This run was first brought to my attention shortly after Chasing Amazing launched and a friend of mine e-mailed me to tell me that some of his favorite Spider-Man comics were the ones that Millar had written in the early/mid-2000s. Since I had long associated Millar with the Ultimate line of Marvel books, I had just assumed that this particular series was an off-shoot of Ultimate Spider-Man. After doing a little more digging around, I realized that MKS was in fact part of the 616 continuity I claimed to know and love so much.

In my defense, looking back, it was very easy for me to miss this series. I had only started subscribing to Amazing Spider-Man in 2004 and I was still taking a bit of a toe in the water approach to my comic book collection. After feeling myself get overwhelmed and disgusted with Spider-Man and the comic book industry in general in the 1990s, I wasn’t about to dive into too many series right away. Additionally, I had just started my first job out of college in 2003 – a job that saw me commute from Long Island to the Connecticut/New York state border every day, so my time was very limited to seek out comics that weren’t being delivered directly to my doorstep.

From there I had meant to pick up a collected edition of the arc – which to be accurate is three different storylines, “Down Among the Dead,” “Venomous” and “The Last Stand,” that are all connected by the common thread of Peter’s Aunt May being kidnapped by someone who knows his secret identity. When I saw Millar’s run placed on the Top 50 Spider-Man stories of all-time list compiled by the readers of the Comics Should Be Good blog last year, I knew that this blind spot had reached a critical juncture.

So, I FINALLY got to reading it, and what are my thoughts? Well, to be honest, I think it’s good … but not great.

What a cop-out, right?

Here’s the thing, Millar crafts a very memorable story and Terry Dodson’s art is really quite good, but given everything they had to work with, it would have been a bigger disappointment if they didn’t deliver something worthwhile. Millar gets the keys to a brand-new Spider-Man title where he uses nearly every single one of Spider-Man’s greatest villains (Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Venom, Vulture, Electro, Lizard, Sandman and Scorpion to name a few), has 12 issues worth of storyline development and exposition for the major conflict (Aunt May’s disappearance), and even has the green light to call back to one of comic’s most famous moments ever (the death of Gwen Stacy). MKS is the comic book equivalent of a famous movie director getting unlimited funds, time and A-list actors to make a film and then congratulating him for a $100 million opening weekend (in other words, The Dark Knight Rises). The bigger deal would have been if MKS was a flop, not a success.

And that’s not to say there aren’t things about this storyline I didn’t genuinely like. In the ever-swinging pendulum of “who’s the greatest Spider-Man villain,” Millar seems firmly entrenched in the Osborn/Goblin camp, and as a result, we get some of the best interplay between Spidey and Norman I think we’ve ever seen in a Spider-Man comic. While we’ve seen Osborn torment Spider-Man a dozen different ways over the years, we very rarely see them talk to each other like rational human beings. The stuff where Peter first arrives at Norman’s cell to talk to him about Aunt May’s disappearance, has an eerie calm reminiscent of Hannibal Lecter and Clarice in Silence of the Lambs.

The Venom mini-arc is an interesting twist on the character and shows a natural progression for Eddie Brock, who has been so physically damaged by the symbiote, he has no choice but to auction it off to the highest evil bidder. The only problem is the suit finds its way into the hands of career B-lister Gargan, who may have been one of the least interesting choices Millar could have went with. Then again, Millar and Marvel were clearly trying to breathe new life into an otherwise listless Silver Age creation, so I got to give them some points for effort.

Millar even gets to play with top shelf Spider-Man supporting cast talent, using the Black Cat extensively throughout the arc, and even giving her a great moment where she saves Spider-Man from being dropped to his death by the Vulture. The Cat is always a welcome addition to a Spider-Man comic, though I’ve always preferred the pairing of her and Spider-Man when there’s real sexual tension between them. In the MKS #12, this tension is acknowledged, but mostly as unrequited love from Felicia to Peter (who’s very clearly in love with Mary Jane and happily married), and not until the very end of the storyline.

While the “I need money for a sick family member” motivation for a villain is a bit of a cliché, I really do appreciate the new backstory Millar hands to the Vulture in this series – a character that has been so critically under-used in the modern age of comics (unless you’re Roger Stern) that I’m saddened by the fact that there are so many newer Spider-Man fans out there who will never truly appreciate his history and role in Spidey’s rogues gallery. Even when he is fully-powered, there is always something a little oft-putting about seeing Spider-Man battle a geriatric. Millar creates well-earned sympathy for Vulture with this “C” story in the arc. Especially when Spidey himself is kicking himself for not being more understanding to the villain’s personal struggle.

But where there are positives, there are also a number of negatives, even beyond some of the nitpicky things I mentioned earlier. Osborn’s creation of the “Sinister Twelve” really smacks of a “these go to 11” moment for me. Millar is already juggling Osborn, Vulture, Electro, Venom and Scorpion in this arc, so watching him then introduce a supervillain stable with nearly half of the participants not even all that super (Boomerang? Tombstone?) is excessive.

On a similar note, in MKS’s final chapter, Peter gets to relive his second greatest failure in life (after the death of Uncle Ben) when Mary Jane is thrown off the George Washington Bridge by Osborn (who also answers a long-standing continuity issue from Amazing Spider-Man #121 about which bridge Gwen was tossed from, Brooklyn or GW. Osborn says here that he has a different bridge). The scenario would have been more emotionally powerful if JM DeMatteis didn’t do the same thing with Harry Osborn’s Goblin and MJ in Spectacular Spider-Man #200. In that story, the Gwen Stacy reprise tells a better story, where in MKS, it just comes across as yet another obstacle for Peter/Spider-Man to deal with. I’m all for turning the screws of conflict as much as you can, but I just feel like Millar piles on much more than necessary in the series’ third act.

Overall, I just had a hard time fully embracing the tone of Millar’s run. Given that this is his first full run on a Spider-Man 616 title, I can’t move past the idea that there’s some level of unfamiliarity from him. Maybe it’s all in my head, but the series is just filled with little details in the dialogue and action that feel “off”.” I think MKS is a great case study in what happens when you marry a star writer with an iconic brand like Spider-Man. The same could probably be said about some of Grant Morrison’s work on Superman and Batman. It’s not that Millar isn’t true to the character, as much as it’s very clear he’s still trying to put his own unique spin on Spider-Man. Millar’s Spidey is angrier and seemingly less reflective. His interaction with The Avengers in MKS #2 is really out-of-whack and confrontational (literally). He takes pleasure in his high school bullies ogling at his wife. I know that Millar is trying to paint Spider-Man with more “serious” brushstrokes per the MK brand, which I’m normally more of a fan of than the “he’s the court jester” approach, but MKS just veers in a direction that I’m not always comfortable with.

Still, Millar’s work on MKS is enjoyable. I just think the flaws I pointed out, in addition to just my own instincts about the series, prevents it from joining my personal top “pantheon” of arcs. In MKS, Millar has laid a physical minefield for Peter to contend with, filled with past and present villains and unlikely villains. But I can’t say the arc tells me much about Peter himself.  I tend to naturally gravitate to stories that look more at Spider-Man/Peter the human being, and how his personal demons tend to serve as obstacles all on their own, often making the combined might of his adversaries almost superfluous to the central conflict.

This laser-focused approach has its advantages. As you should note from my “remaining chase” page, I’m only five issues away from having the entire 700 issue run of ASM – a feat that I probably would not have been able to accomplish if I was also chasing down issues of Spectacular, Web of, Marvel Knights, etc. to complete a collection. I’m not a wealthy man, and I don’t/never had the time to get to a comic book store every week for the latest Spider-Man title. So focusing on ASM has kept my goals streamlined and easier to achieve.

Of course, this approach has its disadvantages – mainly the formation of what I call my Spider-Man “blind spots.” While I think it’s a universally accepted truth that the majority of the all-time best Spider-Man arcs occurred within the pages of ASM, there are dozens of highly-regarded stories that appeared in the Web Slinger’s “B” titles. Also, the “B” titles have had a host of great writers and artists over the years (Roger Stern, JM DeMatteis, Peter David, Mark Millar, Frank Miller, Sal Buscema etc.) that are a draws all by themselves.

That’s not to say I’ve NEVER read another Spider-Man series beyond ASM, but I have mostly neglected them. I honestly never bothered to seek out copies of stories that were released in the years before I was a reader, and there were also a number of stories I read once and only once as a teenager (and this was mostly in the “bleh” Clone Saga era). When I was older and became a regular subscriber to ASM, I considered my work done in the purchasing department – so much so that I embarrassed myself a bit when I did a post about Avenging Spider-Man two years ago and called it the first new Spidey-centric title since I was a kid (forgetting some short-lived series like Marvel Knights, Friendly Neighborhood, Sensational, etc.).

What I like to do know is resolve and remove these blind spots from my appreciation of Spider-Man. Through the power of collected editions and the Marvel U app, I’m able to read these stories for either the first time ever, or the first time as an adult, and get a much better sense as to how they connect with the rest of the Spider-Man universe. I’d like to think that the content of Chasing Amazing was strong without me confessing these reader sins to you all, but all the same, starting tomorrow, and at irregular intervals from here on out, I’m going to do posts dubbed “Blind Spots” that look at some famous and infamous arcs that were featured primarily in the “B” titles over the years. I hope you like them and not think less of me as I unveil these!

One of the most controversial aspects of the arc is its ending – or more accurately, Kraven the Hunter’s ending, since it actually occurs in the fifth chapter (Amazing Spider-Man #294). After Spider-Man emerges from his grave plot vowing vengeance on Kraven for burying him alive for two weeks, Kraven is resigned to let Spidey punish him and ultimately promises that he had just went on his last hunt. When Spider-Man then takes off to deal with the Vermin, who is loose on the streets of Manhattan, a very self-satisfied Kraven lies in a coffin with a rifle and kills himself, thus being good on his word.

Some have concluded that the arc glorifies suicide as a means to the end. Kraven had accomplished all that he wanted to and life and rather than hang around and be subjected to future failures and disappointments, he ends it in all in the click of a trigger. This theory was so pervasive, a few years later, Marvel released a DeMatteis /Zeck sequel to KLH, “Soul of the Hunter,” which featured Kraven’s ghost seeking absolution for what he did to Spider-Man and himself. The story was mostly panned by readers for the way it tapdanced around the dark subject matter in KLH.

For me, I don’t think KLH glorifies suicide as much as it uses it as a device when the events leading up to Kraven’s last moment are compared to Spider-Man’s journey from six feet under back to the land of the living.

We’ve seen Spider-Man/Peter Parker overcome great odds before, whether it be him lifting tons of steel over his head to save his Aunt May, or him using his quick wits to take down the unstoppable Juggernaut. But in the case of KLH’s fourth chapter, Web of Spider-Man #32, Peter’s plight is considerably different than those earlier experiences. In those other cases, Peter mostly had to overcome external forces to survive/be victorious, while in KLH, his battle was more internal. Not only was Peter trying to dig himself out of the grave, but he also had to accept that there was still life above ground worth living. In probably the most powerful sequence in Web of #32, Peter inches closer and closer to the surface, where he uses his love for Mary Jane to pull himself above ground.

I found this choice by DeMatteis to be significant, because it wasn’t as if MJ was in any kind of real danger with Peter being “dead.” Heartbroken and devastated, I’m sure, but it wasn’t like Kraven was out there in a black Spider-Man suit hunting down Peter’s family.  Or like in the case of Aunt May during “If This Be My Destiny,” she didn’t need Peter to pull through to survive and illness and disease. Instead, Peter uses Mary Jane as inspiration to be reborn because he wants to carry on with their life together, even if he’s now been emotionally scarred by this experience.

It speaks to Peter’s inability to ever truly be content with his accomplishments. I’ve said before that he is his own harshest critic. And a lesser man, or a more content one, would have probably been resigned to stay buried in the Earth, since he had already accomplished so much as a hero. But Peter isn’t afraid of death, as much as he feels he still has so much to prove – to himself and others. Peter has no problem dying if it comes at the hands of a great sacrifice for a loved one. What he never wants to do is die in vain.

By the same philosophy, in chapter five, Kraven has reached a point of contentment. He too, no longer fears death, because he’s accomplished what he set out to for his life. He is, at the very core, a hunter, and he was able to successful hunt, capture and “kill” Spider-Man, even if it was just temporarily, and then put on his mask and BE Spider-Man for two weeks, living out the life of a hero. There was no guilt from a dead Uncle Ben hanging over Kraven, or the love of another person internally persuading him to choose life over death. He reached, in his mind, a natural point of expiration, and chose to take it into his own hands, rather than let things play out in a way that could then hypothetically neutralize or destroy his state of contentment.

The “in his mind” component of my last statement is key. During a recent mini-back-and-forth on Twitter, I asked DeMatteis if he felt Kraven truly reached “superiority” during the arc and he told me that yes, “in his mind,” but as he DeMatteis was writing it, HE never thought that was the case for his character. With that distinction in mind, from my vantage, Kraven’s suicide wasn’t glorified by this story. It does however show how our own personal demons and salvations can sometimes impact our wills to live in diverging ways.

When I started this site, I dedicated myself to maintain a laser-focus on the Amazing Spider-Man series of comics, since those were the ones I exclusively “collected.” And because Kraven’s Last Hunt jumps across multiple Spider-Man series (ASM, Spectacular and Web of) I never felt like I had the proper footing to tackle these issues in a way that was meaningful to my blog and its mission. Additionally, I guess there’s a part of me that’s always resented the fact that Kraven’s Last Hunt was one of the first Spidey storylines to crossover through so many titles. Because of this model, comic book buying eventually became cumbersome and expensive for me as a teenager – especially during the overstuffed “Clone Saga.” Having to buy four or five different Spider-Man titles every  month just to keep up with what was going on as things moved from “Smoke and Mirrors,” to “the Trial of Peter Parker,” and so on, was one of the main things that drove me reading and collecting for a while (that and the fact the stories stunk!).

But I know that blaming such an iconic storyline for the industry’s sins in the 90s is a bit of a reach, and through the power of the Marvel U app on my iPad, I was recently able to re-read this arc without having to comb through multiple short and longboxes in my home to find the appropriate issues. And after reading it again, I realized very quickly than the story shares a lot of similarities and themes with current Spider-Man comics. So what better time than RIGHT NOW, to FINALLY talk about Kraven’s Last Hunt on Chasing Amazing?

I’m fairly certain I’m not the first person to point this out since the new Superior status quo kicked off in January, but after re-reading Kraven’s Last Hunt, I was a bit surprised to see just how many of JM DeMatteis’ ideas were adapted by current Spidey scribe Dan Slott for Superior Spider-Man. If you’re unfamiliar with the arc (first published in 1987), Kraven the Hunter finally succeeds in “beating” Spider-Man by drugging him and burying him alive, and then goes on to don Spidey’s suit and roam the city fighting crime (in much more violent fashion) as Spider-Man. Throughout the first few issues of the arc, Kraven is desperately searching himself to discover what it is to be Spider-Man. In Spectacular Spider-Man #131, Kraven goes so far as to call himself Spider-Man’s “superior.”

That scene, coupled with the events of Superior Spider-Man got me thinking about this whole idea of superiority. With both Kraven the Hunter and Doc Ock, it wasn’t enough for the two villains to kill Peter Parker/Spider-Man to prove their superiority. Instead, they both insisted on becoming Spider-Man in order to become his superior.  What is it about the Spider-Man character that inspires such a passionate response from his adversaries?

Not to always use this idea as a cop out, but I think it all boils down to Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s humanity. Peter, as Spider-Man, is one of the most flawed heroes in the Marvel universe. While there are other heroes like Iron Man, the Hulk or Hawkeye, who suffer from personality defects or personal demons that make them far from perfect individuals, Spider-Man comes across as flawed in a different way. Everything about his existence is accidental – from being bitten by a radioactive spider, to really only entering the life of a superhero because of his own guilt about the death of his Uncle Ben. Of all of the Marvel heroes, Spider-Man still feels like an unfinished product – an individual who is still learning on the job and making mistakes that endanger himself, and loved ones.

Kraven the Hunter never knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, and seems uninterested in learning. But he’s still haunted by the fact that throughout his entire career as the best big game hunter out there, he’s never been able to bag the Spider-Man. Despite all of Spider-Man’s flaws, someone who considers himself to be the best at something like Kraven can’t overcome him.  And I think a big reason why that has continually been the case for Kraven is that he has always underestimated Spider-Man. He doesn’t understand the pain and suffering that has helped shape Peter until he himself is ready to assume his position in the superhero universe.

DeMatteis makes it fairly clear why Kraven must defeat Spider-Man: to satisfy his own ego and desire to finally succeed against his bitter rival. At one point in Spectacular #131 he even says it’s about restoring his honor. He starts by beating on a gang of petty thugs, but is still unsatisfied. He decides to succeed where Spider-Man has otherwise failed, by single-handedly taking on the rat-like Vermin on his own turf in the sewers and beating him into submission. It’s not until Kraven has successfully passed that “test,” that he considers his transformation complete. But while Kraven’s descent into “becoming the spider” is absolutely fascinating and an incredibly cerebral show to experience, I’m still unconvinced that Kraven has actually achieved “superiority” in this arc.

With Doc Ock, the quest for superiority feels more linear and logical. Stripped of their superpowers, Otto Octavius and Peter Parker are almost mirror images of each other – both brilliant outcasts who have been scorned by their peers. But because of love, Peter has chosen the life of a hero, while Otto has been the villain. But when presented the opportunity to not only be a hero, but become a better hero, Otto jumps at that chance. He sets about being Spider-Man in a different way, but still in the name of power and responsibility. He will physically cross the line because he believes whatever that can be done for the greater good, must be accomplished by any means necessary. And by putting villains like the Vulture or Massacre out of business (or dead), he is directly saving more innocents that Spider-Man would have by showing restraint. Otto is achieving superiority.

More than anything else, I think Kraven Last Hunt’s greatest legacy is how it elevated Kraven the Hunter from an almost frivolous member of the rogue’s gallery, into a full-fledge Spider-Man A-lister. When I go back and read the earlier Kraven stories, while he might have had some marginal success against Spider-Man, the stakes never felt very high when he was in a comic. In the Silver Age, it was Doc Ock, Goblin, Vulture and Mysterio who were the true A-listers. Kraven was the Tarzan wannabe.

DeMatties proves in this story that any character can become a superstar if given proper attention, care, and of course, development. There was never such an effort to get inside a villain’s head before in a Spider-Man comic, and DeMatteis does it with flawless execution. But that doesn’t mean I still don’t question Kraven’s claims to superiority.

Next week, I tackle Kraven’s unfortunate “end” in this arc

I’m guesting again today at one of my favorite comic book blogs out there, Longbox Graveyard. But rather than being Spidey-centric, this time around I’m tackling the big mother of all Marvel events, the action-figure inspired Secret Wars saga of 1984-85. Secret Wars was one of the first comic books I ever read – yes even before I started reading/collecting every issue of Amazing Spider-Man. It defined my understanding of the Marvel universe, for better or worse in some instances, and made me a lifelong fan of the “House of Ideas.” While I understand that some may think very poorly of Secret Wars, read me argue about its merits at Longbox Graveyard!

In Episode 2, Dan Gvodzen and myself talk about the game-changing Superior Spider-Man #9 and where the series goes from here. We also talk about the return of Spider-Man 2099 later this year, and revisit the “Mr. Parker Goes to Washington” arc involving Tony Stark/Iron Man, which was the hot topic on Chasing Amazing last week.

We hope you enjoy the show, and please, if you can, rate us and leave a comment on iTunes. We’ll read your feedback on the air. If you have any questions, theories, or anything you want us to discuss on Superior Spider-Talk, e-mail us at superiorspidertalk at gmail dot com.

I’ve honestly given up trying to figure out why there is a segment of the Spider-Man fan base so unhappy with the new status quo brought on by the Superior era. I’ve run out of things to say to people who dwell on the fact that the man wearing the Spider-Man mask isn’t Peter Parker – or at least “normal” Peter Parker. I argue  that the story of Superior is unquestionably a story about a Peter: Not only is it a tale of the character facing perhaps his greatest adversity yet, but the Superior concept also serves as an entire referendum on what it actually means to be Spider-Man.

At this rate, you’re either along for the ride, or you’re taking the ostrich approach to this series and Slott’s writing. And you’re obviously entitled to either. But for those who have been open-minded about this risky new concept being undertaken, who think there’s more to Superior’s status quo than just shock value and desperation marketing, I think you probably share in my opinion of adoration for Superior Spider-Man #9.

The battle between Peter and Doc Ock within Peter’s mindscape goes down as one of the most epic confrontations in the character’s history. In this fight for control – this fight to determine who is the “true” Spider-Man – every page is filled with high stakes and desperation. Ryan Stegman illustrates the finest looking issue of Superior to date, and one of the most visually stunning Spidey comics in recent memory. Over the past few years, we’ve had other instances of visiting Peter’s memories/mindscape, whether it be the chilling sequence from 2011’s “No One Dies” after the death of Marla Jameson, to the heartbreaking “one last fight” scene in Amazing Spider-Man #700. But Stegman’s dreamscape in Superior #9 is more nightmare than nostalgia. The specter of Otto Octavius looms everywhere, while the pages are filled with darkness and despair. Slott and Stegman craft an issue where it’s abundantly clear that this showdown is Peter’s very last shot (for now, of course).

I loved the game of one-upmanship between Peter and Otto. How the story progressed from Peter’s friends and family, to his rogue’s gallery, to Spider-Man vs. to Doc Ock, to Amazing Spider-Man vs. Superior Spider-Man.  In many ways, this was the career retrospection that ASM #700 probably should have been, and the more time I have to think about the issue, the more I believe Superior #9 was the special centennial issue Slott wanted all along.

One of the major points of contention I’ve read/heard from fans is that the story’s stunning conclusion was not “in character” for Peter. Balderdash. When has Peter ever been in a situation like this before – his greatest nemesis stealing his body and masquerading around New York as Spider-Man? Yes, “with great power, comes great responsibility,” but I absolutely accept that Peter would have a moment of weakness born from self-preservation in Superior #8 and try to prevent Spider Ock from performing surgery on the dying child. Yes, there would have been blood on Peter’s hands if that was the case, but how much blood would he spare if he was able to successfully wrestle control of his body back from the tenacious clutches of a known sociopath?

Peter Parker’s life as the hero Spider-Man has long been defined by one mistake, one lapse in judgment. And yet, I’ve never been under the impression that the character still isn’t trying to learn from this mistake, all while making new ones that he must also learn from. That’s a big reason why I don’t accept the “out of character” argument for Superior #9’s ending. This character, like a real person, is still evolving and adapting. He hasn’t achieved flawlessness. If he did, I would become bored with the character, and so would probably most of you.

Something that Dan Slott has done very subtlety since the start of the “Big Time” arc is to portray a Peter Parker/Spider-Man who may be losing a bit of his self. Peter’s personal successes – the job at Horizon, the relationship with Carlie – have built the character up, but at a cost. The character has constantly sought validation from the public and his peers, and felt slighted when he hasn’t, even during some of his finest hours. Doc Ock’s slam of Peter just wanting to be the “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” is a direct criticism of the character’s digression.

Peter’s “no one dies” mantra was one filled with delusion. It’s a black and white declaration that doesn’t accept the shades that color the Marvel universe. Peter started making more and more mistakes because of this mantra, mistakes that left him vulnerable and empowered his enemies. This fall from grace has actually been well telegraphed.

What I found the most stirring about the final confrontation between Peter and Otto was how Doc Ock was able to finally subdue Parker. It wasn’t via feats of strength, but by demoralizing him and capitalizing on the character’s long-standing guilt and insecurity. Otto exposed that Peter has lost track of who he really is – both in the Superior arc, and in the issues of ASM that preceded this story. So when Peter forgets his Uncle Ben – when he forgets his own name and mutters Peter Palmer in a nod to one of the biggest editing blunders in comics history (when Stan Lee actually called his own character by the wrong name in ASM #1), the moment feels earned. Depressing, but earned. We’ve seen this character buried under rubble in the final chapter of the “If this be my destiny” arc. Now, the character is buried under his own guilt and lack of identity. This is truly rock bottom for Peter.

And that’s to say that I, without question, still believe Peter will be back. For those who think the character is dead for good this time, I have a bridge to sell you. I have no idea exactly HOW Peter will return – and that’s what’s going to make these next however many issues of Superior all the more exciting to read – but all I can say is that actions have consequences. Otto Octavius, a man of unquestioned brilliance, has effectively erased certain sections of his brain chemistry. I find it impossible to believe that these actions will not have consequences.

Meanwhile, what we’re left with going forward is a comic book that can go in a number of different directions – starring a totally unknown version of the character. Who is the Superior Spider-Man? Will this be Doc Ock redeeming himself as a hero? Will this mark the return of the dastardly Master Planner? Will the character be something else entirely different? I have no idea. But I have full confidence that Slott does. This is a writer who continues to build on everything he’s done prior to this. I can’t disrespect someone who is this precise and intricate with his writing. All I can do is trust them and let them tell their story. Some of my favorite moments as a reader have come out of total surrender.

But back to Avenging #19, which is far and away the most unique issue since Chris Yost took over as full-time writer and probably the most conceptually different since the series launched in 2011. In what is most definitely a case of not judging a solicitation by its cover, I was pleasantly shocked by how engaged I was by this comic book after seeing months ago, the featured team-up star was a gimmicky outcast from the 90s-era of bad comics named Sleepwalker (who is also, reportedly, a blatant rip-off of the main character from the only comic book series I can get my wife to read, Nail Gaiman’s Sandman).

When the Superior era in Avenging was gearing up last winter, I fully expected the series to focus on long-standing heroes who have had prior dealings with Spider-Man so that the quirks and deficiencies of Spider Ock would be more easily exposed to the Marvel Universe. That’s exactly what we got with the first few issues of the Superior Avenging era when the guest stars were the X-Men, the Future Foundation and Thor. Sleepwalker definitely didn’t belong in this group, but as the overall Superior story marched onward in both Superior Spider-Man and Avenging, the inclusion suddenly made a lot of sense. In fact, even though this comic was technically released between Superior issue #7 and #8, I believe Avenging #19 is the perfect lead-in to the dramatic events of Superior #9.

Having Yost focus on Spider Ock’s dream state is the perfect way to demonstrate just how desperate Otto is to remain Spider-Man. One of the biggest questions I had during the “Dying Wish” arc last year was WHY did Otto want to be Spider-Man so badly? Was it strictly for redemptive reasons? Was it just to screw with the life of his greatest adversary? Or was there something more?

Otto’s unconscious (minor tangent: I hate the word subconscious because that’s not what we’re actually talking about most of the time when we talk about “subconscious” thoughts. It’s the dream state, which is the unconscious) reveals the “more.” While I initially wanted to roll my eyes a bit when the fear worm attacking Otto was bringing up his abusive dad again – I just think Marvel can give us more than just a standard “I was abused as a kid” tale to explain away all of Otto’s sociopathic tendencies – Yost does put the device to good use. Earlier in the story, Otto reveals that he’s superior to his father in every way, and yet he’s only able to emotionally overcome him and the fear worm when he realizes that as Superior Spider-Man he no longer has to physically cower in fear from the man.

And this works on two levels: Otto is now physically stronger/more powerful than his father as Spider-Man, but also he’s evolving into a better person because of the many heroic acts he’s accomplished as Spider-Man (even if Peter Parker doesn’t agree with Otto’s methods). It makes the whole issue of “why” Otto must stay on as Spider-Man make more sense. Not only does being Spider-Man physically empower him to face his past fears, but by spiritually redeeming him via acts of heroism, he’s also empowering his soul. Without the body of Spider-Man, not only does Otto die as Doctor Octopus, but he dies as a major cancer on society.

These complex emotions are well conveyed via the artwork of Marco Checchetto. While Checchetto is clearly drawing inspiration from Christopher Nolan’s Inception, with all of the askew/triangulated panels of Otto’s mindscape, this is a case where the artwork really advances the story in a meaningful way. The issue reads as almost organized chaos, with real and unreal characters jumping in and out in random frames – again, very much like in Inception.

Avenging Spider-Man #19 is just another in the growing line of examples as to why I’ve really embraced the Superior era of Spider-Man comics as both a reader and a long-time fan of Spidey. I will probably end up repeating myself tomorrow when I talk about Superior #9, but as much as Peter Parker’s character and humble humanity was one of the primary factors in having me fall in love with the Spider-Man character as a kid, I also really appreciate and respect Marvel’s right to tell new kinds of stories using Spidey. At the core, these comics still celebrate the essence of Peter, but it’s being done through a new lens, and the result are stories that are just completely different visually and story-wise than anything I’ve ever seen from the character before. As much as I love Peter, the character has reached a point of stasis where I think it’s very difficult to cover any new and exciting ground without taking a bit of a step back. While a segment of the fan base continues to bemoan the direction of the franchise, by going in this direction, I remain confident that Peter will one day be back, and when he is, he will find an entirely new spin on his universe, that maybe we’ve all just grown a little too comfortable with for the past 50 years.

Almost anybody who says they’re a writer will tell you that they are also avid readers. I’ve always believed that they go together – you can’t be a good writer unless you spend a chunk of your free time reading other people’s writing.

I’m most certainly an avid reader. As a kid, I loved books by authors like Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume and E.B. White, but my tastes weren’t discriminating. My mom still tells me to this day that I’d be running late in the mornings before school because I was reading the back of a cereal box or an advertisement insert in a newspaper.

And naturally, I read comic books. While Amazing Spider-Man, or any Spider-Man title really, were my favorites, I read them all. In the basement of my childhood home I kept all of my comics inside of an empty box that had been used to hold a case of wine. That box was so overfilled with comics I had read, or was planning on reading, I had to hold it from the bottom to keep the cardboard from collapsing. That box of comics functioned as my first-ever bookshelf in some ways.

Tomorrow, across the country, comic book stores will be hosting “Free Comic Book Day.” Now in it’s 10^th year, “Free Comic Book Day” is fairly self-explanatory – walk into a participating store and walk out with a free comic book. The goal of the day is for the comic book publishers to promote their core titles, while introducing new (younger) fans to the art form of comics. Over at the web site promoting the event, a short video talks about how these free comics can help encourage children to read. While the cynic in me might want to think getting kids to buy more comics in the future is paramount to getting them to just read them, I’m going resist being cranky this one time and instead latch onto the theme of why reading comics is a healthy thing for kids (and adults) to do.

Of course, many people see comics and they think cartoons, which despite the intellect of such animated television shows like The Simpsons, or any Pixar movie from the past decade, still have a stigma of being too childish. I respectfully disagree. While there are certainly scores of comics that feature juvenile, or worse, hyper-violent imagery, there is also a lot of fantastic writing to be found in these comics. Just right now, Superman is in the mainstream news for a politically charged issue of Action Comics #900 where the Man of Steel renounces his U.S. Citizenship because he doesn’t want his actions to be misconstrued as being supportive of U.S. foreign policy. Regardless of which side of the political aisle you’re on, that’s some heavy-duty stuff right there.

As a child, one series that I liked to read cover-to-cover was the Marvel Universe Handbook series.  Released as a series of comic books in the 1980s, together they formed an encyclopedia of the Marvel universe, containing background about a character’s origin, powers, primary adversaries, etc. While I would read my Spider-Man comics to learn about his current comings-and-goings, these handbook entries helped me learn more thoroughly about the Marvel universe.  It’s through these handbooks I learned a lot about some of Spidey’s greatest supporting characters whose stories were told years before I was born like Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacy and Green Goblin. And these handbooks really did read like a textbook – with very officious, essentially analytical writing. But because it covered a subject matter I was highly interested in, it hardly mattered that I was also stimulating my imagination and picking up some high school level vocabulary words at the same time.

These handbooks helped me understand that the world of comic books was also a literary one. The pretty pictures and drawings drew me in, but the stories and the characters got me hooked. And the stories and characters were as enthralling as anything I could read in a more traditional book. In Spider-Man I learned about coping with loss and accepting the consequences of your actions. The struggles of the mutants in X-Men could easily be interpreted as a tale of civil rights. The Hulk was a modern-day Jekyll and Hyde, demonstrating the monsters that are inside of all of us.

Many years ago, when I still believed you had to “give something up” as a personal sacrifice during Lent, per my parents’ request, I gave up reading comics. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, and to be honest, despite what I told my mom and dad, I was unsuccessful. I loved to read, so why would I give up doing something I was so passionate about? It seemed to go against the “spirit” of Lent. But I’m pretty sure my parents wanted me to do it because they viewed comics as a childish waste of time.

Of course it’s important to read books too: and newspapers and magazines. Just read because it makes you a smarter person. Trust me. But there’s no reason why comics can’t also be a part of that repertoire. If you’re not a collector, you can still catch up on most classic comic stories through trade paperbacks and collected editions like Marvel Essentials. Just recently, I was able to get the entire Marvel Universe Handbook through the Essentials series, bringing back some old memories of my 7-year-old self flipping through the biographies and illustrations while lying on my race car bed.

For me, reading was my gateway to collecting. Without the incentive to read all of those stories about Spider-Man, I would have never have had that drive to start preserving these stories for long-term prosperity. I’m the same way with books – if I love one, it stays on my shelf for eternity. My plan is to pass these lovingly-read treasures down to future generations.

So, go to your local comic book store tomorrow and pick up a free comic – and read it. That’s the point. If you got kids, bring them, and encourage them to read their free comics. If you’re anything like me, these freebies will open up a gateway of entertainment that will be enriching for years to come.