Rating:  -
Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale. Need I say more? But I will, because this book truely deserves more praise. This story, like DD:Y and H:G, gives us a look at Peter Parker's past, as narrated by Peter years later. He is now married to Mary Jane, but still can't shake the memories of his first love, Gwen Stacy.
Jeph Loeb is one of my favorite writers in comics, and for many reasons. Not only is his writing very emotional and makes you feel for these costumed characters, the way no other writer can, but just like with Batman: Hush, I marvel at his ability to weave so many of the protagonist's villains into the story, and do so without it feeling cluttered, or like an all star, who's who of Spiderman's rogue's gallery.
Every character in this has their own distinct personality, humor and charm to them. It's so cinematic, it felt like I was experiencing a movie at some points.
And let's not overlook the beautiful artwork. This is some of Tim Sale's best work in my opinion. He illustrates MJ and Gwen so beautifully, even I can't imagine how Peter could choose between them. The villains look fantastic, and Sale's artwork lends itself so well to the Spiderman universe, I can only hope he revisits it sometime soon.
Out of all the work these two have done together, it's not my favorite (that spot is reserved for The Long Halloween) but I'd be willing to say it's in my top 3 Loeb/Sale collaborations. Spiderman fan or not, it will make you a fan.
Rating: -
Peter Parker reminisces about his college days trying to sort out his feelings between blond Gwen Stacy and red MJ Watson, while at the same time fighting with the Goblin, Kraven and other classic foes. All the Loeb & Sale's longing and nostalgia that you'll expect from this kind of tale, while delivering a good adventure too.
As you grow older and continue to spend time with partricular super heroes, you find that this type of tale is exactly what you need. First it ties back to those wonderful classic stories from your childhood (in this case, the Gwen Stacy death and subsequent MJ courtship, by a confused --but in love-- Peter Parker), while at the same time giving it another level of emotional depth needed by adult readers.
What can I say? Loeb really understands the super hero psyche and delivers it with maturity. Wonder if he puts on tights at night and prowls the city when he is not writing. Seems like he does. Check out Daredevil: Yellow by the same team.
Rating:  -
This is one of the best graphic novels I've ever read. Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale have partnered on many novels considered to be modern classics. Superman For All Seasons, Batman: The Long Halloween, and Batman: Dark Victory come to mind. Part of the Loeb/Sale "Marvel Color Books" (Hulk Grey, Dardevil Yellow, Spider-Man Blue)Spider-Man Blue is an absolute joy to read. Jeph Loeb's taut storytelling and Sale's brilliant artwork shine here. The story starts with Peter recounting his memories of Gwen Stacy into a voice recorder in his attic. The story starts from when he first meets Gwen all the way up to her tragic death. It's a gripping adult tale filled with love and action and intriguing insites into Peter's feelings. A great read and one that I strongly recommend for any comic fan, but especially Spidey fans. You will not be disappointed. This book deserves to be a part of those modern classics mentioned above.
Rating: -
Sometimes, things have to get really bad before they can get good. Welcome to the life and times of Marvel's favorite superhero, the amazing Spider-Man. In a controversial 70s storyline, Spider-Man's arch-nemesis, the Green Goblin (Norman Osborne), murdered the girl of his dreams--not Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy. Gwen was the perfect girl for charming klutz like Peter--even more so than MJ--and the nasty Goblin murdered her without thinking twice. It was this particular tale that, before Alan Moore (author of "Watchmen," and "V for Vendetta") and Frank Miller ("The Dark Knight Returns," and "Sin City") came along, that marked the beginning of the end of the "Silver Age" of comics, when superheroes had some "growing up" to do. The Eisner Award-winning team of writer Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale ("Superman for All Seasons," "Batman: The Long Halloween," and "Batman: Dark Victory."), revisit this most traumatic feat with their own Spidey miniseries, "Blue," before Gwen died. Here we find our web-slinging prince Peter Parker, better known to the world as the amazing Spider-Man, meeting and falling for Gwen for the first time, and struggling to win her heart...but not before he locks horns with four of his deadliest enemies, the Green Goblin, the Rhino, the Vulture (two of them, actually), and a mystery villain in the shadows controlling everything. Loeb's writing, as always, is compelling and fun to read. He always provides a good mystery to his tales that make you want to read on until the ending comes and everything falls into place. And Sale's art, also as usual, makes for sweet eye candy in addition to Loeb's writing. But there are a couple of minor problems with this one, to be fair. I was inspired to read this one for three main reasons: 1, I had seen the two Spider-Man movies starring Tobey Maguire. 2, after reading Loeb/Sale's runs on Batman ("The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory"), I figured the two could an equally good job on Spidey. And 3, I like graphic novels. For starters, this is mostly an average story and, while certainly entertaining and solid, is nothing truly groundbreaking. Also, newcomers who aren't familiar with Spider-Man/Parker's relationship with Gwen and the Stacys (only hardcore fans would remember before the Goblin killed Gwen, her father, Captain George Stacy, was killed by Doctor Octopus, but Spidey was blamed for it) may be a little lost. Also, the ending seems a little rushed. I would've liked this better if Loeb and Sale had took the time to illustrate a full flashback of the deaths of Gwen and the Goblin. Just a thought. All in all, this actually a fairly good read but if you want a fresher start on the legacy of one of the most worshipped characters in sci-fi literature, I recommend the "Ultimate Spider-Man" books by Brian Michael Bendis. I like those even better.
Rating: -
Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale seem to be made for stories that take place towards the beginnings of superheros' careers. Their work on Batman: The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, which is said to take place in Batman's second year on the job, are some very fine Bat-tales. In Spider-Man: Blue, they retell how Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy, Peter's first true love, came together, and how the entrance of Mary Jane Watson threw Spidey's world for a loop.
The story is narrated by the present day Parker, who is making a series of tapes chronicling his first love's life. For those of you who don't know, Gwen died when the Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) threw her off the George Washington Bridge. The kicker is that, to this day, Peter isn't sure if she died due to the Goblin, or due to his own webline that he used to try to save her.
Before the tragic loss at the hands of Spider-Man's archnemesis, Peter thought that he had ridded the world of the Green Goblin for good. After a fight with the villain, Norman Osborn seemed to suffer complete memory loss, and no longer knew that he was the Goblin. Peter visited Osborn in the hospital to make sure that the Goblin was "dead", which allowed for him to become friends with Norman's son, Harry. This friendship opened the door to Harry's clique, which included jock/jerk Flash Thompson and the stunningly beautiful Gwen Stacy. Though shy at first, Peter began to realize that maybe this girl had feelings for him too. However, having only one pretty girl confused Peter, but when Mary Jane Watson showed up, he now had the attention of two beautiful women, and he could barely comprehend it.
Meanwhile, Spidey was being hunted by numerous members of his rogues gallery. Rhino, the Lizard, and two Vultures all fougth him at the behest of a mysterious man, and Peter had to juggle his Spider-Man duties and his attention to Gwen, MJ, and Harry.
Spider-Man: Blue is a different kind of comic book story because it essentially inverts the importance of the plots; the love story and the personal life of Peter Parker is the focus, while the exploits of Spider-Man become the B-story. That's not to say that most comics don't focus on the human side of the heroes, but usually, the action tends to be a little more important. This book is a good character study of Peter Parker, and is a good choice for any comic fan's bookshelf. The one thing that I was a little disappointed about was that they don't show the death of Gwen Stacy, which is one of the most famous events in Marvel canon. I was really looking forward to it, but looking back, I can see that it wouldn't have been appropriate. This is about how Peter and Gwen fell in love, and how the good stuff in Spidey's life always seems to follow the bad. It wouldn't have been right to show such a horrible event in that kind of story.
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