also one which can be easily thrown away in the new Secret Wars world, and specifically with Renew Your Vows.

This series has previously established Spider-Man as one of the few remaining heroes in a reality where they have been wiped out by those in charge of the government.  This same group controls the Sinister Six, a group that is now funded and willing to eliminate the supposed threats to the establishment.  The series has previously established the Parkers as guarding their identities safely due to the need to protect their superpowered daughter, but with her discovery near they are also forced out of hiding, and as the midway point for the series, it seems as though the plot is going to get a lot more interesting.

The series succeeds because of its back-to-basic approach, as does this issue.  Although the degree of Parker’s use of violence is made out of character, the overall approach of the character here is one which feels like it could easily happen under these specific conditions.  By using what makes the character special while also setting him inside the Secret Wars world, it benefits the crossover by highlighting these traits.  This is the best treatment of Spider-Man in Secret Wars and it is among the best Secret Wars series overall.

Story: Dan Slott Art: Adam Kubert 
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.5  Overall: 9.5  Recommendation: Buy

Review: Amazing Spider-Man – Renew Your Vows #2

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asmryv002One of the common themes across the entire Secret Wars crossover has been that of a broken future.  It has shown up in a variety of titles, including several this week alone such Inferno, Civil War and Age of Apocalypse.  It should not come as any surprise then that Renew Your Vows, one of the several Spider-Man tie-ins to Secret Wars, is also included in using this as a theme.  The one difference with this though is that it is not really based on any particular crossover or story from before, rather it is a new story which uses similar themes, with perhaps only minor inspiration from elsewhere (like the MC2 Spider-Girl).

As was seen in the first issue, this freedom from any story in the past actually allows for a very different approach to storytelling.  Gone are the big flashy events and they are instead replaced with strong storytelling focused on characterization over concept.  Generally speaking this is going to put a comic ahead as comics all too often relegate characters to being two dimensional in the interest of some otherworldly threat, and as expected the approach has worked.  Instead of focusing on a superhero team, the focus is on a family, of which two have powers, and are hunted for it in this future where powers are outlawed.  There are some clever uses of plot devices here as well.  When the villains converge on the school to abduct young May, the outcome is as expected, that is until it isn’t as there is a bit of a surprise through this part.  So too is the art used intelligently here as a dream sequence is shown completely differently from them remainder in order to highlight its craziness.

So many of the Secret Wars settings seem something like experiments, a little bit of an excuse for the creators to let loose in world with few rules as to continuity.  The problem with this is that it seems very temporary.  While this is also the case here, it is unfortunate, for this is a reality that would be well explored over several dozen issues as opposed to four or five.  As it stands, this is one of the best tie-ins to the Secret Wars crossover, and it does so with barely any reference to the bigger series.  That is because this is a great story which is executed well and deserves praise for being a little bit better than the rest.

Story: Dan Slott Art: Adam Kubert 
Story: 9.5 Art: 9.5  Overall: 9.5  Recommendation: Buy

We Talk About Mary Jane Watson’s Dress with a Couple of Wedding Experts

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dress001Marvel recently got inspired by all of the Secret Wars crossovers to release a tie-in with Spider-Man titled “Renew Your Vows” which features a poorer version of the hero as he struggles through married life as a superhero with his wife and daughter. The married life for Peter Parker has been something which has been a factor in the character’s recent history after having his first wedding special in the 1987, which set off a wave of other wedding specials in comics.

The Secret Wars series got a variant cover from J. Scott Campbell, which featured Mary Jane Watson on a presumably alternate universe wedding, in an intricate though maybe too improbable dress. We got together with Jennifer LaVie from Kiss The Bride and Fannie Vavoulis to discuss the dress and comic book weddings.
Graphic Policy: First of all, would you say yes to this dress?

Fannie Vavoulis: YES! If I had a body like that there is no question I would say YES!!

Jennifer LaVie: I’d have to say a big no to this dress.

GP: What are some things that are right about it?

JL: Well, exposed and dramatic backs are really trending and hot right now, so that is definitely something people have their eyes peeled for. The applique detail on the dress straps/sleeves is very nice and in my opinion would appeal to many people.

FV: It shapes her figure really well, very sexy yet still classic in my opinion.

dress002GP: And what did the artist get wrong?

FV: It may be a bit too revealing along the back.

JL: It’s over sexualized and would not appeal to all body types. A “normal” female probably won’t say “that could be me” but likely would be more apt to say “that could never be me”. It takes away from the fantasy when you cannot be a part of it. Plus as a female myself, I have to say it’s almost offensive.

GP: Are there any issues that you can think of that don’t make sense as far as dresses are depicted in art as opposed to the reality? In this case for instance, the dress is supposedly made with spider webs.

JL: I actually like the spider webs, to me that is something that relates to the bride and speaks to her personality, making the dress original and unique to her. The only thing I really can say is that in most cases as I mentioned above things are over sexualized and completely unrealistic to every day people, men and women. Perhaps that is the point of the art, I suppose it would depend.

FV: Well the sleeves in this dress don’t make any sense. I am not sure in reality how they are supposed to stay up around the shoulders. Also – no one could really wear this dress unless you’re Kate Upton. It is so fitting that it would show a LOT of flaws (can you say cottage cheese??) : )

GP: As a real life wedding expert, what are some things that fiction always seems to get wrong about weddings?

FV: I think the most common is the perfection of the day. Most brides will tell you that the day doesn’t always go as planned and hiccups are to be expected. But those minor details are never noticed by the guests – usually just the bride or the person planning it. A lot of things can go wrong – weather issues, time delays, vendors not arriving on time, etc. Stories and comics always depict the day as being perfect – not always the way.

dress003JL: That they are perfect. Nothing is ever perfect. Ever.

GP: It doesn’t happen very often but there are occasionally wedding specials in comics. Do these have any appeal outside of comic book fans?

JL: I think so, if you love weddings you are going to love them in all forms. Cartoons, comics, reality tv etc etc. Weddings appeal to a lot of people!

FV: Wedding specials? Meaning an entire comic book dedicated to a wedding theme?

 

Many thanks to our two contributors, they took time out of their busy summertime wedding planning schedules to talk with us. Also as an editorial note, it would seem that no one knows about comic book wedding specials other than comic book readers.