Dave Dwonch Interview!

The Geek Whale team had the amazing opportunity to interview Dave Dwonch creator of Space-Time Condominium, Vamplets and one of the founders of Action Lab Entertainment!

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #31 REVIEW

By. Samurai Millo

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Classification: Teen

Language: English

Writer(s): Dan Slott, Christos Gage

Art: Giuseppe Camuncoli, John Dell, Terry Pallot

Coloring: Fabela

Cover Price: $5.99

Page Count:  55

Synopsis:

SERIES FINALE! The end of an era! A tale of triumph and tragedy! The GREEN GOBLIN unmasked! A hero reborn! But what does this mean for OTTO OCTAVIUS?! There’s only one man who can save us from the Goblin Nation… PETER PARKER: The one, true SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN!

Review:

This issue marks the end of a magnificent saga. Superior Spider-Man has been one of the best Spider-Man storylines that I have read in a long time and it was told in a total of 31 issues. The idea of killing Peter Parker and replacing his role as the wall crawler with someone else is not new. I remember reading in the 80’s fanzines about a proposal along this lines that was shot down by Jim Shooter, Editor-in-Chief at that time. Let us go forward in time to the 21^st century, specifically Ultimate Spider-Man 133, where they killed that universe’s Peter Parker and replaced him with a brand new Spidey named Miles Morales.

But still the Peter Parker from Marvel Universe Proper (Marvel Earth-616 for the purists) remained untouched, that is until the end of the year 2012 when Dan Slott wrote the story that I thought I would never see in my life. That’s right, Peter Parker’s mind was replaced by Otto Octavius’s beginning the 1.5 year long bi-weekly saga of The Superior Spider-Man. During this storyline the readers were treated to a very different work philosophy in terms of day to day superheroing, a way of doing things that turned Peter Parker’s world upside down courtesy of Otto Octavius’s “Superior Spider-Man”.

Issue 31 was the culmination of this saga. All mayor plot points were taken care of, setting this up and paving the way for Spider-Man’s latest re-launch on April 30, 2014. As far as I’m concerned, Dan Slott has gained his place in comic book history with this masterpiece. His evenly paced style shows that this is a man who knows what makes this characters tick. I wasn’t disappointed, not for one single issue or one single page. My favorite moment was during the climatic final battle. I’m talking, of course, about Spidey’s crack about Green Goblin’s choice of accessories for his costume. The art on all 31 issues was superb thanks to the outstanding talents of people like Ryan Stegman, Giuseppe Camuncoli and Humberto Ramos.

Final Verdict:

The Superior Spider-Man #31 is a fitting end to an epic story. It has my highest recommendation.

Batman Eternal #1 (2014)

By. Samurai Millo

Publisher: DC Comics

Classification: Teen

Language: English

Writer(s): Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV

Penciller: Jason Fabok

Coloring: Brad Anderson

Cover Price: $2.99

Page Count:  32

Synopsis:

  The following is a description of the comic taken from the official website of DC Comics:

“A massive cast of Gotham City’s best (and worst) examines the relationship between Batman, his allies and his city. In this debut issue, Commissioner James Gordon is caught on the wrong side of the law!”

Review:

 

  It’s been a while since I’ve read a first issue of a Batman-related comic. This series has the particular distinction of being the first Batman related series that will be coming out on a weekly frequency for 52 weeks starting on April 9^th, 2014. Weekly comics are a different kind of animal, because they are put together for a very specific subset of fans, the ones that go to the store every week, almost religiously, barring perhaps natural disasters of the highest magnitude. Therefore, the stories in weekly comics, like Batman Eternal, are tailored taking into consideration that their reader base is comprised mostly of Batman fans that are very into the Caped Crusader’s mythology. The final product is a series that has all the things Batman fans crave for, while also being accessible to new readers.

  What sets this series apart, asides its weekly schedule, is that there will be different story arcs over the next 52 weeks written by different writers. These arcs will interconnect successively, one after another, and each will focus on different characters from Batman universe.

  So far, the first arc focuses on two characters. In the first issue, Jason Bard is introduced. Bard, Gotham City Police’s latest rookie cop, is a promising new recruit from Detroit who is destined to cross paths with the other main character of this story arc, Jim Gordon, who’ll need all the help that he can get to survive a very bad situation, courtesy of Professor Pyg.

  The storytelling in this first issue is articulated and brisk, which is what expected from its writers, Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV. The art, by Jason Fabok, is full details and sequentially impeccable from one panel to the other. Big props go to Brad Anderson for an outstanding coloring job that captures the grittiness of Gotham City.

Final Verdict:

  Batman Eternal #1 is a great start with a lot of promise. If you are new to Batman, this is a good place to start. If you’re a long time Batman enthusiast, this title is a must in your collection. Big changes are coming to Batmen’s world, and they’ll start in this comic.