Marvel Announces Spider-Island

Looks like fun :D

I love the image with all the different heroes in spidy costumes! :)

www.undergroundgeeknetwork.com

With the risk of sounding like a total noob, who is the guy below Black Panther?

RAMOS ART WAS MADE FOR SPIDEY!!!

"Big Time" has been a great read

Oooo, variation on the mutation theme - Marvel, have you run out of ideas?! If you can't mutate it, irradiate it, is that the overall Marvel way - WTF, people?!

@TheGoshDarnedRobin: I think it's Shang-chi - master of kung-fu.

Now that's just silly. I'm liking Big Time, but this seems like it would be fun as a Marvel Adventures dream or hallucination issue. I don't know how they took this idea for a story seriously. Whatever. In the long run, it will just be one of those forgotten stories that you look back on and say "Oh yeah! That was kind of weird."

OMD was stupid, but everything after that (with the exception of a couple issues) has been awesome! The Mayan god story line, New Ways To Die, Character Assasination, The Gauntlet, The Grim Hunt, Origin of Species and Big Time!!! They have all been f**king great!!!

I would read it, but I can not stand Ramos' art. He needs to be working on the Marvel Adventures line, as he draws like a five year old. A talented 5 year old, I will give him that.

The Statue of Liberty cover is gorgeous. It's got a painted BG reminiscent of the old '67 ani series, and just a general old-time Marvel feel to it otherwise.

The idea sounds fun. Goofy, very kiddie-friendly but fun.

I've not-at-all been impressed with the writing the last couple of years. I keep picking up the books at the store, reading a few pages and putting them down. It's just sloppy. Grim Hunt had me cringing several times at poor, awkward dialogue and bad storytelling. Bleh.

This looks like an epic fail to me. Here's why:

- The Jackal is back? Really? Do we REALLY need the Jackal back? Then again, Dan Slott has the Ghost of Jean DeWolff coming up, did we really need THAT? This would also explain that two-page preview where Peter was so shocked by who's been next to him in the lab - the Jackal. Barf. Also, it's clear the Jackal will know Peter is Spidey thanks to that pic. So Norman Osborn - NORMAN FREAKING OSBORN - can't remember Peter's Spidey, but the Jackal can find out? Where's the justice in that?

- What does anyone want to bet that these other spider-powered guys have the one power Peter currently lacks: his spider-sense? Ugh. Wait, maybe they have Peter's organic webbing and other powers he lost post-OMD. UGH!

- That two-page preview showed Mary Jane with spider-powers asking, "Peter? What have you done?" There was also a pic of Doctor Octopus, still in his dying metal diaper form, with his tentacles around the Earth. What do you guys want to bet they were referring to this event with those pics? M.J. gets powers and Doc Ock is the person I'm betting gives everyone spider-powers as his "terrible revenge" promised in #600. Oy.

- This is still post-OMD/BND/OMIT/BYOB Spider-Man we're talking about here. Dan Slott is a good writer, but I don't like how he has been handling this post-not-the-devil-devil-deal Spider-Man. Let me know when Mephisto loses his deal and Spider-Man's marriage to Mary Jane permanently comes back.

@Eviltwin

Heya. I checked out that interview (http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=28545)...

The problems with OMD are not simply the retconning or the history Joe Q erased. The problem is also NOT simply that, as Joe admits, that the story isn't "a satisfying read." The problem is the CONCEPT.

That is, the retconning is OK. The problem was to have Peter and MJ making a deal with Mephisto in the first place (never mind the numerous plot holes along the way [like Doc Strange "feeling Peter's presence" yet somehow NOT feeling Mephisto's presence a few pages later and RIGHT OUTSIDE his doorway!]).

See, Peter Parker is a hero. Now, he's a hero with flaws sure, but through his own conscience or some smart writing, or even a deus ex machina on the part of the writer, Peter should ALWAYS make the RIGHT decision. Having Peter doing something so UN-heroic was just too hard to swallow.

When something is done well, such as the returns of Jason Todd or Bucky Barnes or even Captain America, we, as fans, will buy into it. Altering histories of characters -- a Hawkman or a Supergirl for instance -- is AOK...when it's done well. Now, granted, I've mostly given second-stringer examples, but maybe that's the issue here. If you're going to alter the history of a top-tier character...do it well.

This was poorly done. And to be on such a tight schedule that the last ish had to be rewritten and re-drawn with "all-nighters" and leave many questions unanswered, well, that's just unprofessional. I've worked in comics. That stuff IS avoidable, and I would think it would be in Joe's head to plan WAY ahead, especially since they knew they were about to embark on an insane publishing sked.

personally, I'd've also forgiven OMD/BND if the stories which followed were any good. But, then again, I'm pickier than most.