The final issue of Spider-Man: Shadow of the Green Goblin goes on sale next week. Here's the hype form Marvel:GREEN GOBLIN RISING! PETER PARKER must stop PROTO-GOBLIN — but is he strong enough? Witness the birth of the GREEN GOBLIN as there is no coming back from the choice NORMAN OSBORN makes in this issue.
Written by: J. M. DeMatteis
Art by: Michael Sta. Maria
Cover by: Paulo Siqueira, Rachelle Rosenberg
Page Count: 28 Pages
Release Date: July 31, 2024
And here's a preview of our opening pages. I had a wonderful time taking this deep dive into Peter Parker's very early days as Spider-Man. Hope you all enjoyed it, as well.
Well, I have certainly enjoyed the ride so far, but it is a shame you made it so clear what is going to happen in this last issue.
ReplyDeletePeter will pay bail for Aunt May, since through out the whole comic she has been stealing hubcaps all around the city/
Then when he asks her why, she says, " well Peter, I lost a husband, and looking at what is left of my life left it becomes clear that... EVERYBODY DANCE PARTY!"
and the whole book is just people doing the twist for the remaining three pages.
Again, a fun ride, but you could have made the ending a little less obvious.
Jack
It's uncanny, Jack. You figure it out every time!
DeleteHere is a question you probably get all the time...what was u with Marvel Graphic Novels back in the 80s?
ReplyDeleteWhat I mean is, books like Dr. Strange: Shamballa, X-Men God Loves, Man Kills, The Death of Captain Marvel, A Sailor's Story, Greenberg the Vampire, Daredevil: Love and war, and others see have been specifically trying stretch the medium, Perhaps an attempt to be more serious, more sophisticated.
I suppose the question is, first am I nuts for seeing that? and was that attempt planned..like did they say "don't pitch us a GN unless it is (fill in the blank)/" or did it just shake out that way?
Jack
I think the idea was to do stories that were special, perhaps more mature, a little groundbreaking, in that format. The truty is, some were, some were just regular comic book stories in a different format. But, if memory serves, the intention was to stretch both format and content. The guy to really ask would be Jim Shooter.
DeleteIt seems like the comic shop exclusive stuff as a whole had that vibe. Moon Knight was also a bit heavier of a book than many Marvel comics at the time.
DeleteI did a check, and it was in 1985 that there started to be more just longer superhero stories, opposed to the either more weighty or non-superheroey. An unfortunate time to make that call, considering Watchmen and the Dark Knight Returns were about to come out.
There are still some that fit the previous mold...A Sailor's Story may have been the closest thing Marvel produced to a latter Will Eisner story, and that was not out until 1987... but it no longer seemed the rule.
I guess it is one of those great mysteries.
Jack
So it is.
DeleteI just noticed the typos in my previous answer. "...the truty"?
I'm going to start saying that instead of "the truth." Maybe it'll catch on. "Hey, man, what's the truty?"
So, you are aware of the DC Trinity. Now a lot has been made of them, but really they were just the only characters that did not get cancelled after WWII. IN fact, I am not sure...and I could be wrong... I am not sure either Batman or Superman ever interacted with Wonder Woman until several issues into the Justice League's own book in the early 60s.
ReplyDeleteStill, they are the constants. However, I would argue it is actually five, not three. Lois Lane has been in continuous use as long as Superman and Robin only one year less than Batman. Both are at least as recognizable as Wonder Woman.
Which brings me to my point.
The Trinity all have a unique relationship that no matter how many Crises happen, or reboots, or company reshuffling they have remain constants. Superman has Lois Lane. Batman has Robin. Wonder Woman has...Steve Trevor? Nope. I actually am not much of a Wonder Woman reader, so I had to look it up. Steve Trevor actually was not that big a pat of the post-Crisis. universe...at least not the same way for as long...lore of Wonder Woman. It is Hippolyta.
And THAT Dematteis, is what is borderline interesting.
Three characters that always seem to survive, and have crawled into the collective psyches of the American people. Each defined by a relation ship, but not the same.
Superman and Lois are obviously the destined lovers, highlighting how human the alien hero truly is.
Batman is his relationship with his adopted son as a would-be father reforming the family he lost.
Wonder Woman is the inverse of old Pointy-ears, as the dutiful daughter maintaining connection to her heritage as she lives in a strange world.
What does that mean?
I don't know. But it is at least borderline interesting.
I...um...wonder: Has Wonder Woman ever had a deep bench of supporting characters?
DeleteWonder Woman is weird.
DeleteMy mother was born in 1950, is and was very much the Baby Boomer style feminist, and she grew up reading Superman comics. And Superboy and Lois Lane, and Supergirl. Even the odd Justice League...but not Wonder Woman. And she is not the only woman of around that age who read comics as a kid...but not Wonder Woman.
It is interesting. I remember reading part of the reason that Wally West replaced Barry Allen after Crisis is because he had become more popular than Barry, so the figured fans would be okay with it, Not hard to believe given how popular WOlfman made the Titans... at least in comparison to the rest of DC in the 80s.
While Robin, and later Nightwing was the most popular character in the most popular book, a book that outsold Batman for a time... I don;t think anyone would say he out iconed Batman Like him more? sue, but that is opinion.
However, there are a decent number of people, at least who read in that era, who would say Donna Troy became more interesting than Wonder Woman,and more integral to DC.
BUT...not everyone. Probably not even a majority.
People put her on the same level as Superman and Batman, but she is not. Nor is she on the same as Flash and Green Lantern, where being interchangeable seems very easy when sales drop too low.
Is weird.
Also, good news, you will still have the option of working at AMrvel.. They printed another of my letters. You are welcome for keeping that door open for you.
Also, I assume you get them each framed, and spend three hours every day staring at them in a meditative state.
Jack
Actually, I sleep with them tucked under my pillow.
DeleteRe: Wonder Woman. I think, in the collective pop culture consciousness—and that includes lots of folks that don't read comics but know these characters from other media—she is very much up there with Superman and Batman. In comics her career has been more up and down—some fantastic runs, some less so—and it depends on how she's being handled at the moment.
Well, I look forward to your review of my letter.
DeleteI am anxious to know if it was a life changing revelation, or simply a brilliant masterpiece. Or even somewhere inbetween.
Jack
UNDER THE PILLOW!? The movement will separate the covers! Bags and boards!
It was brilliantly life-changing.
DeleteHi Mr. J! Just popping in to say I had a great time reading this issue, there were some things I wish had more time to develop, like everything with Gwen and her mom in her remaining hours, but there's only so many pages to fit everything in I guess. And the last sentence of Peter's narration in this made me beam with considerable joy, if only it wasn't so vague, since we know from your previous minis you definitely do have an impression or two of who Peter belongs with. Looking forward to your next mini melody
ReplyDeleteThanks, Zarius! So glad you enjoyed it! And, yes, I could have used another full issue to give the story a little more breathing room, but that's not my call. I have to work with what I'm given.
DeleteThanks for checking in!
You did a terrific job regardless, and the important thing was all the time given to Peter and Aunt May, I have always appreciated your writing of May. As a young child I remember how she stood up to The Vulture in "Funeral Arrangements" when Tooms threatened Peter. The Peter and May relationship I feel gets taken too much for granted nowadays, but those were the days where it felt very real, complex, and sincere, and I'm glad to see how it fleshes out and informs the person we all know and want Peter to be later as he grows.
DeleteMay is a deep, complex character. Far more than the one-dimensional worrywart some people (including me, back when I was a kid reading Spidey) think she is.
DeleteHi, Mr. DeMatteis! I finished Shadow of the Goblin earlier today, and I just wanted to let you know that it had a deeply profound effect on me. I have recently found myself in a web of grief, so Norman's final line and Peter's ending narration held a profound effect on me, helping me open to flood gates to some very cathartic tears. So I just wanted to thank you for helping me reckon with that. I've always found your work concerning grief—especially The Last One and Amazing #400—to be very strong and powerful.
ReplyDeletePS: Totally unrelated, but I also wanted to let you know that the incredibly relatable Brooklyn Dreams helped me get through Junior year—and hopefully my upcoming senior—relatively unscathed. So thank you so much for creating it!
PSPS: Also, congrats on finally getting the Spectacular Spider-Man omnibus. I will be preordering that jawn ASAP!
Thanks so much for sharing that , Liam. If my work touched you in any way I am DEEPLY grateful.
DeleteWishing you all the best in Senior Year (which was my working title for Brooklyn Dreams, by the way). Hope it all goes smoothly and opens wonderful new horizons for you.