The other day, I picked up Mark Millar’s “Trouble” on a whim. When I finished reading it, I was angry. Why? Because when you are told that the following story is a possible story about the birth of Peter Parker and his parents/uncle/aunt relationship at teenagers, you don’t think that you’re going to come out of it hating Aunt May. And that’s the thing. It’s not like the story is bad or anything, but it just brought out a jumble of emotions in me that told me that I was angry at Aunt May. But I really can’t go into the whys and the hows about it. That’s something that you’ll need to read for yourself.
What I can tell you, is that this was supposed to be the launching of a new line of Marvel Romance stories. But ultimately, low sales were the downfall of that journey. And again, I imagine that it has nothing to do with the quality of the story… I think that it may have just been too much for readers to deal with. However, it’s covers were pretty cool. Each issue launched with a cover that featured two live models that were supposed to be (Aunt) May and (Mother) Mary during their teenage years. They were also in bright colored bikinis…
What I can also tell you, is that this was a great attempt at bringing something new to the table towards the history of Peter Parker and his family. There isn’t a lot out there that talks about his parents and future guardians, so it was nice to see this here. And the biggest thing here is that I didn’t hate the story. At it’s core, it was a good read and it invoked an emotional response out of me. Which any story worth it’s own salt should be able to do. Now, maybe rage wasn’t was Mr. Millar was going for, but I’d imagine he’d take that response over apathy, 10 times out of 10. So maybe come down to the store and check it out. Plus, you’ve got the Dodsons (Terry & Rachel) on art duty, so at the very least, the artwork is solid. And that’s it.
-Fleet
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One of my favorite bookstores in St. Louis. Star Clipper offers not only the best selection of comic books and graphic novels in the city, but also a cornucopia of art, design and pop-culture related books and magazines. 
I barely remember this series. I seem to recall that the characters seemed to be pretty young, so if this was canon, that would make Uncle Ben and Aunt May in their late 30s or early 40s by the time Peter became Spider-Man, hardly the gray-haired kindly old couple everyone is used to. Also, if you have someone as talented as the Dodsons doing the art, why have a goofy photo cover? Actually, when has a photo cover ever been a good idea?
So, Marvel decided to bring the Epic imprint back as a line of romance comics? And launched it with, basically, a Spider Man back story? Written by Mark Millar and drawn by Terry Dodson? Who’s idea was this and why was anyone surprised sales were low?
I’m sure the writing is good, I’m sure the art is good, but those factors alone don’t sell comics. Or anything else. We know this because there is so much bad art and bad writing that permeates the shelves.
The arrogance of Marvel to think that, after so many years of hammer-punching superheroes down the industry’s throat, they could spin on a dime and produce a poorly conceived romance line and not have to choke on a loss for a few years before romance readers noticed or cared. Kudos for trying something new, I guess, but it would have been nice if they’d try a little harder next time.
And I agree, the photo cover was probably not a good idea.
I suppose instead of continuing this they’ll put out six new First Issues of hero titles that have been in print for decades, except now with new uniforms! Then a 60-part crossover where everyone fights.