Here's my review of Manhunter #6, in exchange for writer Marc Andreyko's review of the Doom Patrol #1 through 7.

There's a lot I really like about this book. Jesus Saiz's pencils (along with Jimmy Palmiotti's inks) remind me of John Byrne's in the sense that the storytelling is crystal clear, the art is neither over-rendered nor unfinished, and everything looks right. Faces, clothes, books, coffee-cups, window frames, all the important details are there. One thing that I don't like about Saiz's art is that most of his panels have the same perspective, as if the "camera man" were shooting straight ahead almost all the time.

The writing is interesting. A lot is happening in the world of Manhunter. There's no decompressed "writing for trade" stuff going on here.

I really want to like this book, but for some reason nothing has captured my imagination. Could it be I'm prejudiced against strong female characters? I hope not. Kate Spencer is one of the toughest female heroines I've come across in comics - she makes Claremont's famous X-women look like whiny sorority sisters. The court room drama that is unfolding doesn't quite intrigue me either. This is one of those rare books that is quality throughout,  but I'm not that interested, sorry.  

Tomas Burgos wrote: Excuse, me...May I ask you how old are you?   Did you know that this "cheap knockoff Spiderwoman"   you refer to had a successful 50 issue run in the late seventies? Did you know that she had Coolee/Icee/Slurpee cups with her image, Underoos, Haloween costumes and other assorted merchandising created after her back then, when she was Marvel's top selling female book? And did you know that unlike Spidergirl, she accomplished all her success without being connected in any way shape or form to Peter Parker? Seriously, a very strong case could be made for Spidergirl being the actual knockoff...from her bloodline (SHE IS PETER PARKER'S DAUGHTER!) to her costume (IT'S SPIDERMAN WITH BOOBS!)... This is what disappoints me about some ccmic fans...you can have both characters co-exist ...why do you need to "bash" Jessica Drew to sing MayDay's praises? I asked your age because I am assuming you have never heard of Jessica Drew, Marvel's original  spider-female?

Wow, Tomas!  Cut back on the caffeine!  I completely understand and agree with you 100% about the characters co-existing.  That was a soapbox I stood on for a long time with Kyle/Hal in Green Lantern. 

Being that I bought the Marvel Spotlight issue that "Arachne" first appeared in off the rack at the local Eckerd Drugs back in the day, I am a big fan, too.  I really wish that they had kept the origin the way it was written there instead of the watered down version that was later introduced, though. 

I thought that the "Spiderwoman" being referenced in the thread was the Latino girl in Amazing Fantasy when I first read that.  Maybe just a poor choice of words using woman instead of girl.  Dunno.  Maybe the reference was to Jessica Drew.  I do find a touch of humor in the fact that JB's Spider-Woman wasn't mentioned considering what board we are all on. 

Keeping it on topic:  I converted two folks last week and added two DP subscribers at the shop I work at.

Todd Hembrough wrote: It went very smoothly.  Most of the focus was on characters I was familiar with, adn the new ones like Mr. Terrific, and the (girl with all the stars) were secondary.  Never saw Black Adam before, but he was awesome.  I want to find out more about him, and I will probably read a bunch more trades of both JSA and Hawkman. T

The Black Adam thing comes to a head (for now anyway) in the Black Reign crossover between JSA and Hawkman. That should be collected sometime in the future.

Awesome. Getting readers onto a book by the ones and twos, that's how the Spider-Girl fans have kept their book going for so long. Let's hope we acheive the same.

Wes, would your shop be interested in participating in this swap like Chris has proposed for his?

I'm just the weekend guy there, Joe.  I can't really sell anything at cost to anyone.  And to be honest I'm not really comfortable asking the owner about it.  He's a good bud, but money is money, ya know? 

What I can and often do is if I am totally impressed with the first issue of a new book, I will physically put it someone's hands and offer to personally buy it back if they don't like it.  I have done this with WE3 and Ex Machina without having to buy back one yet.  And almost all those I did this with put the books on their pull lists.  Sadly, I was in Miami on business with my "real" job when DP debuted, so I missed that opportunity. 

But I still push it in my top five comics for folks who are new or returning to the hobby.  In no particular order:  Doom Patrol, Spider-Girl, Thor Son of Asgard, Astonishing X-Men, and Catwoman.  I recommend others, too, but these seem to get the most repeat business.     

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting your shop to sell DP at cost. What I mean is the basic idea of what Chris is doing - promoting DP and linking that promotion to the swap. Could you ask your shop owner friend if he would be interested in such a thing?

Right on Chris. If we can only get people to sit down and read DP, not looking for faults but something to enjoy, they will come away finding at least some aspect of the book they like.

This review is for Marvel's Mary Jane digest sized TPB,  suggested by Jacob Secrest.

I read this book keeping in mind that the intended audience of this book is not really for a guy like me. I was curious how Marvel is trying to interest this audience in the Spider-Man mythos.

The Mary Jane of this book comes directly from from the Spider-Man movies. She is a younger, more vulnerable MJ than the one in the original comics. As in the movies, she is a popular student at Midtown High and hangs out with Harry Osborn, Liz Allan and Flash Thompson. Peter Parker / Spider-Man is mainly just a background character to all of this. There's lots of sappy teen drama here: crushes, ambiguous feelings for overbearing boyfriends, long triangles and the like. There's also some real world themes that older teens may relate to, like MJ's misadventures in the world of part-time service industry jobs.

Just as in McKeever's previous books, there's an sincerity that comes through in the writing. All the hopes and passions of the characters are revealed, laid bare.  I get kind of embarrassed reading that style of story, but I imagine many other adult fans could appreciate it. In that way MJ is an all-ages sort of story - I wonder if that is by Marvel's design or accident.

I'm not a fan of Manga, but the art by Miyazawa is interesting. It's a rounded, finished Manga style but everything else such as panel layout seems "American". It's also in full color.