As I was reading some comics last week, I thought about writing a weekly segment on that past week's comic releases. While I still frequent comic shops, it's more for the manga trades. Through my high school, college years, and 20's, I read so many "floppies" (as people in the western comics call most individual paperback comics). Grant Morrison's provocative eccentricities in the world of X-Men created world that I found so relatable. In addition to my vague queer undertones, and being a comic book fan, I'm an autist (in a part of the spectrum that used to diagnostically be called Asperger's Syndrome). Seeing characters go about their everyday life with extra abilities (be at an X-gene, or DC's broader demographic of "metahumans") I could see myself in such a range of characters. There would even be characters like Laura Kinney (X-23) whose traumatic upbringing and underdeveloped social skills were things that I could particularly relate to.
Then, there were G.I. Joe comics. A publisher named Josh Blaylock obtained the licensure to revive the G.I. Joe comics through Image publishing, and eventually through his own company. He made the stories more grounded, involved more character-driven writing, and aged these characters up (given that they had been fighting Cobra since the 1980's). This allowed for new faces to join the ranks. Though some of his stories and characters were retconned (or "disavowed") when IDW started picking up the franchise, some of his characters did get picked up.
Along with the comics that I physically obtain, I've started reading from Marvel and DC's digital streaming services. Once I came up with reporting on these stories on Rock Blogster, I quickly scrambled for any type of note taking tool. First the Samsung Notes app on my phone, but eventually spiral-bound notebook. My strongest instinct was to get a "legal pad", but the closest that my local Target store had were Five Star notebooks. The fact that these are "wide ruled" really gets to me, but these notebooks will suffice.
What I was most drawn to from Marvel's offerings last week were early 1980's issues of Spider-Woman (the series that began in '78). With how many comics both of these publishers have released before their streaming services launched, both are posting old backlogged comics to fill out their libraries. There have been multiple characters who've donned the "Spider-Woman" moniker. My first experience with the Jessica Drew Spider-Woman (from the timeline designated "616") is from an old black & white Uncanny X-Men collection that included the introduction of Rogue. That now iconic August 1981 issue known as Avengers Annual #10 featured Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman saving the lifeless body of Carol Danvers from plummeting into San Francisco Bay. Chris Claremont pointing out the history of suicides in that region displayed a particularly dark and gritty side to the "Golden State". Contrasting from that darkness, Jessica has geometrically themed costume of triangles, diamonds, and a black separation between red and yellow. Webbing between the arms and ribs allowed her to glide.
The books that I started reading began with 1980's Spider-Woman #26. This first run of Spider-Woman comics were mostly written by (or at least scripted by the late Michael Fleisher). Fleisher's writing scandalously known for how excessive violence, hints of some bondage kinks (which in most cases, people shouldn't kink-shame), and how characters spoke of or treated women. To Fleisher's credit, he was fantastic at creating fascinatingly layered characters, cunning plots, and frequent uses of leverage. Jessica Drew is a Los Angeles bounty hunter whose powers including super strength, heightened endurance, heightened speed, heightened senses, heightened reflexes, a wall crawling ability, and immune system that quickly adapts to any toxin, a bioelectric "venom" blast that she can discharge, and some other abilities. With so many powers, I think it's all the more interesting when the writers openly show some of her weaknesses too. One of the first examples that I see is that Jessica can only generate the biolectric energy at a certain rate, so she has to constantly be mindful of how much bioelectric energy she has stored up in her, and what how much energy she'd like to release in any one discharge. It's a practice of moderation that many other heroes who with an energy blast ability don't have to be as mindful of.
Spider-Woman #26 introduces a publishing mogul who has come over from the U.K., and is known for sensationalism. Rupert Dockery is a thinly veiled interpretation of Rupert Murdoch. After getting saved by Spider-Woman once, Dockery gets inspired to purposefully enable villains to commit crimes with themed equipment, costumes, and monikers. One of those criminals (Carson Collier) already has his own codename and equipment. With Dockery listening in on eavesdropping device, he can monopolize the Spider-Woman story. Carson "the Enforcer" Collier poisons Spider-Woman's business partner (the paraplegic criminologist Scotty McDowell). A mad scientist named Dr. Malus (Fleisher's character name weren't always subtle) cures Scotty, but while also turning him into "the Hornet". The powers caused by the Hornet serum not only increased Scotty's strength and mobility, but it also worsened his character flaws. The insecurities created from comparing himself to Spider-Woman pushes him to strike out on his own and fight crime (physically trying to outperform Jessica). He's more forward about expressing his attraction to Spider-Woman, and Scotty (under the influence of the Hornet serum) becomes and overzealous vigilante. This displayed a profound difference between Scotty working to avenge and Jessica's working to help people.
When famed X-Men Writer Chris Claremont started writing for Spider-Woman #34 in January 1981. Steve Leialoha (Fleisher's penciler) stayed on the title, and co-plotted #34 (helping to maintain consistency in the tone). The first big change that Claremont brought was that Spider-Woman's adversaries were no longer going to be lower level crooks with gimmicks.
Claremont's first story is about a corporate coup the kidnapping of a feisty business owner, and racial diversity. Through the Fleisher books that I read, I never saw Spider-Woman out of costume. There was some depth to her character, but I also wanted to learn about what Jessica Drew did in her down time. Enter Lindsay McCabe, or really, "re-enter". McCabe was in more of a "helpful best friend" role when Jessica saved Amanda Sheridan from Hammer, Anvil, and the Deterrence Research Corporation. In February's Spider-Woman #35 tensions between Jessica and Scotty got worse, as Scotty would intrude on her personal life and she would be unavailable for business discussions. Scotty accepts the mission to go after David "the Screamer"Angar without discussing it with Jessica. Lindsay brings up a new move that she's making to San Francisco, and asks Jessica to come with her. After Jessica cleverly stops the Screamer by using powered cement as a throat irritant, she agrees to go with Lindsay and break up her business partnership with Scotty. He had seen the breakup coming as well. As Jessica and Lindsay move, Jessica is haunted by apparitions of Morgan Le Fay and they rescue a young humanoid alien from small town government plot that seems like an X-Files episode. Once in San Francisco, Lindsay's co-workers at a local theater throw her and Jessica a surprise housewarming party. While flirting with one of the party attendees (her landlord), Jessica's alerted of a crime. She glides over to the San Francisco Mint where Black Tom Cassidy and his partner Cain "Juggernaut" Marko are stealing vibranium (a valuable metal) with the help of the young teen Siryn. Spider-Woman is joined by X-Men members Storm, Collossus, and Angel in stopping Tom and Cain's vibranium theft. After Spider-Woman points out that Siryn could greatly benefit from better role models and guidance, Tom says that the teen (who sees him as an uncle) isn't at fault. Siryn goes off to live with her long-lost father and Jessica starts a private investigations business (with Nick Fury's help in getting her licensed).
I think that Fleisher was ahead of his time when it comes to rationalizing his characters' motives, and showing the reader how while you can understand where those characters are psychologically coming from, that doesn't necessarily validate the resolve that they decide on. That was a message that I similarly got from Todd Phillips's 2019 film "Joker". Despite his humanitarian "second act" (up until his death in 2018), Fleisher often derided for its brutality. kinks, and misogynists. When you look at Frank Miller's iconic work, he checks those figurative boxes almost every time. Alan Moore's "Watchmen" was as violent as it was provocative, and in Spider-Man's 1984 symbiote story (by Tom Defalco) was a strong metaphor for an all-consuming addiction. In the Hammer & Anvil story, Jessica Drew notices problems with with a medication. She's been taking meds to control her pheromone releases, and her hyper-adaptive immune system is building her tolerance (which forces her to consume higher dosages). Reading further into this series, I'd love to see this topic further addressed. The other big subject (I'm not sure how many other LGBTQ readers saw this) is JESSICA & LINDSAY. Best friends moving to San Francisco together is plausibly platonic. That's what happened to Gabi and Sofia in "Young & Hungry", but they were in their early twenties! Jessica and Lindsay are in their late twenties (I assume, bases on their early careers in Los Angeles). Jessica following Lindsay to San Francisco seems pretty LGBTQ coded to me. Especially for a 1981 comic book trying to not turn off a largely straight and cisgender audience. It seemed a lot like a type of party that I learned about through Glee. I've never experienced a "kiki" party (Does a party with drinking, smoking, and three queer women hanging out with a cat count?), but Jess & Linds's housewarming party seems so much like when when Rachel and Kurt held a house party for their art school friends.
The last two comic issues are from Batbooks. (from DC's Batman franchise). No respect, to the publisher or creators, but I'm just going to simplify Batman #125 and Batman Beyond:Neo Year #4 for you. It's late, and this post has been long. The dying Oswald Cobblepot has stripped away just about everything that Bruce had left. Penguin's death leaves Batman framed for murder, and a power vacuum in the Gotham's underworld. The future Batman (Terry McGinnis) has lost almost everything, and is being framed by an evil AI. The bleakest times tend to be the most motivating to Batmen.
I'll try giving a more in-depth response to DC books in next week's In App Comic Pull List.
Best Regards,
Ken
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