Comic Book Resources

The latest issue of Spider-Girl is hilarious because Mad Dog is actually Mad Dog Rassitano, member of Code BLUE, who showed up way back during DeFalco's Thor run. There's some nepotistic continuity for you.

I'm the opposite from you, really: I think it's surprising this comic isn't selling better. Not that I think it's much better than you do; I just think the flaws you pointed out are flaws that are big to "comics fans", the people who read lots of comics and participate in fan culture, but that are assets to casual readers and younger readers. If a copy of this, and a copy of the latest issue of New Avengers, were distributed to every American under the age of 18, with the question, "Which would you be more likely to buy another issue of?" I think that comics readers would be disturbed to find out how very much of a minority they are.

Hee! So who is the Al Snow of comics?

I'd have to figure out who the Mick Foley is of comics, and then see who they torment ceaselessly to figure that one out.

That's an interesting point, John, and given that I seem to remember reading somewhere that it was doing well in digests (which is why it survived one of the cancellations), I think its strengths as an entry level/casual fan comic are probably greater than I'm giving it credit for. I don't have any problem with that kind of storytelling, either; I just think DeFalco and Frenz are kind of boring. They did create Silver Sable, if I remember correctly, though, so that's something.

Vaguely related to John's point, I always felt that Spider-Girl has everything that all the "Why aren't comics FUN any more?" whiner crowd asks for when asked to define "fun," and yet few if any of them ever seem to be buying or reading Spider-Girl. That leads me to think that either they still don't know about it after all this time or what they're asking for is not really what they want. Or that they really need to append "with Batman or Spider-Man" after the "comics" part in their question.

If comic book message boards have taught me anything, it's that once a pro wrestler's name shows up in the text, it's not going to be worth reading the rest of what is written. This article did not prove otherwise. Between the snark and the "wrote this in less time than it takes to read" feel of it, this is the first time I've read something on this site that made me think "This is not a good, well-thought out or interesting take." I'm kinda bummed out now.

If a copy of this, and a copy of the latest issue of New Avengers, were distributed to every American under the age of 18, with the question, “Which would you be more likely to buy another issue of?”

Realistically, though, John, the answer to this is "neither."

Edward, I'm a member of that "wish comics were more fun" crowd you mention, but I 'm the one who actually reads -- and, more importantly, supports with my dollars -- books like Spider-Girl and Avengers Next.

Do I want every comic in my LCS to be exactly like them? Well, no. But I'm glad at least a few books like this still survive. I appreciate creators like DeFalco, Frenz, Buscema, et al., who are willing to go against the popular grain and cater to those of us who enjoy a little old-school superhero romp once a month. Good on 'em, I say.

I nominate Nick Fury as the Mick Foley of comics. They both suceeded in in switching from one type of character to another. Nick from Sgt to Spy; Mick from Texas Tough Guy to Demented Freak Show. Nick and Mick both have the same superpower too: "I'm Tougher than you". They both work better in a supporting role. Their second incarnation had the better costumes. They both lost a piece of their heads in combat.

What about Dude Love, you say? Two words for ya: David Hasselhoff.

I've been following ASG since the reboot, and it is close to the sort of stuff what I like. It hasn't wowed me to the point where I must absolutely buy it and encourage others to grab it off shelves, but it's a solid, well-done title that I'll continue to support unless it starts getting dull.

I don't want every book to be like Spider-Girl, but it's good to have at least one book out there with the old Marvel spirit.

The subplot heavy style makes me look forward to each issue, whereas styles like decompression make me not want to buy an individual issue, and make the trades disappointing, in that they are discrete stories that give no sense of character progression - which was a big part of the appeal of the Marvel Universe way back when.

Anyway, I'm glad to see Marvel still giving it a shot, and expect to buy it as long as Tom DeFalco is writing it.

Mad Dog Rassitano is not some" middle aged Kirby-Tech tourist from Minnesota or something." He's actually based on and looks just like a middle aged comic book store owner from Pittsburgh(with a slight tweak to his last name). I know because I shop there and the owner made a big deal about it and bought a million copies. Of course we all got a kick out of it(and bought more than one copy).