written by Zeb Wells
penciled by Ed McGuinness
inked by Cliff Rathburn
colored by Marcio Menyz
With Ben Reilly aka Chasm having revealed that he had J. Jonah Jameson and Robbie Robertson trapped in Limbo, Peter Parker aka Spider-Man has agreed to stay in Limbo himself and live a out a twisted version of his life as a photographer for the Daily Bugle, with Madelyn Pryor's demons playing the parts of the Bugle staff. Offering him and his friends the chance to leave Limbo, Ben tries to trick Peter into eating an apple that will steal his soul, but Peter won't go for it. Madelyne appears to be losing patience with Ben's mind games, which doesn't quite bode well for their partnership but Ben has one more trick up his sleeve to truly drive Peter crazy: a slightly altered version of the Sinister Six called the "Insidious Six." Ben's memory isn't what it used to be, after all. The potential fly in Ben's ointment, though, is a demon who has taken to hero-worshiping Peter and who may just have access to some super powers.
At this point, I've kind of resigned myself to whatever Marvel has planned for Ben at this point, and am doing my best to enjoy this story. This issue is, to be fair, a fun read, with Ben's fragmented memory resulting in an amusingly distorted version of the Sinister Six, with equally amusing designs by Ed McGuinness. Except for the last few pages, there aren't any hard-hitting action sequences, but McGuinness' work is still a pleasure to look at.
Next issue marks the end of the Dark Web crossover in the pages of this title, and the end of the second story McGuinness has drawn for this run. After this it's two issues of Terry and Rachel Dodson, and then back to series mainstay John Romita Jr. for an arc that uncovers much of the mystery in which this new status quo has been shrouded. I remain hopeful to see more McGuinness work after that, because he really is just a blast on this book.
8/10
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