written by Zeb Wells
drawn by John Romita, Jr. and Scott Hanna
colored by Marcio Menyz
Following the single-issue crossover with the Avengers vs. X-Men vs. Eternals event, Judgment Day, Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Man resumes his adventures, this time having to face off against an old enemy, the Hobgoblin, who may or may not be Ned Leeds or Roderick Kingsley. Meanwhile, Peter has to keep an eye on his employer, Norman Osborn who has apparently been conducting dealings with the sinister Kingsley and may well be flirting with the darker past he professes to have left behind. It all comes to a head when Hobgoblin launches a deadly, sudden strike and Spider-Man has to chase him down, only to get way more than what he bargained for.
Thirteen issues into this new status quo, I find it distinctly gratifying that at no point has writer Zeb Wells introduced a brand new character or brought about a "shocking" new status quo for any existing ones. Everything featured in this story is pretty much an organic continuation of what Wells' predecessors on this book, particularly Nick Spencer, have already laid down. I especially like how Wells has created genuine tension around the "will he, won't he" question of whether or not Norman Osborn can be goaded back into his old, villainous self after the literally soul-changing events of "Sins Past." As a reader, I genuinely find myself rooting for old Norman here; the Parker arch-nemesis shtick was getting old, whether it was Slott or even Spencer retreading it. It's really nice to see Wells further developing Spencer's ideas. Again, by excising "Sins Past" from the canon, Spencer has made it possible to really plumb the depths of Osborn's conscience, including how he now feels about the murder of Gwen Stacy, and Wells is doing a really good job running with the baton here.
I know there are at least some readers taking issue with how Wells has broken up Peter and Mary Jane yet again, and who are basically pointing out that Marvel is perpetually stunting Peter's emotional growth. While I understand that frustration, I must respectfully disagree with it, as this iteration of Peter has learned form mistakes and heartache; he's working with Norman not just because he's hard on his luck and in need of a job but because he genuinely wants to help him be the better person that Norman is trying to be. This Peter is definitely a wiser, more experienced Peter and Wells has paid due respect to the stories that have come before. Sure, he may have broken up with Mary Jane for now, but I know the explanation is forthcoming. I also trust, given how well Zeb Wells is handling this story, that it will be a reasonable one.
Another factor that makes this book consistently compelling to read is something I didn't think I'd see with John Romita Jr.'s return to the book; his work actually seems to be getting incrementally better with each passing issue.
Now, I don't mean that JR Jr is suddenly reinventing himself; this is an elder statesman of the comic book world, after all, as the guy is in his mid sixties. I had noted, though that towards the end of his days on The Amazing Spider-Man with J. Michael Straczynski, his work simply didn't look quite as clean as it did in the best issues of that thirty-something issue run. My favorites, in particular were his issues that came out in 2002 and 2003. He even came back for a couple of brief runs during the whole "Brand New Day" era but the magic was never quite recaptured, even when he moved on to other Marvel books and over to DC. His work here on his run with Wells looks cleaner than it has in years, and his normally harsh, blocky line-work has, however incrementally, softened a bit, allowing for more expression in his characters' faces. He may not have changed his art style, but it is surprisingly nice to see that even this late in his decades-long career he is still capable of fine-tuning his approach.
Next issue, the much-hyped "Dark Web" crossover with the X-Men books finally begins, but from the preview material I've seen it looks like the ongoing saga of Norman Osborn's rehabilitation from his life of violent crime will continue, and I for one am very much along for the ride.
9/10
