COMIC TITLE: Black Cat Annual #1 (2019)
Joey Vazquez– Artist
Jed MacKay–Writer
November 13, 2019
Marvel Comics
There were not a lot of comics that were coming out this week that I was interested in unless you were already following some storylines. Out of all the various companies, Marvel Comics was the big winner this week and that is why I chose Black Cat Annual #1 as this week’s Comic Book Of The Week. For those that do not know what an annual is in the comic book world, it is a chance for publications to release an issue once a year that has a longer story or sometimes multiple stories that may not fit in the scheme of things with the regular monthly release. Black Cat’s series happens to be one that I have been enjoying and this one gets interesting because Peter Parker (Spider-Man) and Felicia Hardy (Black Cat) are getting married. Well, you see they are sort of getting married even though they broke up, but Peter is doing it because Felicia has asked for his help in the case of a Maggia crime family wedding. Meanwhile, Christopher Coffin is doing his best to break into some kind of vault while Bruno Grainger breaks into an old S.H.I.E.L.D. facility to prove that no one pays attention to big dumb looking guys. The issue was written by Jed MacKay (Spider-Geddon) and illustrated by Joey Vazquez (Magnificent Ms. Marvel).
I have to be honest in saying that I like annuals because you get stories sometimes that don’t exactly fit in the scheme of the series and sometimes it’s the crew just having fun with their specific title. I definitely felt that way about this specific issue and that it was Jed MacKay having fun with the title while keeping it as close to the series as he possibly can. Who would of thought the idea of a crime family that when both families are in a disagreement that two potential newlyweds have to fight each other to the death. If it’s someone that you truly love then how do you just kill them for the sake of two families? Nevertheless, it’s a wild and zany adventure like only Spider-Man would have in his comics and he goes on the adventure with the the beautiful Felicia Hardy which is a conflict of interest, but they used to date. At first, it has it’s moments where you are asking what is the point of these side stories, but it will all make sense when you keep reading on and it’s kind of cool because it’s like Ocean’s 11 where you see the main characters doing their thing before it goes to the side characters and what they are doing. The comic has plenty of action and the action is good and it’s funny when it needs to be. I love the artwork in the main story more than I do in some of the side stories. I felt in Bruno’s story that some of the artwork just got a little lazy, but that is OK. It’s easy to follow along with and the colors are vibrant as they bring it to life on your page. Check it out and check out the grades below:
Grades:
Story/Plot: A
Artwork: A-
Character Representation: A+
Entertainment Value: A+
This week was a pretty decent week for for comic books with a bunch of new debuts as well as some continued stories that we are also following, but we have something special for all of you this week. One of my favorite superheroes to come out in the 21ST Century has always been Earth-65’s Gwen Stacy a.k.a. Spider-Gwen or as she is known now as Ghost-Spider. I definitely understood why they changed her name because no one knew her as Spider-Gwen. Nonetheless, after a ten issue run called Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider, Marvel did what it does best and they have a new comic called Ghost-Spider #1 and we have it for you guys today as it was written by Seanan McGuire (X-Men: Gold) and illustrated by Takeshi Miyazawa (Ms. Marvel). You see Gwen faces a huge problem in Earth-65 which is her home and that problem is that everyone now knows her true identity and she feels that she can’t have a normal life and get an education unless she goes to Earth-615 which is the home of Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man and no one knows her there. As Peter Parker helps her get into ECU, she know has to figure out how to balance her school life on Earth-615 while trying to figure out how to fight crime on Earth-65.
I definitely liked the comic and really enjoyed what they were presenting in this one because they are basically continuing the story from the previous run which is nice. I didn’t want another new origin story or anything of that nature with this run, but I get the title change. The last one was a way for them to introduce the new name so that they could drop the Spider-Gwen moniker even though that will be hard for me, but now she is just Ghost-Spider with a pendent that allows her to travel between dimensions. The artwork is definitely a little different than the Robbi Rodriguez days of that amazing first run, but it’s definitely enjoyable. Takeshi Miyazawa gives it more of a traditional comic book feel which I definitely enjoy as well. The action scenes when they happen are pretty cool as they fight a giant rat which is kind of random and they just leave him there tied up in webs and I am hoping that someone will take care of it. They definitely leave you on a cliffhanger as they kind of reveal someone who has the potential to be the next villain for Ghost-Spider so we will see where that takes us. If you love Ghost-Spider, Spider-Gwen, Gwen Stacy or whatever you want to call her then check this one out. Check out my grades below:
For one whole entire year, there have been events that have been put in place that have been setting up this very moment as it all started with Venom and the introduction to the God of the Symbiotes known as Knull. Then you add in the events that happened in The Amazing Spider-Man series when the world was introduced to The Red Goblin which was Norman Osborn with the Carnage Symbiote and you mix all together and it brings you Marvel’s latest venture Absolute Carnage #1 which was written by Donny Cates (Venom) and illustrated by Ryan Stegman (Venom). Eddie has been separated from his symbiote for a while now and he has found out that he has a son, but there’s one problem with that and that is the kid doesn’t realize Eddie is his dad. He think’s that Eddie is his older brother and Eddie is OK with that for now because he wants to protect the kid from the Carnage symbiote. You see the Carnage symbiote is on the loose and he is trying to kill off anyone that he has had a symbiote combined with them and according to Eddie that is a lot of people. After a run in with his old Symbiote, Eddie now has to get some help from Spider-Man himself Peter Parker if they want to stand a chance against Carnage because if he is successful then there is no stopping him.
I am definitely loving the fact that this comic is diving deeper into the world of the symbiotes and the idea (SPOILER ALERT) that if Carnage is able to take all of the codices from the hosts that have worn a symbiote, he’ll not only be the most powerful symbiote, but he’ll be able to wake up Knull from his imprisoned sleep. You see all of the symbiotes rose up and trapped him on what was thought to be the planet of the symbiotes, but it’s really a prison. So that is a big time kudos to Marvel for hiring the man behind the recent run of Venom in Donny Cates to write this one which obviously makes the most sense. Donny has done such an amazing job for Marvel that I don’t think there is a comic out there that he has done that I have not liked. You can definitely sense the fact that he has gone all in when it comes to this series and I appreciate that. Not only is the writing of this comic amazing, but the artwork from Ryan Stegman is absolute superb. I have enjoyed every turn of the page and the amazing detail that has been put in. The imagery is so well done that Carnage definitely looks like someone you do not want to mess with so kudos to Marvel for keeping the team together for this run. I am so excited for what the future issues hold so I am sure you’re going to be seeing more from Marvel on this blog. Check out my grade below and check out this comic where ever you get your comics from.
This was another slow week for me as far as comic book titles were concerned and a lot of the titles I did pick up were titles that I was continuing to read like my choice for today’s comic. Back in early May, I covered the second issue of Symbiote Spider-Man which followed Spider-Man who had this new suit that was actually alien technology because it was a symbiote. In the previous issues, Spider-Man has had some issues with Quentin Beck a.k.a. Mysterio who can’t take the fact that no one respects him for losing to Spider-Man all the time. So, he tries everything, but he continues to fail until he decides that the only way to succeed is to convince Spider-Man’s girlfriend Felicia Hardy a.k.a. The Black Cat to steal a little slice of the suit for him. After showing her the files that the Kingpin kept on her, he blackmails her into to stealing the slice which was pretty easy for her to do considering Peter and her are going through a rough patch. In this month’s issue of Symbiote Spider-Man #4, Felicia hands over the piece of the suit over to Beck and he brings it to the Kingpin’s lab to dissect it, but it’s too strong and out of control and it bonds with him. Meanwhile, all Peter wants to do is meet up with Aunt May for some pancakes to try and smooth things over with her, but Mysterio could prove to be a thorn in his side.
For a very long time, I had kind of lost interest in the web-slinger, but thanks to Tom Holland and his performance in all the Marvel films including the brand new Spider-Man: Far From Home film, he has renewed my interest in it. I have been enjoying the story so far as it keeps building and building in momentum and now it looks like we are about to see an epic battle between Spider-Man and a new and improved Mysterio. I think Peter David has been doing a great job with the story as far as having the main plot and then all these little subplots that appearing now in the story like the relationship between Black Cat and Spider-Man and what is going to happen to their relationship if he finds out? These stories can definitely be some of the best soap operas around and better than what you get on TV. The artwork has been fantastic from Greg Land, I can never complain about the work that this man is doing with the comic and he’s done a terrific job throughout every issue. He hast stayed true to what the comic is to look and feel like it and he has run with it. The panels are easy to follow along with so you shouldn’t have any trouble there. If you haven’t checked out the series yet then I think you should definitely give this one a shot. So, check out the comic and check out my grades below:
I am more than positive that most everyone in the world has seen Avengers: Endgame at least once since the film did make over two billion in just nine days. If not, spoiler alert, you have been warned and do not read any further if you do not want anything spoiled. So, I think it’s pretty safe to say that the next leader of the pack going forward in the MCU is definitely going to be Peter Parker just from what we have seen in the new Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer. With that being said, I have always been a fan of the web slinger and I decided to check out the second issue of Symbiote Spider-Man which once again features writing from Peter David (Captain America) and art from Greg Land (All-New X-Men). In the previous issue, Spider-Man is dealing with a lot on his plate with one of them being his new love interest in Felicia (Black Cat), a new suit that is alien technology that he’s still trying to figure out, and the always annoying Mysterio. In this issue, he tries to track down Mysterio to apologize to him for his actions, but Mysterio has some serious muscle up his sleeve waiting as Mysterio hires a new threat because he’s sick of losing and being the laughing stock of villains. Will Mysterio succeed or did he bite off more than he can chew. For more on the comic book and anything else Marvel related, just click 
One of the things I enjoyed about this comic is the fact that it’s exploring what happened right after Secret Wars and we are getting to see what this suit can really do. I kind of like how Mysterio starts off the series kind of cocky in that he thinks he has a plan, but as things begin to fall apart, he realizes that maybe everyone was right about him and that he is way over his head. I’m hoping that in the next issue, we get to explore the Black Cat/Spider-Man dynamic a little more because that will be an interesting tale to say the least. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that because I’m sure Peter David will deliver as he always has. At first, I thought the artwork was going to be the old school Secret Wars look which I would have been OK with, but then as you turn the pages you see Greg Land’s amazing work on every single page. The detail in the comic is incredible and it definitely almost pops off of the page which I definitely enjoyed. The panels are easy to follow along with and pretty direct so you shouldn’t have a problem there and the comic is great. I definitely suggest giving this one a look especially if you’re a Spider-Man fan and in the meantime check out my grades below:
This is not a joke, I repeat this is not a joke. You do not have to pinch yourself or tell yourself that it’s all a dream because the one and only Spider-Man is here. If you have not see the new trailer for Captain America: Civil War then you did not see the appearance of Spider-Man and what team he is on. We knew that Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Falcon, The Winter Soldier, and Ant-Man were team Captain America while Vision, Black Widow, War Machine, and Black Panther were team Iron Man, but what team was Spider-Man going to be on? Well by the looks of the picture above, I think it’s safe to say that he is Team Iron Man as well. Check out the trailer below:
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