Spider-Man Reign #1

Spider-Man Reign #1 Kaare Andrews

Kaare Andrews dives into this futuristic look at the life of Peter Parker as an aged, war hardened old man living the tough life in New York City. Parker (formerly known as Spider-Man) lives a lonely life of desolation and this story aims to provide the reader with a possible future for an all-star super hero who has lost everything (including his wife and his powers).

For fans of Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns," (and who isn't?) this story should have readers excited to explore the remaining chapters of the series. The similarities are striking. Essentially, we have a much darker look at a super-hero who's future is in utter disarray. Also present is the witty commentary on the current state of the world by faceless, personality-deprived news reporters and their plastered-on smiles. Despite the similarities, there are a few fundamental differences between this story and Christopher Nolan's Batman that are worth mentioning. Kaare Andrews gets a few points of originality for having the future-society be a peaceful one and, if I remember correctly, I've never seen Batman's unmentionables.

Ultimately, this has potential to be an excellent mini-series. Where it lacks in originality, it makes up in other areas. Also, I'm a helpless sucker for awesome art and Kaare Andrews definitely delivers on this. I'd have to say that the target-audience for this book is one that can appreciate a good story, good art, and Spider-Man kicking ass in his underwear.

New Universal #1

New Universal #1: Warren Ellis, Salvador LaRocca

Not much substance should be expected out of a 1st issue comic, but New Universal #1 delivers a surprising amount of story and development. The obvious point of this issue is to introduce the series to new readers, but also to create a book that is entertaining enough to warrant the purchase of #2. Warren Ellis accomplished this task with flying colors.

The story starts out with an interesting way of introducing the characters. Between various jump-scenes depicting a man in a New York City hospital bed, a couple laying under the stars in Oklahoma, a slight social tiff in a nightclub in San Fransisco, and a few various scenes from around the globe, the reader grasps a general understanding of the world that is depicted in this book. That world is one devoid of super-humans. This is an excellent start for a story, considering how saturated the world of comics has become. Most "mainstream," comics have seemingly run completely out of ways to keep super-hero comics interesting. We now are facing a DC world without Batman, Superman, and Wonderwoman. Every hero in the Marvel universe is currently engaged in a civil war that promises to "change the lives of every marvel character forever." It seems that readers are now longing for a fresh, un-convoluted story about new characters and how they came to be, and are straying away from the mainstays finally doing something a little different. This particular work promises to deliver that same breath of fresh air as the widely-accepted "Runaways," series.