The Rantings of a Scared and Confused Blogger
Posted by meekrat on December 31, 2008
Imagine for a moment that you’re a Blogger who has established himself by mocking the Spider-Man comic strip for over two years. While you do like the strip, each and every day it hurts because it’s actually pretty bad and you wish it was better. Except you don’t, because if it was better, you’d be out of a job. While you can comment on something that’s good, it becomes less entertaining. Now, imagine loading up the Spider-Man strip and seeing this:
Not the first panel, mind you. That’s nothing. That is absolutely nothing. That is so nothing that it’s not even worth mentioning. The second panel, however… when I saw that, my heart stopped. Let’s take it step by step:
ATTENTION, SPIDEY FANS!
Self-explanatory. They want us to pay attention. Okey-dokey. You’ve already caused my heart to skip a beat, and I think it’s gone into my throat. I’d say you’ve got my attention. I’ve been reading your strip for years and I’ve never seen anything like this.
Starting tomorrow, there will be a HUGE CHANGE in our hero’s life!
My initial thoughts were that they were going to restaff the strip. This thing happens all the time, but this line makes me quake in my boots. Recently, the comic books went through “One More Day”, in which a dying Aunt May was saved only when Peter and Mary Jane gave their marriage to the Devil, which resulted in the “Brand New Day”, in which Peter is now single and never married Miss Watson.
Comic books and other media have always had a sort of symbiotic relationship. Superman and Lois Lane got married when their television counterparts did, and Spider-Man and Mary Jane married in the comic strip around the same time as their comic book counterparts did. However, Spider-Man and Mary Jane are no longer married in the comic books. Furthermore, they just released three movies where Spider-Man and Mary Jane weren’t married, followed by a cartoon where he’s just a teenager. Most media these days has Spider-Man and Mary Jane not being married, and it’s likely the editors at Marvel Comics are forcing the strip to follow suit.
So the most likely thing this line means is that they’re somehow going to undo the marriage in the strip. Another likely thing is that someone might die, but I have no idea who. They’ve really whittled their cast down to six people, and I doubt they’d do something like this about Maria Lopez. Perhaps they’re killing off Mary Jane? We’ll certainly see.
You’ll see the same Spidey surprise that Marvel Comics has given its countless readers.
This is a point in the comic book/comic strip/other media synergy I was talking about mere seconds ago, and a point away from the restaff. Not that the two are mutually exclusive, mind you. In fact, if Marvel was going through the trouble of changing around the strip, it’s quite likely they’d restaff it as well.
It’s something we, too, must do because– with great power comes great responsibility!
Another point in the editorial mandated changes column. However, the fact that they used Spider-Man’s mantra or motto or whatever it’s called gives it the air of a farewell message. We don’t want to do this, but we have to, they’re saying. Not that these changes would be unwelcome, though. After all, this is arguably the truest they’ve been to the history of Spider-Man since I started commenting.
Or, just think of it as our way of wishing you– a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The new year doesn’t start until tomorrow. Why would they wish us one now, unless they were leaving the strip?
So, it’s safe to conclude that something is going to happen tomorrow. Whether it be restaff or radical change in the direction of the strip, or the death of a character, I promise you this: I will continue to comment as long as you continue to read. So whatever this second panel means, mundane as it may turn out to be, I’ll see you in 2009. I just hope the strip doesn’t turn out to be too terribly good, as it’s no fun to comment on a good strip.
Danel said
I’ve never understood what the movies had to do with that awful change. Wouldn’t most people, familiar only with the movies, find it rather easier to understand stories where Peter and MJ have married – a few years after the movies, say – than stories in which they simply never met?
jvwalt said
Given the usual quality of this strip, it’s hard to believe they’re actually going to do something significant. By their standards, Robbie getting laid off would probably qualify as a “huge change.” But you never know; maybe someone at Marvel finally realized that the newspaper “Spider-Man” is a horrible advertisement for the company’s franchise product, and decided it was time for an upgrade. So it’s possible that there will be an actual “huge change.”
You gotta admit: unlike the average “NEXT” box, this does have us in actual suspense.
Hannerz said
When I first saw it the first thing that came to my mind was “They must read this blog!” but that would be too good. I will wait anxiously for this.
changes to come for the Spider-man newspaper strip said
[...] changes to come for the Spider-man newspaper strip Commenta 31st December , 2008 I spotted this info today on the Spider-man newspaper strip (still available at some newspapers like the Houston Chronicle) http://www.chron.com/apps/comics/sho…name=Spiderman http://meekrat.net/2008/12/31/the-ra…fused-blogger/ [...]
Natalie said
I’m cautiously optimistic about this announcement. I’m crossing my fingers that the strip will start to actually be good (not that I don’t enjoy Mike making fun of the bad strips, of course). But I’ve also liked Brand New Day so far, so I’m not all that hard to please. At least the strip should be not boring for awhile.
Joseph J. Finn said
Maybe the big change will be that the Sunday and regular strips will finally be color-coordinated.
Thomas Costello said
Oh man. Ohhhh man.
Sano said
Wow that would be beyond bad if the strip made Spider-Man single again. This, Spider-Girl and Mr. And Mrs. Spider-Man are the only places us Spider-Marriage fans can go to right now. Well I guess there’s still 20 years worth of back issues, but still.
Tommy said
Hmmm…I’m hoping, if it does reflect the current direction of Spidey, they don’t add in more trolling on the readers that don’t like said current direction.
Although, if they do, it’s just more fodder to play around with for each entry.
It’s still going to be >< if they indeed change things like that.
Mat said
Mike, you’d better get down here! Look what’s happening!
Sano said
Hot damn check todays strip. Looks like they DID go the BND route but unlike BND they are STILL drawing Spidey to look 40 + years old. MOVE OUT OF YOUR AUNT MAY’S HOUSE YOU 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN LOOZA!
Brack said
Isn’t the story that Stan Lee, needing to boost interest in the newspaper strip, decided to marry off Peter and Mary Jane, causing Jim Shooter to want to get them married in the comic first.
If that’s true, then this change seems somewhat inevitable.
Sano said
Ah they just went back in time before Spidey and MJ got married. I wish Marvel would of done the same. Heck there’s 5 years (our time) where MJ didn’t appear in ASM, plenty of time to fit in stories. Oh well.
Tim said
As near as I can tell from what we’ve seen so far, there is nothing for Mike to worry about with respect to the strip improving all of a sudden.
Maybe it will, but I think the safe money is on the bet that it won’t.
xy said
WTF? two days of new spiderman and still no sign of Mike P commenting on it. and i agree with Tim, it seems that now the strip just sucks without MJ instead of with her.
Lindsey said
Blaaaagh. That was my reaction to the atrocious dialog in Jan 3′s comic. It’s even worse than usual.
OMG U GUYZ IM GUNA TAEK SUM PIXX N EARN SUM BREAD LOL.