Coming Home

Now THIS should have been Spider-Man's "Brand New Day": We have a single Peter Parker, with a secret identity and Mary Jane is nowhere in the picture... here they're just seperated, but no mention is made of them actually being married. And to think, we had to suffer through "One More Day"... But enough of that. What we have here is a great Spider-Man story. We see Peter Parker take a teaching position at his old high school and battling a brand new enemy called Morlun, who simply cannot be stopped (think Morbius with a hint of Juggernaut and you get the idea). We also are given a peak into a new side of Spidey's origin, which gets into totemistic stuff which, well, is a little hard to swallow but services the story at hand. All in all this is one of the better Spidey stories out there; to me JMS's run never really got this good again until "Sins Past"... but then the final two parts of THAT storyline came out and well, yeah, not the best stuff. (Damn your interventions, Quesada!!!) Highly Recommended.

Through reading these and other recent Spider-Man books (25 issues worth) one thing comes to mind: even through bad stories, Spider-Man is still the man. It may be controversial but I like the idea of Ezekiel, Morlun, the Spider totem, all of it. Spider-Man has to be changed up every once in awhile and this is a much better way to do it then killing people off, or a new costume. As Straczynski's run goes on he shows a new side to Spider-Man/Peter Parker, MJ, Aunt May, even Uncle Ben. Spider-Man is firmly in the Marvel Universe in this series, with random comings and goings from other heroes. On the other hand, Peter Parker is firmly in the real world during this run. Peter Parker in college has been tried before, but Peter Parker (as an adult of course) in high school? Well, that's different and incredibly entertaining. The new villains are memorable and the older cast reminds you why you loved them to begin with.

When Babylon 5 creator and Rising Stars scribe took over writing duties on Amazing Spider-Man, he did something that hadn't been done to the title for years. He made it amazing again. Straczynski introduces a new spin on the Spider-Man mythos in Coming Home, in the form of the mysterious Ezekiel who wreaks havoc on the web-head's life. And, as Peter discovers, there is more to his origin than he had ever thought. After years of some lame storylines (clone saga anyone?), Straczynski re-injected the magic and awe into the title, while at the same time putting his own spin on the classic Marvel character. Not to mention the superb art by legendary John Romita Jr. gives the book an ultra slick yet classic look, and fans of his work over the years will surely marvel here. All in all, while Ultimate Spider-Man may try to re-invent the web crawler mythos, it's Amazing Spider-Man that is really the defining Spidey title (Mark Millar's Marvel Knights Spider-Man title is also worth checking out), and any of Straczynski's works on the title is definitely worth your time.

Here is the deal: J. Michael Straczynski took over as the writer of Volume 2 of "The Amazing Spider-Man" with issue #30 and has been effectively "re-inventing" the character (but in a decidedly different way than what you find being done by Brian Michael Bendis in "The Ultimate Spider-Man," which is more a "re-imaginging"). "Coming Home" reprints issues #30-35 of the title, in which Straczynski come up with a striking new interpretation of the Spider-Man mythos. Clearly, then, the point of this trade paperback volume is to help new readers get on board and if not totally up to speed, at least within shouting distance. Taken together with the follow-up volume, "Revelations," these two books can do the trick. "Coming Home" suggests that there is great significance to the fact that Spider-Man has been fighting villains like Doctor Octopus, the Vulture, the Lizard, the Scorpion, the Rhino, ad infinitum, all these years. Peter Parker meets Ezekiel, one of those mysterious stranger types who brings havoc to a superheroes life, who suggest that Spider-Man's powers might not be quite as unique as he thought. In other words, the idea that a bite from a radioactive spider would give someone the powers of a spider is a bit far fetched and there is another explanation. To drive the point home Spider-Man has to tackle Morlun, a being who feeds on the power of humans with totemistic powers and apparently the only way to survive the encounter is to hide his powers from his new opponent. Unlike what Alan Moore did with Swamp Thing, the twist on Spider-Man's origin that Straczynski has come up with does not threaten to unravel the entire Spider-Man mythos. At that same time that Peter is being told that Spider-Man may well be the avatar of the Earth's spider population, he also takes a job as a high school science teacher. Meanwhile, there are still those marital problems with Mary Jane and at the end of this book Aunt May finds Peter him bruised, beaten, and bandaged, in a deep sleep, his tattered Spider-Man costume at his feet. This sets the stage for the next trade paper back collection, "Revelations," as Straczynski and artist John Romita, Jr. continue to turn the world of Peter Parker and Spider-Man upside down and inside out.

This trade paperback book was actually released as "Spider-man: Coming Home". J. Michael Straczynski, the mastermind behind Babylon 5 and Rising Stars, has penned a brilliant story of Peter Parker, aka Spider-man. This trade paperback is a self-contained book that covers Peter's battle with a creature that wants to steal his life essence!Peter first meets Ezekiel, an old man with powers much like his own. Ezekiel warns him of a creature that has been hunting super beings for hundred of years, and it has come to New York to hunt and feed on Peter. Ezekiel gives Peter a question which may forever change his conception of his powers: "Was it the radiated spider that gave you those powers, or was the spider trying to give you those powers before the radiation killed it?"The question is almost as perplexing as the answer may be. However, there is not time to delve into it, as the villain has decided to destroy parts of the city to lure out Spider-man. The first battle does not last long, as Peter realizes that his opponent is near invulnerable. He runs away, only to find that his enemy can find him anywhere he goes. Peter's body is utterly broken, and he decides on a last ditch scheme that will allow him to defeat his opponent, but will probably kill him in the process!This is a fantastic book for any fan of comic book. Straczynski is clearly a masterful storyteller, keeping the reader glued on every page. You can hear every thought Peter has as he tries to understand his life. You can feel every pain Peter has as his immortal opponent beats him to a pulp. Straczynski is doing what he does best - tell a story. The artwork is also strangely very good. I have never been a fan of John Romita Jr, but the color-artist that works on his artwork does a fantastic job of bringing every page to life. The reader is treated to a wonderful ballet of colors and excellent flow of story imagery. I was definitely surprised by the quality of artwork in this book.I highly recommend this book for all comic book fans out there, as well as anyone interested in literature in general. This is truly a fantastic story that is hidden in the format of a comic book. Great Story, Great Artwork, and possibly the best last page of any comic book I have ever read.