The Power of Three (Marvel Spidey and His Amazing Friends) (Little Golden Book)

Product Information

Synopsis: Spider-Man: Life Story is a six-issue miniseries by Chip Zdarsky and Mark Bagley set in an alternate universe where we see Peter Parker grow and age in real-time starting from his adolescent years during the 60s when he first gained his superpowers to 2019. The dialogue is a bit iffy. Mostly shit with Peter pointing out his age and being all “look at me I’m old” in the last 2 issues.

In Spidey, the Spider-Man stuff works, the Parker stuff feels like an afterthought. Robbie Thompson nails it with the Spidey stuff, less nails it with the Parker stuff. Maybe staples it or something. What's less than a nail but still okay?

Games

Set in Peter Parker's earliest days as Spider-Man, this series gives us some new adventures of everyone's favourite wall-crawling superhero. It's not too serious, it's not covered in continuity, and it's never a chore to read. It's also perfect for new or younger readers. Most of all, it's cute. This is downright in the middle for me. It's not great, it's not bad, it's just OKAY. I'd give this a 2.5 but since I'm feeling nice (And I love my Spidey) I'll be giving this a 3. However, I wish it was better than it was. Oh, I will say, the art is badass. The action is really cool, reminiscent of Nightwing from Scott McDaniel, but more colorful and 10% more Looney Tunes. The art is also great, with legendary Spider-Man artist Mark Bagley showing exactly why he has been the go-to Spidey artist for years. The dude is consistent and on time, which are two of the most important aspects for a comic artist to have. The variant covers by Zdarsky are also great in how well they set the mood for each issue.

Había oído y leído cosas muy buenas de este cómic desde que se publicó en EEUU pero cuando finalmente lo he leído me ha resultado una decepción. No me malinterpretéis, no es un mal cómic ni mucho menos, pero cuando hay tanta gente que le da un bombo desmesurado a un cómic mainstream como se le ha dado a este yo al menos espero algo que sorprenda, y en mi caso al menos sorpresas pocas. Also, a lesson in self-worth. Dude, I have SUPER low self-esteem, as evidenced by the fact that I have to prove to the faceless internet that I'm not a racist asshole even though I'm like 100% sure. I also routinely eat things off the floor because I feel like I dropped them and there's a price to be paid. And even I don't think kissing porcelain is the answer here.

McMillan, Graeme (July 24, 2015). "Marvel Announces Teenage 'Spidey' Comic Book Series". The Hollywood Reporter. My Thoughts: While I definitely would not consider myself a scholar in the Spider-Man lore (or Marvel in general), I am familiar enough with the character through movie/TV adaptations and a handful of random comics here and there to have a sufficiently good idea of the universe. As a result, I was easily able to get into this comic along with the fact that it was a stand-alone series and a bloody bodacious one at that.

I’m not sure what timeline/world this series is set in but it’s the modern day (smartphones, etc.) yet people still think Iron Man is Tony Stark’s bodyguard! Best not to dwell on it - it’s its own thing. I'm quoting myself, which is the definition of being up my own ass. But I didn't want to do that math again.

In the first issue, which takes place four years after the origin story, Peter is getting better at being Spider-Man, even if he still struggles at attending his college classes, much to the annoyance of his lab partner Gwen Stacy. With the Vietnam War going on and the recent surge of American superheroes, Peter wonders if his alter-ego has a responsibility to fight overseas. Meanwhile, his best friend's father, Norman Osborn AKA the Green Goblin, who just happens to be Spidey's greatest enemy, knows about Peter's secret identity. From this issue alone, Zdarsky is setting up a number of things, by using the history of the comics from not only Peter's adventures, but as well as the Marvel Universe, and mixing it with real world politics. This obviously isn't groundbreaking as Zdarsky seems to be taking cues from the likes of Frank Miller and Alan Moore, especially during the third issue that takes place during the 1980s, evoking the Dark Age of Comic Books. Serafino, Jason (4 December 2015). " 'Spidey' Makes A Strong Case Against Comic Book Continuity". Tech Times. The stories were meh. In this day and age the best the writers of a Spider-Man comic can do is still have the Daily Bugle call Spider-Man an evil menace and have everyone believe it. Spider-Man still gets no help, no hope and no real friends, he still has to "Hide" who he is from the real world and let others claim all the glory. What If Spider-Man aged in real time after his debut in 1962? is the core concept for this. Each of the six issues is a point in a different decade in Spider-Man's life, taking him from being a teenager in the 1960s to an old man in the 2010s.

Spidey covers Peter Parker's first days as a super hero. This coincides with his freshman year of high school. During this time, Parker is the best friend of Harry Osborn, the number one target of school bully Flash Thompson and he might be the love interest of one Gwen Stacy- if he can get the courage to ask her out sometime. But above all- this story is about the troubles Parker has balancing being a superhero with responsibilities as a student and teenager.And then finally in 2019 when its the superior spider-man with a final confrontation with all of his major enemies, and Peter going out with a bang a great thing with Miles. Its a lot to take in but its the stories of this decade I know and I love how he does it and he fulfills his promise to his uncle and aunt and even redeems the villains and like legacy and everything. Its so well done and emotional and made me tear up a bit. But its just ugh so good. I tried, okay? I wanted to love this... but no... I really should have known better than to try another Chip Zdarsky book... On the other hand, there were some flat-out incredible moments where Zdarsky blew my mind. The way he twisted so many of the iconic storylines into something new and amazing was crazy in the best way. Okay, and I know this seems totally unrelated...does Ain't It Cool News dislike anything? I feel like every comic I look at, Ain't It Cool News has something great to say about it.