Review: Amazing Spider-Man #54

I have been keeping an eye on this book for quite some time. That might surprise some people, given how I always advocate myself as a DC fan. But, c’mon, this is Spider-Man! The Amazing Spider-Man; once a flagship title for Marvel. Through the times and troubles that Marvel went through in the past, Spidey and his amazing-ness seemed become a little tarnished somehow. But with Nick Spencer and the re-introduction of MJ as his significant other, Spencer’s run offered so much promise, only to fall into the same sort of holding pattern that we had seen before. Now though, things may well be changing.

Spider-Man; no wait, Peter Parker is in the clutches of the sinister Kindred; no wait, in the sinister clutches of Norman Osborn. Of course, this is more than a recourse of Spidey’s previous life. Norman disagrees with Peter’s point of view and before you can say James Bond Die Another Day or even Batman:Death of the Maidens, Peter is repeatedly killed and brought back to life in an effort to be shown the error of his ways. Thing is, the rest of the “Spidey Gang”, as well as MJ herself are walking into a trap laid out by the revitalised Sin-Eater.

Nick Spencer came on this book after causing a bit of a stir with Captain America in Secret Empire . However, with Spidey, I feel that he has played it pretty safe. Is he punch drunk from the “Hail Hyrda” line and subsequent fan rage or is Spencer kind of biding his time? I don’t know the answer but I do feel that this book has kinda plodded along right up until this storyline. True, I am against bringing back Sin-Eater Stan as it devalues the characters original story somewhat, and yes the Osborne’s as the big bad isn’t the most original of enemies, though it does have a kind of uncertain symmetry. The arc has been split into two elements with the old Marvel trick of numbers.1 increasing the issue count to nine issues covering five chapters. Spencer shows an appreciation of the history between Peter and Harry, demonstrated through the intricate dialogue.

Regular readers of my reviews will know that Mark Bagley isn’t my favourite artist, regardless of hero. He gained some fantastic press, following Erik Larsen on Amazing Spider-Man and with the introduction of Carnage, all this following a pretty decent run on New Warriors. All the things I dislike about Bagley are all present in this book, from the square jaws to the small panels that try to incorporate the usual Spidey poses. Thing is, somewhere between all of that and the unattractive women, Bagley shows some excellent story telling techniques, pacing the art well, despite the too many issues (which isn’t actually Bagley’s problem to deal with). John Dell applies some strong lines over Bagley’s pencils. Both Spencer and Bagley are helped out by the fantastic colors of Edgar Delgado who applies a darkness that has pretty much encapsulated this story arc. Finally, VC’s Joe Caramagna delivers an excellent letter scheme.

Amazing Spider-Man deserves to be the pinnacle of the Marvel books. He can cross the genres and and age groups in ways that other characters can’t. Nick Spencer has stuck to his guns with the pacing of this whole run, possibly to the detriment of the fans patience. Hopefully, the final parts of this story may well deliver on all that Nick Spencer’s reputation has promised.

Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 4 Stars
Colors 4 Stars

[yasr_overall_rating]

Written by; Nick Spencer
Art by; Mark Bagley
Inks by; John Dell
Colors by; Edgar Delgado
Letters by; VC’S Joe Caramagna
Published by; Marvel Worldwide Inc.

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network