There have been some strange team-ups in comic books in the past, such as when the X-Men teamed up with the crew of the Starship Enterprise, or anytime Howard the Duck makes an appearance in any book. And there have been plenty of times when real people make it into comics, like the recent appearances of Barrack Obama in a few Marvel mags. But this... this is just weird.
I have never been a fan of Eminem, with the exception of 20 minutes back in 1999. I think his entire career is so fake that it's laughable (you can't get any whiter with a name like "Marshall Mathers III"). The shit the he says on his albums is, to me, a joke, and he should not be applauded for his words or actions. I will, however, admit that he does have talent when it comes to freestyle.
So to see this crossover take place between a person whose act is so personally offensive and one of Marvel Comics most popular characters just makes my jaw drop.
When I first heard of this story, I groaned to myself. I asked "Why, Marvel? Why would you commit such an affront to me such as this?"
But after reading the article, I have to respect Marvel's decision. I never knew that Em was a fan of comics, and that his knowledge runs so deep. He knows things about the character of the Punisher that I do not even know (though I have never been a huge Punisher fan). They made a call based on a famous fan, and will probably open up a whole new market of readers in the process.
Good for them!
If you are interested in reading the story, you can pick up the June issue of XXL, which hits stands today. The second part of the story is available on Marvel.com's "Digital Comics" section, which can be found here.
This act has raised my respect level for Eminem a few notches. I still do not like his music, and I won't be attending any of his concerts anytime soon, but at least now I can see that we have something in common.
Even though I wish that commonality was our bank accounts.
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