Saturday, April 5, 2014

Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular #1 of 2


Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular (2009) #1
 Back in the day, when the Marvel editors went on the convention circuit they did this thing called “Assistant Editors Month.” It was a good opportunity for up and comers in the industry and Marvel’s Bull Pen to wet their feet and edit their own titles. Sometimes there are hits and sometimes there are misses. It’s fabled that one such event that shaked the Marvel universe occurred during one of these Assistant Editors events- the Death of Gwen Stacy!  Apparently Stan Lee went on a little Vay-Cay, leaves Amazing Spider-man to Gerry Conway and Gil Kane and BOOM- Stan the Man returns to find Spidey’s girlfriend dead and buried.
 
Don’t worry, nothing too controversial like that happens here. But, it is a fun chance to see some of the up and comers in Marvel’s offices and some examples of their work. In part one of two, the assistants take refuge in the Marvel Comics office’s men’s  room to hash out their ideas. Along the way, the House of Ideas throw out suggestions including a war story starring Wolverine lookalike D-Man, a tale of some old fashioned Western justice starring native American hero American Eagle, and Mini Marvels epic starring Doctor Strange and Hawkeye.
 
The Mini Marvels story was the best. It features the art and wit of the great Chris Giarrusso and is a runny gag that I have fallen in love with. It’s a lot like Tiny Titans, but not as childish and sadly not as nostalgic as that DC title. The American Eagle story was gritty but it was a fun read. I was very happy with the twist ending. I’ve never heard of D-Man so, I wasn’t as connected to the story. But I like the idea of the third tier super hero training his army unit to become super heroes in order to take out terrorist insurgences that Army red-tape won’t allow to be annihilated.
 
I was so happy with this first chapter that I can’t wait to see what the bull-pen has to offer next.
 
Worth Consuming.
 
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
 

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