The Ricochet Reviewer: Books, Movies, and Comics

by Grant Stockbridge (AKA Norvell Page) This is the first Spider story by Norvell Page, who would soon become the character’s defining voice.  Norvell Page A mysterious masked criminal known as the Black Death unleashes a strain of bubonic plague upon New York City, demanding one billion dollars ransom.  There is a significant body count--more than 1,000 people die, including children, pretty hard-core stuff.  The story blends super-scientific menace with grim street-level action.  There’s a constant tension between law and vigilante justice as Richard Wentworth battles both the villain and the police who think he’s the culprit.  Nita Van Sloan is given quite a bit of agency, and she’s given the spotlight for much of the novel’s conclusion, following clues, uncovering the Black Death’s method, and proving as courageous as any pulp hero. She even pilots a plane during the action-packed finale. Her role moves well beyond the standard damsel trope—she’s as vital to...

Author: Gerry Conway Artist: Ross Andru Embellishers: M. Esposito & D. Hunt As Aunt May is released from the hospital, she has a talk with a distraught Mary Jane about her relationship with Peter. Meanwhile, Peter reflects on recent news he has received about the third leg of this triangle. Is he losing it? The timely intervention of Tarantula, recently sprung from prison with the support of the Jackal, saves Spidey from having to deal with cops that were drawn to his outburst. Tarantula is like a South American version of Batroc the Leaper with pointy boots. Something seems fishy. Something is fishy. Ah, my first car was a red VW bug. Bringing Gwen Stacy back to life was a bad idea, but this is an interesting way to go with it. I’m glad to see that the end of the Clone Saga is in sight. It’s hard to imagine that Gerry Conway was excited about the story he was telling.

by Thomas Tryon Camp Friend-Indeed is a boys’ summer camp in the 1930s, where the promise of idyllic adventure gradually curdles into something more sinister.  Enter Leo Joaquim, a sensitive newcomer with a traumatic past who doesn’t fit in with a society that finds comfort in conformity.  Thomas Tryon charts a descent from youthful camaraderie to cruelty, as superstition, jealousy, and mob mentality take hold.  Thomas Tryon His prose is beautiful—lush descriptions of lake and forest conjure a vanished America—but beneath the surface lies repression and guilt.  Though the story’s pace may test some readers’ patience, the payoff is devastating: a portrait of childhood corrupted not by monsters, but by ordinary malice left unchecked.  This book is often marketed as horror, but the horror is social rather than supernatural, a reminder that cruelty thrives best in communities that prize obedience over empathy.  "Breeding Ground of Evil" (Dutch) Some readers may...

Writer/Director: Sofia Coppola Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Akiko Takeshita, Kazuyoshi Minamimagoe, Kazuko Shibata, Take, Ryuichiro Baba, Akira Yamaguchi A middle-aged actor shooting a whiskey commercial (Bill Murray) and a neglected young wife (Scarlett Johansson), both American, cross paths in a Tokyo hotel.  Both exist in a kind of limbo--emotionally distant from their spouses, physically distant from their homes and culture, tired and dissatisfied.  A sweet friendship that avoids the traditional movie cliches grows between them.  The story may seem meandering and aimless, but that is an accurate reflection of the lives of these characters.  Murray plays his role with an easy, understated charm, and Johansson is charming and vulnerable.  The authentic representation of Japanese society, augmented by on location filming in Tokyo, is another plus.  Writer/director Sofia Coppola has done a terrific job.