. Oh nice! One of the few things that’s as good as old Marvel Comics is Mark Twain! I’ve read so much Twain! I’m probably due to read another one soon. I’ve still never read The Prince and the Pauper, but I’d also like to read all of Letters from Earth. Tom Sawyer is awesome by the way..

This past weekend, I finished my big Spider-Girl binge read. Since my previous post, I've read Amazing Spider-Girl #24-30, as well as the Spider-Girl stories in The Amazing Spider-Man Family #5-8 and Web of Spider-Man #1-4. Then, I read the Spectacular Spider-Girl: The Last Stand TPB, which reprints the Spider-Girl stories from Web of Spider-Man #5-7, Spectacular Spider-Girl #1-4, and Spider-Girl: The End. Apparently, ASM Family #1-4 contains stories from the Spider-Girl timeline when May is a baby, but I didn't read those.

The quality stays pretty solid to the end of the run, although a bit partial the one and done stories that disappeared in favor of ongoing plotlines like the gang war. "April" adds a new twist to the series. I wish that plotline had more room to breathe before all her issues came to a head. However, I think the emphasis on April, the gang war, and the action does reduce the amount May's friends and other allies get featured in the series. And little Benjy is a reduced presence after being a big part of early issues of Amazing.

I don't read current Spider books (or many new books at all), but I thought with all the Spider-Verse stuff, May must've shown up. I see that she had various appearances, but it seems like it's mostly as a guest or part of an ensemble. I'm skeptical about whether May works as well inserted in the main timeline rather than her own, but I have ordered the issues of a mini-series (I think it's Spider-Island) which has a Mayday back-up feature.

Now, I got figure out what to read next. I have an enormous number of unread comics, including lots of TPBs and HCs. I think I'll read the Mephisto Vs. mini, like I mentioned in another post, but after that I'll probably look for another long run to binge.

I started with reading "Fall from Grace" by Daredevil (319-325) then kept going until the first end of the run at 332. I have then gone back and started reading the beginning of DG Chichester's Dardevil run with 292 and just finished 300.

Lee Weeks pencils and Al Williamson inks looks really good. I really like Lee Weeks artwork on anything and Al Williamson is one of the all time greats. Scott McDaniels artwork on Daredevil is different than some of the DC stuff he did. His style was a bit all over the place in the run I have read, but man he is going for it and some page layouts and some panels are really cool. Thing is I think you can see in some panels his favorite artist as some parts look like Simonson, a whole lot of Frank Miller and Mike Golden and then times he channels some Ditko (probably somewhat via Frank M.)

I'd say the design of some of the characters would have a bin a bit more timeless instead of big time 90s, it probably would hang a bit better now. What Hydra was doing in the hacker storyline is interesting, but those bad guys designs were so over the top 90s looking.


Plan is to work to 318 and then read from 333 when Chichester got "fired" and came back and read to the end of Vol. 1 @ 380. I've read all of Bendis through the early part of Mark Waid's DD.

I've read the first 40 issues of the title and only have about 50 more to go to where I have read the early ones. I guess I am working on finishing at least reading all of Daredevil once at some point, although I am going to keep reading when I get into the 90s and early 100s as that is where my collection as a kid started. I re-read the Miller run once since starting collecting again in the early 2000s, but I'd kind of like to read it, O'Neil's run (which I liked quite a bit as a teenager) and then into Nocenti's run again. I probably stopped around 1990, so I missed probably the last arc or two of her run.

Back in the day I missed out on 105, but had 106 along with 107 and read those issue until they were thin and falling apart.  I couldn't find any issues from 108 through 112 until finding the Overmind stories in 113, 114, 115, 116. Followed by a jump to issue 119, skip 120, found 121, 122 and 123, then jump to 126. missed 127, 128 and found 129, missed 130, found 131 to 136. Dang it was hard finding issues due to distribution back then! 

Was just talking with a co-worker earlier about collecting comics and seeing movies back in the 70's and 80's. We both agree that there is too much convenience and ease for today with little effort involved. Pre-purchase seats and movies days or months ahead of time to having a pull box at the LCS each week. All it takes is to drive over, walk in and BAM, instantly you have it. You don't really have to make any effort, and that results is less significance or resonating memories. What we both could recall are sometimes the exact day or moment when we saw a movie or purchased a comic book. What happened surrounding those circumstances is what helped ingrain the memories for us. It was all tied together. Going from store to store in search of the newest monthly issues every week and NOT just on shipping Wednesday. It was with the work and effort along with hoping and waiting until you FOUND what you were searching for that increased the memories. 

With movies it was the anticipation of the release date and going to your theater only to find out it's been sold out until a later show or even until the next day and you are furiously searching the paper or driving to other theater's in hopes of viewing the movie. Also there were times (for me at least) when you are unable to see something the week or month it came out and you were forced into only commercials and articles and word of mouth increasing your desire to see the movie. In my youth my parents were NOT the kind for going out to the movies as it was a luxury and not necessity. I had to wait until my grandfather wanted to see a movie and would take me along or during high school awaiting a friend who wanted to see the same movie(s) before I could see them. Sometimes as a special treat for my birthday my mother or grandfather would take me out to see something they had no caring to see but knew that I wanted desperately to see. I saw the 70's King Kong and Jaws together as a double billing at a $1 theater which was an hour away from my home and only because it was a birthday present and my mom asked/begged my aunt to come drive and drop us off and then pick us up after. My didn't enjoy movies but she went because she knew I wanted to see them, and THAT memory sticks with me much longer than my seeing a movie at the theater now whenever I wish on any Saturday morning. 

The magic and special feeling held in the heart, mind, thoughts and soul of us all is the joyful reminiscence we find of past victories accomplished with many things. The same applies to movies and books and music or any similar thing one can enjoy. My love and adoration of comics partly comes from it being MY hobby, and none of my brothers or cousins or family were into them. They might buy or read some but seldom followed a series or artist or writer. I was the one who dug much deeper into the comic book mythos, in reading and reading and reading time over time the few issues I had to begin with while slowly building my collection over time. That makes all the comics I hold onto and read special with emotional attachments going far beyond just "owning" them. The 

There were titles that were TOUGH to fill out runs. I went all over the place and paid a couple bucks to get the Matt Wagner's Mage issues I missed. Everyplace I went, if possible, I would try to find the local comic shop to have a look for some stuff.