To the Editor (01-May-2005)

 In: Letters > Editor > 2005
 Posted: 2005
 Staff: The Editor (E-Mail)

Welcome to our letters page. These letters are answered by Jonathan Couper, who uses them as a chance to sharpen his otherwise dull wit. If you want a serious response, your chances will be increased by posing your question, respectfully, to our Spider-Oracle.

Before we start, just a mention about Fan contributions, i.e. Art, Tattoos, Costumes, and Top Ten lists. Recently we've been featuring them in our letters column of PPP, however we've now set up a special section on the Main Page to show the most recent fan contributions automatically. Ain't that awesome? Well, we like it. That means that fan contributions will go up as the arrive, instead of having to wait for the next issue of PPP. That's a good thing.

From Chris

Regarding "Spider-Man: Get Kraven" having been cancelled mid-flow, the only other mini I know to have been cancelled mid-stream was Sonic Disruptors, cancelled on #7 of 12 (I was there - I saw it happen!).

Drastically bad writing requires drastic action!

From JigenX

I used to have a Spidey comic that had spidey in the black uniform fighting Hobgoblin in the air while two kids fought each other on the ground. What comic cover and issue of what series was that by chance?

I had to ask the Spider-Oracle for help with this one. It's *slightly* different than how he remembers, but I bet the comic he's thinking of is POWER PACK # 29.

From Jeff Caplan

So, we've all read USM #72. The book ends with a confrontation between Harry and Pete in his basement, in which Harry makes it clear that he was upset to find out that Peter had stolen "his girlfriend". When I read this, I thought it was an interesting twist to have Peter find out that Harry had MJ first. Not only does it mirror the classic Marvel Universe, but it provides another motive for Harry to duke it out with Spider-Man in these pages.

However, since reading this issue, I decided to go back and read through my copies of USM from the beginning, and when I read #22, which features the return of both Harry and the Green Goblin, I found a passage wherein Harry tells Peter, "I can't believe you and Mary Jane are an item...good lord, is she in love with you." This statement shows that Harry found out about Peter's relationship with Mary Jane long before the events shown in the Hobgoblin arc, and was cool with it, even, which completely wrecks continuity.

Now, I realize that this could be hastily explained by Harry's hypno-therapy, claiming that he simply repressed the memory of Peter and Mary Jane's relationship, but I think that's bunk. Harry was only hypnotized into forgetting things that had to do with his father being the Green Goblin and Peter being Spider-Man, and hypno-therapy wouldn't make him jealous when he was obviously fine with it fifty issues earlier.

The fact of the matter is that Bendis wanted a cool twist for the Hobgoblin story arc that created drama between Mary Jane and Peter, and in doing so, made one helluva continuity blunder that is too annoying for me to ignore. I love Bendis's writing, and I loved where the Hobgoblin arc was going, but a part of me will no longer be able to enjoy it. Faux-pas, Bendis.

Well, nicely spotted! To be honest, Bendis really doesn't come across as worrying too much about continuity. He's really much more interested in telling the story. Many of his storylines involve "six months earlier" and "one year later" jumps (Pulse, Daredevil, Secret War, etc.) I firmly believe that you could never tie all the stories together temporally. Of course, this is a glitch within Bendis' own continuity, which is pretty inexcusable!

We'll have to go with the "hypno-therapy" explanation. But you're quite right, it sure smells like a goof to me!

From Inwin

On spiderfan.org if you look at the picture for AF15 review it is the same one listed in the eBay auction 6530778624. I have to assume the person selling that book stole the picture and is lying. I wondered is the copy shown on spiderfan.org owned by anyone there? Or does the person on ebay actually own this book.

What the heck? You're quite right, the seller is indeed offering the same copy which is scanned on SpiderFan. That battered but much beloved copy is indeed owned by one of our staff, and is most definitely not for sale! If you check the seller's feedback, you'll find a number of complaints about people purchasing comics and not receiving them. Congrats, you've just spotted a genuine crook.

From Pete

I THINK SPIDERMAN COULD BE EVEN BIGGER IF FILMMAKERS WERE TO TAKE THE THE MOVIE TO THE NEXT LEVEL.WHAT IF THEY MADE A SPIDERMAN VS HULK OR EVEN A TEAMUP LIKE IN THE COMIC BOOKS. HAS ANYONE EVER THOUGHT OF IT. WITH THE CGI AND OTHER SPECIAL EFFECTS THAT CAN BE DONE TODAY, I THINK IT WOULD BE HUGE. I REALIZE THAT A MOVIE LIKE FREDDY VS JASON WAS BAD BUT YOU COULD DO A LOT MORE SPINOFFS. CAN I SUBMIT THIS IDEA TO FILMAKERS AND HOW WOULD I GET IN TOUCH WITH THEM. LET ME KNOW.

Hah! I sent your idea off to Sam Raimi and told him it was my idea! He said "thanks", and mailed me a check for $250,000. Guess who's gonna be in Spider-Man 4? That's right, Spidey and Hulk! Burn!

From Scott

Hi my name is Scott and I am doing a survey on which marvel characters you would like to see re-vamped into the ultimate universe,any character at all. It is my dream to work for marvel as a penciler,and I want your opinion on what character you think deserves to be re-written into the current generation.

Well, I wanted to see Squirrel Girl back, but now she is... in GLA. So, next favourite would be Willie Lumpkin, and Forbushman of course!

From Ahmed (Latif Abad Pacca Garah Sial kot, PAKISTAN)

Best Quality Gloves of all Kinds
Dear Sir/Madam,

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Hmm... what do you have in red, with black webbing? I'm gonna need something that's comfortable, but tough. Something that doesn't slip in the rain. Also, it's going to need to wash well, I need blood to not stain it. What do you suggest?

From JOSE LOPEZ

You probobly get this alot but,I am currently creating characters of my own, I'm absolutly facinated by MARVEL and it's magnifisant characters.I have well over 30 super heroes already done...well at least drawn,but I have their stories down.I'm currently writing my first script on my first character ever made by me,all I need is some where to publish them,not just anywere but MARVEL. Yes,I've been at the submission section of Marvel.com but according to what they're say'in--they practically want to steel my characters.They'er taking almost all of the credit and might I add the money. Let me just cut to the point I've spent more than a year trying to look for a way to get my characters into MARVEL...I'm desperate!!! I may just be 13 years old but I already have fans and garenteed buyers all over my school and neighborhood. All I'm asking for is for a chance to be a part of MARVEL,you know like STAN LEE (one of my idols).If you want I can send you a sampel of my script.Just E-mail me back an tell me where to mail it to.

Yeah, Marvel do take ownership, or IPR, which is "Intellectual Property Rights". That's just their business model, take it or leave it. Apparantly you can negotiate a small profit-share if an issue sells over 100,000 copies. But as an unknown, that's not going to happen. Fact. You take their terms, or you go elsewhere.

If you're serious about working in comics, then you need finish a whole story. Don't tell people you're "writing something". Finish something. Finish several things, and put them in a portfolio. Show it to people, and keep showing it to people. In the meantime, if you want to be seen in print, make your own B&W comics with a photocopier and take it to your local comic shop and ask them to sell them on commission.

From John

I was sure that J Jonah Jameson knew that Peter was Spider-Man but he is not on your list of people who know his real identity. Has he just been missed out or does he not know?

Well, I don't think he knows. There's rumours of him finding out as a consequence of Peter's move to the Avengers Tower. But I haven't seen it yet, and until it's in a comic book on my desk, it ain't happened!

From Kelly

I am doing a project for my statistics class in school, and I need someone important SPidey statistic info. I was wondering if you guys have any types of stats that I could use, such as the percentages of ppeople who saw the Spiderman movies in the theatres, etc. Anything you could send would be helpful. This may sound a little stupid to you, but I thought I could give it a try.

I once had to work with a statistician. He thought he was pretty smart, so one day I hid his calculator and asked him what 3,123 times 17,992 equalled. He peered around the room checking for anybody else, then quietly asked me... "What do you want it to equal?

Remember, 92.4% of statistics are created on the spot to support an argument. So, take a tip from the pros, and MAKE THEM UP!

From Steve

Quick question... why was Peter was raised by his Uncle Ben & Aunt May? What happened to his folks?

Held without trial in Guantanamo Bay since 1964. Sounds harsh, but hey... that's the price of freedom!

From Trowa

Hey, I thought of something... Remember how in USM #77, Fury said he might be taking away Peter's powers? I started thinking about that... Why would he? I thought Fury wanted him to fight along side the best, like Captain America and stuff. Then an idea hit me.

What happened in the normal Spider-Verse when Peter tried to get rid of his powers? 6 arms is what happened! And you remember how the 90's serious played a long saga about that Man-Spider thing.

Maybe this is what Brendis is thinking? Ultimate Man-Spider.

Yeah, maybe. Or here's another idea. Maybe Fury thinks Peter needs to lose his powers in order to appreciate them properly and start acting like an adult. That sounds more like Bendis' style to me.

From phill

i love this website and occasionally visit it if i'm a bored but there's only 1 thing that annoys me no offense,i usually come here to read reviews of comics starring spider-man to learn more about him and see what they're like so i might buy them,but most of the comics do look interesting but don't have a review.how am i supposed to read a review if there isn't one???i suggest that you do make it your target to write about every comic starring spider-man.i kno you guys are probably working hard keeping this site running as it is but i know that you writing about every comic will make me come back here more

Excluding reprints, this on-line database lists 3950 issues of Spider-Man and Spidey-related comics. There are 3599 (91%) cover scans, with writer/artist credits for 3570 (90%) issues. There are written reviews for 2028 (51%) of these issues. 3831 (96%) of these issues are indexed by cover date.

So, we think we do pretty well. But rest assured, our goal is to review every Spider-Man appearance in a comic or magazine, ever. It just takes... time.

From HURLEY

I think a great addition to your site would be a guide to all of the crossovers, and the order they should be read in. Just a thought.

We think that would be great too. We've had a couple of people volunteer, but they always seem to give up when they start to realise just what is involved in sequencing nearly 4,000 comics. Until we get somebody who has the knowledge, time, and commitment to complete the task, it seems it just isn't going to happen.

From BMassey

You point out the following as a mistake in your "goofs" section:

"When Peter tries to catch up with the bus the second time, he unintentionally grabs the poster on the bus' side. If he can't control his spider-grip, why doesn't he stick to everything? He just picks off the poster with his other hand."

I don't think this qualifies. It seems to me the bus/poster is something he is consciously trying to catch... so reflexively the grippers on his fingers/palm extend to do so. It's not like they are always out and ready to stick... they even show a closeup of the barbed grippers sprouting from his fingers in the scene where Peter climbs the wall.

Hmm... good point there. I'll pass that on to our "Movie Mistakes" editor and see if he wants to take it out. We're committed to getting the details correct here at SpiderFan!

 In: Letters > Editor > 2005
 Posted: 2005
 Staff: The Editor (E-Mail)