Rick Mason: The Agent (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The Marvel graphic novel, Rick Mason: The Agent is Marvel espionage to the finest degree. The 1989 work introduces readers to the international freelance super spy with immediate action and adventure, as well as setting the new character right into Marvel canon through his interactions with several established key Marvel figures. 

Mason uncovers a plot in Hong Kong where super powered criminals are planning a coup to overthrow the ruling British government. His work with MI-6 seemingly completed, Mason is contacted via an early Internet message board to meet with a contact in New York. The operative turns out to be Nick Fury as you've never seen him before. Under a heavy disguise and working off the books from SHIELD, Fury hires Mason to investigate the sudden removal of a Soviet backed junta in the fictional South American nation of Costa Brava by super powered mercenaries .

As much as the United States loves to see the Soviet Union removed from South America, something about the entire coup stinks. For Mason, the whole episode feels too much like what he uncovered in Hong Kong. Eager to get to the bottom of this mystery, Mason accepts the mission. But not before a visit to dear old dad.

Rick Mason's father is revealed to be the master weapons maker to the villainous stars, the Tinkerer. The Tinkerer has heard via his clientele that the Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, is backing the rebellion in return for exclusive access to Costa Brava's burgeoning drug trade. With Kingpin's nearly unlimited funds, the armored leader known only as Black Armor now rules the tiny nation, slaughtering both Soviet loyalists and supporters of the previous ruling parties indiscriminately.

Trading one brutal regime for another, Mason manages to raise up an army in order to defeat Black Armor's forces while simultaneously uncovering a global plot to replace crumbling Soviet backed governments with superhuman dictatorships. The Agent will definitely get his lumps and might get captured a time or two. But if he's smart enough, in true super spy fashion, Rick might even win the girl in the process of making the world 'safe' from tyranny. 

Rick Mason, The Agent was co-created by James Hudnall and John Ridgway. Hudnall wrote the script with Ridgway on art. Color art was provided by Lovern Kindzierski If you ended up becoming a fan of the new character after you completed this book, you're either in luck or in for some disappointment.  According to the Marvel Wiki, the Agent has only made 9 major appearances in the Marvel comic book universe. Most of those are in the pages of Ms. Marvel Volume 2. Mason does have an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and made a cameo in miniseries Deadline. Despite his limited use, Rick Mason managed to make it to the silver screen when he's portrayed by O-T Fagbenle in 2021's Black Widow. Fagbenle were return in an episode of Disney+'s Secret Invasion helping Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury out of a bind.

Worth Consuming!

Rating 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #26 (Set in South America) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Big Time

Is it possible to still be a fan of the Green Goblin while hating Norman Osborn? Because I do! Other characters have been the Green Goblin when Osborn has been either cured of his mental illness or dead. Plus, the Goblin seems to be a separate character as opposed to Norman, who does have a type of multiple personality disorder or schizophrenia. Or both, maybe. Not sure. 

Plus the Goblin is one of the most aesthetically pleasing designed super-villains of all time. The purple and green. That demonic face. The orange pumpkin bombs. The flyer. I just love this villain.

And then there are the impostors. Many have attempted to become a better version of the Goblin. There are like 6 different Goblins in the pages of Marvel today, including a female version that I think is also a spawn of Carnage... But the best of the usurpers has got to be Hobgoblin!

In this collection of Spider-Man stories from the early 2010s, life couldn't be better for Spidey nor could it be any worse for Peter Parker. Spider-Man is a member of the Avengers now. He's respected again by the police force. Despite the ire of Mayor J. Jonah Jameson, the wall-crawler is the darling of the New York public and media. As for Peter, he lost his job at the Bugle for falsifying photos. Behind on rent, he's now homeless as his roommate just moved out for the West Coast. There's even a rift between Peter and Aunt May!

Meanwhile, a new Hobgoblin has come on scene. He's got access to all of a currently incarcerated Norman Osborn's old gadgets and weapons and he's looking to become the newest enforcer for the Kingpin!

This collection is the start of Dan Slott's massive Big Time story line which would run for 52 issues, culminating with issue #700. You can see the wheels of that issue's massive twist ending in these pages as Doctor Octopus and a new line-up of the Sinister Six are moving pieces of their giant chess board into place. 

Though there was a lot of backstory that I wasn't very familiar with, I was able to enjoy this story very well. It was great seeing Spidey teamed up with both the Avengers and Fantastic Four in the opening chapter. Very awesome twist finale that adventure as well!

Not everything was so exciting. Artist Humberto Ramos' style is very, um... well gnarly. And I'm not talking about that skateboarding term of appreciation and excitement. Everyone looks very spindly. For Spidey, the art style is appropriate. But for the rest of Manhattan, Ramos' pencils makes everyone look like a descendant of Abe Lincoln!

Having completed this book, there's basically 46 more issues in this Big Time saga to go. Will I devote time and energy to finding the rest of the story? I doubt it as there's tons more stuff in my wish list that I want to own and read first. However, should I ever find an affordable omnibus of this story arc, I would seriously consider getting it to read. Perhaps I can find the rest at my local library.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018)

It's extremely rare when a movie can do a fantastic and faithful adaptation of a comic book storyline. But that's exactly what happens here in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. 

Brooklyn teen Miles Morales is the new kid at an elite boarding school in the Big Apple. But when a strange looking spider bites Miles, he discovers that he's also the newest person to be imbued with spider-themed super powers. A chance encounter with Spider-Man promises to help teach Miles about his new abilities. But when Spidey is murdered by the Kingpin, Miles is left to flounder on his on in the super hero thing on his own. Or is he?

When going to pay his respects to the fallen wall-crawler, Miles comes face to face with Peter Parker! Only this Peter is older, grayer, and a bit out of shape. It turns out that the Kingpin is playing God with a particle accelerator, which is opening windows into other dimensions. These experiments are ripping holes in the fabric of space and time and bringing things from parallel universes into Miles' world., such as other Spider-Men. 

The Kingpin's device must be stopped or the entirety of the multiverse will be destroyed. Alone, Miles Morales is in way over his head. But with a Spider-Man mentor behind him and some other inter-dimensional help, the newest Spidey in the Spider-Verse just might have a chance to save the day!

I loved how Miles Morales was finally introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This animated film proved that you don't have to go live action to be canon. I would love for Tom Holland's Spider-Man to eventually meet Miles. The events of this film helps to usher that crossover into being without taking away from either's origin stories. 

The film was an artistic masterpiece. Visually stunning, the animators did an amazing job making the film feel both live action and like a comic book at the same time. This is how motion comics need to be done!

Plus there's just so many Easter eggs that give homage or tribute to the amazing array or writers and artists who have given Spider-Man life. So many Kirby dots! Plus lots of streets, businesses and more are given names of Spidey creators. There's even a very cool blink and you miss it nod to the campaign to get Donald Glover to be the next Spider-Man. And there won't be a dry eye in the room with one of the final cameos made by Stan 
'The Man' Lee!

Black Panther might have been the cultural moment of 2018 Marvel movies. Infinity Wars might be the most talked about. Ant-Man and the Wasp may be the film that progresses the events of the MCU the furthest and Venom was the brightest surprise for 2018. But Into The Spider-Verse is the best Marvel film of the year! It's the one that I was ready to get right back in line to see again!

Adults and children will love this movie! Just because this is an animated film, don't allow that to make you decide to skip it! You are all going to have some time over the next couple of weeks with the holidays to spend with family and friends. If the subject of going to see a movie pops up in your conversations, recommend seeing Spider-Verse! As much as I want Aquaman to do well in theaters, this is the movie that should be seen on the Christmas break!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Daredevil, Volume 4: The Autobiography of Matt Murdock

 You would think that life is going quite well for Matt Murdock. Foggy Nelson's cancer seems to be getting under control. Matt's got a great new girlfriend and law firm in San Francisco. Plus, he's got a multi-million dollar book deal in the works and a new Daredevil persona.

   But Matt Murdock is the Charlie Brown of Marvel Universe! With his new persona comes the fact that everyone and their brother knows that the blind lawyer and the Man Without Fear are one in the same. Thus Foggy, his new girl, even his clients are all targets thanks in no small part to a multi-media surveillance system run by the Shroud.

   So in order to protect his friends, Murdock decides to make a deal with the devil himself- the Kingpin! But what can the lawyer offer the man who seemingly has everything? Why, the death of Matt Murdock, of course!

   The Autobiography of Matt Murdock signals the end of the epic run of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee, whose art is exceptional and his vintage style, I think, makes him the next Darwyn Cooke. Waid, whose been the driving force behind the Man Without Fear for about 4 years now, made a very depressing character fun again. Waid added heart and humor to the character. But there was more than enough zaniness in the Waid run like run ins with zombies, stuntmen, and even Stilt-Man! Plus, Waid's Daredevil was full of awesome courtroom drama. It was like a comic book version of Law & Order with the Order part being represented by a costumed vigilante.

   The first couple of chapters fit this formula quite real and they were great reads with one bothersome fly in the ointment: the Shroud. I hate the Shroud. I've thought him to be a D-list character since he first popped up in the pages of Spider-Woman all the way back in the late 70s. He's a total Batman AND Daredevil copycat if there ever was one. But, the Shroud's place in this story, while an annoyance, still carried a whimsical theme to the book.

   Once the Kingpin rears his big fat ugly head, the tone of the book got much more serious and to me, a lot less enjoyable. I long to read a collected version of Frank Miller's run on Daredevil. Yet, I have a feeling based on how I like a more light-hearted Hero of Hell's Kitchen, I probably will not enjoy it as much as I think I would.

   A good read that could've been better but still Worth Consuming in the end.

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Spider-Gwen, Volume 1: Most Wanted? (Marvel Now!)

  After being bitten by a radioactive spider, young Gwen Stacy garners amazing powers and becomes the Radioactive Spider-Woman!

   Spinning from the epic multi-dimensional Spider-Verse storyline from 2014 comes Spider-Gwen! In this universe (Earth-65), Gwen Stacy- NOT Peter Parker, gained powers from a spider bite and becomes everyone's favorite web-crawler- except for the police, led by Gwen's father, Captain Stacy! See, Spider-Woman's been falsely accused of killing Peter Parker, who was inspired by Gwen's exploits to be a superhero himself, only his experiments went terribly wrong and the carnage resulted in his death.

   By day, Gwen juggles being the drummer of the up-and-coming band, the Mary Janes. At night, Spider-Woman tries to save the day while eluding the police who have an APB out for her immediate capture! With Detective Frank Castle now on her trail and the criminal mastermind Kingpin out to make her either his newest accomplice or next victim, the stakes have never been higher for Gwen Stacy...

   Most Wanted? was a great introduction to the character of Spider-Gwen. I had been on the fence about her. Not because it's a female superhero but I thought that outside of this comic's title, I was afraid that the general public of Earth-65 actually referred to this heroine as Spider-Gwen. That's like Superman calling himself Super-Clark. But thankfully, that's not the case.

    The only real problem I had with this book was the angle of Gwen being a drummer for the Mary Janes. Yes- this is an interesting take on Mary Jane Watson being a rival of Gwen's without it being some sort of love triangle with Peter Parker or another boy. But member of a girl band??? Really? Critics argue that comics don't feature enough strong women in comics. But having Gwen have to deal with the petty squabbles of being part of a band seems to me actually detracting from this title's potential girl power. 

   I'm open to reading more Spider-Gwen in the future. I especially want to read Spider-Verse. But if I do get my hands on volume 2 of this series, I hope it matures a little bit. Spider-Gwen might be a fan favorite of girls and cosplayers, but at this point in her legend, she's not in the same league as the Carol Danvers Captain Marvel or Kamala Kahn's Ms. Marvel. Not by the end of volume 1, anyways...

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business

   This original graphic novel pits Peter Parker with two of his oldest foes- the Kingpin and Parker's family history. When commandos ransack his apartment, Peter finds himself on the run only to be saved by a mysterious secret agent claiming to be his long-lost sister. Now Peter and possibly sister Teresa Parker go on a globe-trotting adventure in search for the truth about 'Sis' and hopefully uncover why Kingpin is after him.
    The opening act of this graphic novel was weak. Some of it was disjointed and most of the pages were just a whirlwind of action that was short on plot. Once Peter and Teresa finally make it to a safe house, the story slows down enough to explain why this CIA operative thinks she's Peter's sister. The intermission also sheds light on why the Kingpin and the CIA are both on the hunt for Parker.
    Spinning out of the pages of 1960s 'Tales to Astonish' and issues 100-104 of 'Captain America', the second act reveals that Peter's parents (secret agents themselves) assisted the good Captain to defeat one of the Red Skull's Sleepers. Mr. Parker used his DNA and a facial recognition program to bind the colossus into  a sleep mode. Should  Richard Parker look-alike Peter gaze into and touch the safety lock, he could unleash this sleeper on an unsuspecting Cairo. So, the CIA wants to bury the Sleeper under 50 worth of rock while Kingpin wants the Nazi robot to help him conquer the world.
     I really enjoyed the second act as well as the killer ending and intriguing epilogue. I'm hoping there's more to this story to come soon! With exotic locales, suave tuxedos, and more secret gadgets than a weekend of James Bond movies, this was an exciting Spider-Man story with a fresh take on America's favorite wall-crawler. However, you might feel like you've haven't received your Spider-Man quotient as Peter appears and battles more without his costume and mask than possibly any other Spidey story ever written.
     With fantastic art and a great script by Mark Waid (that guy has been popping up on my blog a lot lately), Marvel continues to amaze with its original graphic novel series.

  Worth Consuming

  Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.