20221027 - Black Cat (2019) Comic Book Review Analysis and Summary

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Felines stalk the night, \\ stealing immortal treasures, \\ thieving hearts of gold.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Black Cat (2019)

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Hello readers,

Black Cat's 2019 (and 2020) run by Jed MacKay was a surprise gem that I read this year. Felicia Hardy's not-so-heroic hijinks snuck in fantastic stories featuring other Marvel icons ranging from the Fantastic Four's Johnny and Sue Storm to Bats the lovable canine companion of Doctor Strange. 

The best part of this series for me was the light being cast upon those closest to Felicia, including lovers, her mother, her henchmen Borris and Bruno, and her mentor Black Fox (another classic Spidey character). Her interactions with others in the Marvel universe help to solidify her place in the world as its finest well-meaning cat burglar.

Though, the Spider-Man stuff was contained to the Annual and kept out of the spotlight, as the focus stayed on what drives Felicia to do what she is best at.

The series pits Felicia’s gang against the New York Thieves Guild. The main conflict revolved around Felicia's war with Odessa Drake, the heir of the Guild. See, the Thieves were immortal, and the Black Fox enlisted Felicia's help because he wanted to steal the Guild's greatest treasure.

The Black Cat thus pulled off a variety of odd jobs to aid her mentor's heist. Each arc of issues was about collecting these pieces from their current owners. The Black Cat was forced to cross paths with a number of cameos and crossovers (like Danny Rand and Batroc) while feeling natural and unforced.

This Black Cat series touched on how her wilful manipulation of chance affected magic and technology. Through Felicia's inducing ‘bad luck’ on anyone around her, the Black Cat circumvented every circumstance that stood between her and her prizes. Her demonstration in the casino of her ability to control this manipulation was great fun and acted as a perfect example of how she can tilt the odds in the direction she desired. The overarching story between both the 2019 and the 2020 runs leans further into this magic-meets-manifestation theme in a really satisfying way.

Wade Wilson as a merc looking to score a hit on Logan and Felicia was also great. A moment of characterization for Felicia that I liked was when Wolverine was talking about Krakoa after collecting his diaries, where Felicia had only cared about the physical value versus the sentimental. 

I also enjoyed the segments between the main narrative of each issue, like the scenes with Black Fox teaching deception through street trick-magic, and Felicia's mother warning her about his deceptive nature.

But, it is in improvisation when plans fail where Felicia does her best. Her ability to plan for both heists and for improv were great ways to highlight her ability to circumvent any situation.

Jed MacKay’s characterization of Felicia was fantastic, lighthearted and fun to read. His Black Cat run focused on Felicia as a character more than anything else. It was refreshing to read how loud and sure of herself she was in ways other characters falter because she knew she can get anything she worked for.

If anything, this Black Cat series is about fighting against all odds through sheer determinism and improvisation.

Issues 11 and 12 are outside of the trade paperbacks I had read, so watch out for them because they set up MacKay's later Iron Cat series; I also wholeheartedly recommend his second Black Cat volume and his Moon Knight run.

PS. Two posts in one day? What is this madness?! 

Happy National Black Cat Day! Here are some Halloween themed links for you;

. Black Cat (2020) : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022/04/20220408-review-black-cat-2020.html

. Frankenstein : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022/10/20221020-frankenstein-book-review.html

. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022/10/20221007-alices-adventures-in.html

. The Legend of Sleepy Hallow : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022/02/20220202-review-legend-of-sleepy-hollow.html

. Howl's Moving Castle : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/12/20211229-review-howls-moving-castle.html

. Spider-Man tag : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/search/label/Spider-Man

Thank you for reading.

Allen W. McLean

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Readers can follow HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair via our emailing lists (on Medium, Patreon, LinkedIn and more) for mindfulness meditation scifaiku and haiku poetry based on book reviews and on previews of metaphysical stories such as "Escape Perennial City" (available on Kindle Unlimited); as a free gift, all readers get an Amazon Kindle ebook short story every week on Free Fridays--selection rotates every few weeks, so follow via email to collect them all! https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html 

Thanks to you, over 500 followers have joined us on Medium! If anyone reading this needs followers to stay in the Medium Partner Program, I am asking you to please follow me (and sign up for emails!) and I'll follow you back! My short story "Hector Blake" is available to read for FREE on Medium!

Leave a comment with books you would like to see reviewed and I will add them to my Goodreads!!

Always open to reading book recommendations. Looking forward to adding new friends on Goodreads and sharing what we read with each other : www.goodreads.com/author/show/19557396.Allen_W_McLean

April's latest psychedelic music videos, art and poetry available on all streaming platforms.

Electric Armchair - Living Ghosts (FULL ALBUM) : distrokid.com/hyperfollow/electricarmchair/living-ghosts

"Tomothy and the Overseer of the Forest" is available as an eBook through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read right now with Kindle Unlimited! www.haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/tomothy-and-overseer-of-forest.html

Kindle ebooks can be read on any device through one's web browser at www.read.amazon.com

These poems will be collected in future editions of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

20221027 - Ado the Owl [Official "Tell a Story Day" Flash Fiction Story]

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Tiny animal \\ abandoned during the fall, \\ saved by loving light.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - Ado the Owl 

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Hello readers,

Today is the UK's National Tell a Story Day, so I am sharing a short piece of flash fiction about a Terraform named Ado which I wrote using ideas from my sister's birthday and our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend; April and I totally stole the name Ado from our waiter at the restaurant we celebrated my sister's birthday at.

The next Terraform story after Tomothy, "Ado the Owl" is about the Terraform falling into a cave, after being distracted by something shiny, during a walk with the Overseer of the Forest. 

Read "Ado the Owl" on Medium : https://medium.com/haikuprajna/20221027-ado-the-owl-official-tell-a-story-day-flash-fiction-story-e4c8a8ec8563

If you have exceeded your free monthly articles on Medium, hit me up and I will send you a Friend's Link.

Ado the Owl will see a wide ebook release in November 2022.

Thank you for reading.

Allen W. McLean

PS. Here is another 1000 word short story which I wrote for 2021's Inktober. 

https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/10/20211031-happy-halloween-nanowrimo.html

I apologize for missing out this year, after tackling the "Primal" themed 2020 list with "Fishing for Caribou" and after attempting last year's list with "Bucket and Train" I had decided to take a break and enjoy the art and music that April was working on this year; I may end up using the 2022 prompts for a piece of flash fiction on Halloween or for NaNoWriMo 2022, but we will see.

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Readers can follow HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair via our emailing lists (on Medium, Patreon, LinkedIn and more) for mindfulness meditation scifaiku and haiku poetry based on book reviews and on previews of metaphysical stories such as "Escape Perennial City" (available on Kindle Unlimited); as a free gift, all readers get an Amazon Kindle ebook short story every week on Free Fridays--selection rotates every few weeks, so follow via email to collect them all! https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html 

Thanks to you, over 500 followers have joined us on Medium! If anyone reading this needs followers to stay in the Medium Partner Program, I am asking you to please follow me (and sign up for emails!) and I'll follow you back! My short story "Hector Blake" is available to read for FREE on Medium!

Leave a comment with books you would like to see reviewed and I will add them to my Goodreads!!

Always open to reading book recommendations. Looking forward to adding new friends on Goodreads and sharing what we read with each other : www.goodreads.com/author/show/19557396.Allen_W_McLean

April's latest psychedelic music videos, art and poetry available on all streaming platforms.

Electric Armchair - Living Ghosts (FULL ALBUM) : distrokid.com/hyperfollow/electricarmchair/living-ghosts

"Tomothy and the Overseer of the Forest" is available as an eBook through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read right now with Kindle Unlimited! www.haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/tomothy-and-overseer-of-forest.html

Kindle ebooks can be read on any device through one's web browser at www.read.amazon.com

These poems will be collected in future editions of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

20221022 - Ultraviolet [Official Announcement]

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Invisible lights / reveal the cosmos beyond. / Transcend the structure.

HAIKUPRAJNA - Ultraviolet

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Hello readers,

Very excited to reveal my next project; “Ultraviolet” is the first in a series of metaphysical science fiction short stories about a superpowered cast living at the end of the 30th century.

“Ultraviolet” will be released as a Kindle Unlimited ebook that can be read on any device with a web browser.

The following is an excerpt from the ebook, along with the Amazon store’s blurb.

Title Page for Ultraviolet by Allen W. McLean

Excerpt from Ultraviolet by Allen W. McLean

“ The Imprint tuned to the light of a clear blue sky. Speaking through the ultraviolet end of the visible spectrum, Imprint told the Source she had hit a roadblock in her project, that the microcosm’s dimension of time was frozen past a specific point.

The Source revealed that her problem was a non-issue, transcending Imprint’s macrocosm, which was a microcosm to the godform. 

But Imprint realized that meant the Ultraviolet had claimed her abilities and endeavours as its own.

Desperate to reclaim her work, Imprint attempted to capture and transcend the godform, but only revealed the underlying structure of every cosmos in her effort. “

“Ultraviolet” will be available to read on October 31st 2022!

Thank you for reading.

Allen W. McLean

...

Need more Bite-sized Insights to relieve your stress and suffering?

Banner: The Cannon by Allen W. McLean

Readers can follow HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair via our emailing lists (on Medium, Patreon, LinkedIn and more) for mindfulness meditation scifaiku and haiku poetry based on book reviews and on previews of metaphysical stories such as "Escape Perennial City" (available on Kindle Unlimited); as a free gift, all readers get an Amazon Kindle ebook short story every week on Free Fridays--selection rotates every few weeks, so follow via email to collect them all! https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html 

Thanks to you, over 500 followers have joined us on Medium! If anyone reading this needs followers to stay in the Medium Partner Program, I am asking you to please follow me (and sign up for emails!) and I'll follow you back! My short story "Hector Blake" is available to read for FREE on Medium!

Leave a comment with books you would like to see reviewed and I will add them to my Goodreads!!

Always open to reading book recommendations. Looking forward to adding new friends on Goodreads, to share what we read with each other: www.goodreads.com/author/show/19557396.Allen_W_McLean

Have been looking for other free kindle books to read, ones that are only free for a day or so, so if you have an ebook on Kindle feel free to share them and I'll download!

April's latest psychedelic music videos, art and poetry available on all streaming platforms.

Electric Armchair - Living Ghosts (FULL ALBUM): distrokid.com/hyperfollow/electricarmchair/living-ghosts

"Tomothy and the Overseer of the Forest" is available as an eBook through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read right now with Kindle Unlimited! www.haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/tomothy-and-overseer-of-forest.html

Kindle ebooks can be read on any device through one's web browser at www.read.amazon.com

These poems will be collected in future editions of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

20221020 - Frankenstein Book Review Summary and Analysis 2022 [Updated with more Halloween Reviews]

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Hands around their neck, \\ witness the eternal light, \\ nature's creation.

HAIKUPRAJNA - Frankenstein Book Review 2022

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Hello readers,

In the spirit of Halloween, and because it was Mary Shelley Day a few weeks back, I did a reread of her classic gothic horror novel Frankenstein. 

Victor Frankenstein’s story about his Creature is told through the many voices of its side cast; I found that the book felt alive with how deep and well used all the characters were. Frankenstein, at its heart, is a cautionary story about creating life from death as much as it is about creating death from life; it was fascinating reading about how good intentions can cause despair, and how dreadful things can be filled with hope. 

Frankenstein's monster sought to enact revenge against the titular family over the horrors that every human they knew--even the youngest of the Frankenstein family--had inflicted on them. The Creature was a result of Victor Frankenstein's hope of metaphysical pursuits in the field of natural philosophy, where his antiquated science studies fueled his sense of discovery, whereby Frankenstein learned how to turn the old and unreal into something real and new. 

Frankenstein is framed with stories within stories; the main account occurs in the form of letters between a captain and his sister, the former of whom had listened to Victor relate his and his creation’s tales of misfortune, where we readers get to glimpse into the points of view of other characters via letters and of the monster itself, who shedded light on how they basked in the intellect of other perfected beings like their creator. These related tales take place in French-speaking Switzerland and abroad, where every person is written to be expressional by having their emotions and reactions checked minutely in a style reminiscent of romantics. In Victor’s blunted case, he feared being chased by his Creature and foreshadowed his eventual demise through his own narrative voice.

Frankenstein is in the horror genre, as in being wracked with horrible emotional baggage and fear, where the monster’s threats end up being carried out to highlight the difference between fear and anxiety, horror and thriller. In sharp contrast with the desires of his companions, who wished to lift his spirits, the fear and hatred that Victor expressed through his exposition in “normal” moments had tainted the beauty of nature for himself with his own despair.

I enjoyed the captain’s want of a friend and his finding one in Victor via their shared sympathy toward the wretchedness that their singular focuses had wrought on them both. Appealing to another's sympathetic nature is a key theme here, where Victor's silent resolve could be viewed as being devoid of sympathy and as being the ultimate cause leading to the deaths that his Creature forced Victor into experiencing, the Creature wanting Victor to live and suffer the same trials as they had, rather than outright killing Frankenstein. 

Both Frankenstein and his Creature harbour personal inner hells following their high hopes being crushed, having lost what was wanted. However, it is my belief that neither the Creature nor Frankenstein should be sympathized with, as the monster justified framing others for their murderings and Victor felt justified in hiding from revealing his creation.

Victor was afraid of being outcast like his Creature, and they both faced the same guilt over the deaths, but both were concerned for their ego and their public image, doing good to be seen as good instead of just doing good things, such as owning up to mistakes, which led to their shared desperation to be seen as respectable (evidenced by Victor's disgust over his own Creature). 

The Monster's justifications had acted like a trap, by sounding agreeable while appealing to a desire for vengeance. Choosing to agree with the Monster's spell was shown to possess Victor with suffering, which was reinforced by his beautiful natural sceneries being perceived as tainted. 

To me, the most interesting aspect of Frankenstein is the Creature's own poetic comparisons with God's creations of Adam and Satan. The Creature desired an Eve and to return to their metaphorical Eden of forested nature away from humankind (the very same natural scenery that Victor grew to be unable to witness). The use of the name Prometheus was, in my opinion, for the monster learning from his creator (and from others like their creator), along with Frankenstein stealing life from God or nature and being eternally punished by and for his creation, acting as a parable for something bad enough to be worthy of being punished over. Through his master work, Victor knew he was playing God with creation. 

Frankenstein details how one’s unchecked creation affects others and how those effects affect oneself. Frankenstein's monster was a philosophical Daemon, a personified Other, overviewing and passing judgement on humanity while transcending from nature to the civilized as a beast who learned to be human. However, the Creature's eloquence and Victor's aspirations were corrupted, where the products still worked but had spelled wretchedness for their creator. 

Thank you for reading.

Allen W. McLean

PS. You can read my previous Frankenstein review here;

https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2020/12/20201214-frankenstein.html

PPS.

Happy Halloween!

Here is a list of spooky reads that I have reviewed:

. Black Cat (2019) : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022/10/20221027-black-cat-2019-comic-book.html

. Frankenstein : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022/10/20221020-frankenstein-book-review.html

. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022/10/20221007-alices-adventures-in.html

. The Legend of Sleepy Hallow : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022/02/20220202-review-legend-of-sleepy-hollow.html

. Howl's Moving Castle : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/12/20211229-review-howls-moving-castle.html

The Wendigo : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/03/20210319-review-wendigo.html 

Bloodborne comics : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022/06/20220614-bloodborne-comic-book-summary.html

Coraline : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/12/20211201-review-coraline.html

Beowulf : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2020/12/20201220-beowulf.html

The Island of Doctor Moreau : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2020/12/20201222-island-of-doctor-moreau.html

Check out some stories that I have written for and around Inktober and Halloween:

Sprout : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/10/20211031-happy-halloween-nanowrimo.html

Ado the Owl : https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2022/10/20221027-ado-owl-official-tell-story.html 

Fishing for Caribou : https://read.amazon.ca/kp/embed?asin=B09MDR2JGP 

Also, ULTRAVIOLET is available to read on Kindle : https://read.amazon.ca/kp/embed?asin=B0BKYQV5C4

An official announcement will be revealed soon.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

...

Need more Bite-sized Insights to relieve your stress and suffering?

Banner: The Cannon by Allen W. McLean

Readers can follow HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair via our emailing lists (on Medium, Patreon, LinkedIn and more) for mindfulness meditation scifaiku and haiku poetry based on book reviews and on previews of metaphysical stories such as "Escape Perennial City" (available on Kindle Unlimited); as a free gift, all readers get an Amazon Kindle ebook short story every week on Free Fridays--selection rotates every few weeks, so follow via email to collect them all! https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html 

Thanks to you, over 500 followers have joined us on Medium! If anyone reading this needs followers to stay in the Medium Partner Program, I am asking you to please follow me (and sign up for emails!) and I'll follow you back! My short story "Hector Blake" is available to read for FREE on Medium!

Leave a comment with books you would like to see reviewed and I will add them to my Goodreads!!

Always open to reading book recommendations. Looking forward to adding new friends on Goodreads, to share what we read with each other: www.goodreads.com/author/show/19557396.Allen_W_McLean

Have been looking for other free kindle books to read, ones that are only free for a day or so, so if you have an ebook on Kindle feel free to share them and I'll download!

April's latest psychedelic music videos, art and poetry is available on all streaming platforms.

Electric Armchair - Living Ghosts (FULL ALBUM): distrokid.com/hyperfollow/electricarmchair/living-ghosts

"Tomothy and the Overseer of the Forest" is available as an eBook through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read right now with Kindle Unlimited! www.haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/tomothy-and-overseer-of-forest.html

Kindle ebooks can be read on any device through one's web browser at www.read.amazon.com

These poems will be collected in future editions of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

20221007 - Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Book Review Analysis 2022

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Croquet flamingos, \\ "But what did the Dormouse say?" \\ Biting his teacup.

HAIKUPRAJNA - Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Book Review 2022

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Hello readers,

Had sat down for a reread of 'Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll on Mad Hatter Day (10/06). In my opinion, Wonderland is best experienced with the same child-like point of view as Alice has while meeting its inhabitants.

She is accompanied throughout the entire book by its cast of animals and the many followers of the Queen of Hearts. Each exhibited manners of varying degrees of politeness, depending on how mad they were, and, rest assured, they are all madder than children in some manner or another. Yet, the madness lies in the wisdom that Alice distills, such as how little girls are a kind of serpent.

'Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland' is an example of nonsense literature, where it balances many literary elements to evoke imagery, with speeches that create silly and enjoyable visuals via homophones, like ‘not’ and ‘knot’ or ‘tale’ and ‘tail’.

While the setting is set in the fantasy genre, I really enjoyed the few elements of magical realism that were included, which helped ground Alice’s adventures and portray them in a relatable manner. Wonderland was described, by the Cheshire Cat, as a place for people who have gone mad. Instead of focusing on dry politics, the cast satires language itself with the political topics being used as content only, highlighting the narrative perspective of a child.

Poetry featured within the tale are largely based upon others, further absorbing the satire in literary nonsense.

Alice fell into Wonderland by chasing the White Rabbit, by chasing something irreal that caught her curiosity. Today, the idiom “down the rabbit hole” is synonymous with fixation and hyperfocus. When the story was written, however, the idiom had yet to exist, while the other metaphors within the book are portrayed in a literal way for Alice and the Wonderland creatures to experience.

The metaphors that do stay metaphorical are instead parodied in both speech and execution, solidifying the playful imagery techniques.

Despite this, some key lessons are shown, such as how promising to give everyone prizes had caused everyone to look to Alice for what they now expected.

All the while, Alice asked questions in order to understand the nonsensical world that she found herself to be in. Alice continued to experiment and to try eating or drinking new things despite their effects. Despite shrinking and growing, she held onto the wisdom that she managed to root out from the others’ madness. Most of what Alice encounters appears as nonsense, at first. However, whenever she discovered or assigned an effect to something, the cause and the effect became consistent or otherwise recallable. 

Upon returning home from Wonderland, we readers are told that adults look to childhood for inspiration in the manner of Alice’s adventure. One’s childhood is described as “a far-off land”, as Alice stumbling through Wonderland.

The most striking aspect of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is her whimsy and ambivalence toward the effects of things by her focusing on its causes, which allowed Alice to create meaning from nonsense. Alice manifested this nonsense by rejecting the inherent lessons or morals of the stories of Wonderland in favour of her own interpretations. The Queen using fear to manipulate her subjects, the same edible causing two different effects and Alice dispelling an entire court by believing them to be nothing but a pack of cards all highlights how choosing the effects of a cause based on one’s (versus another’s) wilful intent alone is able to overcome any situation.

Thank you for reading.

Allen W. McLean

PS. You can read my two other (shorter, two years old now!) "Alice" themed reviews below;

https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2020/12/20201217-alices-adventures-in-wonderland.html

https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2020/12/20201219-through-looking-glass.html

...

Need more Bite-sized Insights to relieve your stress and suffering?

Banner: The Cannon by Allen W. McLean

Readers can follow HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair via our emailing lists (on Medium, Patreon, LinkedIn and more) for mindfulness meditation scifaiku and haiku poetry based on book reviews and on previews of metaphysical stories such as "Escape Perennial City" (available on Kindle Unlimited); as a free gift, all readers get an Amazon Kindle ebook short story every week on Free Fridays--selection rotates every few weeks, so follow via email to collect them all! https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html 

Thanks to you, over 500 followers have joined us on Medium! If anyone reading this needs followers to stay in the Medium Partner Program, I am asking you to please follow me (and sign up for emails!) and I'll follow you back! My short story "Hector Blake" is available to read for FREE on Medium!

Leave a comment with books you would like to see reviewed and I will add them to my Goodreads!!

Always open to reading book recommendations. Looking forward to adding new friends on Goodreads, to share what we read with each other: www.goodreads.com/author/show/19557396.Allen_W_McLean

Have been looking for other free kindle books to read, ones that are only free for a day or so, so if you have an ebook on Kindle feel free to share them and I'll download!

April's latest psychedelic music videos, art and poetry is available on all streaming platforms.

Electric Armchair - Living Ghosts (FULL ALBUM): distrokid.com/hyperfollow/electricarmchair/living-ghosts

"Tomothy and the Overseer of the Forest" is available as an eBook through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read right now with Kindle Unlimited! www.haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/tomothy-and-overseer-of-forest.html

Kindle ebooks can be read on any device through one's web browser at www.read.amazon.com

These poems will be collected in future editions of the HaikuPrajna Collection.

20221005 - The Superior Spider-Man (2013) Comic Book Review

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The die is cast, trapped, \\ caught in superior webs \\ woven by eight limbs. 

HAIKUPRAJNA - The Superior Spider-Man (2013) Comic Book Review

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Hello readers,

I could talk about Superior Spider-Man all day; Dan Slott understood Peter Parker and was able to define him well.

Otto Octavius, having taken control of his nemesis, set out to do everything that Peter avoided so to prove that Otto's way was Superior, from going overboard against bullies to chumming it up with Mayor J. Jonah Jameson over their mutual distaste for Spidey. The bullying cycle casting Otto being rude to his henchmen and rogues in the same sympathetic light as Peter, with Spider-Man being Otto’s insurmountable antagonist, was an interesting development. Otto was desperate to hide behind the mask. Despite seeing his classic Doc Ock persona as his true self, unlike someone other than Peter like Miles or Miguel who saw Spider-Man as their identity, Otto proved that he, too, could be Spider-Man. 

Peter’s few appearances were gold, Ghost Peter was a vestige of his love for MJ and his family which all came together to force Otto to do good.

Further conflicts Otto faced pitted him against the likes of antihero Cardiac, and the original Hobgoblin who was selling villain identities as franchises (Crime Master's among others, even his own to Phil Urich, the nephew of Daily Bugle's Ben Urich) which tied in nicely with the Goblin storyline.

Enjoyed seeing Miguel O'Hara remembering Peter among the other 2099 crossovers, which include the transition to Alchemax from Horizon Labs through Liz Allan, Normie Osborn and the Spider-Man 2099 Stone family. Peter's identity and Otto's victory over him was also played around with during plots featuring Agent Venom Flash Thompson, Wraith Yuri Wantanabe, Green Goblin Norman Osborn and Carlie Cooper, some of whom realizing they are unable to account for Spider-Man’s identity following Spider-Island.

It was funny when Otto tried to explain to MJ and the Avengers that Peter was taken over by Venom, where they asked each other if anyone bought the ruse.

The best part was Otto realizing he was unable to bleed Peter and Spider-Man together like Otto and Doc Ock, understanding, while dating Anna Maria, why Peter kept his lives separate, as Otto had never before been on the other side of the equation of love-interest-in-danger. Otto was superior, but that allowed Norman Osborn to take advantage of a Spider-Man who was too reliant on this superiority (as in the gadgets instead of relying on his philosophy). The contrast between Otto’s materialism, his needing the invaluable equipment, versus Peter’s being able to go with nothing at all, including building himself up from only a few memories, was refreshing and a good reminder of what makes his comics special. What took Otto months to prepare was undone by Osborn, and took Peter less than a day to suffer and prove how he was the superior Spider-Man.

Residual effects of this run include Otto’s achievements being known as Peter's, symbolized by the rise and fall of Parker Industries.

I had read Superior Spider-Man as it was being released, and I remember the online backlash from leaked photos of the Dying Wish prelude, which featured a fantastic twist that made me reread the issue. The Ben Urich annual by Christos Gage was phenomenal. The Age of Ultron tie-in was cool, too.

The part with Peter's Horizon co-workers dealing with the chronotons, fabric of time, which acted like film strips burning away into the page’s bleed had taken some getting used to, but I appreciate the artstyle. The ending also did feel rushed, and Peter versus Norman was short, but there are future Superior stories to fill the void while the Osborn plot continued through the Amazing Spider-Man’s relaunch.

In the end, this series was about how Peter was the Superior Spider-Man compared to Otto. Everything that defined Spider-Man was met with the antithesis and described as Superior. Ghost Peter was the idea of Spider-Man, which Otto embodied, but which took back control because Otto was failing to live up to it. Otto having to recall Peter’s memories to succeed where he was failing was what brought Peter back. I thought Otto failing to remember anything outside of the skimmed portions of Peter’s highlights was an awesome flex for longtime readers from the writer, where even these seeds were shown to be enough for the idea to grow into the full and authentic hero.

Thank you for reading.

Allen W. McLean

PS. Check out more Spider-Man reviews:

https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/search/label/Spider-Man

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Banner: The Cannon by Allen W. McLean

Readers can follow HaikuPrajna and Electric Armchair via our emailing lists (on Medium, Patreon, LinkedIn and more) for mindfulness meditation scifaiku and haiku poetry based on book reviews and on previews of metaphysical stories such as "Escape Perennial City" (available on Kindle Unlimited); as a free gift, all readers get an Amazon Kindle ebook short story every week on Free Fridays--selection rotates every few weeks, so follow via email to collect them all! https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html 

Thanks to you, over 500 followers have joined us on Medium! If anyone reading this needs followers to stay in the Medium Partner Program, I am asking you to please follow me (and sign up for emails!) and I'll follow you back!

Leave a comment with books you would like to see reviewed and I will add them to my Goodreads!!

Always open to reading book recommendations. Looking forward to adding new friends on Goodreads, to share what we read with each other: www.goodreads.com/author/show/19557396.Allen_W_McLean

Have been looking for other free kindle books to read, ones that are only free for a day or so, so if you have an ebook on Kindle feel free to share them and I'll download!

April's latest psychedelic music videos, art and poetry is available on all streaming platforms.

Electric Armchair - Living Ghosts (FULL ALBUM): distrokid.com/hyperfollow/electricarmchair/living-ghosts

"Tomothy and the Overseer of the Forest" is available as an eBook through Amazon Kindle apps and devices; read right now with Kindle Unlimited! www.haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/tomothy-and-overseer-of-forest.html

Kindle ebooks can be read on any device through one's web browser at www.read.amazon.com

These poems will be collected in future editions of the HaikuPrajna Collection.