Comic of the Week - August 5th, 2009

THIS ENTRY MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE TITLES AND ISSUES LISTED BELOW!

Hey guys,

Time for Comic of the Week again. Yeah, I know the date at the top of the page is somewhat behind the times, but I've explained that in the last Comic of the Week feature. If you're curious why, check that one out.

Without further ado,

The comics that I read released on the day of August 5th, 2009 were:

-Amazing Spider-Man #601
-Hulk #13

Yeah, that's right. Just two titles this week. Keep in mind that I only review the ones that are on my hold list, which I've pared down to my favorites... Here goes...



Story of the Week

Believe it or not, this is actually harder to do with only two books to choose from. Both titles had a good, solid story (and beautiful art, which we'll get to below) but there can be only one (much like The Highlander).

Amazing Spider-Man #601 eked out the win for Story of the Week this time out. The main feature in the book spotlighted the aftermath of the wedding of Aunt May to J. Jonah Jameson, Sr. Peter Parker (our beloved wall-crawler's alter-ego) gets really tipsy at the reception after the wedding. What a great time to run into a newly returned Mary Jane Watson, huh? That's right. The woman that Pete was supposed to marry is back! She actually caught the bouquet at the end of last issue! Hmmm...

Pete actually gets drunk to the point of losing memory and goes home with his roommate Michelle. She's actually the sister of his old roommate Vin, who's serving some time in prison now due to his involvement in the "Spider-Tracer Murders". (See previous issues for details.)

Pete gets, um, friendlier with Michelle than he has in the past. When he wakes up next to her, still a bit out of sorts and looking for MJ on the other side of the bed, Michelle becomes enraged and kicks him out of the apartment.

Pete spends the rest of the ish trying to figure out when and where that he's supposed to meet MJ for a date that night. They had planned it at the reception, but he was too drunk the remember the specifics.

The main feature of the issue ends with Peter remembering the where and when of the date and showing up to find Mary Jane nowhere to be found. It then flashes to her. She's slept in and missed out on meeting Peter. BUT... when seeing a feature on the news about Spider-Man she knows that Spider-Man is Peter Parker.

Oh, and of course at the very end of the main feature we've got Michelle's cookies and milk caper pulled on Pete. (See ish for details, or don't... It's not that major.)

The back up feature of the issue features a story by Brian Michael Bendis (can't go wrong there, huh?) showing Pete talking to Jessica Jones-Cage (wife of Luke Cage). Jessica talks about gaining her powers and how Pete (as Spider-Man) inspired her in her initial runnings as a super-heroine. Pete shares his "With great power there must also come great responsibility" mantra with Jessica among other inspiring words. With just six pages, Bendis has our hearts in his hands...

Both of these features give us a good look at where Spider-Man/Peter Parker's headspace and heartspace are these days. This title is really starting to be great for the first time since the "One More Day" story arc. If you haven't picked up Spider-Man for a while, now may be the time...



Cover Art of the Week

Cover art of the week has got to go to Hulk #13. There is no other word for this amazing piece but INTENSE! (Check it out below, by Ed McGuinness, Tom Palmer and Dan Brown.) (And, no, not THAT Dan Brown.)





Interior Art of the Week

The coveted Interior Art of the Week prize goes to Amazing Spider-Man #601. First we've got the art from the main feature of the book by Mario Alberti and Andres Mossa. See the below 2 pieces for a taste...







AND we've also got the art from the back up feature of the book by Joe Quesada and Morry Hollowell. Check out how the pair even give Spidey's mask facial expressions in the third panel! (Below)





I've gotta add that while the artists (Alberti and Quesada) shined, the additions that the colorists(Mossa and Hollowell) laid down in both features were BREATHTAKING! Great art all around in this ish!!!



Well, there it is, guys... Another Comic of the Week feature down the tubes and straight to you loyal Llog readers. We'll see you guys next time... And...

Peace...