Softer Than Expected: A Review of The Amazing Spider Man #1

(writers) Dan Slott, Christos Gage, Peter David and various
(artists) Humberto Ramos, Javier Rodriguez, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Will Sliney and various

It's already been reported that The Amazing Spider-Man #1, which marks Peter Parker's "official" return to Spider-Man duties (his actual return having occurred at the tail-end of Superior Spider-Man #30) has sold well over half a million copies. I got my copy last Wednesday, expecting fireworks, and was a little surprised by what I saw.

The book is divided into five stories, the 20-page main story by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos and several back-up stories by Slott and Christos Gage artists like Javier Rodriguez and Giuseppe Camuncoli. There are brief stories which are essentially plugs for other books like the Peter David/Will Sliney story hawking the upcoming Spider-Man 2099, and the Christopher Yost/David Baldeon blurb for The New Warriors, which happens to star the Scarlet Spider, or the former villain known as Kaine. Notably, there's a preview for the "Learn to Crawl" miniseries by Dan Slott and Ramon Perez, easily the most interesting looking tease of the lot.

The main story, however, is surprisingly...tame for a title that has endured much tumult for the last year and a half. Basically it's more of Peter Parker settling back into his old life as Spider-Man, and trying to get used to the new things, like the company he owns, the doctorate he now has, and the girlfriend to whom he, or Doctor Octopus, was about to propose. He fights a bunch of throwaway bad guys, one of whom has the fairly interesting power of manipulating fabric, which results in him being buck naked, but other than that, nothing of note truly happens, although there is some foreshadowing of things to come.

Speaking of foreshadowing, it's the five-page back-up stories featuring Electro and the Black Cat that portend things to come for Spidey in the next few issues, and in particular I am interested to see how things will unfold with Peter's one-time lover Felicia Hardy, who for the first time in her shared history with Spider-Man has experienced what it's like when he has no interest in her other than putting her behind bars, thanks to Spider-Ock. Thus does Slott continue what he started with Superior Spider-Man, and by keeping the character in uncharted territory like that he may well keep readers interested even after their euphoria over Peter's return has long worn off. I know Marvel has an event planned starting issue #9, but I, for one am more interested to see how the fallout from the tenure of Superior Spider-Man plays out, and judging by the way Slott is keeping his cards close to his chest this time around, it seems like he plans to milk this for all it's worth. I certainly hope that's the case. I mean, I honestly hope that Peter's impending collision with Felicia isn't all neatly tied up in an issue or two.

The artwork of the issue is pretty impressive, for the most part. Humberto Ramos surprises here; he hasn't exactly metamorphosed into Jim Lee all of a sudden, but his work seems a lot more coherent here than his usual fare, and I think it is to his credit that he handles the quiet moments rather well here. Notably, his Spider-Man has received some visual tweaks, most notably in the eye department, and it's a welcome development. I was also struck by his genuine effort to make Anna Maria Marconi look like an actual "little person" and not a child. He really has come a long, long way from Peter Parker: Spider-Man #44.  Javier Rodriguez, whose backup work on Daredevil usually impresses, turns in some solid work on the backup story, though to my mind not his best work. The biggest surprise for me, though, was Giuseppe Camuncoli, who drew the Black Cat story and who has turned in some of the best work I have seen from him so far.

The teaser for the "Learning to Crawl" miniseries is topnotch stuff, thanks not only to Slott's script but to Ramon Perez's wonderfully lively, retro-flavored art style which calls to mind the work of not only Steve Ditko but of other artists who deftly mix past and present, like Darwyn Cooke, Tim Sale, and my personal favorite, Chris Samnee. I've already added the miniseries to my pull list.

All things considered, as a main attraction, the actual story isn't all that much of a page-turner this time around, but Iunderstand why Slott and his fellow storytellers told the story this way. After everything they've put him through, the creators of the book have seen fit to give Peter a bit of a breather, for at least one issue. This is sort of like the calm before the storm.

I, for one, am eagerly preparing my umbrella.

7.5/10 (main story)

8/10 (overall score for the issue)