Tag: Haiti

A Look Back at Spider-Man #4 (1990)

A Look Back at Spider-Man #4 (1990)

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Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Welcome back superhero enthusiasts, 1990s culture enthusiasts and comic book collectors! Today we go back to the early 1990s and explore a part of the Marvel Comics shared universe through a tale of the Spider-Man monthly series.

Having reviewed the first three issues of the Spider-Man monthly series written and drawn by Todd McFarlane (click here, here and here), I can say that the 5-part Torment storyline has a daring concept, adulterated imagery and clunky storytelling. Issues and saw Spider-Man in violent battles with the Lizard who is clearly not himself but under the control of the Haitian witch Calypso. It is inevitable Spider-Man, who has been in a long-lasting disadvantage so far, will somehow meet Calypso face to face.

With those details laid down, here is a look back at Spider-Man , published in 1990 by Marvel Comics with a story written and drawn by Todd McFarlane. This is the 4th chapter of the Torment storyline.

The cover.

Early story

The story begins in a dirty alley deep within New York City. An exhausted and disoriented Spider-Man is shocked to see a grotesque looking Kraven with the vicious Lizard beside him. The moment made him remember what happened as a result of his previous with Kraven (note: refer to the Kraven’s Last Hunt storyline) which includes him getting buried temporarily with a grave designated to him.

Eventually Spider-Man sees through the illusion and realizes that Kraven is not in front of him but Calypso with the Lizard still under her full control. With an unspoken command from Calypso, the Lizard moves towards the weakened Spidey and carries him bodily…

Quality

This portrayal of Mary Jane having a good time again in the city without her husband is clearly filler and it did not add anything to the plot.

As anticipated, the webslinger finally met the Haitian witch who had been controlling the Lizard all along. With a mostly slow pace, the story has Spider-Man being helpless in the presence of two powerful enemies and McFarlane stylishly dramatizes moments from Calypso’s past showing her acceptance of evil ways (witchcraft), her personal connection with Kraven and her desire to have a new sacrifice done.

With Spider-Man restrained a lot for most of the story, it was not surprising to see Calypso have a good share of the spotlight to herself and the Lizard is clearly portrayed as her enforcer and assistant contrasting what was presented in the first 3 issues.

Unsurprisingly, the storytelling feels choppy although the slow pace allows readers to grasp Calypso’s intentions and her main purpose in the entire storyline. The lack of spectacle allowed McFarlane to implement long segments of suspense mixed with horror. With Spider-Man doing not so much, he’s technically a supporting character symbolizing the reader’s curiosity.

Conclusion

There is nothing like waking up in the presence of two evil figures while being restrained.

Compared with the previous, Spider-Man (1990) does not have much to show and has even less entertainment value. Unless you are a die-hard fan of Calypso (so twisted and demonic under McFarlane’s handling), this particular story won’t mean much to Spider-Man faithful. The webslinger is still helpless but this is all part of the build-up for the fifth and final chapter.

In fairness, what was shown here might inspire fans to revisit Kraven’s Last Hunt and read past Spider-Man comic books showing Calypso’s connection with Kraven (note: Spider-Man and Calypso were present in Amazing Spider-Man ). In my view, this comic book is not terrible but it does not have much entertainment value nor does it have anything engaging to show. I don’t feel so motivated to proceed with issue .

Overall, Spider-Man (1990) should be avoided.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

A Look Back at Spider-Man #3 (1990)

A Look Back at Spider-Man #3 (1990)

carlocarrasco

Disclaimer: This is my original work with details sourced from reading the comic book and doing personal research. Anyone who wants to use this article, in part or in whole, needs to secure first my permission and agree to cite me as the source and author. Let it be known that any unauthorized use of this article will constrain the author to pursue the remedies under R.A. No. 8293, the Revised Penal Code, and/or all applicable legal actions under the laws of the Philippines.

Welcome back superhero enthusiasts, 1990s culture enthusiasts and comic book collectors! Today we go back to the early 1990s and explore a part of the Marvel Comics shared universe through a tale of the Spider-Man monthly series.

I previously reviewed issues (click here) and (click here) which were also the first two chapters of the Todd McFarlane-led Torment storyline. McFarlane had this grand vision of a dark and more violent concept of telling a Spider-Man story and it involved another rematch with the Lizard (Dr. Connors) and some connections with the Kraven’s Last Hunt saga of 1987 (read my retro reviews by clicking here and here). McFarlane’s vision was daring but his writing style and the sub-par quality of his storytelling really brought down the overall quality of Spider-Man and .

With those details laid down, here is a look back at Spider-Man , published in 1990 by Marvel Comics with a story written and drawn by Todd McFarlane. This is the 3rd chapter of the Torment storyline.

The cover.

Early story

The story begins at the rooftop of a building in New York City. Up there, the Lizard relentlessly attacks Spider-Man causing some damage on the building. Having recovered previously, Spider-Man manages to hold his ground and punches a solid structure that hit the Lizard hard.

Meanwhile at another part of the city, the evil Haitian Voodoo priestess Calypso communicates with the Lizard telling him to take the fight against Spider-Man easy, avoid killing him and make him suffer first. Calypso is obsessed with making the webslinger an example to the world.

The fight between Spider-Man and the Lizard continues causing even more damage. Spider-Man, who has been poisoned, is having trouble concentrating as the Lizard keeps attacking him violently. Spider-Man wonders why the Dr. Connors’ (the Lizard) blood lust is so consuming…   

Quality

Todd McFarlane’s way of visualizing Spider-Man’s origin.

To get straight to the point, this comic book is simply a natural progression of the hard-hitting conflict between Spider-Man and the Lizard that started in the previous issue. In fact, this comic book shows the resumption of the battle (after a pause happened in the late stage of issue showing the fight temporarily halting which gave Spider-Man some minutes to rest).

At this stage, Spider-Man has gotten even more vulnerable and damaged. Apart from struggling with the very violent attacks of the Lizard, his own spider sense becomes a major hindrance on his mind (he could not concentrate) as the sounds of “doom-doom-doom” caused by Calypso’s sorcery becomes very unbearable. Like the previous issue, Spider-Man gets close to death and if there is anything new here it is showing the iconic superhero messed up in the garbage.

Along the way, this comic book sheds some spotlight on Mary Jane Parker (Spider-Man’s wife) who has been spending time in the city dealing with the absence of her husband. The Mary Jane scenes felt more like filler to the script by McFarlane.

Conclusion

This comic book shows the resumption of the violent battle between the Lizard and Spidey.

Apart from continuing the story, Spider-Man (1990) does not have much to show. Todd McFarlane’s visuals are great and consistently remained high (and even gory) on details, but his weak writing made this one a chore to read through. Being the 3rd chapter of the Torment storyline, this one is predictable and the pay-off is minimum. At this stage, it is clear that something huge is coming up on the last two chapters of the storyline.  

Overall, Spider-Man (1990) is satisfactory.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

What to watch on YouTube right now – Part 97

What to watch on YouTube right now – Part 97

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Welcome back my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching. Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?

I recommend you check out the following videos I found.

Very In-Depth Retrospective about Saints Row (2006) – Back in 2006, I bought my Xbox 360 console and one of the very first games I bought for it was the original Saints Row. The game exceeded my expectations for a fun-filled open-world experience and in some creative ways, it was more entertaining than the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) games available at the time. Recently, I found what is very clearly the most in-depth and most analytical retrospective video about the game which you must watch now.

The Night Donald Trump Destroyed Hillary Clinton With His Al Smith Dinner Speech – Remember the Al Smith Dinner event of 2016? Al Smith Dinner is the annual white tie dinner held in New York City to raise funds for Catholic charities and it has the notable tradition of having US Presidential candidates as guests every four years. The 2016 edition of the dinner was very memorable because of what Donald Trump said about the wicked Hillary Clinton. Trump’s line of Clinton “pretending not to hate Catholics” drew a lot of reactions and was magnified by the mainstream news media. There is a lot more to be discovered in the video from MAGAMark below.

#3 The Sixth Sense Revisited – When it was first released in cinemas in 1999, The Sixth Sense generated a tremendous amount of word-of-mouth reactions and discussions among local moviegoers. This was because of the twist ending, M. Night Shyamalan’s directing, the intense combination of suspense and fright, and the memorable acting between Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment. It’s not surprising that The Sixth Sense became a popular choice of film for YouTubers to make videos of and you can enjoy watching the selected videos below.

Gradius III Revisited – While I played a lot of video games released by Konami, I never ever got to play Gradius III in the arcade nor on game console. Back in the early 1990s,  I remember seeing boxes of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) version of Gradius III displayed in local game stores but I did not have the money to purchase it. None of my neighbors (with SNES consoles in their respective homes) had it. Eventually, I saw some YouTube videos focused on the old game and you can enjoy watching them below.

Okonomiyaki in Japan  – I enjoy eating Okonomiyaki which is a Japanese teppanyaki savory pancake dish consisting of wheat flour batter and other ingredients. In my experience, I have not toured Japan for a very long time and there are lots of places there that cook and serve Okonomiyaki to customers. If you want to see what Okonomiyaki looks like and hot it is cooked, watch the selected videos below.

Entitled Illegal Immigrants – Is your local community still literally flooded with illegal immigrants? There is no doubt that crime is connected with illegal immigration and there are even illegal immigrants who believe they are entitled and cannot be held accountable for wrongdoing. You can see why and learn more by watching the video below.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco