What I’m reading this week
Sorry it’s a day late, but here is my review of my comic haul this week.
Ultimate Spider-Man #2
This issue continues with the incredible origin story of Miles Morales the new Spider-Man. After being bitten by a genetically enhanced spider in his uncle’s apartment, Miles discovers that he can turn invisible and emit a “venom strike” from his fingertips. He confesses to his best friend, who thinks he’s a mutant (and that having powers is cool), much to his dismay. After his father tracks him down, they have a heart-to-heart in the park where he gets an updated “with great power comes great responsibility” speech. Later that night he gets a text from his friend comparing his powers and origin to a story about Peter Parker in the Daily Bugle. And then this happens:
Check out that artwork, amazing, right? You almost forget that Miles is just a 13 year old boy (two years younger than when Peter started out) when you see the cover. We already know that he becomes Spider-Man, we’ve seen him in costume, but I’m really enjoying the ride as he discovers his new abilities and am curious what will push him to become the hero we know he will become.
Teen Titans #1
I had high hopes for this one and I think, once things get moving, it’s going to be a great book. I just wish there was more to the story. Kids all over the world are developing superpowers and, without proper guidance, are wrecking havoc. Meanwhile, Project N.O.W.H.E.R.E., yes the same one from Superboy, is collecting these same teenagers for purposes unknown.
The issue starts off introducing Kid Flash. But who is he? He has no apparent connection to the Flash nor does he even have a proper costume or training at this point. In fact, his presence at a fire only makes the situation worse and he ends up branded a coward by the reporter. There’s a lot of potential for this series – I just hope it goes in the right direction.
Geek Since Birth 
In the 90s some teen dramas like Beverly Hills 90210 and Dawson’s Creek had an enormous (and deeply deserved) success: this led to the creation of comics about young superheroes who were facing not only this villain or that, but also their youth problems. The best one definitely was Generation X, in my opinion: that marvellous comic book closed in 2001, and since then every similar title didn’t last more than a few years. Unfortunately, it seems that teen-drama-like comics are not a big thing anymore. The only one still surviving is exactly Teen Titans, as far as I know – and, as chance would have it, the writer of Teen Titans is the creator of Generation X, Scott Lobdell. He’s simply born to write this particular genre of comics.