The Chronic Rift In Review: The Ultimate Web of the Spectacular Peter Parker, Also Known as the Amazing Spider-Man

Our fourth episode features news, reviews and an interview.  Check it out and make sure to rate the episode here and comment on it here!  In addition, check out the video player at the bottom of the page featuring another episode of the old TV series.  Mike Fichera, who is appearing in this episode of the podcast, appears in the TV episode dealing with the effectiveness of special effects.

 

Table of Contents

1. Each of the gang brings something cool and new to the table.
2. Andrea reviews reviews What It Is by Lynda Barry, Dilbert 2.0: 20 Years of Dilbert by Scott Adams, and Nerds on Parade by Dave Kellett. (21:50)
3. Rhymephile fills us in on the releases of X-Files: I Want to Believe and The Dark Knight.  (25:30)
4. David looks at some great gift ideas, including the Grant Morrison All-Star Superman collections, for the comic collector we all know and find odd. (35:00)
5. Keith reviews Primeval and Sanctuary, plus fills us in on Sons of Anarchy. (41:50)
6. Orenthal speaks with Mike Fichera about Marvel Comics' newsest release, Amazing Spider-Man 08 Yearbook, a recap of the dramatic events in the life of Peter Parker in the past year. (49:25)
7. Orenthal opines about this year's Philcon in his Pop Fiendish segment. (1:06:25)

 Mike Fichera - Inspired by the death of great-grandfather Cacciatore ("the Hunter"), killed by a spider bite on a Sicilian farm, Mike began a lifelong interest in the wall-crawler. Like Peter Parker, he grew up in Queens, NY playing with microscopes, computers, and science kits, hoping to create web-fluid and gain spider powers. His sister provided his first comic: Spidey Super Stories #12. Faithfully scrapbooking the newspaper dailies for many years, he joined Spiderfan.org when the web was young becoming a staff writer. After helping write and organize the Spider-Man Encyclopedia, Mike's first official writing credits began with the Spider-Man 2005 Handbook and subsequently in the 2006 A-to-Z series.

Since then, Mike has contributed to the A-to-Z 2007 Updates, the "Legacy" Handbooks for the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and 90s, various spotlight Handbooks for Iron Man, Hulk, and X-Men, as well as the Marvel Atlas. In 2007, he led theSpider-Man: Back in Black Handbook, and this year, he's led the 2008 Spider-Man Yearbook coming out on his birthday, Christmas Eve, December 24. The Yearbook is half "Saga" - which will be a recap of 2008's Spider-stories, and half Handbook focusing on the new characters to debut this year, as well as some old ones who popped up (including the Squid and Scorpia). He's currently working on the A-to-Z Permiere Hardcovers, which repackage all the various Handbooks from 2004 to the present, with updates and polishing of the graphics.

In addition to image refurbishment, his artwork has been featured in a few Handbooks including the Spider-Slayers, and a biology text-book cross-section of Spider-Man's arm back when he had organic webbing.

His expertise has been featured on AM Atlanta with Tom Hughes and the syndicated Mitch Albom Show.