The new wireless router that was supposed to be plug and play? It’s not so far (yea, I know blame the operator, I do.) Took the latest issue of Spidey into the bathroom, dropped it into the toilet fortunately at a point where it was still OK to retrieve it. (Yea, too much information and blame the operator, again) But I’m not letting these small snags get me down and I have a new bevy of quotes to entertain me (and hopefully you).
The one theme I focused upon was reaction to Flash Thompson’s story in Amazing Spider-Man 574 (and strangely enough, so many folks were caught up in the final reveal, few commented on the revelation of how Flash got his nickname…) Before following any of the Spidey-related quotes, be aware many are in reviews that give the whole story away. Don’t follow the quote sources if you intend to read the issue.
Amazing Spider-Man 574
“This could just be me being me, but this story was sad and hopeful at the same time and it just felt right frame after frame, all of which leads to a bit of a shocker ending for Mr. Thompson.”
- Mike Rapin
“God bless Marvel for trying to do a good thing. But I wish they’d think these things through a tad more.”
- Mart
“This is a sort of contrived seeming one-off about Flash Thompson who was injured while being heroic in combat, and is being considered for a military honor. Regardless of what I said a sentence or two ago, I thought this was a well done story.”
- Rob
“Is this genuinely touching in the way it’s obviously meant to be, or does it come off as crass and exploitive, at least in the context of a comic book about a man in blue and red tights who fights crime?”
- Tim O’Neil
“In the case of Flash, we see that such hero worship is just a small part of what makes up a surprisingly complex character.”
- René Guzman
“What this is is a piece of pro-military (I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the US Army approved it) propaganda with an at-best-tenuous connection to Spider-Man (in that it’s about Flash Thompson, and features the odd flashback to desperately inappropriate “parallel” moments in Spidey’s life).”
- Seb Patrick
“It’s rare for a book to get such a soldiers eye view of war, and get across the sense of brotherhood, duty, and honor that our men and women of the armed services serve with.”
- Etta
“It’s a strange nationalistic issue, complete filler and a bit guffy about the soldiers in Iraq. It does manage to stay apolitical about the war itself but celebratory about the good ol soldiers. I’m not really sure how to feel about it.”
- Avocado Picker
“The end of this issue will have even the most jaded superhero fan in tears and while also gaining new found respect for Flash Thompson.”
- J. Montes
Other Topics
“Heatley’s work is more formally inventive than Joe Matt or Chester Brown — who are also sexually obsessed, masturbate to porn and draw comics about it.”
- Heidi MacDonald chiming in with just one of the interesting opinions (among many) in the comments section of the latest Comics Comics Cage Match (this round regarding David Heatley’s My Brain is Hanging Upside Down)
“The first rule of the DC Insider Blog is that there is no DC Insider Blog.”
- Valerie D’Orazio in a loop of knowledge that some folks (including myself) are lucky not to be in
“How gruesome is it that the real way Marvel Comics is honoring his memory is by dangling his work as variant covers in a cheap attempt to coerce retailers to order more issues of Hulk #7 than they did for Hulk #1?”
- Alan Elliott questioning Marvel’s intent with its full-page tribute to Michael Turner in Astonishing X-Men #26
October 26th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
“It does manage to stay apolitical about the war itself.”
It does? I think the way the Iraqi’s are drawn as though they are ravenous animals is a little political. While some people felt this story was touching, I felt it was exploitative of all the soldiers who gave up their limbs or lives for Bush’s war.
And I really don’t want to cheer on comic book characters as they gun down other human beings in what is a very political war. To write about the war in Iraq and pretend that it can be apolitical is to fake ignorance.
October 26th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
“The first rule of the DC Insider Blog is that there is no DC Insider Blog.”
- Valerie D’Orazio in a loop of knowledge that some folks (including myself) are lucky not to be in
I think it’s pretty elitist and better-than-thou of everybody who keeps mentioning the DC blog but refuses to explain what the deal is. So people are going to take it upon themselves to keep this piece of info from others for our own sake? Wow, thanks, and when’s the book burning btw?
October 27th, 2008 at 7:33 am
“It’s rare for a book to get such a soldiers eye view of war, and get across the sense of brotherhood, duty, and honor that our men and women of the armed services serve with.”
- Etta
Hi, my name is Etta and I’ve never read any war comics before.
October 27th, 2008 at 11:41 am
I’m always mistrustful of ‘a very special’ anything.