By Erin Kelly
The little book that could, still can.
Spinning out of the popular series that itself spun out of a one-shot story in WHAT IF? v2 #105, AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #25, swinging into stores on October 8, continues to prove that Mayday Parker, the daughter of Spider-Man, has plenty of appeal.
Writer Tom DeFalco says he had no idea what he was getting into when he created Spider-Girl, "WHAT IF? v2 #105 was conceived as a single story by Ron Frenz and me. While we were working on it, we thought about the possibility of doing a sequel some day, but it never occurred to us that we'd ever be doing a series based on Spider-Girl."
Much of the credit for the continued success of Spider-Girl should go to her passionate fan base who have brought the book back, not from the brink, but from actual cancellation, more than once. The original SPIDER-GIRL book was finally canceled after issue #100 in 2006, only to have AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL premiere the next month.
So how have the fans felt about to the new book? "[Fan reaction] has been great," says the veteran writer and former Marvel Editor in Chief. "Most of our regular fans have stuck with us and [we] seem to be gaining more with each passing issue."
Current AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL editor Tom Brennan also raves about the fans. "Spider-Girl fans are that unique combination of passionate, intelligent and friendly," he says. "They know what they're talking about and they're not afraid to voice their opinions, but in an Internet age that is all too often acerbic, they offer strong, supportive statements. They really love this book and it shows in the dedication they have to it and to its creators. It's refreshing. Plus, they don't make fun of me on the letters page, unlike
some Spider-books I could mention."
In the recent "Brand New May" storyline Spider-Girl's passionate fans, not to mention her father, learned that the web-slinger they have come to know and love may not be the real and true daughter of Spider-Man. Peter Parker found a girl who appears to be the real May Parker, held in suspended animation for 16 years. This "brand new may" somehow managed to hold off the more experienced hero long enough to take her place in the Parker family. Mayday (Spider-Girl) can't be too happy about her place being usurped, and this "brand new may" can't hold a candle to the real deal...right?
"Anything's possible," DeFalco hints, adding, "…and who said the 'brand new may' isn't the real deal?!?"
The inter-May fight might never happen, since Mayday was at the epicenter of a major explosion in AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #24, and neither of the Toms, Brennan nor Defalco, will tell much about what happens after #25.
"[We're heading] along some very unexpected and somewhat tragic paths," DeFalco remarks.
Brennan adds, "The book is heading into some darker territory. With Pete in the hands of the Goblin cult (Goblin-ites? Goblinners?) and the duplicate May usurping Mayday's life, we're already seeing some terrifying prospects for the Family Parker. At the end of issue #25, our May is in a brand new frame of mind and the results could be deadly. And that's not even before the brand new Green Goblin—whoops, said too much."
Tragic paths, darker territory, Goblin cult and a new Green Goblin—things aren't looking good for Spider-Girl, but the character should continue in some form or another, because both Bennan and DeFalco agree that Spider-Girl is an important part of the overall Spider-Man story.
DeFalco says that Spider-Girl "shows that Spider-Man made a differen[ce] and that his legacy will always continue!"
The Spider-Man legacy looks more shaky these days than it has in the past, but Tom Brennan thinks that Spider-Girl helps to keep things well rounded. "Spider-Girl serves as a crucial cog in the Spidey mythos—the tone and feeling of Mayday's adventures evoke the classic Spider-Man high school soap opera, but May herself is so different a character from her father that we're able to do completely different adventures. While she shares her father's intellect, humor and sense of responsibility, May is also very much the burst of energy her mother, Mary Jane Parker, was and is in Pete's life. She's got her own circle of friends and her own set of problems, distinctly different form anything we saw in Pete's youth. She has a boyfriend who's a jerk, a couple of best friends with self esteem issues and a few rivals in school who are out to trip her up at every turn. It's a very contemporary take on high school life, and for someone whose high school memories are a bit fresher than most around editorial, it's a joy to work on this book.
"Did I mention [AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL]'s the only Spidey book in town with a married Peter Parker?" Brennan adds. "C'mon, Internet, I keep hearing that you guys miss a married Peter Parker/Mary Jane—well we've got it, every month! Married, kids, a house, arguments about where to hang the curtains—all the glory of marriage with a wise-cracking, web-slinging crime fighter to boot. How can you lose?"
Whatever darker paths she might take, it seems like Spider-Girl will stick around for the forseeable future, especially because her world just keeps on growing. DeFalco currently writes two other stories set in Spider-Girl's MC2 universe: ""Mr. and Mrs. Spider-Man" in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FAMILY and "Li'l Benjy, The Spectacular Spider-Baby" one page back-up stories in AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL.
AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #25 swings into stores on October 8. For more
Spider-Girl, check out
Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.
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