The Four Color Media Monitor

Or so they claim. Waid told USA Today he's writing a graphic novel putting Peter Parker in a James Bond-ish situation with a woman named Teresa who claims to be his sibling:

Spider-Man has a new woman in his life.

Peter Parker learns that he apparently has a sister in Spider-Man: Family Business, one of Marvel Comics' new line of original graphic novels debuting April 2, 2014. The revelation sends the superhero on a tale of international intrigue from New York City to Monte Carlo to Cairo to a host of European destinations.

At this point, I don't see what the use is of publishing something like this, because Waid's long lost his talent.

"It seems very bizarre to him that Aunt May never mentioned anything about this woman, who's about his age and the resemblance is there," Waid explains. "Peter wants to try to figure out what this mystery is all about but basically they're running from a crime syndicate out to kill them both throughout the novel, so there's not a whole lot of time for Spider-Man to sit and relax and slowly suss this out."

What if it turns out she's not his sister in the end? And yet, they could be suggesting they'll turn Aunt May into just what J. Michael Stracynski did with Mary Jane in Sins Past: a liar. Not something I'd enjoy either.

At another point, when they talk about Peter's secret agent parents:

Recent years have focused on Peter Parker's present issues, dealings with supervillains and relationship with Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May and other supporting cast, but hasn't dipped much into the mysteries of his parents.

How have they "focused" on Peter's relationship with MJ, or lack thereof? Very poorly, but the paper's staff doesn't care, so they don't mention a word about One More Day. They didn't focus well on his relations with May and other co-stars either, and topped it off by depicting Peter as a slacker a couple years ago too.

At the end of the article, Waid says:

Family Business is also set before Marvel's current Superior Spider-Man series, where arch enemy Doctor Octopus has taken over Peter's body, to make it a "a little more outside-audience friendly," Waid says.

"If most people are asked on the street who Spider-Man is, they may know Peter Parker. We dodge continuity that way to make it a little more timeless."

So it's intended to be "friendly" to outsiders, but what about insiders? Waid's recent track record gives reason to figure it won't be appealing to longtime fans, and if not, there's no guarantee new readers will like it either. And yet, how interesting that it's set prior to the horrible current status. But that doesn't guarantee it'll remain timeless. I've got a feeling it'll only be 15 minutes that don't hold up well.

Labels: dreadful writers, marvel comics, msm propaganda, Spider-Man