“Sinister War” Conclusion: “The Amazing Spider-Man #74” and Saying Farewell

After three years on the title, 74 issues plus a whole lot of extras Nick Spencer wrapped up his run in “The Amazing Spider-Man” in a mammoth conclusion that plants seeds for future stories and shakes up the status quo while doubling down on the elements that make the superhero so beloved.

Spencer’s final Spider-Man story is devoid of the red herrings, clues and teases that dominated the ‘Kindred’ saga. Spider-Man faced off against the deadliest new foe he’s encountered in a long time, but after barely escaping being beaten to a bloody pulp by the entirety of his Rogue’s Gallery, he’s at a low point.

Luckily, Harry Osborn- or his clone- swoops in to help save the day. He straps on his old Goblin Glider, loads up on the bombs and jumps into the fray alongside Spider-Man in a turn plucked straight out of the climax in ‘Spider-Man 3’.

As in that movie, it end with Harry being killed. RIP Harry. We’ll miss you until your resurrection.

But it turns out the real villain all this time has been none other the devil Mephisto. This is where things get interesting, though it requires a little backstory.

In the story “Civil War”, Peter Parker unmasked his identity to the world to support Iron Man. He’d later come to regret it: Not only did he switch allegiance to Captain America, but Aunt May was fatally injured in a sniper attack that was meant to kill him. Peter made a bargain with the devil to save his aunt’s life and to make the world forget that he was Spider-Man. In the controversial comic “One More Day”, Mephisto extracted a heavy price: He took Peter’s and Mary Jane’s marriage. In one move, over ten years of their relationship were wiped out.

And fans have been pissed since! “One More Day” remains reviled in the Spider-Man saga. It’s hard to read it even today without getting worked up. It would be like if DC Comics erased the Superman-Lois Lane relationship, an integral part of the Boy Scout’s story. But Marvel editor Joe Quesada believed marriage and maturity would turn off fans, so he decreed that Peter return to bachelorhood. Meanwhile, over at DC, Superman and Batman’s stories evolved to their becoming parents and mentoring their children as the next generation of superheroes.

When Spencer took over writing duties in 2018, his first move in Issue #1 itself (as the title got a new volume) was to get Peter and Mary Jane back together. Best decision ever: Even when the story has dragged or gotten frustrating, the relationship has remained a burning pillar of hope. As time progressed, however, there were also hints that Spencer was going to undo the events of ‘One More Day’. Now that he’s arrived at the end: Has he?

Not… quite. But he did undo one of the other controversial elements in Spider-lore: He erased a creepy and controversial relationship between Norman Osborn and Gwen Stacy in which the latter had twins by Osborn called Sarah and Gabriel. Turned out that the whole thing was a scheme concocted ages ago by the real Harry Osborn to torment Peter and Norman. Details details.

However, Spencer did provide an answer as to why Mephisto was so eager to erase Peter’s and MJ’s relationship, and it’s quite tantalising.

Dr Strange and Mephisto battled it out over a game of roulette to see who would win: Spider-Man or Kindred. Yes, the devil was behind Kindred. But why is he so eager to get rid of Spider-Man?

It turns out that Mephisto knows that the world is about to end sometime in the next hundred years. He has foreseen this. A planet consumed in fire, and the devil reigning above on his throne. All the heroes are dead. Except one: Spider-Man. The only one who can stop him.

Only, that’s not the entire truth.

Yes, the world has ended and the heroes are dead… in the future. The only one who can stop him is not Spider-Man, but actually Spider-Man’s daughter, May “Mayday” Parker. Mephisto simply wanted to avert this threat to his glory by making sure Peter and MJ never have a child.

Well, “One More Day” might not have been completely dumped into the forget file. But it does push back against it by ending the comic with Peter and MJ firmly committed to their relationship, their bond stronger than it has ever been.

Let’s just hope future writers don’t ruin a good thing. If it ain’t broke: Leave it.

I’ve been following the Spider-Man comics religiously since 2012. But somehow, I think this is where I might leave off. It’s been a good run, but it’s time to turn my attention to new stories. If you ever happen to stumble across this, Nick Spencer: Thanks for the story, it was a blast.

Seen, Read 2019

ALL CAPS – New movie
ALL CAPS BOLD – Already-seen movie
ALL CAPS UNDERLINED – Documentary

Normal – New television series
Normal bold – Already-seen television series

Italics – New book
Italics bold – Previously-read book

Italics underlined – Play
Italics underlined bold – Previously-read play

“Italics within inverted commas” – Comic book
“Italics within inverted commas bold” – Previously-read comic book

01/02       Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World – Cal Newport

01/03       “The Books of Magic #3”; “Archie #699, #700, #701”; “Archie 1941 #4”

01/05       ANNIHILATION; PATERSON

01/07       BLACK PANTHER

01/08       “The Batman Who Laughs #1”; Spongebob SquarePants [2x16b, 18b, 19a]; The Caretaker – Harold Pinter

01/09       “Batman #62”; “Justice League #15”; Catastrophe [4×01]

01/10        THE RIDER

01/11        “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1”; You’re The Worst [5×01]

01/12        The Birthday Party – Harold Pinter

01/15        The Iceman Cometh – Eugene O’Neill; SECRETS AND LIES

01/16        Catastrophe [4×02]; Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World – Rand Fishkin

01/17        “The Amazing Spider-Man #13”; “The Batman Who Laughs #2”; “Fantastic Four #6”; You’re The Worst [5×02]

01/19        FIRST MAN; LA STRADA

01/20       CHILDREN OF MEN

01/23       “The Superior Spider-Man #2”; “Batman #63”; “Justice League #16”; Catastrophe [4×03]

01/24       “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2”; You’re The Worst [5×03]

01/25        Crucible (Sigma Force #14) – James Rollins; 25^TH HOUR

01/26       LE SALAIRE DE LA PEUR

01/27        Get Shorty – Elmore Leonard

01/29       The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – J.R.R. Tolkien

01/30       All Over The Place: Adventures In Travel, True Love and Petty Theft – Geraldine DeRuitier; “The Amazing Spider-Man #14”; “Books of Magic #4”; Catastrophe [4×04]

01/31        The Homecoming – Harold Pinter; You’re The Worst [5×04]; WIDOWS

02/01       Spongebob SquarePants [3x1a, 1b]

02/02       Monty Python’s Flying Circus [1×08]

02/03       Spongebob SquarePants [2×1, 2a, 2b]; Florida – Lauren Groff

02/04       A Moon For The Misbegotten – Eugene O’Neill; LOCKE

02/06       “Batman #64”; “Justice League #17”; “Archie #702”; Catastrophe [4×05]

02/07       “Archie 1941 #5”; You’re The Worst [5×05]; Russian Doll [1×01]; Digital Minimalism: Choosing A Focused Life in a Noisy World – Cal Newport

02/13       “The Amazing Spider-Man #15”; “The Batman Who Laughs #3”; Catastrophe [4×06]

02/14       The Cherry Orchard – Anton Chekhov; You’re The Worst [5×06]

02/16       DOG DAY AFTERNOON

02/17        Russian Doll [1×02]

02/19       PATTON; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×01]

02/20       “Batman #65”; “Justice League #18”; Ethel & Ernest (Graphic Novel) – Raymond Briggs

02/21       Russian Doll [1×03]; You’re The Worst [5×07]

02/22       “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3”; Where Reasons End – Yiyun Li

02/23       Russian Doll [1×04]; Russian Doll [1×05]

02/24       Russian Doll [1×06-08]; SUSPIRIA (2018)

02/26       The Three Sisters – Anton Chekhov 

02/27       “The Superior Spider-Man #3”; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×02]; THE FAVOURITE

02/28       “The Amazing Spider-Man #16”; “Books of Magic #5”

03/01       Better Things [3×01]

03/02       You’re The Worst [5×08]; HALF NELSON

03/06       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×03]; “Doomsday Clock #9”; “Batman #66”; “Justice League #19”

03/07       You’re The Worst [5×09]; If You’re In My Office, It’s Already Too Late: A Divorce Lawyer’s Guide to Staying Together – James J. Sexton, Esq.

03/08      LEAVING NEVERLAND – PART 1

03/09       Better Things [3×02]; LEAVING NEVERLAND – PART 2; 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism – Ha-Joon Chang

03/13       CAPTAIN MARVEL; “The Amazing Spider-Man #16HU”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #17”

03/14       You’re The Worst [5×10]

03/15        “Mouse Guard #1”; Better Things [3×03]; Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less – Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

03/16       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×04]; The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – J.R.R. Tolkien

03/17        CIDADE DE DEUS; Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline – Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson

03/19       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×05]

03/20       “Batman #67”; “Justice League #20”; SHOPLIFTERS; A Raisin In The Sun – Lorraine Hansberry

03/21       “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #4”; You’re The Worst [5×11]

03/22       Better Things [3×04]

03/24       IRON MAN

03/27       “Books of Magic #6”; “Detective Comics #1000”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #18”

03/28       You’re The Worst [5×12]; Fooled by Randomness – Nassim Nicholas Taleb

03/29       Better Things [3×05]

03/30       The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – J.R.R. Tolkien; US

03/31       “Archie #703”

04/01       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×06]

04/04       “The Amazing Spider-Man #18HU”; “Paper Girls #26-27”; “Justice League #21”; You’re The Worst [5×13]

04/05       Better Things [3×06]

04/06       Bean Counters: The Triumph of the Accountants and How They Broke Capitalism – Richard Brooks

04/07       Archer [6×05]; THEY’LL LOVE ME WHEN I’M DEAD

04/08      Ivanov – Anton Chekhov

04/10       “The Batman Who Laughs #4”; “Batman #68”; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×07]; Black Leopard, Red Wolf (Dark Star Trilogy #1) – Marlon James

04/11        “The Amazing Spider-Man #19”; “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #5”

04/12       Better Things [3×07]

04/13       Archer [5×08]

04/14       AQUAMAN; HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD

04/15        Game of Thrones [8×01]; DO THE RIGHT THING

04/17        “Batman #69”; “Justice League #22”; Archer [3×08]; Rich Dad, Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki

04/18       “Spider-Man: Life Story #1-2”

04/19       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×08]; Better Things [3×08]

04/20       Essays in Love – Alain de Botton; 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

04/21       Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner to Corner Office – Zack O’Malley Greenburg

04/22       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×09]

04/23       Game of Thrones [8×02]

04/25       “The Amazing Spider-Man #20”; “Books of Magic #7”; “The Superior Spider-Man #5”; A SEPARATION; Best. Movie. Year. Ever: How 1999 Blew Up The Big Screen – Brian Raftery

04/26       Better Things [3×09]

04/27       AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

04/29       THE HUSTLER

04/30       Game of Thrones [8×03]

05/01       Monty Python’s Flying Circus [3×04]; “Batman #70”; “Justice League #23”

05/02       MAGNOLIA; “The Amazing Spider-Man #20HU, #19HU”; “Paper Girls #28”; SpongeBob SquarePants [3x9a, 1x14a, 2x14b]; Monty Python’s Flying Circus [2×02]

05/03       iZombie [5×01]; Better Things [3×10]; Monty Python’s Flying Circus [1×04]

05/04       Gingerbread – Helen Oyeyemi; GOSFORD PARK

05/07       AVENGERS: ENDGAME

05/08       “The Batman Who Laughs #5”; The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses – Eric Ries; Monty Python’s Flying Circus [1×12]; Game of Thrones [8×04]

05/09       “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #6”

05/10       iZombie [5×02]; Better Things [3×11]

05/11        IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK; KILL BILL VOL 1; Archer [2×10; 3×12-13]

05/12        Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder – Nassim Nicholas Taleb; Monty Python’s Flying Circus [1×05]; The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms – Nassim Nicholas Taleb

05/14        KILL BILL VOL 2

05/15        “The Amazing Spider-Man #21”; “Spider-Man: Life Story #3”; “Batman #72”; “Justice League #24”

05/16        “Avatar: The Last Airbender – Imbalance Part 2”; Archer [3×10]

05/17        Better Things [3×12]; Monty Python’s Flying Circus [1×02]

05/18       MASH; Once More We Saw Stars – Jayson Greene

05/19        Breaking Bad [1×01]; Hannibal [1×01]

05/21        Game of Thrones [8×06]

05/22       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×12]; Monty Python’s Flying Circus [2×11]

05/23       “Books of Magic #8”

05/24       iZombie [5×04]; METROPOLIS

05/25       What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours – Helen Oyeyemi; Monty Python’s Flying Circus [3×07]; The Hollywood Economist 2.0: The Hidden Financial Reality Behind the Movies – Edward Jay Epstein

05/26       Normal People – Sally Rooney

05/27       BOOKSMART

05/28       Monty Python’s Flying Circus [2×13]

05/29       “The Superior Spider-Man #6”; “Doomsday Clock #10”; “Heroes in Crisis #1-9”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #22”

05/30       “Batman: Last Knight on Earth #1”; The Quarter-Life Breakthrough: Invent Your Own Path, Find Meaningful Work, and Build a Life That Matters – Adam Smiley Poswolsky; Archer [10×01]

05/31       iZombie [5×05]; Monty Python’s Flying Circus [1×11]

06/02       INSIDE OUT

06/03       The House on the Strand – Daphne DuMarier; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×13]

06/04       PULP FICTION

06/05       “Dceased #1-2”; “Batman #72”; “Justice League #25” 

06/06       “Paper Girls #29”; Archer [3×06]; Archer [10×02]; Fleabag [1×01]; THE SOCIAL NETWORK

06/07       iZombie [5×06]

06/08      HIGH LIFE; Fleabag [1×02]

06/09       THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE; Monty Python’s Flying Circus [2×04]; The French Revolution & What Went Wrong – Stephen Clarke

06/10       Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialised World – David Epstein; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×14]

06/11        Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life – Anne Lamott

06/12       “Super Sons #16”; “The Batman Who Laughs #6”; “Archie #705”; “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #7”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #23”; “The Superior Spider-Man #7”; “War of the Realms #1-5”

06/13       “Spider-Man: Life Story #4”; Archer [10×03]; Fleabag [1×03-06]

06/14       “Super Sons #1-7; #10”; Fleabag [2×01-06]; The Apology – Eve Ensler

06/16       Kids These Days: Human Capital and the Making of Millennials – Malcolm Harris; BUMBLEBEE

06/18       Monty Python’s Flying Circus [1×03]

06/19       “Batman #73”; “Justice League #26”; Monty Python’s Flying Circus [1×09]

06/20       “Injustice: Gods Among Us – Year One #36”; “Injustice: Gods Among Us – Year Two #1-24”; “Injustice: Gods Among Us – Year Five #40”; Archer [10×04]

06/21       Monty Python’s Flying Circus [3×02]; AU REVOIR, LES ENFANTS

06/23       KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE

06/24       Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days – Chris Guillebeau

06/25       Monty Python’s Flying Circus [3×08]

06/26       “War of the Realms #6”; “The Superior Spider-Man #8”; “Books of Magic #9”

06/27       “The Amazing Spider-Man #24”; “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #8”; Archer [10×05]

06/29       NETWORK

06/30       SpongeBob SquarePants [3x3a, 3b, 11a]; GET SHORTY; Every Tool’s A Hammer: Life Is What You Make It – Adam Savage

07/01       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×16-17]

07/02       Legion [3×01]

07/03       “Justice League #27”; “Dceased #3”; Legion [3×02]

07/04       The Distraction Addiction – Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

07/05       THE SEVENTH SEAL

07/06       FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD

07/07       How To Fall In Love With Anyone – Mandy Len Catron

07/08       Ramy [1×01]

07/09       Legion [3×03]

07/10       “Batman #74”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #25”

07/11        Archer [10×06]; How Adam Smith Can Change Your Life: An Unexpected Guide to Human Nature and Happiness – Russ Roberts

07/12        iZombie [5×10]

07/13        SpongeBob Square Pants [3x2a-b, 4a-b]; Lady Chatterley’s Lover – D.H. Lawrence; Territory of Light – Yuko Tsushima; THE KARATE KID

07/14        Cobra Kai [1×01-02]

07/15        “The Sandman #12; #14”; “Y: The Last Man – Volume 1 and 2”; “Saga #1”

07/16        APOLLO 11; Cobra Kai [1×03-10]; Legion [3×04]; “Y: The Last Man – Volume 3”

07/17        Cobra Kai [2×01]; “Y: The Last Man – Volume 4”; “Y: The Last Man – Volume 5”; “Batman #75”; “Justice League #28”

07/18       “Spider-Man: Life Story #5”; “The Superior Spider-Man #9”; “Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #1”; Archer [10×07]; City of Devils: The Two Men Who Ruled the Underworld of Old Shanghai – Paul French

07/19        iZombie [5×11]; “Y: The Last Man #60, 58, 59”; “Y: The Last Man – Volumes 5, 6, 7, 8, 9”

07/20       “Y: The Last Man #55, 56, 57”; ERASERHEAD

07/21       The Parisian – Isabella Hammad

07/23       Legion [3×05]; FARGO

07/24       “Batman: Curse of the White Knight #1”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #26”; “Books of Magic #10”

07/25       “Ex Machina #1-5”; Archer [10×08]

07/26       “Ex Machina #6-20”; iZombie [5×12]; GHOST STORIES

07/27       “Ex Machina #21”; MODERN TIMES

07/28       SpongeBob Square Pants [3x05a-5b]; ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST

07/30       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×18]; Legion [3×06]

07/31        “The Batman Who Laughs #7”; “Batman: Last Knight on Earth #2”; “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #9”; My Sister, The Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite

08/01       “Paper Girls #30”; Archer [10×09]; Why We Sleep: Unlocking The Power of Sleep and Dreams – Matthew Walker

08/02      iZombie [5×13]; 99 HOMES; Winnie-the-Pooh – A.A. Milne

08/03      BEFORE SUNRISE

08/04      BEFORE SUNSET; THE FLORIDA PROJECT

08/05       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×19]

08/06      Legion [3×07]; I Like To Watch: Arguing My Way Through The TV Revolution – Emily Nussbaum; The House at Pooh Corner – A.A. Milne

08/07       “Archie #706”; “Batman #76”; “Justice League #29”; “Dceased #4”; “Superman: Up In The Sky #1-2”; “Ex Machina #22-24”

08/09      Ramy [1×02-03]

08/10       Ramy [1×04-05]; Small Gods – Terry Pratchett

08/11        AU HASARD BALTHAZAR; Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career – Scott H. Young

08/13       Legion [3×08]; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×20]; La Maison du chat-qui-pelote (At the Sign of the Cat and Racket) – Honoré de Balzac

08/15       “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #10”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #27”

08/16       BEFORE MIDNIGHT

08/17       Men Without Women ­– Haruki Murakami; HARVEY

08/18       PLATOON

08/19       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×21]; The Killer Across The Table: Unlocking The Secrets of Serial Killers and Predators With The FBI’s Original Mindhunters – John Douglas & Mark Olshaker

08/20      “Kingdom Come #1”; The Prophet – Kahlil Gibran

08/21       “Batman #77”

08/22       “The Superior Spider-Man #10”; Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing – Robert A. Caro

08/23       “Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #2”; THE GREAT DICTATOR

08/25       ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD

08/27       The Stranger – Albert Camus

08/28      “The Amazing Spider-Man #28”; “Batman: Curse of the White Knight #2”; “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #11”; “Books of Magic #11”; “Spider-Man: Life Story #6”

08/29       “Justice League #30”

08/31       DR. NO

09/01       THE SOUVENIR

09/03       Learn More, Study Less – Scott H. Young

09/04       “Justice League #31”; “Doomsday Clock #11”; “Superman: Up In The Sky #3”

09/05       “Archie #707”

09/07       Monty Python’s Flying Circus [1×06]; SORRY TO BOTHER YOU

09/08      THE GRAPES OF WRATH

09/09       “The Sculptor” – Scott McCloud; On Grand Strategy – John Lewis Gaddis

09/10       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×22]

09/11        “Batman #78”

09/12       “The Amazing Spider-Man #29”; Monty Python’s Flying Circus [4×02]

09/13       “Ex Machina #25-32”; The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way To Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns – John C. Bogle

09/14       The Elements of Eloquence: How To Turn The Perfect English Phrase – Mark Forsyth; LUCKY

09/15        Hyperfocus: How To Be More Productive In Distracted World – Chris Bailey; CASINO ROYALE

09/16       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×23]

09/17        Monty Python’s Flying Circus [1×13]; Loonshots: How To Nurture The Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases and Transform Industries – Safi Bahcall

09/18       SpongeBob Square Pants [1x14b; 1x5a]; “Justice League #32”; “Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #3”; “Batman #79”; “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #12”; “Spider-Man: Bloodline #1”; “Archie: 1955 #1”; GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS; The Plague – Albert Camus

09/19       Succession [1×01]; THE GOLD RUSH

09/20       MY FAIR LADY

09/21       Pygmalion – George Bernard Shaw; SHERLOCK, JR.; JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM; Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life – Emily Nagoski, Ph.D

09/22       INFERNAL AFFAIRS

09/23       Monty Python’s Flying Circus [2×07]; Man and Superman – George Bernard Shaw

09/24       THE BIG BAD FOX AND OTHER TALES

09/25       “Batman/Superman #1-2”; “Batman: Curse of the White Knight #3”; Misery – Stephen King

09/26       “The Superior Spider-Man #11”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #30”; “Books of Magic #12”; MISERY

09/27       DARK CITY

09/30       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×24]; SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

10/01        “Miles Morales: Spider-Man #10, #2”; David Copperfield – Charles Dickens

10/02       “Batman #80”; “Justice League #33”; “Dceased #5”; “Superman: Up In The Sky #4”; “Avatar: The Last Airbender – Imbalance #3”; “Spider-Verse #1”

10/03       FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

10/04       “Miles Morales: Spider-Man #3-5”; BLINDED BY THE LIGHT

10/05       Big Mouth [3×02-08]

10/06       Big Mouth [3×09-11]

10/07       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×25]

10/09       “Superman #16”; “The Batman’s Grave #1”; “Joker: Year of the Villain”

10/10        “The Amazing Spider-Man #31”; “Star Wars: Allegiance #1”; “Miles Morales: Spider-Man #6-9, #1, #11”; THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO

10/11        “Absolute Carnage #1”; CAT PEOPLE

10/12        LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

10/13        Primal [1×01]

10/14        Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×26]

10/15        That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of An Idea – Marc Randolph

10/16        “Absolute Carnage #2-4”; “Batman #81”; “Justice League #34”; “Archie #708”

10/17        “Spider-Man #2”

10/18        Primal [1×02]; EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE

10/19        Modern Love [1×01]

10/20       The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao – Junot Díaz; THE KILLING; Modern Love [1×02]

10/21        Watchmen [1×01]

10/22       The Princess Diarist – Carrie Fisher

10/23       “Batman: Curse of the White Knight #4”; “The Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle”; “Batman/Superman #3”; The Turn of the Screw – Henry James

10/24       “The Amazing Mary Jane #1”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #32”; “Books of Magic #13”; LET ME IN

10/25        HUGO

10/26       MIDSOMMAR; Primal [1×03]

10/27        “American Vampire #1-2”

10/28       The Art of Betrayal: The Secret History of MI6 – Gordon Corera; Watchmen [1×02]

10/29       Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×27]

10/30       “Dceased #6”; “American Vampire #3-5”

10/31        “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #13”; “The Superior Spider-Man #12”; “Archie 1955 #2”; “American Vampire #6-9”

11/01        “American Vampire #10-11”; The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

11/02        REQUIEM FOR A DREAM

11/04        Watchmen [1×03]

11/05        “American Vampire #12-18”; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×28]; GOLDFINGER

11/06        “Batman #82”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #33”; JOKER

11/07        “Justice League #35”; “Superman: Up In The Sky #5”; “Miles Morales: Spider-Man #12”

11/08        Primal [1×04]

11/09        Primal [1×05]; Batman The Animated Series [2×34]

11/10        THE TALES OF HOFFMANN

11/11         Rick and Morty [4×01]

11/12         Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion – Jia Tolentino

11/14         “The Batman’s Grave #2”

11/16         Watchmen [1×04]; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×29]; TOY STORY 4

11/18        Rick and Morty [4×02]; The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life – Mark Manson

11/20        “Batman #83”; “Justice League #36”; “Batman/Superman #4”; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [6×30]

11/21         “Spider-Verse #2”; Watchmen [1×05]

11/22        “The Amazing Spider-Man #34”; “Absolute Carnage #5”; IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE

11/23        The Mandalorian [1×01-02]; THE STING

11/24        ALIEN: COVENANT

11/25        Rick and Morty [4×03]; Watchmen [1×06]

11/27        Alone Time: Four Seasons, Four Cities, and the Pleasures of Solitude – Stephanie Rosenbloom; The Mandalorian [1×03]

11/28        “The Amazing Mary Jane #2”

11/29        READY OR NOT

11/30        THE FAREWELL

12/01        KNIVES OUT

12/02       “Watchmen #1”; Watchmen [1×07]

12/04       “Books of Magic #14”; “Batman #84”; “Justice League #37”; “Superman: Up In The Sky #6”; CHINATOWN

12/05        “The Amazing Spider-Man #35”

12/06       “Archie #709”

12/07        THE IRISHMAN

12/08       Great Expectations – Charles Dickens; GOODFELLAS

12/09       Rick and Morty [4×04]; Supergirl [5×09]; No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us – Rachel Louise Snyder

12/10        Watchmen [1×08]

12/11         An Orchestra of Minorities – Chigozie Obioma

12/12        “The Amazing Mary Jane #3”; “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #14”; “Miles Morales: Spider-Man #13”; “Batman: Curse of the White Knight #5”

12/13        MARRIAGE STORY

12/14        When Breath Becomes Air – Paul Kalanithi

12/15        12 ANGRY MEN

12/16        Rick and Morty [4×05]; Watchmen [1×09]

12/18        “Batman #85”; “Doomsday Clock #12”; “Justice League #38”; “Batman/Superman #5”; “Batman: Last Knight on Earth #3”

12/19        “The Amazing Spider-Man #36”; “Superman #18”

12/20       STAR WARS EPISODE IX: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER

12/23        THE APARTMENT

12/24        DIAL M FOR MURDER

12/26        Don’t Be Evil: How Big Tech Betrayed Its Founding Principles- And All of Us – Rana Foroohar

12/28       I LOST MY BODY

12/29        AD ASTRA 12/31  THE LIGHTHOUSE

Seen, Read 2018

ALL CAPS – New movie
ALL CAPS BOLD – Already-seen movie
ALL CAPS UNDERLINED – Documentary

Normal – New television series
Normal bold – Already-seen television series

Italics – New book
Italics bold – Previously-read book

Italics underlined – Play
Italics underlined bold – Previously-read play

“Italics within inverted commas” – Comic book
“Italics within inverted commas bold” – Previously-read comic book

01/01           Black Mirror [4×02]

01/04          “Superman #38”; “Spider-Man #236”; “Green Arrow #36”; “Star Wars #41”; “Batman and the Signal #1”; “Paper Girls #19”; “Batman: White Knight #4”; “Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles #1”; “Justice League #36”

01/05          WAKING LIFE                       

01/06          Caligula – Albert Camus; Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling

01/10           “Batman #38”; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling; THE DARK KNIGHT

01/12           “Darth Vader #10”

01/13           THE LITTLE HOURS

01/14           NOTTING HILL

01/15           Samurai Jack [3×10]; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling

01/16           “Action Comics #761”

01/17           “Batman #39”; “Superman #39”; “Justice League #37”

01/18           “Venom #160”; “Venom Inc. Omega”

01/19           When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing – Daniel Pink

01/20          Black Mirror [4×05]

01/21           DAY FOR NIGHT

01/23          Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling

01/24          “Doomsday Clock #3”; “Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #37”; GOODFELLAS

01/25           “The Amazing Spider-Man #794”; “Sex Criminals #21”

01/26          EASTERN PROMISES

01/27           BLADE RUNNER 2049

01/28          HEAT

01/30          IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT

01/31           The Impossible Fortress – Jason Rekulak; “Dark Nights Metal #5”

02/04          IKIRU

02/06          The Power of Onlyness: Make Your Wild Ideas Mighty Enough to Dent the World – Nilofer Merchant

02/07          “Batman #40”; “Justice League #38”; “Superman #40”

02/08         “Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles #2”; “Batman: White Knight #5”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #795”; “Spider-Man #237”; “Paper Girls #20”; “Green Arrow #37”; “Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #15”

02/10          Key and Peele [5×01]; JULES ET JIM; COCO

02/11           Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling; Rowan Atkinson Live 1992

02/13          Steven Spielberg: A Biography – Joseph McBride; BOOGIE NIGHTS

02/14          “Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #38”; “Darth Vader #11

02/15           “Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #16”; “Archie #27”; “Archie #28”; FLOATING WEEDS  

02/16          How Democracies Die – Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt

02/17           BLACK PANTHER

02/18          Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging – Steven Junger; THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI; DARKEST HOUR

02/19          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×01]

02/20          Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling

02/21          “Superman #41”; “Batman #41”; “Justice League #39”; SIDEWAYS

02/22          “Sex Criminals #22”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #796”

02/24          GET OUT; SUSPIRIA

02/25          THE HAUNTING (1963)

02/26          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×02]

02/27          iZombie [4×01]

03/02          “Saga #49”; “Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #39”; Atlanta [2×01]; The Quarter-Life Breakthrough – Adam “Smiley Poswolsky

03/03          LADY BIRD

03/05          The 90^th Academy Awards; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×03]; THE SHAPE OF WATER; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling

03/07          “Justice League #40”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #797”; “Batman #42”; “Superman #42”; “Batman: White Knight #6”; iZombie [4×02]

03/08         “Spider-Man #238”; “Green Arrow #38”; “Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles #3”; MUDBOUND

03/09          Atlanta [2×02]

03/12          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×04]; SPLIT

03/13          “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #300”; PADDINGTON 2

03/14          iZombie [4×03]

03/15           “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #301”; “Darth Vader #13”; “Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #40”; CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

03/16          Atlanta [2×03]

03/17           INSIDE JOB

03/18          FANTASIA

03/19          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×05]

03/20          iZombie [4×04]

03/21          “Batman #43”; “Justice League #41”; “Superman #43”; The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich – William L. Shirer

03/22          “Archie #29”; “Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #17”;

03/23          Atlanta [2×04]; ZODIAC

03/24          Antony and Cleopatra – William Shakespeare

03/25          Archer [2×09]; Principles – Ray Dalio

03/26          Archer [3×08; 8×07]

03/28          “Doomsday Clock #4”; “Dark Nights Metal #6”; “Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #41”; iZombie [4×05]; Fates and Furies – Lauren Groff

03/29          “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #302”; “Saga #50”; Archer [1×07; 3×06]

03/30          Atlanta [2×05]; Archer [4×09; 4×11; 5×09-11]

03/31          Archer [5×12-13; 2×01]; Mind Your Language [1×09]

04/01          READY PLAYER ONE; ANNIHILATION

04/02          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×06]; Archer [4×02]

04/03          Magician of the Movies: The Life of Walt Disney – Bob Thomas; The Terror [1×01]

04/04          “Justice League #42”; “Superman #44”; “Batman #44”; Legion [2×01]; Emergency Contact – Mary H.K. Choi

04/05          “The Amazing Spider-Man #798”; “Batman: White Knight #7”; “Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles #4”; “Sex Criminals #23”; “Green Arrow #39”  

04/06          Atlanta [2×06]

04/09          “Spider-Man #239”

04/10          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×07]

04/11           Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind – Yuval Noah Harari

04/12          Legion [2×02]; iZombie [4×06]; A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens

04/13          Atlanta [2×07]

04/14          SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS; Archer [6×09]; TERMS OF ENDEARMENT

04/15           A QUIET PLACE; The Graham Norton Show [23×01-02]

04/16          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×08]; Archer [7×05-06]; THE APARTMENT; Castle [8×19]

04/17           iZombie [4×07]

04/19          “The Amazing Spider-Man #799”; “Batman #45”; “Justice League #43”; “Superman #45”; “Action Comics #1000”; BELLE DE JOUR

04/20          Legion [2×03]

04/21          Atlanta [2×08]; The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney – Michael Barrier; THE LOST WEEKEND

04/23          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×09]; RATATOUILLE

04/24          Archer [3×01-03]; iZombie [4×08]

04/25          “Saga #51”; “Archie #30”

04/26          “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #303”; Archer [9×01]

04/27          Atlanta [2×09]

04/28          Tom and Jerry [83, 40]; Tom and Jerry [37]; FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE; MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

04/29          Archer [5×01]; Legion [2×04]

04/30          AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

05/01          iZombie [4×09]

05/02          “Sex Criminals #24”; “Batman #46”; “DC Nation #0”; Legion [2×05]

05/03          “Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles #5”; “Avengers #1”; Archer [9×02]; The Sympathizer – Viet Thanh Nguyen

05/04          ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN

05/05          Atlanta [2×10]; STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII – THE LAST JEDI

05/06          NO STRINGS ATTACHED; Failure is an Option: An Attempted Memoir – H. Jon Benjamin; Tom and Jerry [05]; MONEYBALL

05/07          Tom and Jerry [35, 20]; James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction [01]; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×10]

05/08          iZombie [4×10]; THE POST

05/09          “Justice League: No Justice #1”; Legion [2×06]

05/10          “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #304”; “Batman: White Knight #8”; Archer [9×03]

05/11           Atlanta [2×11]; The Only Story – Julian Barnes

05/12           James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction [02]; PHANTOM THREAD

05/13           Tom and Jerry [24, 65]

05/14           Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×11]

05/15           iZombie [4×11]; Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs – John Doerr; MOLLY’S GAME

05/17           “Batman #47”; “Justice League: No Justice #2”; Archer [9×04]

05/19           James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction [03]; Like Brothers – Mark Duplass & Jay Duplass; Great Expectations – Charles Dickens; Legion [2×07]; DR STRANGELOVE: OR HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB

05/21           Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×12]

05/22          Tom and Jerry [17, 33]; iZombie [4×12]; GAME NIGHT

05/23          “Justice League: No Justice #3”

05/24          Archer [9×05]

05/25          James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction [04]

05/26          Tom and Jerry [2, 3, 31]; SpongeBob Square Pants [2x3a; 2x9b; 3x21a]; Tom and Jerry [22]; Samurai Jack [3×05]; THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2

05/27          Samurai Jack [3×13]

05/28          Samurai Jack [4×06-07]

05/29          Samurai Jack [4×04]; iZombie [4×13]

05/30          “Arthus Trivium #1”; “Justice League: No Justice #4”; “Arthus Trivium #2”; “Arthus Trivium #3”; Samurai Jack [4×11]; Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World – Cal Newport; “Saga #52”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #800”

05/31           “The Doomsday Clock #5”; Archer [9×06]; Salem’s Lot – Stephen King

06/01          James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction [05]; Tom and Jerry [36, 19, 34]

06/02          James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction [06]; WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

06/03          THE WILD BUNCH

06/04          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×13]

06/05          Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now ­– Jaron Lanier

06/06          Samurai Jack [4×10; 02]; Tom and Jerry [23]; “Batman #48”; “DC Nation #1”; “Paper Girls #21”

06/07          “Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles #6”; “Justice League #1”; “Archie #31”; Archer [9×07]

06/08         Just the Funny Parts… And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking into the Hollywood Boys’ Club – Nell Scovell

06/09          TO BE OR NOT TO BE; PATHS OF GLORY

06/11           Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×14]

06/12          Tom and Jerry [50, 51, 46]; The Crucible – Arthur Miller

06/13          Dear Life – Alice Munro

06/14          “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #305”

06/15           Archer [9×08]

06/16          INCREDIBLES 2; THRONE OF BLOOD

06/17           Tom and Jerry [48, 54, 53]; Samurai Jack [4×12]; HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA

06/18          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×15]

06/19          Tom and Jerry [86, 66, 58]

06/20          “Batman #49”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #801”; “Justice League #2”

06/21          “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #1”; A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

06/23          THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES; Tom and Jerry [61, 64, 67]

06/24          A Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawking

06/25          Doctor Thorne – Anthony Trollope

06/26          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×16]; Star Wars: Clone Wars [Volume One]; Tom and Jerry [26]

06/27          Tom and Jerry [70]; Star Wars: Clone Wars [Volume Two]; The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World – Catherine Nixey; “Saga #53”; “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #306”; “Sex Criminals #25”

06/29          Tom and Jerry [98]

06/30          Tom and Jerry [49, 45, 74]; The Lady in the Lake – Raymond Chandler; Tom and Jerry [89]

07/01          Tom and Jerry [78]; THE SOCIAL NETWORK

07/03          PERSONA

07/04          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×17]

07/05          “Batman #50”; “Justice League #3”; “DC Nation #3”; “Paper Girls #22”

07/07          Slugfest: Inside the Epic 50-Year Battle Between Marvel and DC – Reed Tucker

07/09          My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired – Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander

07/10          Sharp Objects [1×01]

07/12           “The Amazing Spider-Man #1”; “The Sensational Spider-Man Annual”

07/13           “Archie #32”; BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD

07/14           BLOCKERS

07/15           Soon: An Overdue History of Procrastination from Leonardo and Darwin to You and Me – Andrew Santella; THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR; Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor E. Frankl

07/16           Sharp Objects [1×02]

07/17           Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All The Facts – Annie Duke

07/18          “Batman #51”; “Justice League #4”; “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #307”; Tom and Jerry [85]; Originals: How Non-Conformists Move The World – Adam Grant

07/20          REBECCA

07/21           MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION

07/23          Tom and Jerry [94]; Sharp Objects [1×03]

07/25          “Doomsday Clock #6”; “Saga #54”

07/26          “The Amazing Spider-Man #2”; Tom and Jerry [72, 73]; THE EARRINGS OF MADAME DE…

07/27          TOMB RAIDER (2018)

07/28          MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT

07/29          Tom and Jerry [71, 88, 81, 90]

07/30          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×18]; Sharp Objects [1×04]

07/31           THE PRINCESS BRIDE

08/01          “Batman #52”; “Justice League #5”

08/02         “Paper Girls #23”

08/03         “Sex Criminals #1-3”

08/04         PEEPING TOM

08/06         Bullshit Jobs: A Theory – David Graeber; Sharp Objects [1×05]

08/07          Tom and Jerry [92]; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×19]

08/09         “The Amazing Spider-Man #3”; “The Sandman Universe”; Tom and Jerry [96]; Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov

08/11           The Wizard of Oz – L. Frank Baum; BEING THERE

08/13          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×20]

08/14          Sharp Objects [1×06]

08/16          “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #308”; “Edge of Spider-Geddon #1”; “Batman #53”; “Justice League #6”

08/18          DUCK SOUP; THREE COLOURS – RED

08/19          Tom and Jerry [95, 97, 99]

08/20         Sharp Objects [1×07]

08/21          The Hedgehog and the Fox – Isaiah Berlin

08/22          But What If We’re Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were The Past – Chuck Klosterman; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×21]; TAXI DRIVER

08/23          “The Amazing Spider-Man #4”

08/24          BEFORE MIDNIGHT

08/25          THREE COLOURS – WHITE

08/26          Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman

08/27          Sharp Objects [1×08]

08/28         HEREDITARY

08/29          THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

08/31          Zero To One: Notes on Startups, or How To Build The Future – Peter Thiel with Blake Masters; GETTING IT RIGHT

09/02          JACKIE BROWN

09/04          21 Lessons for the 21^st Century – Yuval Noah Harari

09/05          “Batman #54”; “Justice League #7”; “Paper Girls #24”

09/07          FIRST REFORMED

09/08         The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups – Daniel Coyle; EX MACHINA; Eric – Terry Pratchett

09/13          “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #309”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #5”; “Archie 1941 #1”

09/14          “Sabrina” – Nick Dnarso

09/15           Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life – Nassim Nicholas Taleb; American Vandal [2×01-08]; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×22]; Forever [1×01]

09/17           Forever [1×02]

09/18          Forever [1×03-04]

09/19          Forever [1×05-08]

09/20          “Batman #55”; “Justice League #8”; “The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1”; Robots and Empire – Isaac Asimov

09/22          Lethal White (Cormoran Strike #4) – Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling); YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE; TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE

09/23          THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER; Tom and Jerry [101, 113, 109]; WILD STRAWBERRIES

09/24          Maniac [1×01]; THE PHILADELPHIA STORY

09/25          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×23]

09/26          “Doomsday Clock #7”

09/27          “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #310”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #6”

09/28          Small Fry: A Memoir – Lisa Brennan-Jobs;Maniac [1×02]

09/29          Maniac [1×03-08]

09/30          Maniac [1×09, 1×10]

10/01           Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×24]; The Narrow Road To The Deep North – Richard Flanagan

10/03          “Batman #56”; “Superior Octopus #1”; “Justice League #9”; DON’T LOOK NOW

10/04          “Paper Girls #25”; Avatar: The Last Airbender [2×11]

10/06          Big Mouth [2×01-10]

10/07          THE CONVERSATION

10/08          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×25]

10/10           “Spider-Geddon #0”; “Spider-Geddon #1”

10/13           CHARULATA; The Adventures of Robin Hood – Roger Lancelyn Green

10/14           IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

10/15           Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×26]

10/17           “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #311”; “Batman #57”; “Justice League #10”

10/18          “Archie 1941 #2”; “Batman: The Long Halloween #1”      

10/19          “Batman: The Long Halloween #2-7”

10/20          “Batman: The Long Halloween #8-13”; HALLOWEEN

10/22          The Ultimate Book of Imposters – Ian Graham

10/24          Blitzscaling: The Lightning Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies – Reid Hoffman & Chris Yeh

10/25           “Spider-Geddon #2”; “The Books of Magic #1”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #8; #7”; Conversations with Friends – Sally Rooney

10/27           BLACKKKLANSMAN

10/28          “Batman: Year One #1”; “Batman: Dark Victory #1-5; #7-13”

10/29          “Batman: Dark Victory #6”

10/30          Wellington Paranormal [1×01]

11/01           “Spider-Force #1”

11/02           Anything You Can Imagine: Peter Jackson & The Making of Middle-Earth – Ian Nathan; THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

11/03           Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×27]; PRIVATE LIFE

11/06           Angels in America – Tony Kushner

11/07           Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×28]; “Batman #58”; “Justice League #11”; “Spider-Geddon #3”

11/08           Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones – James Clear

11/09           “Justice League: Justice League/Aquaman Special”; THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND

11/10           ATONEMENT

11/13           Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×29]

11/14            “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #312”

11/16            THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY

11/19            “The Amazing Spider-Man #9”

11/20           Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [5×30]; Billion Dollar Whale: The Man Who Fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the World – Tom Wright & Bradley Hope

11/21            “Batman #59”; “Justice League #12”; “Spider-Force #2”

11/22           “Spider-Force #2”; “Spider-Geddon #4”; The Little Drummer Girl [1×01]

11/23           I’ll Be There For You: The One About Friends – Kelsey Miller

11/24           The Pillowman – Martin McDonagh; THE GREAT ESCAPE

11/25           Parks and Recreation [5×04-05]

11/28           “Archie 1941 #3”; A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams

11/29           “The Books of Magic #2”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #10”

12/01           The Little Drummer Girl [1×02]

12/02          SpongeBob SquarePants [1x11b, 8b, 20a; 2x5b, 9a; 3x4b]; RACHEL GETTING MARRIED; Leonardo Da Vinci – Walter Isaacson

12/03          SpongeBob SquarePants [3x13a];

12/05           “Batman #60”; “Justice League #13”; “Doomsday Clock #8”; Wellington Paranormal [1×02, 03]

12/06          Betrayal – Harold Pinter

12/08          THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS

12/10           So Good They Can’t Ignore You – Cal Newport

12/12           “Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #313”; “Spider-Force #3”

12/13           “The Amazing Spider-Man #11”

12/15           SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

12/17           Long Day’s Journey Into Night – Eugene O’Neill

12/18           Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise – Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool; Wellington Paranormal [1×04]

12/19           “Batman #61”; “Justice League #14”; “Spider-Geddon #5”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #12”

12/20          “Avatar: The Last Airbender – Imbalance Part One”; “Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man 2011 #200”; “Spider-Girls #1-3”

12/21           HERCULES

12/22           Wellington Paranormal [1×05-06]

12/23           COLD WAR

12/24           The Sea Gull – Anton Chekhov

12/25           LEAVE NO TRACE

12/26           ROMA

12/27           “The Superior Spider-Man #1”; “Fantastic Four #1-5”

12/29           Into The Dark [1×04]; The Little Drummer Girl [1×03-04] 12/30 The Little Drummer Girl [1×05-06]; The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable – Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Seen, Read 2017

ALL CAPS – New movie
ALL CAPS BOLD – Already-seen movie
ALL CAPS UNDERLINED – Documentary

Normal – New television series
Normal bold – Already-seen television series

Italics – New book
Italics bold – Previously-read book

Italics underlined – Play
Italics underlined bold – Previously-read play

“Italics within inverted commas” – Comic book
“Italics within inverted commas bold” – Previously-read comic book

01/01          Black Mirror [2×01]

01/02          Sherlock [4×01]

01/04          GREEN ROOM

01/06          Black Mirror [2×03]

01/07          Black Mirror [2×02]; The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds – Michael Lewis

01/08          Black Mirror [1×03]; Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling

01/09          Sherlock [4×02]

01/10           TRAFFIC

01/11           SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN

01/12           Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling; Show Your Work: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered – Austin Kleon; Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative – Austin Kleon; Preacher [1×04-05]

01/13           Preacher [1×06-07]

01/14           A Series of Unfortunate Events [1×01-02]; Preacher [1×08]

01/15           Preacher [1×09]; Play Anything: The Pleasure of Limits, The Uses of Boredom & The Secret of Games ­– Ian Bogost

01/16           HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE; “Sherlock [4×03]; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling

01/18           “Spider-Man #12 (Sitting in a Tree Part 1)”; “Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #1”

01/19           “Clone Conspiracy #4”; “Spider-Gwen #16 (Sitting in a Tree Part 2)”; “The Amazing Spider-Man #23”; “Superman #15”

01/20          “Green Arrow #15 (Emerald Outlaw Part 4)”; The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle – Steven Pressfield; The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde

01/21           HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

01/22          “Archie #16”

01/23          OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL

01/24          Preacher [1×10]; RATATOUILLE

01/25           SpongeBob Square Pants [4×11]; Parks and Recreation [7×8]; “Saga #42” 01/29 DON’T BREATHE; Black Mirror [White Christmas (Special)]; George Lucas: A Life – Brian Jay Jones

02/01          “Superman #16”; “Batman #16 (I Am Bane Part One)”; DC’s Legends of Tomorrow [2×10]

02/02          “Green Arrow #16 (Emerald Outlaw Part Five)”; “Paper Girls #11”

02/03          The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials Into Triumphs – Ryan Holiday

02/04          ARRIVAL

02/05          NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

02/06          HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

02/07          Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling

02/08         Commonwealth – Ann Patchett; HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE

02/09          Legion [1×01]

02/10          Norse Mythology – Neil Gaiman

02/11          HACKSAW RIDGE

02/12          MANCHESTER BY THE SEA; SHANGHAI NOON

02/13          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [4×01]

02/16          “Archie #17”; “Clone Conspiracy #5”

02/17           “Batman #17 (I Am Bane Part 2)”; “Green Arrow #17 (Emerald Outlaw Part 6)”; “Superman #17”; “Spider-Man #13 (Sitting in a Tree Part 3)”; “Avatar: The Last Airbender – North and South – Part 2”;Fences – August Wilson

02/18          The Complete Adventures of Chip N’ Dale [1×01; 1×10-17]

02/19          Legion [1×02]

02/20          Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [4×02]; Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling

02/22          “Spider-Gwen #17 (Sitting in a Tree Part 4)”

02/23          “The Amazing Spider-Man #24”; Legion [1×03]

02/24          SHAUN OF THE DEAD

02/25          A MONSTER CALLS; FINDING DORY

02/26          MOONLIGHT; Spongebob SquarePants [4×02; 4×12] 02/27 The 89^th Academy Awards; Last Week Tonight With John Oliver [4×03]

My 2015 in Books

In 2013, I embarked on a mission to read at least one new book every week. This year, I managed to read 88 books (give or take- some of these included comic book story arcs), spread across fiction, non-fiction and drama.

I have picked out the books I thought were best in each category and listed them out. These are not the entire 88 books, mind.

TOP TEN PICKINGS

1. The Sculptor – Scott McCloud
2. Slade House – David Mitchell
3. East of Eden – John Steinbeck
4. The Bone Labyrinth (Sigma Force #11) – James Rollins
5. Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances – Neil Gaiman
6. Modern Romance: An Investigation – Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg
7. The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell
8. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – Susanna Clarke
9. The Sixth Extinction – Elizabeth Kolbert
10. Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell

SHORT-LIST

11. The Sandman: Overture – Written by Neil Gaiman (2013-2015)
12. Me & Earl & The Dying Girl – Jesse Andrews
13. The Eureka Factor: Aha Moments, Creative Insight and the Brain – John Kounios & Mark Beeman
14. Superforecasting – Philip E. Tetlock and Daniel Gardner
15. Batman: Endgame (Batman #35-#40) – Written by Scott Snyder

BONUS:

• Archie Comics – Written by Mark Waid
• Saga – Written by Brian K. Vaughn and Art by Fiona Staples
• Batman: Death of the Family (Batman #13-#17) – Written by Scott Snyder (2012-2013)

COMPLETE LIST

2015 IN FICTION

• Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances – Neil Gaiman
• Finders Keepers – Stephen King
• Magnus Chase & The Sword of Summer – Rick Riordan
• Career of Evil (Cormoran Strike #3) – Robert Galbraith (a.k.a J.K. Rowling)
• The Bazaar of Bad Dreams – Stephen King
• Slade House – David Mitchell
• The Bone Labyrinth (Sigma Force #11) – James Rollins

OTHER FICTION

(These are all the fiction books released pre-2015)

• All The Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr
• Me & Earl & The Dying Girl – Jesse Andrews
• Why We Broke Up – Daniel Handler
• Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – Susanna Clarke
• Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell

CLASSICS

• The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
• The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
• The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Truman Capote
• Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• East of Eden – John Steinbeck
• Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
• The Metamorphosis – Franz Kafka
• Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
• Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy*

2015 IN NON-FICTION

• Process: The Writing Lives of Great Authors – Sarah Stodola
• The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults – Frances E. Jensen and Amy Ellis Nutt
• The Creator’s Code: The Six Essential Skills of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs – Amy Wilkinson
• Modern Romance: An Investigation – Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg
• The Eureka Factor: Aha Moments, Creative Insight and the Brain – John Kounios & Mark Beeman
• Superforecasting – Philip E. Tetlock and Daniel Gardner
• The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships – Neil Strauss

OTHER NON-FICTION

• The Sixth Extinction – Elizabeth Kolbert
• Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
• Stumbling On Happiness – Daniel Gilbert
• Good? Bad? Who Knows? – Ajahn Brahm
• The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything – Ken Robinson
• The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell

COMIC BOOKS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

2015

• The Sculptor – Scott McCloud

LIMITED SERIES/STORY ARCS

• The Sandman: Overture – Written by Neil Gaiman (2013-2015)
• The Good Neighbours – Written by Holly Black
• The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows – Written by Dan Slott (2015)
• Batman: Death of the Family (Batman #13-#17) – Written by Scott Snyder (2012-2013)
• Batman: Endgame (Batman #35-#40) – Written by Scott Snyder (2014-2015)

ONGOING SERIES

• Archie Comics – Written by Mark Waid
• Saga – Written by Brian K. Vaughn and Art by Fiona Staples

OTHERS

• Seconds – Bryan Lee O’Malley

DRAMA

(Note: these were not published in 2015)

• The Real Thing – Tom Stoppard
• Coriolanus – William Shakespeare
• The Lady from the Sea – Henrik Ibsen
• A Doll’s House – Henrik Ibsen
• King Lear – William Shakespeare
• Julius Caesar – William Shakespeare
• Othello – William Shakespeare

*Still in the process of reading, it’s a really lengthy novel

The Snarky Quill’s Book Pickings – October 2015

Looking for books to read this month or the next? Say no more, The Snarky Quill has you covered with some excellent recommended titles.

1. Career of Evil (Cormoran Strike #3) – Robert Galbraith (2015)

SYNOPSIS: When a mysterious package is delivered to Robin Ellacott, she is horrified to discover that it contains a woman’s severed leg. Her boss, private detective Cormoran Strike, is less surprised but no less alarmed. There are four people from his past who he thinks could be responsible – and Strike knows that any one of them is capable of sustained and unspeakable brutality. With the police focusing on the one suspect Strike is increasingly sure is not the perpetrator, he and Robin take matters into their own hands, and delve into the dark and twisted worlds of the other three men. But as more horrendous acts occur, time is running out for the two of them…

Now that the true identity of “Robert Galbraith” has been revealed as that of J.K. Rowling’s, comparisons between this and the Harry Potter series is inevitable. On its own merits, though, it is quite the thriller and a far more personal tale than The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm. Rowling’s penchant for crafting a tight mystery pays off beautifully, throwing curveball after curveball without letting up until the last page. It also sets up some wonderful conflicts that will surely erupt later in the series. The villain is a little half-baked and not the most memorable of killers (sort of a second-rate Ice Truck Killer from Dexter, if you will) but it shines most when it focuses on the lives of Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott.

2. Modern Romance – Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg (2015)

SYNOPSIS: In Modern Romance, Ansari combines his irreverent humor with cutting-edge social science to give us an unforgettable tour of our new romantic world

The only non-fiction entry in this list, Modern Romance provides a fascinating insight into the world of romance through the lens of the 21^st century and how much it has changed and involved in the last two-three decades. Comedian Aziz Ansari (Parks and Recreation) brings the humourous tone to counterbalance the data gathered by sociologist Eric Klinenberg, making it altogether a highly enjoyable and thought-provoking book that clocks in at a surprisingly brisk 288 pages without feeling too little or too much.

3. Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1) – Rick Riordan (2015)

SYNOPSIS: The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus Chase must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.

(Note: I know Rick Riordan writes mainly for a young audience but I make no apologies- his novels are simply too good to pass up)

Rick Riordan has come a long way since Percy Jackson, the Kane Chronicles and The Heroes of Olympus. He settles into starting a new mythology quite comfortably, tapping into the interconnected universe popularized lately by Marvel Studios on the film side and by David Mitchell on the literary side. Riordan fans will get excited at Magnus Chase’s connection to heroine, Annabeth Chase, from Percy Jackson- she plays a cameo role of sorts and the possibility that her world and Magnus Chase’s might crossover is quite exciting. This time, the mythology is that of the Norse Gods. Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer bears classic Riordan trademarks: modernizing the gods for the twenty-first century (Thor uses his fabled hammer to watch Earth’s television shows in 1080p High Definition), plenty of humour and an assortment of ragtag characters who band together to overcome the impossible. Riordan isn’t one to shy away from diversity: the female protagonist, Samirah al-Abbas, is an Arab-American, and Hearth, is a mute elf. All in all, this is a fantastic book that will definitely appeal to even older readers.

4. Archie Comics – Written by Mark Waid and penciled by Fiona Staples (2015- )

Rebooting Archie Comics could have easily been the worst idea ever. But in the hands of veteran writer Mark Waid (Superman: Birthright) and phenomenal artist Fiona Staples (Saga), Archie Comics is primed to become one of the best reboots in the comic book medium. When the story opens, we learn that Archie Andrews and Betty Cooper used to date before breaking up over an undisclosed matter only referred to as the “Lipstick incident”. Veronica Lodge enters the Riverdale community by the third issue and from thereon out, it’s anybody’s guess what happens. The Archie reboot maintains the fun spirit that made the original comics a hit while blending in fabulous aesthetics courtesy of Staples and witty writing from Waid.

5. Amazing Spider-Man – Written by Dan Slott (2015- )

It’s a brand new world for Marvel post-Secret Wars. How that happened still remains to be seen but in the meantime, adventures continue and for Spider-Man, it’s a whole different game. Peter Parker is no longer a photographer struggling to make ends meet: he is the CEO of a vast empire and has taken Parker Industries global. Amazing Spider-Man #1 opens with Spider-Man and Mockingbird in the middle of a car chase in Shanghai (using the Spider-Mobile he designed decades ago with Johnny Storm’s help) before switching to the life of Peter Parker, millionaire and entrepreneur. He’s basically like Tony Stark now. But of course, trouble is brewing and Peter is going to face enormous challenges- the least being the teased return of Doctor Octopus, who temporarily lived as Peter Parker during the Superior Spider-Man run and in fact started Parker Industries. Whether Doc Ock will return to his former life as a villain, try to take back Peter’s life or end up as a possible antihero remains to be seen. Either way, Amazing Spider-Man is one series you want to stay tuned to because one thing is for certain: this is not the Spider-Man you’re used to.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO SPIDER-MAN POST-SECRET WARS (2015)? – Part 1

[WARNING: Massive spoilers in this article if you haven’t been reading the Spider-Man comics since 2013]

If you’ve been keeping up with comic book news recently, you would have heard the surprise announcement that Marvel is ending the Marvel universe as we know it in the behemoth event, Secret Wars.

The above link will go into the nitty-gritty details. Go ahead and read it if this is news to you. I’ll wait till you finish. It might help the rest of what’s to follow make better sense.

Done? Do you have a vague idea of what’s about to go down in Marvel town? Awesome. Let’s proceed.

I’m not going to bother about the ramifications of Secret Wars on the entirety of the Marvel universe. A) I do not have the requisite knowledge to do so because B) I don’t follow all the comics. But I do read The Amazing Spider-Man and Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man series and I believe I’m a little more qualified to speculate what might happen in that corner of the Marvel playground.

First things first: will Peter Parker die… AGAIN?

That… is a good question. And it can only be answered once the event Spider-Verse [ATTACH LINK TO SPIDER-VERSE WIKI] is concluded.

Sure, Peter is currently back but owing to a time-travel circumstance in which the Superior Spider-Man (Doc Ock as Spider-Man) and Amazing Spider-Man (Peter) teamed up, the former realised that he stands to lose everything in the future. So don’t expect him to sit back and wait without trying to prevent that from happening.

                              Panel from The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3 #13

Personally, I think bumping off Peter Parker twice in the space of three years isn’t the best way to go. Not to mention the headache of time paradoxes created if Doc Ock does try to change the outcome…

So! Let’s go on the (hopeful) premise that it is Peter Parker who triumphs both Spider-Verse and Secret Wars to herald in a new definitely changed era.

1) REINSTATING PETER PARKER’S AND MARY JANE WATSON’S MARRIAGE

Last October, the following cover started making rounds on the Internet.

In the beginning, this felt a lot like a throwaway story or an alternate version that would have no impact on the main on-going stories.

But with Secret Wars announced, one begins to wonder: what if— just WHAT IF— this might come to pass and be canon after all?

Granted, the marriage was never really wiped out— it’s just that everybody forgot it ever happened (except for Mary Jane, I think). Yet what if the aftermath of Secret Wars restored the marriage— perhaps without the world knowing Peter’s identity bit, granted? Is it too much to hope for? It would certainly be a massive new step in the direction of the Spider-Man mythos for Peter Parker to be entrepreneur/superhero/father.

Of course, the reason the marriage was erased from memory in the first place was due to the outcome of Civil War which would probably need to be rewritten.

Which brings us to speculation #2…

2) ALTERNATE CIVIL WAR OUTCOME

Initially, many— including myself— believed that Marvel was simply reissuing Civil War with a nice cover. I’m still inclined to believe that’s most likely the case but then where’s the fun in speculating?

Assuming that the aftermath of Secret Wars: Battleworld involves a rewrite of history, then perhaps that would also mean that one of the biggest events in the Marvel Universe gets a retelling, maybe one with different outcomes like Spider-Man’s identity remaining secret or one where Aunt May dies and Mephisto doesn’t get to make the “One More Day” deal because he spent too much time in the shower. So marriage remains intact, secret identity remains secret, Aunt May is dead. That’s a bummer but so was One More Day and the next seven years of Spider-Man lore. I’ll take the former.

But perhaps it’s not all gloom. Check in next week for the second part of speculating the post-Secret Wars future that could lie ahead for Spider-Man!

TO BE CONTINUED

Could James Spader get an Oscar® nomination for Avengers: Age of Ultron?

[WARNING: the following is pure speculation drawn from incomplete facts and opinions.]

In the past weeks, Marvel Studios unveiled two trailers for Avengers: Age of Ultron and they are taking the world by storm.

Ecstatic though the footage of the Hulkbuster in action, the Avengers party and hilarious attempts to lift Thor’s hammer might be, the highlight is the first glimpse of Ultron, the film’s titular villain.

Played in mo-cap and voiced by James Spader, Ultron appears poised to take the crown for Best Comic Book Villain when the film opens in May 2015— if for anything, turning the beloved Pinocchio song, “I’ve Got No Strings On Me”, into a sinister soundtrack over scenes of havoc. It is impossible to watch the trailers and not shiver when Ultron announces, “Look. There are no strings on me.”

The second trailer opened with a cold chuckle, followed by a monologue from Ultron at his debut in the Avengers tower. The last time a Comic Book villain made such a memorable foreboding impression in a TRAILER was the late Heath Ledger in the first trailers for The Dark Knight. And both he and Ultron have uber-sinister laughs in voice-overs.

Which begs an interesting question: can James Spader’s performance nab an Oscar nomination?

It’s tough to say. The Academy is rarely ever impressed by comic book movies to consider them for the big prizes (note: snubbing The Dark Knight for Best Picture). Heath Ledger’s posthumous win for Best Supporting Actor is the exception and well deserved; but you have to wonder if it would have been the same clean sweep win had he not died before the film’s release (personal answer: yes, certainly). So unless James Spader dies between now and then— and let’s hope not! – it is impossible to know.

On the other hand, the Blacklist and Boston Legal alum’s credentials are excellent. James Spader is a riveting and phenomenal actor. With Joss Whedon writing and directing Age of Ultron, it is a given that the film will be solid in terms of story, character and dialogue— something for James Spader to take full advantage. And Ultron’s prominence in comic lore as one of the team’s (and Marvel universe’s) deadliest foes lends rich material and inspiration to draw from— just as much it did for Heath Ledger.

The odds are already stacking in James Spader’s favour.

And let’s be honest: he deserves an Oscar simply for turning a classic childhood film into the stuff of nightmares.

Ways to save the Spider-Man film franchise – Part 2

Previously in Ways to save the Spider-Man film franchise – Part 1, I began a discussion involving ways to rejuvenate the Spider-Man film franchise. My first suggestion was to: Adapt some good storylines from Spider-Man lore.

Without further ado, here’s our next suggestion.

.

.

.

SUGGESTION 2: Parallel universes

DC Comics and Marvel Comics love to use the plot devices of time travel and parallel universes. DC Comics used them to reboot their comics with Flashpoint while currently seeming to be going about a new Crisis on Infinite Earths (parallel universes); and Marvel is currently using parallel universes as the basis for the sprawling Spider-Verse event to bring every Spider-Man across dimensions for one mega story.

Yet in film, to date, X-Men: Days of Future Past is the only one to have tried one of these tropes— time travel. That would leave parallel universes as virgin territory for the superhero genre— which is why Sony ought to take it into serious consideration.

See, unlike rivals Marvel Studios and Warner Brothers- Sony does not boast a library of different superheroes enough to create a shared universe. It only owns the rights to Spider-Man and with their shoddy execution earlier this summer, nearly all ambitions to launch a shared universe fell flat on the ground. Their answer to create an event film like The Avengers and upcoming Justice League was to set up a Sinister Six team-up without considering a crucial factor:

Nobody is actually interested in a villain team-up.

(Personally, my only interest in the film thus far is that it is being written by Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods). I’d rather Sony simply hand over the entire Spider-Man franchise to him instead)

To use a cliché proverb: you don’t bring a knife (Sony’s approach) to a gunfight (what Marvel and WB is doing).

So what’s a studio like Sony to do when faced with such a conundrum?

Easy: parallel universes.

With Spider-Man, it has always been clear that it is the man behind the mask that makes the Webslinger so popular. Peter Parker is a selfless good-hearted character that sets him apart from many of his peers. The other Peter Parkers or even other people to take up the Spider-Man mantle offer interesting stories of their own, each enough to launch franchises of their own.

And the top candidate for such a venture is Miles Morales.

In the Ultimate universe, Miles Morales is an African-Hispanic teenager gifted with spider powers who takes up the Spider-Man mantle after the Green Goblin killed Peter (although it seems that Peter actually survived but that’s a story for another day).

Andrew Garfield has openly spoken about passing the torch and a character like Miles Morales automatically makes it stand out from every superhero movie in the market featuring an all-white lead (also: please cast an ACTUAL TEENAGER and NOT a 30-year old trying to pass off as a teenager).

Another character that could work is Spider-Man 2099, Miguel O’Hara. Granted, he isn’t from a parallel universe (hint: he’s from the future) but it isn’t exactly a stretch creating a story that has O’Hara travelling back in time to assist Peter Parker deal with a multiverse threat.

Like an Ultimate Spider-Man movie, a Spider-Man film set in the future (nearly eighty years into the 21^st century) IMMEDIATELY sets itself apart. Spider-Man meets Minority Report? I know I’d want to watch that.

And if Sony is SERIOUSLY opting to be risky, the parallel universes option could be utilised to introduce… wait for it: Spider-Man: India.

Now, personally, I’m not wholly in favour of this idea but from a business point-of-view, Spider-Man: India could easily open up a whole new market in India. Today, everyone in Hollywood is fully aware that international markets are where the money is. Transformers: Age of Extinction may have crossed the billion-dollar box-office mark but a VERY large chunk of that profit is from foreign revenue. Domestic revenue, in contrast, was relatively poor. It’s why the film had a segment set in China (China is the biggest international film market today; India would probably be second). Similarly, X-Men: Days of Future Past cast Fan Bingbing, a popular singer in China, as the mutant, Blink, specifically to appeal to the Chinese market.

And India is a country that loves their movies, churning out more films than Hollywood does each year. A superhero film set in India based on a mega-popular American superhero? Listen closely and you can hear the money already falling into the bank.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Ways to save the Spider-Man film franchise – Part 1

Ever heard the motto “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch”? Sony needs to hang this variant in their office: “Don’t count your sequels and spin-offs until the launching film succeeds”.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was to be to Sony what Iron Man was to Marvel Studios. What happened was it underperformed on both critical and financial levels, earning worse reviews than Spider-Man 3 and ending with the lowest box-office gross of any Spider-Man film to date.

Some people loved it, a large number didn’t. I’m with the latter- the film ran around more aimlessly than a headless chicken, with thinly written and numerous boring plotlines that failed to come together, a villain (Electro) that would have been at home in Joel Schumacher’s Batman films and a cast that was grotesquely underused.

As of now, The Amazing Spider-Man 3 has been delayed while The Amazing Spider-Man 4 has been pushed back into the shadows. Only a Sinister Six film is set for a 2016 release. There’s a rumour floating around last week that the Sinister Six would be a “soft reboot” of Spider-Man, featuring a new actor in the role- if that is true, it effectively makes it the fourth reboot in the space of a decade (for all intents and purposes, ASM2 was a quasi-reboot of ASM1). Ouch.

The truth is: the audience is plagued with a case of Spider-Man fatigue.

To a great extent, all five Spider-Man films more-or-less have shared the same story: Peter struggles to balance a normal life with hero duties, relationship problems, tragic villain origin story, financial problems, fight-fight-fight, damsel-in-distress (okay, in fairness, ASM1 avoided THAT!) and so on and on.

And guess what? IT’S OLD, TIRED AND BORING. Let’s have some variation, yes?

In all the films, Peter is still a financially struggling dork. In the comics, he has overcome many of the problems that plagued him in 2002. He is currently DOCTOR Peter Parker and the head of Parker Industries (all the work of Dr Octopus- long story, see The Superior Spider-Man), he’s got a new girlfriend who isn’t Mary Jane Watson (still have not forgiven One More Day for THAT!) and overall, when people aren’t trying to kill him, his life is generally better. He isn’t stuck in the past. It’s called PROGRESS.

So, being a massive Spider-Man fan, I thought it would be fun to list out a few suggestions that could benefit the Spider-Man films in the future.

[Sony, if you read this: you are more than welcome to use these ideas. All I ask in return is my name in the credits and free passes to the set and premieres.]

.

.

.

SUGGESTION 1: Adapt storylines from the comics

What do The Dark Knight, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past have in common?

Apart from being financially and critically successful, they all took elements from some fantastic story arcs in the comics.

The Dark Knight took inspiration from Batman: The Long Halloween and The Killing Joke; the Captain America sequel drew heavily from Ed Brubaker’s story “The Winter Soldier”; and X-Men: Days of Future Past was heavily inspired by Chris Claremont’s and John Byrne’s excellent “Days of Future Past” arc.

Apart from a few references and Easter Eggs, none of the Spider-Man films have ever used its source material (the Death of Gwen Stacy for ASM2 is a minor exception). This is a crying shame because Spider-Man has some great storylines in the comics— both in The Amazing Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man series.

Using this would not only make for greater films with better variation, it’s almost guaranteed to get people into the theatres and gross some nice profits.

Enough to even properly set up spin-offs.

Suggested storylines:

– “The Death of Jean DeWolff” – Spider-Man hunts down the Sin Eater, a killer who murdered his friend Police Captain Jean DeWolff.

Even without directly adapting this story (a major portion featured Daredevil), the idea of putting Spider-Man on a path of vengeance for the death of a friend hasn’t been utilised save for when he looked for Uncle Ben’s killer. A mystery, a non-powered antagonist and maybe one or two super-powered villains on the side (just to lend some vibrancy) would make for a good departure. Think Se7en-meets-Spider-Man. Heck, this already sounds better than what ASM2 offered, am I right?

*

– “Kraven’s Last Hunt” – Kraven the Hunter buries Spider-Man, dons the Spider-Man costume and sets out to prove that he is better than Spider-Man ever was.

That summary doesn’t even do justice to this fantastic storyline. This is a Spider-Man tale that has the Wall Crawler pushed to his furthest limits and defines what it truly means to be Spider-Man. Kraven as Spider-Man is more akin to Batman and The Punisher while Peter Parker, even in the worst circumstances, remains an overall good guy. It’s a nuanced tale that elevated Kraven to the upper echelons of Spider-Man’s rogue gallery and showed that Spider-Man stories aren’t always about super powered bad guys running around in coloured costumes.

*

The Clone saga (both Amazing and Ultimate series) – here’s a storyline that could be used to launch spin-offs. In one swoop, you can set up Venom, Carnage, Spider-Woman (I suggest using Jessica Drew’s Ultimate Spider-Man origins) and even Agent Venom while binding it all together in a story about cloning and the ethical issues involved etc etc. Think Orphan Black meets Spider-Man.

The Venom spin off potential is two-fold. On one hand, the Eddie Brock story can be used and either separately or later on as a sequel, the Agent Venom story. The latter boasts more financial potential as a military-esque thriller with superhero elements. And with Spider-Woman- well, the potential speaks for itself.

*

“The Superior Spider-Man” – this will probably have fans burning me at the stake but hear me out: the conceit behind The Superior Spider-Man run is extremely interesting.

What happens is that Dr Octopus cheats death by swapping minds with Spider-Man and taking over Peter Parker’s life AND Spider-Man duties— without any of Parker’s friends and relatives realising it.

It bears similarities with Kraven’s Last Hunt on the whole “who-is-a-better-Spider-Man?” theme but the difference is that Dr Ock genuinely tried to be an efficient hero. At any rate, this could be a great way to accelerate the franchise— in the comics, Otto was responsible for getting Peter his doctorate and establishing his own company before the real Peter returned to take back his life. Granted, the mind-swap idea won’t fly on screen but it can be worked. It would certainly make for an unusual film.

NEXT – Part Two – Parallel Universes