Geek Talk: Iron Spidey

Hm. Spider-Man's getting new duds. Again.

Oh, and it's apparently tied into Iron Man. It's nice to see that Marvel's really hyping it up. It's not like Spider-Man has ever gotten a new costume before.

Ever.

I suppose every few years or so, Marvel has to keep revamping Spider-Man to keep the kiddies interested. It's not like he's an easily recognizable and iconic character with two high-grossing movies and a third one on the way. You'd think that'd be enough to get kids interested, but no. Actually, I don't mind Marvel marketing comic books toward kids at all. If that's what they are, in fact, doing with this latest stunt, then I think it's great. Maybe it'll even get more kids interested in Spider-Man comic books. I would argue, though, that what they need are fewer "events" ...

Saddest thing I saw the other day was a young kid (maybe 6 or 7) in a comic book store with his mom. The kid's eyes lit up when he saw Spider-Man on the cover of a comic and he nearly sqealed with delight, exclaiming: "Spider-Man! Look, mommy! Spider-Man!" The mom - being a good mom - picked up the book, flipped through it, glanced at the warning on the cover, then sadly put it back on the counter. "Sorry," she sighed. "This one is for grown-ups." This was the mainstream Amazing Spider-Man comic. Luckily, the friendly store owners directed them to kid-friendly, "all-ages" Marvel Adventures Spider-Man. "All-ages" should apply to the regular Spider-Man title, but I digress...

Maybe this new "Iron Spider" storyline will usher in a new age of more kid-friendly Spider-Man adventures in the mainstream books...but I doubt it. I have a feeling this is yet another attempt at getting fanboys my age interested in picking up a Spider-book again for the spectacle of the event.

Oh, well. I guess I'll just chalk this one up to "I'm too old to be reading comic books anymore."

'Cuz it'll never be cooler than the slick black & white costume.


In other geek-related news, it must be baby-birthin' time. Congrats and Mazel Tov to Dave Campbell on the birth of his new daughter. Mazel, mazel; lots of mazel, all around.