Unexpected Heel Turn

It takes a lot to shock me in a comic book. This is not to say comic books aren’t as finely crafted as a movie or a television show because they are. What does make it so hard to shock me is that comic books, is one of the few mediums where the fans have come to expect issues being spoiled for them before they get their hands on it.

The problem can’t just be blamed on online comic forums either. All the comic companies are advertising their product 3 months in advance in their solicitations, so most of the time we know the big shock ending 3 issues before it hits. You can’t blame the companies for this either, as these twists and turns are what help sell the comic to stores and in turn, to the customers.

That being said, when I received my comic books for the past two weeks I was presently surprised to be shocked not once but twice!

The first was in Daredevil #99 penned by Ed Brubaker and drawn by Michael Lark.

Milla Donovan has been a supporting cast member in Daredevil for a long time now and to be honest has become sort of annoying. She does little else but cry. Now if I was in her situation, I would be on the floor in the fettle position weeping right along side her… but it doesn’t make for a particle interesting read month in month out. She’s the weak link Brubaker’s Daredevil.

This week however saw Milla snap. Yelling at Lily (Some European broad with super powered smell) to “Die Bitch!” and then attempt to push her in front of a subway train. Luckily for Lily, some unsuspecting New York citizen was behind her and tumbled under the speeding train instead.

If it was a nervous breakdown thanks to her marriage to Daredevil, or if there is something more sinister going on is yet to be seen. Apparently it involves Mr Fear so it’ll be interesting to see how it unfolds.

The second shocker was the last page in The Amazing Spider-Girl #11 written by Tom DeFalco and pencilled by Ron Frenz.

I love Tom DeFalco. I loved his 80’s Spider-Man run and enjoyed most of his other books since then, albeit not as much as Amazing. His work on Spider-Girl however is very high on the list of my favourite DeFalco runs. It is one of the very few titles that is every issue, very rarely ever experiencing a slip in quality. It’s really a shame not enough people read it.

I will admit that I haven’t enjoyed this re-launch as much as I enjoyed the first 100 issues but it’s still good enough for me to have a subscription too.

An upcoming solicitation for the book said Spider-Girl feels guilty for what happened to her brother… pretty open ended but given the feel of the book I felt it was just going to be she felt guilty Carnage kidnapped her father, Spider-Man and her toddler brother.

Oh no. It wasn’t the obvious. We got Baby Carnage! That’s right, little Ben Parker in full symbiotic glory.

When I saw it I wasn’t sure if I should gasp with shock or laugh at the corny idea. Either way, it was interesting and it’ll be very interesting to see where it goes from here. I’ll put my trust with DeFalco.