written by Charles Soule
drawn by Ron Garney
colored by Matt Milla
Following Matt's encounter with the perpetrator of the grisly "art-driven" murders at the end of last issue, he briefly tussles with the killer, who appears to be super-powered, and who ultimately escapes him. He returns to the scene of the crime, only to find that investigators dispatched by New Attilan are on the scene, given that the victims are all Inhumans. Matt asks the Inhuman investigator, a former NYPD detective to share information with the human authorities, but the investigator refuses, telling Matt to take it up with Medusa instead. A tense confrontation between Daredevil and the Inhumans follows, and in the meantime the killer is still very much on the loose.
I welcomed the new creative team a year ago with some trepidation; nobody could top my beloved Waid/Samnee duo, and truth be told, Soule and Garney still aren't on quite that level. For me, however, this new story arc and this particular issue are easily the highlight of Soule's stint on the book so far. I have thoroughly enjoyed the murder-mystery aspect of it, and adding the Inhumans to the mix, rather than demystify the story and make it more "traditionally superhero," actually makes things interesting as it brings Medusa's politics into the mix; her motives are good of her kingdom of New Attilan, but not necessarily for the greater good. Soule knows the character inside-out by now, having worked on the Inhumans books for the last several years, and their integration into Daredevil's grittier, down-to-earth world is relatively seamless.
Also, in this issue, Soule and Garney manage to deliver something I've been hoping to see for quite some time: a masterfully drawn and choreographed fight sequence, in which Daredevil goes head-to-head against the Inhumans' high priest Karnak. Artist Ron Garney delivers in a big way on this one, and while I think there could have been a more imaginative use of panels, it's rock-solid storytelling that deserves all the kudos I can give it.
The issue ends on a heck of a cliffhanger, and while this book seems to have fallen off the radar of a lot of people (a Google search failed to turn up any reviews), personally this is the most excited I've been about this iteration of the title since its relaunch last year.
8.5/10
Sunday, October 23, 2016
The Revolution Unmasked: A Review of Black Panther #7
written by Ta-Nehisi Coates
art by Chris Sprouse (p) and Karl Story (i)
colored by Laura Martin
While T'Challa springs his meticulously laid trap around Ezekiel Stane, his sister Shuri, still on another plane of existence comes to an important realization about herself. Tetu and Zenzi seek the support and blessing of Changamire, Tetu's mentor, an academic and a revolutionary, but his reaction is not what they expect.
This is a surprisingly dense issue, though the bulk of the issue seems focused on the big throwdown between Black Panther and his allies on the one hand and Ezekiel Stane and his crew on the other. As much as I have enjoyed the work of Chris Sprouse and Karl Story up until this point I confess I find myself as little disappointed at their somewhat unremarkable renderings in this issue, especially considering the rather spectacular fight sequence they were given to illustrate. Coates infused this story with a very health dose of good old-fashioned superhero action, something this title has been conspicuously missing, and I have to say this is a story that deserves much better art than Sprouse and Story have delivered here, which is a real shame.
The good news is that while this second arc may be wrapping up, Coates clearly has a lot more to say, and I hold out hope that, while Sprouse and Story stumbled a bit with this issue, they'll be back in fighting form for the climax of this arc. Coates has created something really special with this book, and even though this issue is the first creative misstep I've seen ever since this particular iteration of the title launched it is still eminently readable. I hope Coates sticks around Marvel long after he's moved on from this book, because his writing is really something special. I just hope he always has artists that can deliver the goods for him.
7.5/10
art by Chris Sprouse (p) and Karl Story (i)
colored by Laura Martin
While T'Challa springs his meticulously laid trap around Ezekiel Stane, his sister Shuri, still on another plane of existence comes to an important realization about herself. Tetu and Zenzi seek the support and blessing of Changamire, Tetu's mentor, an academic and a revolutionary, but his reaction is not what they expect.
This is a surprisingly dense issue, though the bulk of the issue seems focused on the big throwdown between Black Panther and his allies on the one hand and Ezekiel Stane and his crew on the other. As much as I have enjoyed the work of Chris Sprouse and Karl Story up until this point I confess I find myself as little disappointed at their somewhat unremarkable renderings in this issue, especially considering the rather spectacular fight sequence they were given to illustrate. Coates infused this story with a very health dose of good old-fashioned superhero action, something this title has been conspicuously missing, and I have to say this is a story that deserves much better art than Sprouse and Story have delivered here, which is a real shame.
The good news is that while this second arc may be wrapping up, Coates clearly has a lot more to say, and I hold out hope that, while Sprouse and Story stumbled a bit with this issue, they'll be back in fighting form for the climax of this arc. Coates has created something really special with this book, and even though this issue is the first creative misstep I've seen ever since this particular iteration of the title launched it is still eminently readable. I hope Coates sticks around Marvel long after he's moved on from this book, because his writing is really something special. I just hope he always has artists that can deliver the goods for him.
7.5/10
Catch-Up Reading: A Review of Black Panther #6
written by Ta-Nehisi Coates
drawn by Chris Sprouse (p) and Karl Story (i)
colored by Laura Martin
As the revolution being waged by Tetu, Zenzi and the rogue Dora Milaje Ayo and Aneka continues to heat up, T'Challa finds himself adopting somewhat unconventional counter-insurgency tactics. The King of Wakanda devises a plan to draw Ezekiel Stane out, using both craftiness, his newly-converted "inside man" and his scientific acumen. He also gets a little help from his friends, like a walk-on from a very popular Avenger and a number of other surprise guest stars who make their appearance on the very last page. Meanwhile, Shuri continues to explore her soul and her culture with her spiritual mother.
Coates kicks his second mini-story-arc into high gear, and it's nice to see the rest of the Marvel Universe trickle in bit by bit, and given the appearance of Ezekiel Stane one of the guests in the book is not exactly a surprise, but it is nonetheless most welcome. Also, I like seeing T'Challa regain his confidence and his bearings after the psychological beating he took in the first several issues of this arc. He is no longer lashing out with blind rage; he understands his enemies and adopts the appropriate strategy to deal with them. This is vintage T'Challa, one of the smartest minds in the entire Marvel Universe. Coates had him on the ropes for quite long enough, and it's really gratifying to see him start to fight back.
Sprouse and Story continue to impress as the relief team for Brian Stelfreeze, so much so that as glad as I'll be to welcome Stelfreeze back, I know I'll miss these guys; I hope they continue to work at Marvel for a few more projects.
9/10
drawn by Chris Sprouse (p) and Karl Story (i)
colored by Laura Martin
As the revolution being waged by Tetu, Zenzi and the rogue Dora Milaje Ayo and Aneka continues to heat up, T'Challa finds himself adopting somewhat unconventional counter-insurgency tactics. The King of Wakanda devises a plan to draw Ezekiel Stane out, using both craftiness, his newly-converted "inside man" and his scientific acumen. He also gets a little help from his friends, like a walk-on from a very popular Avenger and a number of other surprise guest stars who make their appearance on the very last page. Meanwhile, Shuri continues to explore her soul and her culture with her spiritual mother.
Coates kicks his second mini-story-arc into high gear, and it's nice to see the rest of the Marvel Universe trickle in bit by bit, and given the appearance of Ezekiel Stane one of the guests in the book is not exactly a surprise, but it is nonetheless most welcome. Also, I like seeing T'Challa regain his confidence and his bearings after the psychological beating he took in the first several issues of this arc. He is no longer lashing out with blind rage; he understands his enemies and adopts the appropriate strategy to deal with them. This is vintage T'Challa, one of the smartest minds in the entire Marvel Universe. Coates had him on the ropes for quite long enough, and it's really gratifying to see him start to fight back.
Sprouse and Story continue to impress as the relief team for Brian Stelfreeze, so much so that as glad as I'll be to welcome Stelfreeze back, I know I'll miss these guys; I hope they continue to work at Marvel for a few more projects.
9/10
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Catch-up Reading: A Review of Black Panther #5
written by Ta-Nehisi Coates
drawn by Chris Sprouse (p) and Karl Story (i)
colored by Laura Martin
Following his unconventional, iconoclastic take on Black Panther in his first four issues, Ta-Nehisi Coates launches into his second arc with things getting nastier as the embattled T'Challa turns the wick up on those who would depose him. He recruits fellow Avenger Manifold, and goes on the attack. On one occasion he very nearly brutalizes one of the rebels he is fighting when he is stopped by one of his lieutenants. He assembles high-ranking security officials from authoritarian regimes all around the world, specifically because of their skill at suppressing revolutions by any means necessary.
I quite enjoyed the notion of T'Challa, wearing his monarch's hat, recognizing the need to take into account the unpleasantness of realpolitik in dealing with an extremely unwieldy situation. Coates has really done this character a great service in the issues he's written so far, portraying T'Challa as a deeply flawed, fallen king seeking redemption in the eyes of his people, and yet hesitant to take the harsher steps needed to consolidate his hold on the monarchy. In particular I was quite struck by the scene in which T'Challa consults the "experts" from the gathered, albeit fictional, authoritarian regimes such as Genosha and Madripoor. I was vaguely surprised that Doctor Doom's Latveria was not represented, but I think there would have been some continuity issues there given that Doctor Doom is now an Iron Man (of some sort) apart from the fact that it probably would have felt a little too "on the nose." Coates' writing is extraordinary, really, and I hope he gets some kind of award, whether it's a Harvey or an Eisner for it.
As much as I miss Brian Stelfreeze, who takes a break for the next four issues, I find veteran artist Chris Sprouse, whose work I have actually not seen much of in Marvel's books despite the fact that he's been around for years, to be a more than suitable replacement for now. There's actually some similarity in their styles, which probably account for why he was chosen, and he is clearly a very capable storyteller apart from being a pretty impressive draftsman. Still, like I said, Stelfreeze is much missed.
The first arc (more particularly the first issue) took a little while to really get going, but with the preliminaries out of the way, the good news is that this arc really hits the ground running, and I'm really looking forward to what Coates has in store for T'Challa and the rest of Wakanda.
8.5/10
drawn by Chris Sprouse (p) and Karl Story (i)
colored by Laura Martin
Following his unconventional, iconoclastic take on Black Panther in his first four issues, Ta-Nehisi Coates launches into his second arc with things getting nastier as the embattled T'Challa turns the wick up on those who would depose him. He recruits fellow Avenger Manifold, and goes on the attack. On one occasion he very nearly brutalizes one of the rebels he is fighting when he is stopped by one of his lieutenants. He assembles high-ranking security officials from authoritarian regimes all around the world, specifically because of their skill at suppressing revolutions by any means necessary.
I quite enjoyed the notion of T'Challa, wearing his monarch's hat, recognizing the need to take into account the unpleasantness of realpolitik in dealing with an extremely unwieldy situation. Coates has really done this character a great service in the issues he's written so far, portraying T'Challa as a deeply flawed, fallen king seeking redemption in the eyes of his people, and yet hesitant to take the harsher steps needed to consolidate his hold on the monarchy. In particular I was quite struck by the scene in which T'Challa consults the "experts" from the gathered, albeit fictional, authoritarian regimes such as Genosha and Madripoor. I was vaguely surprised that Doctor Doom's Latveria was not represented, but I think there would have been some continuity issues there given that Doctor Doom is now an Iron Man (of some sort) apart from the fact that it probably would have felt a little too "on the nose." Coates' writing is extraordinary, really, and I hope he gets some kind of award, whether it's a Harvey or an Eisner for it.
As much as I miss Brian Stelfreeze, who takes a break for the next four issues, I find veteran artist Chris Sprouse, whose work I have actually not seen much of in Marvel's books despite the fact that he's been around for years, to be a more than suitable replacement for now. There's actually some similarity in their styles, which probably account for why he was chosen, and he is clearly a very capable storyteller apart from being a pretty impressive draftsman. Still, like I said, Stelfreeze is much missed.
The first arc (more particularly the first issue) took a little while to really get going, but with the preliminaries out of the way, the good news is that this arc really hits the ground running, and I'm really looking forward to what Coates has in store for T'Challa and the rest of Wakanda.
8.5/10
Monday, October 17, 2016
Catch-Up Reading: A Review of Daredevil #10 and #11
written by Charles Soule
illustrated by Ron Garney
colored by Matt Milla
After two somewhat lackluster story arcs, one featuring Elektra and the other Spider-Man (the latter of which I could not even find the time to review), I was starting to lose hope for this particular writer, who had a promising, if not particularly remarkable opening arc, but with the story arc "Dark Art" I feel that Charles Soule has found his stride.
Matt is back to work at night court, while his sidekick/protege, Sam Chung a.k.a. Blindspot, who had his arm broken a while back by Elektra has just healed and is itching to hop around town. During one of his sorties, Blindspot actually finds an invitation to go to a Manhattan storehouse, where he finds a grisly sight; a dead man slumped against a large mural, which appears to have been painted in blood. Matt investigates, even if it mean shirking his duties yet again, which makes him even more unpopular with the night court lawyers, who already hate his guts because of how regularly he defeated them in his past life as a defense attorney. The painting consists of the blood of over 100 people.
In the second issue, things get heated up as the owner of the warehouse in which the blood mural was found decides to open up an exhibit for profit, much to the irritation of a highly influential politician, who has a personal interest in the matter as the blood of her missing niece is among those that went into the painting. Matt's boss, the district attorney, leans on him to find grounds to enjoin the grisly exhibit, sort of as punishment for Matt skipping out on his work to be Daredevil, and while it grates on Matt, he obliges. However, all that is rendered moot when the mysterious, still unknown artist of the mural posts a newer, even more gruesome oeuvre in another building. The chase for the artist is on, and Daredevil is on the case.
When I was a high school student many, many years ago, I read an article about how a particular filmmaker make a movie about murder taking place in an art gallery, which he chose as the milieu because the tranquility of an art gallery seemed like such an unlikely place to find death. Though I never saw the movie, I rather liked the concept, and I think Soule plays it out quite well here. This is a story that plays to his strengths, and makes good use of the slow-burn treatment he's using here.
I'm still not a fan of Ron Garney's scratchy, sketchy art, and I honestly find myself wondering why he needed four issues off from the title to prepare these issues, considering he isn't exactly a Jim Lee or Steve McNiven. I suppose he had some other problems unrelated to his work. It is nicely kinetic, though, and the style is a nice fit for the story, I'll give it that, but I still yearn for the days of Chris Samnee.
For the first time in months, I find myself on bated breath to see what happens next!
8.5/10 for both issues
illustrated by Ron Garney
colored by Matt Milla
After two somewhat lackluster story arcs, one featuring Elektra and the other Spider-Man (the latter of which I could not even find the time to review), I was starting to lose hope for this particular writer, who had a promising, if not particularly remarkable opening arc, but with the story arc "Dark Art" I feel that Charles Soule has found his stride.
Matt is back to work at night court, while his sidekick/protege, Sam Chung a.k.a. Blindspot, who had his arm broken a while back by Elektra has just healed and is itching to hop around town. During one of his sorties, Blindspot actually finds an invitation to go to a Manhattan storehouse, where he finds a grisly sight; a dead man slumped against a large mural, which appears to have been painted in blood. Matt investigates, even if it mean shirking his duties yet again, which makes him even more unpopular with the night court lawyers, who already hate his guts because of how regularly he defeated them in his past life as a defense attorney. The painting consists of the blood of over 100 people.
In the second issue, things get heated up as the owner of the warehouse in which the blood mural was found decides to open up an exhibit for profit, much to the irritation of a highly influential politician, who has a personal interest in the matter as the blood of her missing niece is among those that went into the painting. Matt's boss, the district attorney, leans on him to find grounds to enjoin the grisly exhibit, sort of as punishment for Matt skipping out on his work to be Daredevil, and while it grates on Matt, he obliges. However, all that is rendered moot when the mysterious, still unknown artist of the mural posts a newer, even more gruesome oeuvre in another building. The chase for the artist is on, and Daredevil is on the case.
When I was a high school student many, many years ago, I read an article about how a particular filmmaker make a movie about murder taking place in an art gallery, which he chose as the milieu because the tranquility of an art gallery seemed like such an unlikely place to find death. Though I never saw the movie, I rather liked the concept, and I think Soule plays it out quite well here. This is a story that plays to his strengths, and makes good use of the slow-burn treatment he's using here.
I'm still not a fan of Ron Garney's scratchy, sketchy art, and I honestly find myself wondering why he needed four issues off from the title to prepare these issues, considering he isn't exactly a Jim Lee or Steve McNiven. I suppose he had some other problems unrelated to his work. It is nicely kinetic, though, and the style is a nice fit for the story, I'll give it that, but I still yearn for the days of Chris Samnee.
For the first time in months, I find myself on bated breath to see what happens next!
8.5/10 for both issues
Catch-Up Reading: A Review of Black Panther #3 and #4
written by Ta-Nehisi Coates
illustrated by Brian Stelfreeze
colored by Laura Martin
These issues are several months old, and anyone interested in reading this review will no doubt have read them both already (and indeed, they are included in the first collected edition of this volume of Black Panther), but I enjoyed reading them so much I feel I have to weigh in.
The uprising against T'Challa and his court continues as its protagonists, the renegade Dora Milaje Aneka and Ayo, and the mysterious shaman Tetu and the powerful sorceress Zenzi continue their onslaught on two different fronts. T'Challa confronts and defeats Zenzi but Tetu proves to be more than a match for him and his tech. Meanwhile the stakes are raised as the ruthless Ezekiel Stane joins the ranks of the would-be revolutionaries, with somewhat explosive results. T'Challa realizes that to win the war against his own people, he will have to take things to another level.
Coates and Stelfreeze wrap up the first mini-arc of this series on a decidedly grim note meant to press the story ever further forward. What interests me in particular about this title is how, even with the introduction of the distinctly super-villainous Ezekiel Stane, this book still feels distinctly "un-superheroic," and in fact dabbles tangentially in the concept of transitional justice as it discusses the fallout that citizens often suffer from the actions or inaction of their leaders.
What genuinely interests me about this book is how T'Challa's opponents in this story, four issues in, are, in defiance of storytelling convention, not bad guys. They don't fit the mold. They come closest to that description when they hook up with Stane, but even he is a bit more of a revolutionary than a strictly malevolent character, and is rather consistent with their own leanings. Not only are they not bad guys, but in truth as one reads the story one feels even more sympathetic towards them than towards the title character himself, especially the revolutionary Tetu, whose words strike T'Challa stronger than blows ever could. With this sort of set-up I am keenly interested to see where Coates can take this story in the months to come.
I'm also extremely glad Coates has, as his collaborator, the sublimely-talented Brian Stelfreeze, whose work actually looks better with each issue of the series that goes by. A highlight of his art was the fight sequence in issue #3, which was particularly striking. Even more remarkable is the fact that this book features quite a few talking heads, but Stelfreeze never misses a beat, and his characters are simply beautiful, full of so much more nuance than one usually finds on faces drawn by comic-book artists. This guy's work is really something special.
Coates' year with the King of Wakanda is almost half over, and I'll be darned if he doesn't have me hankering for the second.
9/10 (both issues)
illustrated by Brian Stelfreeze
colored by Laura Martin
These issues are several months old, and anyone interested in reading this review will no doubt have read them both already (and indeed, they are included in the first collected edition of this volume of Black Panther), but I enjoyed reading them so much I feel I have to weigh in.
The uprising against T'Challa and his court continues as its protagonists, the renegade Dora Milaje Aneka and Ayo, and the mysterious shaman Tetu and the powerful sorceress Zenzi continue their onslaught on two different fronts. T'Challa confronts and defeats Zenzi but Tetu proves to be more than a match for him and his tech. Meanwhile the stakes are raised as the ruthless Ezekiel Stane joins the ranks of the would-be revolutionaries, with somewhat explosive results. T'Challa realizes that to win the war against his own people, he will have to take things to another level.
Coates and Stelfreeze wrap up the first mini-arc of this series on a decidedly grim note meant to press the story ever further forward. What interests me in particular about this title is how, even with the introduction of the distinctly super-villainous Ezekiel Stane, this book still feels distinctly "un-superheroic," and in fact dabbles tangentially in the concept of transitional justice as it discusses the fallout that citizens often suffer from the actions or inaction of their leaders.
What genuinely interests me about this book is how T'Challa's opponents in this story, four issues in, are, in defiance of storytelling convention, not bad guys. They don't fit the mold. They come closest to that description when they hook up with Stane, but even he is a bit more of a revolutionary than a strictly malevolent character, and is rather consistent with their own leanings. Not only are they not bad guys, but in truth as one reads the story one feels even more sympathetic towards them than towards the title character himself, especially the revolutionary Tetu, whose words strike T'Challa stronger than blows ever could. With this sort of set-up I am keenly interested to see where Coates can take this story in the months to come.
I'm also extremely glad Coates has, as his collaborator, the sublimely-talented Brian Stelfreeze, whose work actually looks better with each issue of the series that goes by. A highlight of his art was the fight sequence in issue #3, which was particularly striking. Even more remarkable is the fact that this book features quite a few talking heads, but Stelfreeze never misses a beat, and his characters are simply beautiful, full of so much more nuance than one usually finds on faces drawn by comic-book artists. This guy's work is really something special.
Coates' year with the King of Wakanda is almost half over, and I'll be darned if he doesn't have me hankering for the second.
9/10 (both issues)
Here Come the Clones (Again): A Review of The Amazing Spider-Man: The Clone Conspiracy
written by Dan Slott
illustrated by Jim Cheung (pencils) and John Dell (inks)
colored by Justin Ponsor
I'm actually loath to write yet another review of a comic book series that I'm not sure I can review from its first issue to its last, but Dan Slott's latest Spider-Man miniseries "The Clone Conspiracy" looks like the most significant Spider-event since...well, the last one, anyway, the supposedly game-changing "Spider-Verse," which, as near as I can tell did not really change much that mattered. Well, truth be told, I was really lured in by the promise of art by one of my favorite Marvel artists Jim Cheung.
The issue begins with the funeral of a major supporting character, who was refused an experimental medical treatment from a mysterious outfit called New U, based on Peter Parker's recommendation. It turns out Peter's fear stemmed the fact that one of his employees had previously received the treatment and, upon shaking his hand, had set off Peter's Spider-sense. Peter's business partner (and sort-of-ex-girlfriend) Anna Maria Marconi investigate what happened to Peter's employee, only to find out that, true to Peter's suspicions, his treatment had negative side effects, upon the manifestation of which New U had whisked him away. Peter dons his Spider-Man togs to investigate what's really going on at New U, and what he discovers throws him for a loop.
To Slott's credit, he pretty much goes straight to the point with this story, and I enjoyed the way he navigated through so many key Spidey characters in this issue. He utilizes the obligatory talking heads portion of the story quite efficiently and sets up a nicely action-packed sequence that allows Cheung enough room to flex his muscles and set the stage for the next chapter, which, I'll admit is reasonably intriguing. It's not quite the page turner that any number of Slott's Superior Spider-Man issues were, but Slott's gift of building tension is still reasonably evident here. I gave up the main "Amazing Spider-Man" title when Giuseppe Camuncoli, whose work I really don't like, became the series main artist, and it was nice reading a Slott script for the first time in about a year.
I have to say, though, that one genuinely disappointing aspect of this book is Justin Ponsor's extremely murky, dark coloring. I get that this book is supposed to be kind of grim, and is meant to foreshadow sinister things for the wall-crawler, but I still think that Ponsor, who has used much brighter color palettes in his past work, went way overboard with the "atmosphere" in this book.
It's not quite the best work I've seen from any of the creators, but the fact that Slott and Cheung got together in the first place is reason enough to celebrate.
7.5/10
illustrated by Jim Cheung (pencils) and John Dell (inks)
colored by Justin Ponsor
I'm actually loath to write yet another review of a comic book series that I'm not sure I can review from its first issue to its last, but Dan Slott's latest Spider-Man miniseries "The Clone Conspiracy" looks like the most significant Spider-event since...well, the last one, anyway, the supposedly game-changing "Spider-Verse," which, as near as I can tell did not really change much that mattered. Well, truth be told, I was really lured in by the promise of art by one of my favorite Marvel artists Jim Cheung.
The issue begins with the funeral of a major supporting character, who was refused an experimental medical treatment from a mysterious outfit called New U, based on Peter Parker's recommendation. It turns out Peter's fear stemmed the fact that one of his employees had previously received the treatment and, upon shaking his hand, had set off Peter's Spider-sense. Peter's business partner (and sort-of-ex-girlfriend) Anna Maria Marconi investigate what happened to Peter's employee, only to find out that, true to Peter's suspicions, his treatment had negative side effects, upon the manifestation of which New U had whisked him away. Peter dons his Spider-Man togs to investigate what's really going on at New U, and what he discovers throws him for a loop.
To Slott's credit, he pretty much goes straight to the point with this story, and I enjoyed the way he navigated through so many key Spidey characters in this issue. He utilizes the obligatory talking heads portion of the story quite efficiently and sets up a nicely action-packed sequence that allows Cheung enough room to flex his muscles and set the stage for the next chapter, which, I'll admit is reasonably intriguing. It's not quite the page turner that any number of Slott's Superior Spider-Man issues were, but Slott's gift of building tension is still reasonably evident here. I gave up the main "Amazing Spider-Man" title when Giuseppe Camuncoli, whose work I really don't like, became the series main artist, and it was nice reading a Slott script for the first time in about a year.
I have to say, though, that one genuinely disappointing aspect of this book is Justin Ponsor's extremely murky, dark coloring. I get that this book is supposed to be kind of grim, and is meant to foreshadow sinister things for the wall-crawler, but I still think that Ponsor, who has used much brighter color palettes in his past work, went way overboard with the "atmosphere" in this book.
It's not quite the best work I've seen from any of the creators, but the fact that Slott and Cheung got together in the first place is reason enough to celebrate.
7.5/10
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