6 April, 2004
The Amazing Spider-Man, J. Michael Straczynski, with John Romita, Jr. and Scott Hanna (Vol. 1: 152 pp, TPB, 2002; Vol. 2:96 pp, TPB, 2002; Vol. 3: 144 pp, TPB, 2002; Vol. 4: 144 pp, TPB, 2003)
I'm like, totally inundated with superhero comics lately, due to the fact that my superhero-lovin' friends keep giving me stuff to read. So, I'm trying hard to get through them all.
Anyhoo, these books pretty much exemplify why I prefer manga and other non-superhero comics to the superhero genre. The stories herein aren't bad superhero stories, but I found the superhero-oriented bits (i.e. Spidey engaging in fisticuffs with super-powered bad guys) far less entertaining than the non-SH parts. Peter Parker, inner-city high school science teacher, held my interest far more than Peter Parker, Spider-Man. I get it that this is part of Spider-Man's appeal, that he's kind of an everyman superhero, but the fighting of flashy villains and the intendant major property damage actually detracted (IMO) from the more interesting stories about a guy trying to lead a good life in the big city. All of which is to say, it's just not really my thing.
The one aspect of the superhero stuff I did enjoy in these books was the aspect of "myffic" (as Nanny Ogg would put it) JMS introduces into the Spider-Man milieu. He paints Spider-Man as an avatar of the Spirit of the Spider, tying Spidey to legends and myths like those of Anansi the Spider.
I do like the artwork in these books; it's more angular and stylized than what I've seen in a lot of other super-hero books. Not quite to the degree you get in most manga, but not what I tend to think of as "pseudo-realistic," either. Oh, and I realized why Spider-Man always runs off at the mouth during his battles: his mask. Because of the mask, the reader can't follow his thoughts and reactions through facial expressions, so he has to talk a lot. That's my theory, at least.