Tom DeFalco

The Amazing Spider-Girl: Comes the Carnage collects The Amazing Spider-Girl #7-12 written by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz with art by Frenz, inks by Sal Buscema, colors by Gotham, letters by Dave Sharpe, and edited by Molly Lazer. The story picks up after May “Mayday” Parker, the daughter of Peter and Mary Jane Watson-Parker, told her parents she could not give up being Spider-Girl due to her sense of responsibility inherited from both parents. The story quickly returns to May’s doubts about being Spider-Girl after seeing how superheroics have affected the Ladyhawk twins, though thankfully this is short-lived. While her parents may never fully feel comfortable letting their daughter don the webs, they know that with great power there must also come great responsibility.

Having earned her parents’ tacit trust, Mayday finds herself drawn into a S.H.I.E.L.D. operation involving the symbiote Carnage when a U.S. team of supervillains – similar to the Suicide Squad in DC – loses it in transport. The resulting chaos and carnage draws in her family, friends, and fellow superheroes leading to lasting fallout for May. Carnage is certainly a threat, but this version is relatively tame despite his threats. DeFalco and Frenz explain that the Carnage Mayday fights was sampled. From the original rather than the one Spider-Man fought, so this explains some of his limitations. The focus on May’s family and friends, in particular a story from Mary Jane’s point of view, stand out as strengths in this collection. These issues add depth to May’s world and help show the consequences of wearing the webs.… (altro)

The Amazing Spider-Girl: Whatever Happened to the Daughter of Spider-Man? collects Amazing Spider-Girl #0-6 written by Tom DeFalco with artwork by Pat Olliffe, Ron Frenz, John Romita Sr., J. Scott Campbell, Al Williamson, Sal Buscema, Bill Sienkiewicz, Scott Kablish, & Tim Townsend, colors by Gotham, letters by Dave Sharpe, cover art by Frenz, Buscema, and Paul Mounts, and editing by Molly Lazer. This continues May “Mayday” Parker’s adventures as Spider-Girl following her first appearance in What If…? #105 and her 100-issue tenure in Spider-Girl (actually 102 issues including #0 and #½) prior to the relaunch as Amazing Spider-Girl.

This volume begins with Mayday having taken time off as Spider-Girl after nearly dying in battle against the Hobgoblin. Now she balances school and friendships, though the old sense of responsibility lures her back when her friends are in danger and the Hobgoblin threatens a women’s shelter where May volunteers. She slowly finds that she cannot balance others’ expectations for her with her own sense of responsibility as Spider-Girl, leading her to feel torn between both worlds and full of the Parker self-doubt. As a relaunch, this volume succeeds in reintroducing readers to the character while also honoring the prior stories.

As part of the MC2, this story takes place in what was then the current day with the mainstream Marvel Universe – at least the Marvel U up through the comics of the 1990s – having taken place approximately 20 years prior to the events of this story. DeFalco’s writing is stong as always while the art team ages May up to reflect the passage of time, making her appearance resemble a young Mary Jane Watson-Parker while her actions reflect Peter, thus capturing the best of both her parents. This collection will entertain fans of Spider-Girl who know her from her own titles or from her appearances in the Spider-Verse materials.… (altro)

Spider-Girl: Vol. 4 – Turning Point collects issues #17-21 and #½ of Spider-Girl written by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz with illustrations by Pat Olliffe and Frenz. Continuing the adventures of May “Mayday” Parker, the daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson-Parker, this volume begins with the trial of the Kingpin. His trial brings out both Darkdevil and Kaine, with the revelation of Kaine’s interest in Spider-Girl. Futher stories introduce Raptor, the daughter of one of the Vultures, as well as Earthshaker and Wild Thing. Normie Osborn returns as the Green Goblin, but Phil Urich becomes the Gold Goblin in an effort to end the Spider-Goblin War. In this, Urich foreshadows Norman Osborn becoming his own Gold Goblin in the most recent issues of Amazing Spider-Man and Gold Goblin from 2022-2023. Just as these stories are a great time capsule of the late 1990s Marvel Comics scene, issue #½ is fun as it shows the influence that Wizard Magazine held on the industry at the time. This volume comes in a digest-sized edition as Marvel was releasing some of its titles in that format in the mid-2000s.… (altro)

Spider-Girl: Vol. 3 – Avenging Allies collects issues #12-16 and the 1999 Annual of Spider-Girl written by Tom DeFalco and illustrated by Pat Olliffe. Continuing the adventures of May “Mayday” Parker, the daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson-Parker, this volume features the new webspinner growing ever more exhausted between double training sessions from her father and uncle, Phil Urich. It takes its toll on her personal life, dragging down her grades and hurting her spot on the basketball team. Meanwhile, she auditions for the new Avengers – earning a reserve spot – and begins to learn some of Darkdevil’s mysteries as they relate to Kaine, one of Spider-Man’s old clones who was long thought dead. The MC2 universe is a great extension of the late-90s Marvel Universe, with those connections showing through as this Spider-title incorporates elements from the sprawling Clone Saga. The issues also continue DeFalco’s style of writing in the second person to introduce each story. This volume comes in a digest-sized edition as Marvel was releasing some of its titles in that format in the mid-2000s.… (altro)