Michelinie, David Books

Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage

Tom DeFalco, J. M. DeMatteis, Terry Kavanagh, David Michelinie, Mark Bagley, Sal Buscema, Ron Lim, Tom Lyle, Alex Saviuk

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The perennial fan-favorite collection, back in print! Carnage, the spawn of Venom, has assembled an army of Spider-Man's criminally insane adversaries to spread his message of hostility, chaos and wholesale slaughter: Carrion, Demogoblin, Shriek and the Spider-Man Doppelganger! Outmanned and overpowered, the wall-crawler must recruit his own band of super-beings to combat the rising tide of evil: Black Cat, Cloak & Dagger, Firestar, Captain America, Deathlok and ... Venom?! Spider-Man's worst enemy becomes his uneasy ally in the battle to halt Carnage's mad rampage. But when he finds himself at odds with a number of his allies, who want to finish Carnage and his cronies once and for all, Spider-Man must decide whether to violate his personal code of honor to rid the world of pure evil. Can the web-slinger find an alternative before it's too late? Either choice carries dire consequences! Collects AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (Vol. 1) #378-380, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #201-203, SPIDER-MAN #35-37, SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED #1 and #2, and WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #101-103.

The Many Armors of Iron Man

Roy Thomas, David Michelinie, Bob Layton, Denny O'Neil

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Iron Man 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Any fan of Iron Man, espescially the classic stories, will enjoy this book. I highly recomend it. It is actually a collection of stories featuring the Deep-Sea Armor, Stealth Armor, etc... In my opinion the multi-part story featuring the Space Armor is worth the price of admission alone.

Half-decent collection featuring various armors over different eras 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The Many Armors of Iron Man is just as the title implies: a collection featuring stories that demonstrate the various armors of Iron Man over different eras. The Stealth Armor, the Deep Sea Armor, the Space Armor, the Hulk-buster Armor; it's just about all here. There is a variety of talent behind the issues collected here, including longtime writing duo David Micheline and Bob Layton, as well as Roy Thomas, Barry Windsor-Smith, John Romita, Jr., and the great Denny O'Neil. While this TPB features all this variety, there really isn't a whole lot else to really recommend it. It is worth a look at the very least for new fans to see all the historic Iron Man designs, and worth a look for older fans that just want to refresh their memories, but as a whole, there just isn't enough here to hold one's attention for very long. Worth checking out definitely for all Iron Man fans, but whether or not it's worth picking up is a different story.

Editorial Review:

Constantly revamping and improving his suits of armor through the years to meet new adversaries and environmental conditions, Tony Stark is a modern man of science and technology, yet also an Old World man of integrity and discipline. Now, journey into the past and relive comicdom's greatest invention, Iron Man's armors: the Space Armor, the Stealth Armor, the Deep Sea Armor, and more! Collecting Iron Man #47, #142-144, #152-153, #200 and #218.

Spider-Man: Venom Returns (Marvel comics)

David Michelinie

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Wow! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is great, it contains the origin of Carnage, the supposed death of the symbiote and a whole mess of abilities that you never new the symbiote posessed!

New artist, same stories 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This TPB collects issues drawn by Erik Larsen, who took over for Todd McFarlane, but the action is almost identical to the the first appearances of Venom which are collected in "The Birth of Venom" TPB.

"The Return of Venom" really is a representation of the 1990's comics industry sensibility. That is: weak story, great art. It really doesn't advance our understanding of Venom or Eddie Brock to see Venom stalking Spider-Man, again. Showing up at Aunt May's house, again. Taking Spider-man to a deserted location, again. We are even reminded of the redundancy by Spider-Man himself over and over again as he says "This is like when we fought on Long Island".

If you already own "The Birth of Venom" TPB then there is no need to buy this, as it even contains one of the same stories already re-printed in the "The Birth of Venom" TPB of Venom defending "innocents" at a truck stop.

Superman vs. Predator

David Michelinie

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Another crossover 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 8 people found this review helpful.

How can a predator have any hope against the man of steel? Give superman an alien virus that is not-so-slowly draining his powers.

In this story Superman and the stars team are researching a mysterious alien ship discovered in central america. Only one man with his own secrets has any idea of who the pilot is.
However, a mad scientist steals the energy core, planning to use it to carry out genocide of global proportions.

A classic superman story.

However, things turn ugly when superman catches a space bug and the ship turns out to be a predator ship. A buddy of the deceased pilot shows up, wanting the core back. Things quickly escalate as a traitor turns up, and the predator sets his sights on the strongest of prey, superman.

Survival is an Option, Failure is NOT. 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

While it was interesting seeing Superman and the Predator in a comic together, it was also kindof frustrating, because there wasn't anything 'super' about Superman in this comic.

The storyline is very well thought out though. Because if Superman was on Earth, the Predator (I suppose) would DEFINETELY devise a way to deal with him if he were to try to get between them and their prey. In this comic the Predtor is destroying technology not hunting, so it isn't the Hunt that he is on, rather it is a mission to stop scientists from using his technology.

All in all it was a good read for it's uniqueness and it has a few interesting points you learn about the Predator.

The Amazing Spider-Man: The Wedding

David Michelinie, Stan Lee, Jim Shooter, Gary Freidrich, Barry Dutter

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Brings tears to one's eyes 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This was a very weel done book. It includes the entire wedding story as told in the comics. It even features the newspaper strips in which the wedding took place. Also, pictures of the real-life ceremony between Spidey and MJ at Shea Stadium are included. There is even a 60's spoof of Spidey finding his dream girl included. This includes everything one needs to enjoy the experience of the world's premier superhero getting married.

Spider-Man Vs. Venom

David Michelinie

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A true masterpiece 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

Todd McFarlane took over the penciling chores on "Amazing Spider-Man" in March 1988, and quickly took the book straight to the top of the mountain as the #1 comic book in the industry. The reason why is contained within the pages of "Spider-Man vs. Venom", collecting two cameos from Venom in ASM #298 and #299, and then the epic first confrontation and return match between Spider-Man and Venom from ASM #300, 315, 316 and 317.

After seemingly destroying the alien symbiote he picked up during the Secret Wars, Spider-Man is dismayed to find out that the alien symbiote has not only survived, but has joined with someone who likewise shares an intense hatred of the superhero. The result is Venom, a monsterous opponent who has all of Spider-Man's strengths, can cancel out his spider-sense, and lives for only one purpose: The annihilation of Spider-Man. Far from the countless pretenders who have sought to kill Spider-Man, Venom is the one opponent who actually has the hatred and raw strength and savagery to get the job done. Spider-Man barely survives their first encounter after Venom overwhelms him with his massive strength and similar spider-powers, and Peter Parker realizes that he has to figure out a way to out-think Venom lest their second encounter lead to his death.

Writer David Michelinie and artist Todd McFarlane created one of the most exciting Spider-Man adversaries in years, as well as one of the most talked-about and sought-after series of books in comics history. McFarlane's pencils are at their best here, and he takes to Spider-Man like a fish to water. Almost immediately he adds a visual flair to Spider-Man that hadn't been seen since the days of Lee/Romita. Likewise, Michelinie earns his kudos with the story arc he constructs, leaving the reader more on the edge of his proverbial seat with each successive issue, until finally the two adversaries meet in a fight which might ultimately lead to BOTH their destructions. If anyone wants to see what the big fuss was with Todd Mcfarlane's run on Spider-Man, THIS is the book to own.

Spider-Man vs. The Black Cat, Vol. 1

Marv Wolfman, David Michelinie, Roger Stern, Keith Pollard, Pablo Marcos, John Romita Jr.

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Editorial Review:

Acrobatic adventures by some of yesteryear's top names! Is she heroine, criminal, or both? What motivates her madcap mischief? That's for the Black Cat to know and Spider-Man to find out in his first fights with one his most famous femme fatales! Only available in North America. Collects the first six appearances of the Black Cat from Amazing Spider-Man #194, 195, 204, 205, 226, and 227.

Spider-Man: The Return of the Sinister Six

David Michelinie

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Ideal for new Spider-Man readers 4 out of 5 stars.
14 of 17 people found this review helpful.

In the late-80's, writer David Michelinie, known for his work on Iron Man, and super hot upcoming artist Todd McFarlane teamed up to work on a comicbook. Not any comicbook - Marvel's number one title, The Amazing Spider-Man.

Personally I'm very fond of this era. The stories are somewhat simpler and more straight forward than most of the 80's ones had been. They are more lighthearted, there's more humour (usually in the form of Peter being in an embarassing situation) and MacFarlane's art is of course, love it or hate it.

But I think it's an underated era. Michelinie's story style and writing is pitch perfect for McFarlane's art. Todd's caricature-like characters are given the proper note of humour, and Michelinie captures Spidey's self-depretiating, 'what-now?' attitude very well. I actually think Michelinie defined the character of Spidey somewhat for the 1990's.

Their stories are very readable and appealing, and IMO great to look at. The highlight of their run was of course the introduction of Venom, and they had a number of other noteworthy contributions. The first, and only proper Hogboblin vs Green Goblin (which was mediocre but atleast they did it), the creation of creepy Styx and Stone, Jonathan Ceasar kidnapping MJ and holding her prisoner only a few rooms away from her's and Peter's apartment. They also had Peter publish his Webs photography book, revamped the Prowler (very Spawn-esque), and had Spidey punch the Hulk....into space.

I think Michelinie/McFarlane's run was a perfect late-80's version of the original Stan Lee/Steve Ditko stories. Michelinie writes the same well-paced, good humoured, traditional style stories as Lee, yet more streamlined and somewhat lighter. McFarlane has all the offbeat weirdness of Ditko, and is not afraid to make Spidey look weird and freakish.

If you are new to the Spider-Man comics after seeing the movies, this is the perfect volume to get into the series. Knowledge of the films is enough to understand these stories. The artwork is colourful and appealing, and you'll get to see the work of the most succesful and controversial comicbook artist of all-time. The stories are fun, full of action and of course, full of supervillains. You really can't go wrong.

God be with you.

Editorial Review:

Follows Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man, as he fights villains including Mysterio and the Green Goblin while protecting his Aunt May and his wife Mary Jane, as illustrated by Todd McFarlane.

The Avengers: Emperor Doom (Marvel Graphic Novels)

David Michelinie

List Price: $9.95 By: Marvel Entertainment Group Amazon Marketplace: 14 new & used starting at $6.75

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Very Interesting Concept, Very Flawed Execution....... 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Emperor Doom uses a GREAT idea as a springboard: What if the bad-guy actually acheived his goal of World domination? From that great concept comes this average Graphic Novel...

Doctor Doom, one of the all-time great Marvel Villains, uses the persuasive powers of The Purple Man to cloud the minds of everyone on Earth, allowing him total unopposed dominion. And guess what? Things are actually BETTER than they were before. People are happy, crime is virtually non-existant, no one wants for food or shelter, Worldwide Economy is good, everyone has jobs....But do the ends justify the means?

Writer David Micheline uses a plot-device that stands out like a sore thumb to keep one of The Avengers free of the control of The Purple Man, and that kind of tainted my enjoyment of the book. It just seemed too far-fetched. Also, this is probably the third time I've been exposed to the character The Purple Man, and I still have no idea where he got his powers from. A little explanation would have made things easier to swallow....

Micheline's writing gets the job done; He does a great job of making Doom a real threat; Menacing yet Regal. I appreciated the sense of ennui creeping over Doom towards the end of the book. Apparently the chase is more fun than the prize itself. I did feel the book ended too abruptly, and without a satisfying confrontation between Good & Evil. The art, by Bob Hall, didn't exactly light me on fire, but his characters all look distinctive, and the action scenes look good.

Overall, Emperor Doom is nothing special, but at least we get to see what would happen if the bad-guy actually won....

Spider-Man: Son of the Goblin

J.M. DeMatteis, Gerry Conway, David Michelinie, Ross Andru, Sal Buscema, Todd McFarlane

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

One Too Many Times to the Same Well 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This trade paperback collects AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #136-137 (the first appearance of Harry as the new Goblin) and #312 (a Todd McFarlane-illustrated Goblin/Hobgoblin fight during Marvel's "Inferno"), as well as SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #189 and #200 (Harry's death).

How many times can Harry Osborn, son of the original Green Goblin, threaten to expose Spider-Man's identity? How many times can Peter Parker and Harry trade punches without causing any real damage to each other? How many times can an Osborn hit his head and get amnesia? The recent Spider-Man reboot "Brand New Day" erased Harry's death, so the answer is "an infinite number of times."

Son Of The Goblin would have been better as TWO volumes 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

At least two volumes, I should say. When Marvel solicited this collection, I bought it without even considering what it collected exactly. It was an unexpected collection considering it focuses on Harry Osborn as the second Green Goblin (arguably, the less popular one). I always found the stories involving Harry as the Green Goblin to be some of the best Spider-Man stories of that time period and given my age, the original Green Goblin was already a thing of the past. Harry as the Green Goblin, was MY Green Goblin. The idea that your worst enemy is also your best friend and may or may not know your secret identity, well to me that's classic Spider-Man ethos. So while I admire what this collection attempted, I felt it was ultimately incomplete.

The first two issues collected in this trade were Amazing Spider-Man #136 and 137. A great place to start but the jump from those issues to Amazing #312, and then straight to Spectacular #189 and #200 (where Harry dies) was a definite misstep on Marvel's part. It would have been better had they collected additional issues of Spectacular Spider-Man like #180-184. Maybe not all of them, but some, just to chronicle Harry's journey and his persona as the second Green Goblin. I would also argue that certain issues from Web Of Spider-Man were good candidates for inclusion (#66-67) because while the art wasn't the best, those stories dealt with Harry trying to use the Green Goblin persona for GOOD.

That's what is missing from this collection, the true capturing of how Harry went between sane and insane. From good to evil and back again (and then back AGAIN). Some may consider this comic book cliché but for this particular character (as with Norman), his struggles with insanity are vital to fully understanding him and appreciating him as villain. It's those struggles that make him even more dangerous and spirit crushing to Peter (and Spider-Man) because of the knowledge that he's capable of being a good person and he was once Peter's best friend. Plus, Harry messed with Peter's family in very insidious ways and with the exception of the original Green Goblin, none of the other villains were capable of doing that. All of this is crystallized in Spectacular #200 (the conclusion of this collection) which totally belongs here but at the end of volume TWO, not this one, if Marvel had been more conscientious. The end game comes too quickly, not enough happens between Amazing #136 and Spectacular #200 for the issue to make it's appropriate impact on the reader and this collection shares in that fate.

I gave this collection four stars because I've read all those missing issues I mentioned and I love the whole dilemma of Harry as the Green Goblin but for the casual reader, I'm sure they'll come away wanting.

Editorial Review:

Witnessing the death of his father - Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin -in battle with Spider-Man, Harry Osborn was driven to the drink of insanity. Assurring his late father's identity, he began a descent into madness that would haunt him his entire life; only in death could he finally find peace.