Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider Modern Era Epic Collection

Title: Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider Modern Era Epic Collection

ISBN: 9781302949983

Price: $44.99

Publisher/Year: Marvel, 2023

Writer:  Jason Latour, Robbie Thompson, Dennis Hopeless

Artist: Robbi Rodriguez, Chris Visions, Vanesa R. Del Rey, Bengal, Tana Ford, Joëlle Jones, Nico Leon

Rating: 3.5/5

I think it’s fair to say that one of the happiest accidents of 2014’s Spider-Verse event was the appearance of—and then surprising longevity of—Spider-Gwen. There were other dynamic and impactful moments, of course (not the least of which being the surprising return and subsequent movie-star making of Peter Porker, Spider-Ham), but the Gwen Stacy of Earth-65 all but begged for deeper exploration from her very first appearance on panel.

That exploration, chronicled in Spider-Gwen Epic Collection: Ghost-Spider, might be one of the most masterfully understated alternate-universe stories in modern memory. The joy of Gwen is that the premise never spends time holding the reader’s hand in terms of exposition or “previously on” summaries. The alternate universe is allowed to exist without the creatives or editorial pointing to it and nudging the reader; it simply is.

It’s a universe where capital ‘T’ Things happened that we weren’t there for, up to and including Gwen’s origin and Peter’s death. Aside from a two-page spread explaining the Captain America of Earth-65 in (the second) issue #2, the variations of our popular characters are allowed to exist without comparison. All of this has the effect of making Gwen’s reality feel justified rather than opposed to Earth-616.

Moreover, there’s something stylistically and kinetically unique about Earth-65, specifically under initial artist Robbie Rodriguez but continuing throughout the collection. Hectic sound effects in unruly magentas, easy cartoonish action, and expressive and distorted characters… the book oozes a sort of punk-rock cool to mirror Gwen’s (tenuous) connection to her band, The Mary Janes.

All that energy translates to a sometimes hokey, tongue-in-cheek world, wherein bumbling minor villains like The Bodega Bandit never quite reach the same level of threat as the local police. Detective Frank Castle, apparently wildly unstable in all universes, strikes up a militant vendetta against Spider-Gwen (known in-universe, obviously, as Spider-Woman), and it’s this conflict that hangs over all the super-powered minutia of Gwen’s life.

If the collection can be said to have a failing, it lies in the diversion of the narrative from this wonderful and curious universe by the mini-event Spider-Women, which sees Gwen exhaustively dimension hopping and getting mixed up in the affairs of her mentor, Jessica Drew, and amiable screwup Cindy Moon (Silk) of Earth-616.

While we love to see Jess kicking ass and playing it cool, the event all but halts the fun of Gwen’s narrative, preferring instead to water down what makes her book so special. It takes Gwen’s starting point of multiverse wonder (before even that became tedious) and reduces it to a pedestrian, everyday hassle. Worse, it commits the most egregious crime, one plaguing Marvel superheroines as if by wrong-headed mandate: it depowers our protagonist.

Though the depowered angle isn’t overplayed within this collection, it bears remarking upon here – and every time we see the trope utilized – in a world in which women are already constantly under threat (and continuously losing agency by way of violence and legislature), the idea that taking a woman’s superpower away might be compelling or interesting or meaningful is downright idiotic. Yet it seems to happen to every Marvel heroine, from America Chavez to (repeatedly, exhaustingly) Captain Marvel.

Nonetheless, Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider is a volume that exemplifies what is so special about the character. It provides a fantastic example of how to tell an alternate universe story smartly, and though it stumbles at the end it still excels in aesthetics.

Life Goals

 

Ever since I turned 50 last year, I've been having dreams of what I could do if I didn't have to commit so much of my life working a 9 to 5 job in order to earn a living and make ends meet. 

There were many years that I dreamed about opening my own RPG/comic book shop. A place where people can not only come to purchase all things they need for their likes, but also provide a great place to be able to host games and community events. I'd love to be able to carry on the traditions of my former LCS Tony's Kingdom of Comics, but I've come to realize that I don't have the finances nor the business acumen to be able to start or run a business. Also, I've come to realize that opening a store like this would not be economically feasible or sustainable with so much product being made in digital formats now.

As of late, I've started dreaming of different endeavors that I could take on that may or may not actually turn out to be money-making but more of something I would enjoy doing and even be able to give something back to the community. Not nearly in the same way as Tony once did, but something nonetheless. 

For starters, I want to be able to actually commit myself to developing the various TTRPG ideas that I have had over the years like Salem By Night and Project Multiverse. I would also like to create a type of archive for homebrew TTRPG material. I have a ton of printed pages of old plot hooks, character sheets and other material I think other people would enjoy to read and possibly even use in their own adventures.

I recently thought it would be a great idea to open an account on World Anvil to begin the process of bringing these projects to light. I would like to also open it up for fellow creatives to help design the worlds I have trapped in my head.

There's also a part of me that would like to try and get back into the creative process of writing a comic book like I did when I was younger. Maybe even go so far as to actually write some of the crazy ideas I had for stories when I was in high school. I used to have a notebook I would write down ideas for stories. I still remember 1 or 2 of them that I think might actually be worth flushing-out into short stories. There was a time in my life that I thought I would become a published writer.

My biggest problems to accomplishing any of this are as follows:

• I feel like I don't have any time to devote to these projects because I have to spend so much of my time working. In other words, I've got bills to pay and need to make money in order to pay them.
• I have always been a procrastinator, and it has been very hard to overcome this problem. Even when I write for my blog, it is very sporadic and I typically write for only a few hours in the early mornings on the weekend because I'm awake, I don't have any serious disruptions and the mood strikes me.

At this point, I don't have enough money to be able to retire early, so I have occasionally taken to purchasing lottery tickets hoping that I'll win enough to be able to make this fantasy into a reality. I'm not investing into this theory as I only play $20 every few weeks. I know the odds are against me, but I only play the state lottery so at least my money is going to help local projects.

The reason for writing this is to get these feeling off my chest and out into the world. I feel that if you put something positive out into the world, there's a chance that it can actually become a reality. I would love it if by publishing this I could help to manifest a path towards achieving these dreams.

Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures Vol 1

Title: Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures Vol 1

ISBN: 9781684059430

Price: $12.99

Publisher/Year: IDW, 2023

Writer:  David M. Booher, Sam Maggs 

Artist: George Kambadais

Rating: 4/5

Five friends from our world have been transported to the land of the Forgotten Realms and, after fighting so many monsters and escaping many times from the Big Bad, Venger, they’re looking forward to possibly having a good night’s rest along with their pal Uni the Unicorn. But their sleep is interrupted when monsters attack their camp and a portal opens up. On the other side, find themselves in Waterdeep and trying to save a young girl cursed with Wild Magic that can surge at any time, a labyrinth with Beholders, and other monsters that test them to their limits!

The trade feels like it begins at the end of the last adventure from the TV show but without any sort of segue or introduction for brand new fans who haven’t watched the last episode which aired in 1985. Since the comic takes the same tone as the cartoon, there is a good chance it will be picked up by younger audiences, and it could have benefitted from some sort of introduction to bridge for new readers who are jumping in at this point. Aside from this, the story feels just like an episode of the cartoon, so fans of the original series will feel like they're on another adventure with the gang. Younger fans getting into playing Dungeons and Dragons might get a kick out of recognizing familiar game monsters and items included in the story.

The illustration team has beautifully captured the spirit of the original cartoon and brought the characters into a 2-D format. The coloring is especially beautiful when comparing the cartoon cels to the panels. The overall pacing and panel layout keeps the energy up throughout the story just like an episode.

Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins - Caleb Widogast

Title: Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins - Caleb Widogast 

ISBN: 9781506723747

Price: $17.99

Publisher/Year: Dark Horse, 2022

Writer: Jody Houser

Artist: Selina Espiritu

Rating: 4/5

Caleb Widogast is perhaps one of the saddest characters with one of the darkest backstories in Critical Role, or at least he was before Campaign 3. The Sad Wizard is a fan favorite among the denizens of “Critical Role Land” and perhaps one of Liam O’Brien’s most dramatically tragic characters. And for Liam, that’s saying something.

Being a comics fan and a Critical Role fan, these lovely character centered comic collections are one of my favorite things Critical Role is doing to enhance their brand’s world. What better way to do a lore drop than in the form of comics written by your friends? This particular book is written by Jody Houser who was a guest of Taliesin Jaffe’s Wednesday Club comic show on Geek and Sundry, one of the writers for Vox Machina Origins, the writer of the future Mollymauk comic, and a fantastic comic book writer of non CR books (seriously check her out, she’s awesome). With help from Liam himself and the DM Matthew Mercer, they’ve created a heart wrenching slice of Caleb’s beginnings.

I would call Caleb’s origins traumatic but I don’t think even that word is enough. However it is worth mentioning in that the content of this book is probably going to be triggering for some. Abuse, manipulation, murder, and violence are all par for the course here so beware if this kind of content might trigger you.

I loved Caleb’s book. I would love for CR to expand this prequel into a full YA novel like they did with KITH AND KIN and are doing with the release of NINE EYES OF LUCIEN come November. I love these little slice of life prequels that CR is doing, be it comic book form or YA novel.

I feel like the content here would be out of place for a new reader, having no basis for why this story is being told or its place in the larger story. Caleb’s story benefits from the foresight of what is to come for him and I wonder if it would seem odd to an outsider as to why we are bothering to tell this story. But the beautiful art and wonderful storytelling may be the hook someone needs to explore the larger universe. I’m just not sure this is a great starting point. But for an established fan this book is a must!

Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins - Jester Lavorre

Title: Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins - Jester Lavorre 

ISBN: 9781506723761

Price: $17.99

Publisher/Year: Dark Horse, 2021

Writer: Sam Maggs

Artist: Hunter Severn Bonyun

Rating: 4/5

Of the Mighty Nein I think most people would agree that Jester Lavorre is the most chaotic of its members. Of course that rather comes with the territory when you’re a cleric of Trickster domain. Jester is mischievous, fun loving, and a delightful prankster which comes through beautifully in the art and writing of this comic. So what does a young prequel Jester look like?

MIGHTY NEIN ORIGINS- JESTER LAVORRE follows a young Jester as she meets her beloved Traveler, gets up to mischief, and has to leave her mother and Nicodranas behind. We get to see her grow from a tiny child to a precocious teenager, the air of loneliness following her until she meets The Traveler.

The art of JESTER LAVORRE is absolutely gorgeous. The Traveler has NEVER looked this good in his life and I want to draw him myself after flipping through this book. Jester too looks better than she ever has, the colors are bright and full of whimsy, a perfect fit for the title character.

I love the way her mother, Marion, also gets some nice page time. The character design and concept of The Ruby of the Sea has always interested me and I almost wish we could get a “side quest” comic just about her. It was also fun to see the incident that got Jester thrown out of Nicodranas and how it tied into what she had gotten herself into earlier in the book. Funny how those things always seem to be connected when Matthew Mercer is involved.

Now normally I’m not a huge Jester fan in the campaign. I love Laura but Jester is A LOT to deal with and a level of chaos that I personally find to be a bit much. That said, this comic made me appreciate her a lot more. There is sadness and loneliness to Jester’s past that explains a lot of her mannerisms and while I still don’t really love her I can appreciate her better after having seen it in comic form. Sam Magg’s FAN GIRL’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY was my first introduction into her as a writer and though I haven’t read much of her work she did a great job with Jester.

While JESTER LAVORRE doesn’t leave us with the same poignancy Caleb’s book did, it was a nice look into Jester’s past and her beginnings with the Traveler. It made me want books like this for some of the NPCs like Jesters mom and The Traveler. A Traveler comic? Sign me up!

Dungeons & Dragons: Wizards & Spells

Title: Dungeons & Dragons: Wizards & Spells 

ISBN: 9781984856463

Price: $12.99

Publisher/Year: Wizards Of The Coast, 2019

Writer: Jim Zub

Rating: 4.5/5

The Young Adventurer’s Guide series is intended to introduce young readers to the world of Dungeons & Dragons in an easily digestible fashion. Each book hits on topics such as the basics of race, class, equipment, monsters, and locations in a broad, non-rules-focused approach meant to inspire its readers. Wizards & Spells, as the name might imply, dives into magical classes and magical equipment not yet covered in the previous books.

Wizards & Spells has perhaps the hardest job of all, because it needs to make the complex mechanics of magic easy for a young audience to understand. Instead of trying to quantify the millions of different combinations and abilities, the book instead chooses to take a “best of” approach, showing off some of the coolest and most classic spells to give readers an idea of what magic can do. The approach is effective; it creates evocative scenes instead of turning into a slog of repetitive information.

Structurally, this book follows a similar format to the Warriors & Weapons book which initiated the series; however, it replaces the racial section with an in-depth look at spell casting. While I think this was a wise trade off, the class pages could have been expanded. Unlike physical classes, which all fulfill very different roles, the spellcasters of D&D can sometimes blend together. Even an additional page for each would have been appreciated to help them stand out from each other. It’s a subtle change, but even I, as an experienced player, still sometimes struggle to find ways to separate sorcerers, wizards, and warlocks.

The artwork accompanying each class is just as beautiful as ever. Four books into this series, and I still don’t know how to properly express how much I love the art. The cover alone should sell you on the series. Something I noticed this time around is the volume of high-quality art that readers receive. Every page seems to have at least one detailed illustration of one of the spells or magicians contained within. The legendary cleric Bel Vala seems to be the all star this time around, getting no less than four separate pages dedicated to her exploits.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’m recommending Wizards & Spells. In fact, I recommend the whole series. At a mere $12.99 per book, they provide plenty of value individually or as a whole. The Young Adventurer’s series is the perfect introduction to the art of character creation, and each installment is written with poise and care that may be enjoyed by both children and adults. If you’re looking to get someone into D&D but are worried they might find it daunting, try picking up one of these volumes; it may just be enough to get them hooked.

YouTube Recommendation - Dungeon Craft

 

Another constant source of inspiration for the RPG side of me are the videos from Professor Dungeon Master of the YouTube channel Dungeon Craft. While I don't always 100% agree with his opinions, I do 100% enjoy what he has to offer to the TTRPG community.

There was a brief time, before I rebranded to The Nat 20, that I was considering taking my blog to the next level and making it a podcast rather than just the written word. Professor DM shows what I would have liked to have accomplished. He obviously has way more insight into the TTRP community than I do, so I'm glad that I decided to stay in the written word format of this blog.

Professor DM makes me not only appreciate being apart of the TTRPG community, but also gives me the occasional kick-in-the-pants I often need to not only work on my own content here, but also push forward on my other RPG projects that have been languishing in the recesses of my mind and in a variety of notebooks for years.