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Bendis, Spider-man and Darwin

Started by Kermit,

8 posts in this topic

Kermit

Kermit

Posted
Posted

To everyone

 

This is going to be a more in deeph analysis, since this title gathered so many of the young/old fans, i tought it was important to look at it in a more deep way, because imo comics aren't just to entertain, so... here we go:

 

wink.gif - Peter at:

a) Home. In the original series Peter was surrounded by a much more protective and closed familiar environment, and his relations with the outside world reflected that.

Peter tended to use his home as a refugee, having an intense relation with his aunt/uncle, even if they had "silence conversations", almost inner dialoges...letting the reader fill in those "speachless" word ballons.

Nowadays Peter home environment is much more open up, not only to the outside social background, but specially letting other characters interact directly with the daily life of their home (Gwen, MJ, Osborn, Cap. Stacy,...).

 

cool.gif b) Peter outside.

 

In shcool.

Even if Peter isn't portrayed as the most popular guy, having a less show of behaviour than Flash, doesn't mean he has to be the "dork" from the 60's. It's a very important message that Bendis passed to the reader (specially the younger ones), mean that you can be a reserve person and yet letting the others come to you. Put that message in the school background and you'll have an important message.

It's important the way Peter projects himself on the surrounding human context, he's funny and even if in the 1st issues he was too much steped away from the rest of the class, he made some important personal revolution, by steping outside the dimelight of shyness...

 

At work.

One thing that i never felt that was superficially worked out was Peter relation with his work at the Bugle. I mean, Peter had contact with a special form of art (photography) and i never felt that that relation was explored. Ok, it was for the money, but something more could have/should have been presented to the readers.

On the ultimate version it was funny and very interesting (i'm going to use this word often) the direct exposure to the "new medias", the "new technologies" and it's use/power...it's an important sign to the youngsters...

 

blush.gifGoing out.

Well doesn't he stay studying his butt off during all the week-end?

NO! And that's good, treating kids as kids is always the best approach for a solid relation/reflexion on what you're trying to pass to the other side (the reader). It's nice to see Peter hanging around with MJ, Gwen,...

 

- Spider legacy, powers and the "where do i fit in all this??!!!" teenager feeling.

The powers are an important metaphor for the 14-20 time period. You've in your hands the possibility of doing a lot and your head sometimes is exploding with ideals and ideas that want to change the world from day to night...

It was funny, because when i 1st read Elliot comments i tought "...no way Spidey is Peter, it's the other way around...", product of reading AMS for more than 20 years,lol.

But stepping a little way back, looking at the big picture i feel that Bendi's creation presents Spidey as an extend of Peter, not a mask where he can be what he'll never be/would be on the daily life.

It's important because it's a natural bridge communication towards his real self, after all Peter might as well be spider even before getting the powers...Spidey isn't like a Venom alegory, an alien behaviour, an outside apendice, no, it has a more deep link with Peter. Unlike AMS Peter had to adapted/hide/change to his new side...

A more human, less althruistic character is presented, and a more real context is build up monthly...

 

- Characters

Imo one of the key strokes that make Peter's world so fantastic is on the inumerous background characters that interact with him. From the top of my head you have 6 big different group characters completly different that help to build up a small "characters-town" itself:

family,

school,

work,

vilains,

super-heroes,

and the city itself...

So you don't get all bothered and fall asleep, i'll just use the past comments/message.

A completly new version was build up, more open up, less limits, more interaction projects a more powerfull background, without falling on the easyness of letting those characters take over the main characters life...

In the end i've got the feeling as i have when reading Astro City's atmosphere...you can have years and years of writting material without steping outside your area...

 

- Story, telling, re-telling or inventing a new one: the re-harsh vs the new, where do we stand?

 

Since we have a more than just a few numbers to look up and analyse, we can "judge" this in a more deeph vision...

On the begining i tought Bendis will follow the first years legacy of AMS title, even if the stories were good, and the art great, the "i already saw that" feeling could start ruinning the joy of reading this title.

 

So, what happened, you might ask??!!! smirk.gif

 

Well, there you have of the 1st story arc the presentation of a different approach but that isn't enough for the fans to stop discussing the Faux vs Original conversation (and that's good,lol).

What struck me more deeply were small signs that Bendi's sent to the reader, like small teasing twists that could predicte tot he attentive reader that a new thing was going on, whatever you label it...

May Parker isn't just a carboard character, it's a stroger women, that fought for conquering the role of a mother and a widow that it's more of a keeper's legacu, rather than a person waiting for someone to cook his dinner. I liked when Cap. Stacy interact with her, showing her feminine presence take over and exist has a women, not only as a "rented mother".

GG and Osborn...i think Bendis did a funny thing, he inverted the psychological characteristics from the original version. In the original version you have Osborn as a more reserved and GG as an excentric crazy man, on the Ultimate version is the other way around.

But these were "small bits" within the big cake...now the "new flavour" came not with the octopus re-invention (nicely done) but with the Venom arc.

It was something that always looked strange to me...where were the photographys, works, letter,...from Peter parents??!!

Weren't there any trace, anything from the past??!!!

Just a distant image?! Just some "old tales" hardly spoken of??!!!

I loved when Peter discovered the Parker/Broc's legacy/liasion, it was a new step for the book, how could you predict that Peter had a new character, an new family character??!!! This can lead to a very promising future stories...here, apart writting/art aside, Bendi's created a new different direction, a completly new door wide open for new things to came.

 

In the end i see this title as a new universe, a new creation, because the character development/evolution/background... is far away from the one we knew...and it's great to be kid again.

 

Sorry, if i talked too much, and there was a lot more to be said, but here's the tip of the iceberg, and later one i'll tell somethign more (maybe about the group characters line), but just step inside and enjoy...either this be Faux or original to you, have a nice time discussing with your friends.

 

In the end, if Darwin was a comic fan, he would have loved both versions of the different universe...tacking some of the comics with him, to the Galapagos islands, to discuss with the old turtles, 27_laughing.gif. gossip.gif

 

I took some time to put all this on paper,lol...resting a little bit now.

 

Regards, Pedro.

 

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DiceX

DiceX

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Posted
I made it to "So, what happened, you might ask??!!!"................

Can you please tell me what happened? tongue.gif

 

 

You've got way more stamina than I do.

insane.gif

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