Bookstooge's Reviews On the Road: Buddy Read

Showing posts with label Buddy Read. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Pride and Prejudice 5Stars

Title: Pride and Prejudice
Series: ----------
Author: Jane Austen
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Classic
Pages: 275
Words: 124K

This will be a bit different from my usual review. Lashaan and I did a buddy read of this and we used a series of questions I found online to help us talk about the book. There were 11 questions in total and I chose to answer 7 of them. I found the other 4 stupid, insipid, insulting or just plain not a subject I cared one whit for. After the questions I have some general thoughts. And I’ve included a link to Lashaan’s review at the end. Please visit his review when it goes live to see another whole take on this book :-D

1. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune,

must be in want of a wife.” This first line has become one of the most famous in English

literature. In addition to setting the narrative in motion, how does this line alert us to the

tone of the novel and our role, as readers, in appreciating it? What does the line imply

about women?

I'll work backwards on this. Addressing that last question first.

When you talk about the opening line, you have to also use the second to put it into context:
"However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters."

So what the opening implies about women, and then about men, is that they are both playing pieces for their elders. It's not about gender (despite what the questioner is trying to force into this). Both are pawns are on the chessboard of marriage.

The role of the reader is whatever the reader wants it to be. It doesn't matter what the author thinks, or tries to do. The reader is an independent being and a good author acknowledges this and simply writes their story without forcing their reader into the slavery of being "in a role". Only Message writers do that.

As for the tone of the novel, I'd say it it sets a jolly good tone! Funny, amusing and yet acknowledging the foibles of the culture the author is living in.

So there we go. My first set of ranty answers to the first question :-D

2. Elizabeth is upset to learn that Charlotte has accepted Mr. Collins’s marriage proposal. Do

you think Charlotte should have married Mr. Collins? Did she choose him or did he choose

her? What do you think influenced her decision to accept him? Is Charlotte a romantic? Is

Elizabeth?

At 27, being plain, poor and unconnected, Charlotte didn't have much choice if she didn't want to end up being a burden to her family. While I suspect she will regret in the future her choice of Mr Collins, tempermentally she seems fit to deal with his particular brand of pride and false-humility. And now she is mistress of her own establishment with greater things to come. Her children won't be in her circumstances and thus will hopefully be able to have more choices open to them.

I'd say Charlotte definitely chose Mr Collins. He was just wafting around like a butterfly, looking for the first open flower. She saw him coming a mile away. Besides, Mr Collins seems to stupid to do any real choosing :-D

I think my answer to the first question also answers this. Material stability goes a long way towards making a relationship stable. Charlotte knew what her future held and so she did what she had to to change it, for the better.

I don't see Charlotte as romantic at all. She's just super realistic. Elizabeth on the other hand is fully infected with the "Love is Our Guiding Light" idea. Of course, given what Elizabeth sees between her father and mother, one can forgive her for wanting some genuine love in a relationship.

3. How does Pemberley play a role in Elizabeth’s change of heart? Does she really fall in

love with Darcy after seeing his estate? Trace the development of her feelings for him.

Why is Darcy attracted to Elizabeth? Trace the development of his feelings for her.

I think this question is a bit too "school report" like for my taste. Plus, you know, feelings. Seeing Pemberley was just another check mark in the positive side for Darcy. Not because it was all big and rich, but because of the character it displayed and thus by extension, Darcy's character. You can tell a lot about a person by their living quarters. And by the people they keep around them. So it simply helped Elizabeth begin to change her feelings towards Darcy. She saw another side of him displayed through Pemberley. She was discerning enough to see that and to look beyond the wealth itself.

4. What might have happened if Elizabeth had accepted Darcy’s first proposal? Do you think

he really expected her to accept? How does the first proposal change their feelings for, and

opinions of, each other?

I think their marriage would have ended in disaster. He wouldn't have respected her and she never would have loved him him. They both needed to change themselves and see the other in a more accurate light before their marriage could have worked.

I do think Darcy expected an acceptance. I'm pretty sure when they are talking about it later he says something like "you had everything to gain and nothing to lose by accepting my proposal. At least that is how I saw it at the time".

I think Darcy's proposal opened Elizabeth's eyes to the fact that Darcy did love her. He wasn't just attracted to her, but he loved her. That allowed her to realize that her feelings of prejudice might need to change. And Darcy got a good earful from Elizabeth and he needed that to set him on the path of seeing her as an equal in any marriage endeavor and not just an emotional and sexual outlet.

7. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet do not agree on very much, especially when it comes to their

daughters’ futures. Who is the better parent—Mr. or Mrs. Bennet? What role does family

play in this novel?

Neither of them is the better parent. Mr Bennet is the least worst though. Lydia is exactly like her mother, so it shouldn't have come as any surprise to anyone at her running away with Wickham and not caring at all about getting married. Mr Bennet could have helped guide his wife's character growth at the beginning of their marriage but chose not to fight that battle and he reaped the harvest with a selfish, vain, silly woman for a wife.

Family plays a huge role! The Bennetts. Darcy's sister and Aunt. Mr Bingley's sister. Elizabeth's Aunt and Uncle. Even Wickham is a pseudo-family of the Darcy's. You can't go very far without a family interaction.

8. Darcy says that Wickham tried to elope with Georgiana for revenge. Does revenge play a

part in his elopement with Lydia?

I don't think it does at all. I think Wickham needed an out and Lydia provided the easiest and most comfortable out. I have to admit, Wickham running away with Lydia still puzzles me.

11. Why is this novel so popular? Why do readers keep coming back to it, even after the

original suspense is gone and they know how it ends?

Because it's a girly romance and there are more women in the world than men.

Is my off the cuff, flippant remark, hahahahaa.

My serious answer would be that the Initially Thwarted Romance between Jane and Mr Bingley and the Enemies to Lovers Romance between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy speaks to a lot of women. "I" like it because it's a romantic story that shows some real human foibles and it's some very fine writing.

I skipped a bunch of questions because they pissed me off. I hate social media so wanted to nothing to do with that question. I dlsliked the leading question about Irony because I don't like being led down a certain path by somebody else. finally, I don't care two figs for what it might have been originally titled. It is called Pride and Prejudice and that' that. It's overthinking things for the sake of overthinking to do any more on the title.

Bookstooge’s General Thoughts:

I must admit, I did not like this format of Question and Answer. I felt stifled, hemmed in and like I was back in highschool with a teacher looking over my shoulder. While it made writing a review much easier (I pasted/copied the questions and my answers from my emails to Lashaan), I totally did not enjoy the reading process itself. My brain did not have the freedom to wander down the byways because I was focused on trying to "pay attention" to the story so I could answer the questions.

It's not that the Q&A is a bad way of doing things, especially for younger people who haven't been trained to think for themselves yet. It gives them a framework within which to work, otherwise they'd be left floundering and their thoughts would be "I liked this" or "I didn't like this" without any further explanation. But I am not a kid any more. Sadly, I haven't been for a long time and I have much vaster reading experience now than I did back when I was a teenager (even as well read as I was then). For me, the reading experience itself is part of the process. I simply flow into the story, absorb it and let it knock around my brain like a pair of dice. Then I release it and see what happens. That's how I read and review now. It's been quite the revelation to me to come to that realization.

I am also glad that "I" am the one that chose the questions, that way I have nobody but myself to blame, hahahaahahaa.

Overall, while this Q&A was quite the different approach, and one that I’m happy to have applied, it won’t be happening again.

★★★★★

Lashaan’s Review

Complete Set of Questions:

1. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” This first line has become one of the most famous in English literature. In addition to setting the narrative in motion, how does this line alert us to the tone of the novel and our role, as readers, in appreciating it? What does the line imply about women? (From the Chicago Public Library’s One Book, One Chicago pamphlet on Pride and Prejudice, 2005)

2. Elizabeth is upset to learn that Charlotte has accepted Mr. Collins’s marriage proposal. Do you think Charlotte should have married Mr. Collins? Did she choose him or did he choose her? What do you think influenced her decision to accept him? Is Charlotte a romantic? Is Elizabeth?

3. How does Pemberley play a role in Elizabeth’s change of heart? Does she really fall in love with Darcy after seeing his estate? Trace the development of her feelings for him. Why is Darcy attracted to Elizabeth? Trace the development of his feelings for her.

4. What might have happened if Elizabeth had accepted Darcy’s first proposal? Do you think he really expected her to accept? How does the first proposal change their feelings for, and opinions of, each other?

5. Several letters are reproduced in full in the text. What is the effect on you as a reader when you read a letter instead of getting the information contained in it from the 3rd person narrator? Why do you think Austen might have used letters so often in this novel? (There are 59 references to letters in the book.)

6. How does the title Pride and Prejudice relate to the original title Jane Austen used for the novel, First Impressions? Do you think Pride and Prejudice is a better title? Why? How does it relate to Elizabeth? Darcy? Does it relate to other characters in the novel?

7. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet do not agree on very much, especially when it comes to their daughters’ futures. Who is the better parent—Mr. or Mrs. Bennet? What role does family play in this novel?

8. Darcy says that Wickham tried to elope with Georgiana for revenge. Does revenge play a part in his elopement with Lydia?

9. Lady Catherine’s visit to Elizabeth to persuade her not to marry Darcy actually has the opposite effect and propels them toward the final conclusion, their marriage. What is it about this use of dramatic irony that is so appealing to readers? What other examples of irony do you find in the novel?

10. The novel has many universal themes that make it relevant today and inspire contemporary spin-offs and adaptations. Imagine the Facebook pages of each of the Bennet daughters. Who would be most active on Facebook? How would their entries differ from each other? Would any of them choose not to be on Facebook?

11. Why is this novel so popular? Why do readers keep coming back to it, even after the original suspense is gone and they know how it ends?

From Wikipedia.org

In the early 19th century, the Bennet family live at their Longbourn estate, situated near the village of Meryton in Hertfordshire, England. Mrs Bennet's greatest desire is to marry off her five daughters to secure their futures.

The arrival of Mr Bingley, a rich bachelor who rents the neighbouring Netherfield estate, gives her hope that one of her daughters might contract an advantageous marriage, because "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife".

At a ball, the family is introduced to the Netherfield party, including Mr Bingley, his two sisters and Mr Darcy, his dearest friend. Mr Bingley's friendly and cheerful manner earns him popularity among the guests. He appears interested in Jane, the eldest Bennet daughter. Mr Darcy, reputed to be twice as wealthy as Mr Bingley, is haughty and aloof, causing a decided dislike of him. He declines to dance with Elizabeth, the second-eldest Bennet daughter, as she is "not handsome enough". Although she jokes about it with her friend, Elizabeth is deeply offended. Despite this first impression, Mr Darcy secretly begins to find himself drawn to Elizabeth as they continue to encounter each other at social events, appreciating her wit and frankness.

Mr Collins, the heir to the Longbourn estate, visits the Bennet family with the intention of finding a wife among the five girls under the advice of his patroness Lady Catherine de Bourgh, also revealed to be Mr Darcy's aunt. He decides to pursue Elizabeth. The Bennet family meet the charming army officer George Wickham, who tells Elizabeth in confidence about Mr Darcy's unpleasant treatment of him in the past. Elizabeth, blinded by her prejudice toward Mr Darcy, believes him.

Elizabeth dances with Mr Darcy at a ball, where Mrs Bennet hints loudly that she expects Jane and Bingley to become engaged. Elizabeth rejects Mr Collins' marriage proposal, to her mother's fury and her father's relief. Mr Collins instead proposes to Charlotte Lucas, a friend of Elizabeth.

Having heard Mrs Bennet's words at the ball and disapproving of the marriage, Mr Darcy joins Mr Bingley in a trip to London and, with the help of his sisters, persuades him not to return to Netherfield. A heartbroken Jane visits her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner in London to raise her spirits, while Elizabeth's hatred for Mr Darcy grows as she suspects he was responsible for Mr Bingley's departure.

In the spring, Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr Collins in Kent. Elizabeth and her hosts are invited to Rosings Park, Lady Catherine's home. Mr Darcy and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, are also visiting Rosings Park. Fitzwilliam tells Elizabeth how Mr Darcy recently saved a friend, presumably Bingley, from an undesirable match. Elizabeth realises that the prevented engagement was to Jane.

Mr Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, declaring his love for her despite her low social connections. She is shocked, as she was unaware of Mr Darcy's interest, and rejects him angrily, saying that he is the last person she would ever marry and that she could never love a man who caused her sister such unhappiness; she further accuses him of treating Wickham unjustly. Mr Darcy brags about his success in separating Bingley and Jane and sarcastically dismisses the accusation regarding Wickham without addressing it.

The next day, Mr Darcy gives Elizabeth a letter, explaining that Wickham, the son of his late father's steward, had refused the "living" his father had arranged for him and was instead given money for it. Wickham quickly squandered the money and tried to elope with Darcy's 15-year-old sister, Georgiana, for her considerable dowry. Mr Darcy also writes that he separated Jane and Bingley because he believed her indifferent to Bingley and because of the lack of propriety displayed by her family. Elizabeth is ashamed by her family's behaviour and her own prejudice against Mr Darcy.

Months later, Elizabeth accompanies the Gardiners on a tour of Derbyshire. They visit Pemberley, Darcy's estate. When Mr Darcy returns unexpectedly, he is exceedingly gracious with Elizabeth and the Gardiners. Elizabeth is surprised by Darcy's behaviour and grows fond of him, even coming to regret rejecting his proposal. She receives news that her sister Lydia has run off with Wickham. She tells Mr Darcy, then departs in haste. After an agonising interim, Wickham agrees to marry Lydia. She visits the family and tells Elizabeth that Mr Darcy was at her wedding. Though Mr Darcy had sworn everyone involved to secrecy, Mrs Gardiner now feels obliged to inform Elizabeth that he secured the match, at great expense and trouble to himself.

Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy return to Netherfield. Jane accepts Mr Bingley's proposal. Lady Catherine, having heard rumours that Elizabeth intends to marry Mr Darcy, visits her and demands she promise never to accept Mr Darcy's proposal, as she and Darcy's late mother had already planned his marriage to her daughter Anne. Elizabeth refuses and asks the outraged Lady Catherine to leave. Darcy, heartened by his aunt's indignant relaying of Elizabeth's response, again proposes to her and is accepted.

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Equal Rites (Discworld #3) 4Stars

Title: Equal Rites
Series: Discworld #3
Author: Terry Pratchett
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 162
Words: 67K

When I first read this in 2007, I was fresh off the Rincewind books and was expecting more of the same. Equal Rites is the first of the Witches sub-series and as such, while humorous, IS different and I wasn’t ready for that difference back then. Instead of the insane, zany and just plain ridiculous humor that typifies Rincewind, The Witches series is much more sardonic and relies on the humor inherent in opposites. All of that was just to say that I enjoyed my read this time much more than I did 16 years ago.

I also did this as a buddy-read with Dave. He had a lot of other stuff going on at the time, so there wasn’t a lot of back and forth on the book as we read along. I’ll be linking to his review after the star rating and before the synopsis.

I enjoyed this on a completely different level from the previous two books. Granny Weatherwax (the main character despite this being about the little girl Esk) isn’t silly and stupid but she’s also not some omniscient Paragon of Everything. Pratchett is definitely poking fun at the genders (male and female) and Granny isn’t a bra burning feminazi. She’s crotchety, gets things mixed up, makes bad decisions but ultimately has the good of Esk in mind. She’s a wonderful character in fact. I loved reading about her. It is almost scary to me how 16 years of life experience can make that kind of change in me. I still like Rincewind and the complete chaos that he is, but I now appreciate Granny much more than I could have back then. That’s good. We should change as we mature and get older.

I have talked about this before (Why I Re-Read from ‘18) but that change in perspective is the EXACT reason why I am such a re-reader. What I experienced reading Equal Rites this time around I simply could not have back in ‘07. And if I had never re-read it now, I would be stuck with that ‘07 memory of it. Which isn’t bad, but it’s not as full and rich as my memories of the book now. As a serious reader, growing is important. A reader should be a tree, ever growing, not a karesansui garden (one of those japanese gravel gardens) which stays static unless an outside force acts upon it. A reader’s growth should be from within, affecting the outside, not the outside affecting the growth within. It is the difference between an oak tree and a bonsai tree. One acts upon the landscape while the other is acted upon.

So to end. I am VERY happy I re-read this. I enjoyed it more than I originally did and I am thankful I have a better memory of the book now.

★★★★☆

Dave’s Review

From Wikipedia.org

The wizard Drum Billet knows that he will soon die and travels to a place where an eighth son of an eighth son is about to be born. This signifies that the child is destined to become a wizard; on the Discworld, the number eight has many of the magical properties that are sometimes ascribed to seven in other mythologies. Billet wants to pass his wizard's staff on to his successor.

However, the newborn child is actually a girl, Esk (full name Eskarina Smith). Since Billet notices his mistake too late, the staff passes on to her. As Esk grows up, it becomes apparent that she has uncontrollable powers, and the local witch Granny Weatherwax decides to travel with her to Unseen University in Ankh-Morpork to help her gain the knowledge required to properly manage her powers.

But a female wizard is something completely unheard of on the Discworld. Esk is unsuccessful in her first, direct, attempt to gain entry to the University, but Granny Weatherwax finds another way in; as a servant. While there, Esk witnesses the progress of an apprentice wizard named Simon, whom she had met earlier, on her way to Ankh-Morpork. Simon is a natural talent who invents a whole new way of looking at the universe that reduces it to component numbers.

Simon's magic causes a hole to be opened into the Dungeon Dimensions while he is in Esk's presence. The staff, acting to protect Esk, strikes Simon on the head, closing the hole but trapping his mind in the Dungeon Dimensions. Esk throws the staff away, believing that it attacked Simon. While attempting to rescue him, Esk ends up in the Dungeon Dimensions. The extreme cold there causes the staff, now washed out to sea, to create a huge ice sheet, causing a storm that floods the university as well as the surrounding city.

Esk and Simon discover the weakness of the creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions—if you can use magic, but don't, they become scared and weakened. With the help of Granny Weatherwax and Archchancellor Cutangle, who have retrieved the staff, they both manage to transport themselves back into the Discworld. Esk and Simon go on to develop a new kind of magic, based on the notion that the greatest power is the ability not to use all the others.

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Farsight (Warhammer 40K: Tau) 3Stars

Title: Farsight
Series: Warhammer 40K: Tau
Author: Phil Kelly
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: SF
Pages: 124
Words: 39K

I read this novella as a buddy read with Dave and Markus. We did our conversing via Whatsapp and it worked out quite well for me. I installed it on my computer instead of just using my phone, so it became an instant messenger. Which allowed me to tickety tack away whenever a thought crossed my mind. It also allowed the other two to discuss various Warhammer 40K books and storylines well beyond my knowledge. It was quite enjoyable, just watching others who knew a subject well to be able to talk about it.

This was definitely NOT a place to start if you have no knowledge of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it isn’t a good place to start for anyone, even those who might be familiar with the Empire of Man. The Tau are aliens and Farsight is a very historical figure. But if you don’t know that going in, as was the case with me, you are forced to wonder why we spend all this time with this apparently random character. If you have a grasp of the history, I’m sure this was a very exciting story.

For me, I was confused completely on my first read through. I complained a lot to Dave and Markus and Markus started talking history. That helped build a framework for me when I read through this again. Without that framework, I’m not sure that even a second read would have been enough.

Overall, while I didn’t dislike this story, I was so at sea for most of it, that it put a real damper on my enthusiasm to read further Tau novels. I’ll read them, but my expectations are quite tempered.

★★★☆☆

From the Publishers:

The oxide deserts of Arkunasha are red with spilt blood. The orks of Waaagh! Dok have invaded en masse, and the besieged tau settlers are on the edge of extinction. When the famous general O’Shoh arrives to shatter the greenskins at the head of a high-tech army of battlesuits, the tau expect an easy victory, but the battle-hungry orks outnumber the tau four hundred to one, and the planet’s vicious rust storms have a devilish appetite of their own. Can the rising star of the fire caste solve the riddle of Arkunasha’s haunted past before Dok Toofjaw’s monstrous cyborgs conquer the planet completely?
It's one of Commander Farsight's defining battles – and features some audacious action sequences, including a vicious duel in a medical chamber that will make you look at Farsight in a whole different way. The story also has all sorts of hints to the origins of Farsight's famous companions, "the Eight"...

Friday, May 26, 2023

Web of Spiderman Annual #1 ★★✬☆☆

Title: Web of Spiderman Annual #1
Writer: Ann Nocenti
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comics
Pages: 37
Words: 3K

From Marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Web_of_Spider-Man_Annual_Vol_1_1

Spotting a broken window outside of a jewelry store, Spider-Man swings inside to stop a robbery. Inside, much to his surprise, Spider-Man discovers that the robbery is being committed by a number of small humanoid robots. Chasing after the machines, Spider-Man watches as they begin to combine into a single large robot. When the masked hero tries to stop it, the robot begins to emit a high pitched noise that makes it hard for Spider-Man to concentrate. Through a force of will, Spider-Man is able to snare the robot with a web-line and the pull the robot to the ground. However, this only makes it worse, as the robot begins to flail around. The machine then rights itself, and with the sonic attack taking its toll on Spider-Man, the robot ropes him out and sprays him with knock out gas before fleeing the scene. Spider-Man manages to fight off the effects of the gas and breaks free from his bonds, and is able to sneak up on the robot and knock it out with a single punch. Recovering from the effects of the gas, Spider-Man recovers the robot's severed head as a souvenir. As he leaves, the wall-crawler blames himself for not taking pictures of the battle as he could have sold them to the Daily Bugle. Examining the robot's head, Spider-Man is impressed by its design and it reminds him of his of his days as a high school student. He then begins to chastise himself for allowing his identity as Spider-Man has been taking more priority to that of Peter Parker.

Elsewhere in the city, a young boy named Max is throwing out old sports equipment and toys into a nearby dumpster. A task made more difficult because of his leg braces and that his hands begin to cramp up. He suddenly hears a bunch of noise behind him, and when he turns around, Max discovers that some of his classmates have tied tin-cans to his legs. The kids chase Max, forcing him to run for it. When the intelligent child hurls insults at the other kids. Unable to understand Max's vocabulary they threaten to beat him up, but he manages to flee the scene and get back home. Inside, Max has an advanced workshop where he conducts his experiments. Turning on his computers, it activates a robot that Max called "Future Max". Max tells his robotic invention that his nervous system is slowly failing him, Max tells Future Max that he will eventually use mechanical parts to replace his own nervous system. Suddenly there is a tapping noise that comes from a brick wall. Max rushes to it, it is the girl who lives next door named Beatrice. He tells her about his day, making up a story about playing ball with his friends. Unaware of who Max really is, she hopes he wasn't playing with the local bullies who she saw bullying a handicapped child. Beatrice then shows Max a surprise by pushing out one of the bricks that she chiseled loose so they can hold hands together. The idea of Beatrice learning the truth about him frightens Max. When she asks him to touch her hand, Max tries but his hands cramp up again and he accidentally hurts her. He apologizes but convinces her that he needs wants to keep the mystery of their friendship. Beatrice can't understand it, but Max assures her that they can finally meet soon, but has to get back to work on his science fair project. It's then that Max's combining robots return home, and as he goes to work on repairing the damaged machine, he puts aside a letter from Reed Richards, declining his request for nerve restoration research due to time constraints.

The next day, a street hustler named Alexis Sharp decides to play a small con by offering to walk an elderly woman across the street in order to pick her pockets. Unfortunately, the plan backfires when her pet poodle bites Alexis' finger, forcing him to punt the dog across the street and flee. Checking out the newspaper, he finds an article about an upcoming science fair and decides to use his con-man skills to find an inventive child with a wealthy family to bilk on false promises of marketing their child's invention. Later, at the science fair, Max is setting up his science fair project. He crosses paths with his intellectual rival, Chester, who has assistants to help him set up his own project. However, these assistants are more interested in playing video games and eventually abandon Chester, leaving him to set up alone. Also present is Peter Parker, who is impressed with the imagination and ingenuity the children have put on display. Peter is impressed by Max's invention, a device that increases the strength of your grip. Peter introduces himself to Max, who is excited to meet Parker, as he knows that Peter used to attend the same school and won his share of science fairs. As they begin talking about Max's invention, the boy is happy to finally speak with someone who understands him. Peter offers to try and convince his editor at the Daily Bugle to do an article on Max and his inventions. Max is briefly interested but soon becomes engrossed in his work.

No sooner is Peter gone, Alexis Sharp approaches Max's display and is impressed by what he sees. Trying to convince the boy that he is an agent, Max declines his representation. Sharp isn't ready to give up and spots a love letter to Beatrice and another from Reed Richards that gives him an idea on how to manipulate the boy to suit his needs. Alexis then tells the boy that he is a colleague of Reed Richards, and that he works with people on an exchange basis. He convinces Max to build an exoskeleton that Alexis can wear to prove that his invention works. This finally gets through to the boy and he accepts Sharp's card. Later that evening, Max is working on his exoskeleton, having to cannibalize Future Max in order to construct it. Max hopes that Reed Richards is impressed with is invention and agrees to cure him so he can finally reveal himself to Beatrice. As he works, Max accidentally bumps a water tank, spilling water on his mechanical arm brace. This causes a jolt of electricity that Beatrice hears from the other side of the wall. Beatrice asks Max if he is okay, and suggests that they meet up the following day. Max tells her he can't for now, telling her to trust in their love for each other.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man returns home to his apartment and discovers that a local stray cat has managed to get into his apartment again. As it rubs up against the severed robot head, it suddenly calatters to life. Peter examines it more closely and realizes that it is build using the same principals as Max's grip enhancer at the science fair. Putting on his mask, Spider-Man decides to make a social call to young Max. At that moment, Max is putting the final the final touches on the exoskeleton for Alexis Sharp, who helped fund the construction by calling in some underworld markers. As Alexis begins to test out the suit, Max begins to become suspicious of Sharp's credentials. Suddenly, the doorbell rings and Max goes to answer it. It turns out to be Spider-Man who has come to talk to the youth. Seeing the robot head, Max tries to explain his situation. Hearing about Sharp's alleged relationship with Reed Richards, Spider-Man asks Sharpe if he had heard about what happened with Richards' daughter. This is a trick, as Reed doesn't have a daughter, and Spider-Man catches him in a lie.[Continuity 1] Realizing the jig is up, Alexis Sharp tries to escape in the suit.

Spider-Man follows after him, and Sharp decides to fight back. Seeing that the battle suit is heavily armed, Spider-Man lures Alexis to an area that is scheduled for demolition. With no innocent people around, allowing the pair to cut loose. Down below, Max arrives and attempts to use a device to deactivate the armor, but it short circuits. An officer arrives on the scene and gets the boy to safety as Spider-Man and Sharp fight on. As the battle rages on, Max manages to slip by the police and get close enough to Spider-Man to tell him about the exoskeleton's vulnerability to water. Spider-Man tells Max to get to cover and then uses this knowledge to lure Sharp to a nearby water tower. Knocking the crook into the water shorts out his armor, leaving him immobilized. Spider-Man then webs up Sharp and leaves him hanging for the police. The next day, Peter Parker arrives at Max's house to take photos of him for the Daily Bugle article. Max tells him that he can't take the photos as he has a date with Beatrice. Admitting that he is nervous, Peter reminds him that he helped Spider-Man that he is more brave than he thinks. Sure enough, when Max goes to visit Beatrice, they hit it off immediately.

Oh goodness. This was supposed to be a double sized issue, which means 48 pages at a minimum. However, once all the ads are removed, it was a measly 37 pages.

It is basically a one shot story about a smart kid with some sort of degenerative nerve disease being tricked into building a suit of armor for some insane guy who quotes movies (I’m not even going to say anything because I already know what I think of movies in general) and Spiderman fighting the badguy and the kid going on a date with the girl next door.

Let’s discuss that boy/girl love interest thing, shall we? The kid is in highschool. He talks to this girl, who lives in the apartment right next door, through a brick wall, a brick wall that is one brick thick. But they have never seen each other. Ever. Never ever never ever. Not even when going to school or coming or going out of the apartment building. So when they finally have their date, she invites him inside her apartment for dinner. I realize this was 1985, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t customary for single women living on their own to invite underage boys into their apartments.

And speaking of apartments. This kid has an entire laboratory in the basement. Now, maybe he’s living in some sort of town house and not an apartment building. But his single mom is raising him and he’s got a degenerative nerve/muscle disease. But he builds an Iron Man suit from egg beaters and junk material (no, seriously, Spiderman sees an eggbeater and comments on it), with sonic guns AND mini-missiles AND a machine gun. In his basement. This isn’t suspending reality, but pure wish fulfillment. I could see my 14year old self eating this up and absolutely loving it. But now, it’s beyond ridiculous. I just laughed and rolled my eyes.

Dave and I are going to be taking a break from this comic series for a couple of months. Dave because of being busy at work and me because I really need to evaluate if I want to actually read any more. The story, and hence the writer, is what separates the good from the bad and ol’ Ann Nocenti didn’t appear to be up to the job on this issue. So this will be the last Web of Spiderman review for at least a couple of months.

Now, I know that news is going to devastate you all. I can only imagine the turmoil, angst and old fashioned pain you will suffer because of this. And because I am a responsible blogger, I just want to reassure you all, THAT I WILL BE LAUGHING IN GLEE EVERY SINGLE SECOND THAT YOU ARE IN MISERY. Then I will pat you on the shoulder and say something banal like “there, there, it’s ok”. That makes it all ok.

Here's Dawie's take on this:
Dawie's Review of Web of Spiderman Annual #1

★★✬☆☆

Friday, April 28, 2023

Web of Spiderman #6-9 ★★☆☆☆

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Web of Spiderman #6-9
Writer: Danny Fingeroth, Peter David, David Michelinie
Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comics
Pages: 95
Words: 8K

From Marvel.Fandom.com

Synopsis for "Gold Rush!"

Story continued from Secret Wars II #2...

The Kingpin is woken up at 3:00 am with some troubling news. He places a call to a man Bainbridge. As he waits for the man to answer, he figures out the financial worth of the current crisis and realizes that it could make the great depression seem like prosperous times. When Bainbridge answers the phone, the Kingpin explains what must be done...

While elsewhere in Manhattan, Mary Jane Watson cannot sleep, her mind keeps coming back to the fact that she had recently revealed to Peter Parker that she's known that he's secretly Spider-Man for years[Continuity 1]. She struggles with the fact that she can't be with someone that risks their lives on a daily basis, and although she is still friends with Peter she cannot shake the feelings she has for him. As she considers the strange twist of fate she finds herself in, she notices that there is a fire some blocks away and wonders what the cause of it could be.

At the site of the fire is the man of Mary Jane's thoughts, Spider-Man who is at the scene of the office building that formerly housed the Heroes for Hire until the Beyonder recently turned the structure entirely into gold just moments ago. Realizing that there might be people trapped inside the building despite the late hour, Spider-Man enters the building and begins finding those who are trapped inside and finds that everything except for humans has been turned into gold.[Continuity 2] As Spidey searches for survivors, those few who are still up at this late hour find it almost impossible to believe that a building can be turned into gold. However, before anyone can capitalize on this, the Kingpin calls in to his contacts in Washington D.C. to assist in closing off the area to prevent people from making off or learning about this sudden cache of gold, as it could cause a financial crisis. Hard pressed for resources, the government makes a deal with the Kingpin even though they realize that they are making a deal with the proverbial devil.

Unaware of this deal, Spider-Man continues to rescue those trapped in the building as two police officers arrive. When the cops wonder how they will keep the public away from a giant pile of gold, they soon find themselves surrounded by a heavily armed guard of gangsters and street thugs. They are soon relieved by government agent Charles Anderson who explains to the two officers that these men as assisting in keeping the area secure until the military arrives. When Spider-Man returns to the outside he recognizes some of the armed men as enforcers for the Kingpin. He also witnesses as the owner of the building, Henry Trumpsley, is forced to accept a check buying his property and is escorted off the property.

When Anderson tells Spider-Man to leave, the Wall-Crawler refuses to tell him that he can rescue the people trapped inside easier. Despite being shot at, Spider-Man slips back inside, wondering what the Kingpin has to do with the recovery. Seeing that he is unable to stop Spider-Man, and hard pressed for resources, Anderson orders the men to hold their fire and let Spider-Man do his job.

As the work continues on, over in Queens Aunt May and her fiancée Nathan Lubensky mull over the financial problems they're having keeping their elderly boarding house afloat.

By this time, the military has arrived and begun slowly removing the gold and shipping it out of the area and a massive barrier is being erected around the block to prevent people from seeing it. By the time the press arrives, there is speculation going around as to what the military is clearing out of the area. Inside the wreckage, Spider-Man continues to pull people out of the building. For the most part, everyone is alive, but he does come across one dead body within the wreckage. After bringing the body out, Spidey decides to take a break and take into consideration that scope of what the Beyonder has done. Everything, including simple trash, has been turned into gold, a discarded notebook that was considered trash hours earlier is now worth a small fortune. When Peter considers how much he and his Aunt May could benefit from something as small as a solid gold notebook, Peter wrestles with his desires and what he feels is the right thing to do and leaves the notebook behind. Spider-Man's attention is drawn to another individual who is trapped in the building. However, upon closer inspection, the Wall-Crawler learns that the reason why the man is trapped is that he was attempting to carry out all his personal possessions that had been turned into gold and that the weight of it all had pinned him to the floor. The man is unwilling to give it all up until the roof begins to collapse over their head and he begs Spider-Man to save him.

With the last of the people out of the building, Spider-Man is about to web-sling away when he notices a black limo pull up to Anderson. Spider-Man is shocked to see that it is his old foe the Kingpin, and becomes angry when he witnesses a number of soldiers loading several gold typewriters into his limo. Furious that he must struggle through life while a known criminal like the Kingpin gets free gold from the government, Spider-Man finally has enough and decides to get what he believes he deserves. Jumping back into the ruins of the building, he recovers the gold notepad that he previously decided to leave behind. Exiting the building he confronts Anderson and tells him that he saw the transaction between him and the Kingpin and shows him that he intends to keep a reward for himself. After angrily chastising the government official, Spider-Man swings off leaving Anderson to consider what he has just done.

This story and Secret Wars II continues in Amazing Spider-Man #268...

Synopsis for ""Welcome... ...to My Nightmare!""

Peter Parker is having a dream wherein he has arrived at the Daily Bugle completely naked to see if Joe Robertson is in. Betty Leeds sends him through, not noticing that he is not wearing clothes. Likewise, Peter doesn't seem the least bit concerned that the Daily Bugle staff is comprised of heroes and villains. Betty warns Peter that Joe is in a bad mood, but he assures her that he can handle it. However, when he arrives outside Robertson's office he is shocked to see the Hulk come smashing out. With this threat before him, Peter's original Spider-Man costume begins to appear upon him. The other people in the Bugle begin to run, telling Spider-Man to run. With the Hulk looming over him, Spider-Man can't find a way to fight back. Thinking a change of costume will confuse the Hulk, Spider-Man's costume suddenly changes to his black and white costume and flees from the Daily Bugle building. Suddenly, the Daily Bugle building collapses. Examining the rubble, Spider-Man discovers the Hulk is still alive. As his costume continues to alternate between red-and-blue and black-and-white, he tries to battle the gamma-spawned monster. Despite his efforts, the wall-crawler is grabbed by the Hulk and tossed at the Brooklyn Bridge. However, instead of being splattered against the metal frame of the bridge, he rips through it like a piece of canvas. On the other side, the web-slinger finds himself falling into a void. He hears a voice calling out for help, but can't find any way to save himself from falling.

Suddenly, Peter Parker wakes up and realizes that this was all a dream. Even though he is in his Spider-Man costume and has a coffee machine in his apartment, Peter doesn't realize that he's still dreaming. When he hears someone cry for help, he looks out his window and sees his Aunt May's home down below. Fearing the worst, Peter puts on his mask and swings down to the house. There, Spider-Man watches in horror as the Burglar with an automatic weapon mowing down his Uncle Ben, Aunt May, Gwen and George Stacy, Mary Jane, and Betty Leeds.[Continuity 1] Horrified to see all his loved ones dead, Peter demands to know why the Burglar killed them. Fleeing the scene, the Burglar tells him that this is what Spider-Man wanted, that he needs guilt to keep going. Spider-Man denies this and in a fit of rage follows after the Burglar. Suddenly, Spider-Man finds himself replaying his confrontation with the Burglar at the Acme Warehouse.[Continuity 2] Spider-Man knocks the crook out, but this time when he gets a good look, he has the face of Peter Parker. This is a shock to Peter but this puts him in a state of despair that he believes that Spider-Man is actually responsible for the death of his loved ones.

Accepting defeat, Spider-Man doesn't resist when the Hulk comes smashing through the wall to destroy him. However, when the Hulk smashes the floor, it breaks away and the pair both fall into some water below. Once again he hears a voice calling out for help and begins swimming toward the voice. This leads him into a sewer where he finds the creature that calls itself Nightmare. It begs Spider-Man for help as the Hulk has been chasing him and begs Spider-Man to save him before his realm is destroyed. Spider-Man finally clues in to the fact that he is dreaming. However, Nightmare warns him that if he dies here, he will die in real life. When the Hulk catches up to them, Spider-Man lures the brute out to the surface. Spider-Man is surprised that this dreamscape looks just like Manhattan. Surfing in the air on a manhole cover, Spider-Man loses the Hulk around the Statue of Liberty. He returns to Nightmare and demands to know why Nightmare's realm looks like Manhattan. Nightmare explains that his realm takes on aspects that are familiar to those who are trapped in it and that only an adept can see it as it truly is. When Spider-Man mentions the name of Doctor Strange, Nightmare curses his foe, blaming him for everything that has happened. Spider-Man demands answers, and Nightmare tells the wall-crawler that Doctor Strange cursed his realm with Bruce Banner's sleeping mind.[Continuity 3]

Nightmare goes on to say that this dream-form of the Hulk is just as powerful as the real thing and that he chose Spider-Man due to his sense of responsibility and his previous experience battling the Hulk. That's when the Hulk comes crashing through again. Spider-Man blinds the behemoth with some webbing, allowing them to flee. Nightmare takes Spider-Man to the very edge of his realm where there is nothing but a white void that Nightmare states is a realm of utter madness. When the Hulk catches up to them once again, Spider-Man battles it the best he can, and ultimately uses his superior agility to knock the Hulk into the void, destroying it. Exhausted, Spider-Man is glad it is over so he can finally return to the waking realm. However, Nightmare has other ideas, telling the hero that he intends to keep him in the Nightmare Realm to defend him forever. Suddenly, the Hulk reaches out from the void and grabs Nightmare dragging him in. Nightmare begs Spider-Man for help, reminding Spider-Man of his sense of responsibility. Instead, Spider-Man turns away trying to ignore Nightmare's sickening screams. Spider-Man does have a responsibility to himself, as well as others. As he leaves Nightmare's realm, he tries to ignore the horror he has seen, reminding himself that if he saved Nightmare, he'd be trapped in his realm forever and unable to save anyone ever again.

Suddenly, Spider-Man wakes up and is suprirsed to see his landlord, high neighbors, and the police standing at the foot of his bed. As it turns out, his nightmare was so intense his screams woke everyone up and they called the cops. His landlady Maimie Muggins is upset that he made such a racket. His neighbors are a little more sympathetic, when Peter tells him he forgot what the nightmare was about. However, he thinks that sometimes it is better that way.

Synopsis for "Local Superhero!"

Years Ago:[Continuity 1]

In the vastness of space, a planet explodes, hurtling debris across the universe. One such chunk ends up crashing in a junkyard on planet Earth in the small town of Smithville, Pennsylvania. The following morning, Frank Hopkins reports for work at the Smithville Savings Bank. He arrives late for work much to the annoyance of his employer. After being snubbed by Marge, the bank typist, he meets with his co-worker Irving. Irving has two tickets to an orchestra performance that evening and Frank accepts an invitation to join. That evening, Frank waits outside for Irving, who is running late. Suddenly, he hears a scream in a back alley and sees a pair of thugs tar and feathering Irving. Around his neck is an antisemitic sign reading "Jew Boy". When Hopkins tries to stop them, he is beaten up and left in the alley. The two thugs then throw Irving in the back of a pick-up truck and attempt to flee. Frank grabs ahold of the tailgate and holds on for dear life. However, despite his heroic efforts, the speeding vehicle shakes him loose, sending Frank Hopkins rolling into the junkyard. Trying to get up, Frank uses the chunk of space rock to steady himself. Suddenly he feels funny and gets up with no further pain. Walking home, Hopkins dismisses this as nothing but adrenaline.

Returning home, Frank goes through old newspaper clippings of heroes like Captain America and the Human Torch, who were active in World War II. He wishes that there were heroes like that around in this day and age to prevent such acts of violence.[Continuity 2] The next morning, the front page story in the papers is about the beating of Irving Stein, who is now recovering in hospital. Reading this at work, Frank Hopkins once more wishes there was something that could have been done for poor Irving. At lunchtime, Frank goes out into the bank parking lot to eat his lunch. When he accidentally drops his apple under a car, he is surprised when he somehow manages to lift the car off the ground in order to retrieve it. Not believing what just happened, Hopkins attempts to lift the car again. He is surprised that he is able to lift it over his head. Putting it back down he wonders what he should do with this newfound power. When he walks around the front of the bank, he witnesses the two thugs who beat up Irving as they trip a young African-American boy. Suddenly, Frank Hopkins has some inspiration.

That evening, Frank returns home and gathers an old pair of long johns, some dye, and some markers and gets to work. Putting on this outfit and a mask, Frank Hopkins goes out looking for the guys who beat up his friend. He finds them roughing up a man who just walked out of a liquor store. Frank easily trounces these youths before the eyes of astonished bystanders, who proclaim him a hero.

Now:

Peter Parker is meeting with Joe Robertson at the offices of the Daily Bugle. He is upset that Joe is once again refusing to buy photos of Spider-Man. Joe tells him that if he used every photo of Spider-Man they have in his files, they could publish them for a year-and-a-half. Sympathetic of Peter's situation, Joe assigns him to a story that Joe is researching for the Sunday Suppliment. It is regarding the true identity of the Smithville Thunderbolt, a local hero in Pennsylvania. With no other choice, Peter grudgingly accepts the assignment and is soon on a bus to Smithville. The whole way, Peter complains to himself about how hard it is to make a living now that Joe Robertson is less interested in photos of Spider-Man.[Continuity 3] Soon, Peter arrives in Smithville and once off the bus a young man runs by warning everyone of a fire. Peter sees a nearby abandoned home billowing with smoke. With everyone off the bus, Peter slips inside to change into Spider-Man to save anyone who is trapped inside.

However, no sooner is Spider-Man on a rooftop opposite the other building, he witnesses the Smithville Thunderbolt running onto the scene. The wall-crawler decides to sit back and watch things from the back of the burning building. As Spider-Man climbs into the building, the Thunderbolt leaps out with two children out the front. The web-slinger looks around but can hardly see through the smoke. Suddenly, his spider-sense begins going off, warning him of danger. However, he is too late to stop a huge bruiser in overalls from striking him from behind. The strength of the blow causes Spider-Man to break through the floor to the main level of the house. Looking at who he attacked, the mysterious attacker realizes that this isn't the Smithville Thunderbolt and leaves. Spider-Man recovers from the blow and witnesses the Thunderbolt leap away. Wanting to learn more, Spider-Man tags the local hero with a spider-tracer. With the danger over, Spider-Man decides to change back into his civilian guise before he is spotted. Later, Peter Parker begins tracing the signal from the spider-tracer. It lures him to a dumpster, and Peter fears that the Thunderbolt discarded his tracer. Suddenly, someone from behind compliments him on his camera. It's a woman, and when he thanks her for the compliment and that he uses it for journalism, the woman gets upset. Turns out, the woman is Roxanne DeWinter a reporter for the Smithville Gazette, and she views Peter's presence as competition for her attempts at learning the Thunderbolts identity. However, she quickly changes her tone when she learns that Peter works for the Daily Bugle and insists on buying him lunch.

Soon the pair are sitting down at a diner where Roxanne explains that she is looking for a big scoop so she can finally get out of Smithville. She figures that learning the Thunderbolt's true identity is her ticket out of town. She suggests that the two of them work together, but Peter declines, saying that he works better alone. He thanks her for lunch and heads out. However, Roxanne DeWinter refuses to be blown off so easily. Moments later, Peter is back at the dumpster, but doesn't find any trace of his spider-tracer. Suddenly, he picks up a faint signal and leaps over the dumpster to track it, unaware that DeWinter is following after him. The signal leads Peter to a modest looking home. He then slips around to the side of the house and changes back into Spider-Man and tries to find a way inside so he can recover his spider-tracer. Not far away, Roxanne DeWinter has lost sight of Peter since going back for her car, but deduces that he is in the only inhabited house in the area. Inside the house, Spider-Man introduces himself to Frank Hopkins, who is shocked to see Spider-Man in his home. Saying he has come to recover his property and follows the signal to a closet. Before Frank can stop it, the wall-crawler opens it and is shocked to discover the costume belonging to the Smithville Thunderbolt.

Unaware that Roxanne DeWitter is listening outside his door, Frank Hopkins confesses that he is the Smithville Thunderbolt. He begs Spider-Man not to tell anyone because he believes he will be humiliated and ridiculed. He explains that he got his power a number of decades ago, but they are now starting to fade. He reveals that he has been using ordering scientific equipment to build devices that could roughly mimic is fading powers. Frank then reveals that with crime at an all time low in Smithville, he would manufacture dangers so he could still play hero. He reveals that he staged the "fire" in the house with smoke bombs and hide in the dumpster after his "daring" rescue. He once more begs Spider-Man not to reveal his secrets, fearing he will be laughed out of town. That's when Spider-Man hears a creaking floorboard from behind a door and ues his webbing to open the door. Before they can react, Roxanne snaps a photo of Frank in costume with his mask off. As Spider-Man tries to recover the camera from Roxanne, his spider-sense begins to go off. Suddenly, the strong man that attacked Spider-Man earlier comes bursting through the wall. He intends to kill Frank, insisting that he is the true Smithville Thunderbolt.

Synopsis for "The Twilight Heroes"

Years Ago:[Continuity 1]

A planet explodes, sending debris across the universe. One piece came to the planet Earth, breaking in two as it entered the atmosphere. One half ended up in a junkyard in Smithville, Pennsylvania. The other half ends up crashing in a nearby farmers field.

One Year Ago:[Continuity 2]

Ludlow Grimes is toiling away, plowing his field by horse. Suddenly, his plow blade strikes a rock. Ludlow digs it out and suddenly feels strange, but dismisses it as getting too much sun. When his wife calls him back to the farmhouse for dinner, he simply tosses the rock away and heads in. Down at the homestead, Ludlow is greeted by his wife and children as they set the kitchen table. When Ludlow's wife tries to swat a fly, Grimes offers to do it for her. With a single swat, Ludlow not only kills the fly but smashes through the front door with his bare hands. Ludlow is confused by what happened, but his family is frightened. His wife now thinks her husband is a monster and tells him to get out.

Now:

Ludlow Grimes has smashed his way into the home of Fred Hopkins, who has just been outted as the Smithville Thunderbolt by Spider-Man and reporter Roxanne DeWinter. Ludlow pronounces himself the true Smithville Thunderbolt and intends to kill Hopkins. Spider-Man gets between the two men and tells Frank to flee. However, Hopkins can't bring himself to go, wishing there was something he could do, but doesn't feel confident as his powers are fading. Meanwhile, Roxanne DeWinter snaps photos of the battle, intent on getting the scoop on this story in order to advance her career and get out of Smithville. Eventually, the Smithville Thunderbolt loses his nerve and flees. Spider-Man continues to struggle with Ludlow, and tells Roxanne to get out as well. However, she refuses to leave until she is finished her roll of film. Spider-Man, manages to briefly stun Grimes and tells Roxanne to get a move on. She agrees and tells Spider-Man that she will call the cops after to drops her film off to be developed. The pair begins to fight again, but Ludlow gets frightened off by the sound of a police siren and flees the scene. With an officer banging on the door, Spider-Man takes his leave as well, wondering what he should do next.

Changing back to Peter Parker, the hero goes to the Smithville Gazette to try and stop Roxanne from developing the film. However, he arrives too late, as she has finished processing the photos. He tells her that he knows what happened and who Frank Hopkins is and pleads with her to destroy the pictures. He tries to convince her that this revelation will ruin Frank's life and he doesn't deserve it after all he has done for the community. Roxanne refuses to listen because she is still chasing fame and heads off to the printers with her photos. Meanwhile, Frank Hopkins has changed back into his civilian clothes and returns to his home. Talking to the police, he pretends to have no idea what happened at his home. After assuring the police that he isn't in any danger, he goes back into his home. There he pulls out his binder full of newspaper clippings of his exploits as the Thunderbolt. He laments on how he is a nobody without his powers, which are now fading. Knowing that Roxanne DeWinter will ruin his life with her exposé, he takes a gun out of his deskdrawer and briefly considers murdering her. However, he can't bring himself to take a human life and decides to find some other way.

Elsewhere, Ludlow travels through a nearby swamp, confident that nobody will find him here. Looking at his reflection in the water, Grimes begins to think back to the events of the past year. He remembers how his wife thought he was a monster since he got his powers and kicking him out of his own home. He went to the local church for guidance, but the priest insisted that his powers were the product of the devil and shunned him. Soon, a lynch mob was out searching for him forcing him to flee into the wilderness. For a whole year, Ludlow lived off the land. One day he happened upon a newspaper article about the Smithville Thunderbolt and became jealous how he was respected and treated as a hero with his powers. Grimes then came up with his plan to kill the Thunderbolt and take his place so that he could be considered a hero. This all brought him to Hopkin's home and his clash with Spider-Man. Later, as rain begins to fall over the town, Roxanne DeWinter drives the Smithville Gazette news van to the printers. Still intending to try and convince Roxanne to drop the story, Peter has changed back into Spider-Man and is hitching a ride on the roof of the van.

As they drive down a country road, they are spotted by a downed tree to block the road. When Roxanne is forced to stop, her car won't move and rocks begin to tumble down toward the road. As Spider-Man leaps into action, Roxanne tries to flee, only to be carried to safety by the Smithville Thunderbolt. Unfortunately, Spider-Man discovers that the rockslide was fake, another one of the Thunderbolt's fake rescues. Before the heroes can remove the tree, they are ambushed by Ludlow Grimes. As Roxanne slips into her van and tries to get away. However, when Spider-Man tosses Ludlow, it strikes the van knocking it over the side of the road and down a cliff. Seeing that the van is caught in some tree branches, the Thunderbolt overcomes his fears to climb down and try and save Roxanne. While Grimes and Spider-Man battle it out, Frank manages to save Roxanne, who is grateful that he had done so, even without his powers. By this point, Ludlow has knocked Spider-Man out and is annoyed to hear that Hopkins has no powers. Ludlow is about to lambaste Frank but sees how frightened he looks and realizes that they are the same. By the time Spider-Man recovers from Grimes' beating, the situation has defused itself.

The next day, the life of Ludlow Grimes takes a fortuitous turn, as he is enlisted by S.H.I.E.L.D. Finally finding a place to belong, Ludlow is finally happy. After witnessing this, Peter Parker is about to head out, when he sees that Roxanne still published the story about the Thunderbolt's true identity. Furious, Peter goes down to the Gazette office and confronts DeWinter over this revelation. She still doesn't care as she is confident that this will boost her career. Suddenly, they hear a mob heading toward Hopkin's home, thinking it is a lynch mob, Peter rushes to see what he can do to stop them. However, much to his surprise, the townspeople have come to celebrate their local hero. Roxanne is about to gloat about how her story caused no harm she is suddenly silenced by the sound of a gunshot. Peter forces the front door open and discovers that Frank Hopkins committed suicide. Sadened by this turn of events, Peter Parker walks away without saying another word. Roxanne DeWinter, however, pulls a camera out of her handbag and takes a picture of Smithville's fallen hero.

SEPARATOR

Ahhh yes, I had really forgotten just how political and left leaning most comic book artists were and are. The Government defines what is right and wrong, as they are the Highest Authority. Gawwwwww, that really chaps my britches. There is a scene in Issue #6 where Spiderman is going to rescue a man who is weighed down with gold items (that were his own before getting transformed to gold) and Spiderman lectures him on how it is now ALL the Governments because they said so and so he can’t take it with him because that would be illegal. It was so mind boggling wrong that I couldn’t enjoy the rest of the issue. It was also a cross over issue within the larger Secret Wars II series. They did a good job of bringing me the reader up to speed in one page, but the FOMO (fear of missing out) being produced for the rest of the comics books dealing with Secret Wars II was almost palpable. 2 stars for hypocrisy by artists who were at the forefront of the dammed commie led hippie revolution.

Issue #7 was a dream/nightmare sequence where Nightmare drags Spiderman into the Nightmare realm to save him from a manifestation of the Hulk that Dr Strange sic’d on him. It was obviously filler and made almost zero sense but I just rolled with it. The funny thing was at the end of the issue the land lady had called the cops because Peter had been screaming in his sleep and she’s in his apartment along with 2 cops and 3 chicks in their nightwear and Peter’s lounging in bed with only briefs on and everybody’s totally cool with it all. Only in comicbook land. 3 stars for blondes in nightgowns though.

Issue #8 begins a multi-part story about some bank teller who touches a space blob and gets super strength. For a while. Then as it fades he begins faking things to keep up the appearance so people will still say nice things about him. Peter is sent on assignment to cover it and another local writer is involved. Peter finds the fake guy and right at the end of the issue some super brawny guy busts through the wall of the house claiming to be the real Smithville Thunderbolt. It was sad and pathetic. 2 stars for an old man who want the adulation of the unwashed masses.

Issue #9 is where I mentally checked out. The same goop infested some other guy who was a farmer. His ignorant wife rejected him when he accidentally tore a whole in the wall. A priest calls him an agent of Satan. The villagers chase him down with torches and pitchforks. I kid you not. Then “comic book logic” and next thing you know he’s working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and the original Thunderbolt commits suicide because his identify was revealed in the local paper. 2 stars for big city bias and poor story quality.

This was some very poor story telling. It felt like everything was an idea the writers jotted down on a napkin at the tail end of a very short lunch. I realize that top quality story telling is almost impossible for a monthly comic book but my goodness, this stuff was bad. One thing is that Louise Simonson wasn’t involved and I think she was the guiding hand on the first few issues. I am super glad I am not reading these individually. I couldn’t handle just one a month. As it is, I’m going to be discussing with Dave the future of this buddy-read. These 4 issues really make me question if I actually want to read more, sigh.

Here is Dave's review of Web of Spiderman #6-9.

★★☆☆☆