Jailbreak: A Review of The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 (2023)

 written by Erica Schultz

drawn by Julian Shaw

colored by Andrew Dalhouse

Following the events of "Dark Web" from earlier this year, Peter Parker aka Spider-Man finds himself chasing down Janine Godbe, aka Hallow's Eve, as she attempts to free her lover Ben Reilly aka Chasm from the Madelyne Pryor's realm of Limbo, where he has been imprisoned since failing in his attempt to conquer New York with an army of demons. While Janine's powers of disguise get her pretty far in her mission, ultimately she learns the hard way that she's dealing with the Goblin Queen.

I remember when annuals were an event, written and illustrated by some the most talented creators in the business, often people who couldn't really be counted on to put out monthly work on a timely basis but whose talent could really shine in this annual one-shots. 

In this context, I honestly don't understand what is even remotely special about this story, which is only twenty pages long, doesn't feature any new characters or any auspicious events, or even particularly talented creators. This could basically have been a one-shot issue of the main title, yet it found its way into an overpriced one-shot like this.  

6/10

Backup story: 

written by Celeste Bronfman

drawn by David Lopez

colored by KC Diaz

This marked a slightly different approach to an annual; this story is a teaser of things to come. When Peter, MJ and (ugh) her new boyfriend Paul throw a party for MJ's aunt Anna, the normally sweet old lady suddenly turns savage and starts punching everyone present. Can Peter and MJ get to the bottom of what has afflicted her aunt, and apparently many other people?  Well, not in this issue.

Not that it needs reiterating, but I loathe the current status quo between Peter and MJ, which has been nothing but mean-spirited and lazily-written, and anything that reminds me of it automatically pisses me off, especially a story like this that doesn't seem to have anything to offer. I will admit to liking David Lopez's art a little bit but that's about it. 

4/10

Marvel, if you're going to do "annuals" like this again, please don't bother. 

Anticlimactic: A Review of Daredevil #13 (Mild Spoilers)

 written by Chip Zdarsky

drawn by Marco Checchetto

colored by Matt Wilson

And so Chip Zdarsky's supernatural epic which has been in the making since 2018 finally comes to a conclusion with Matt Murdock aka Daredevil going down to hell to fight the Beast himself, clad in a white version of his costume and convinced that, with the ghost of his dad Jack Murdock by his side, he is doing the will of God. Things do not quite turn out as he had expected, though, and even though he finds the souls of Foggy, Stick and several others and sets about rescuing them all, he realizes with a sinking feeling that there may be no turning back for him.

After finally taking down the Hand a few issues back and then clobbering their financial backers, the Stromwyns, Matt Murdock's showdown with the Beast had the trappings of a classic showdown, reminiscent of his grand final battles with Wilson Fisk, but instead it featured a rather limp twist and ended with a bit of a thud.  This was what Zdarsky spent years setting up? About the only thing it does is make like hard for the incoming creative team of Saladin Ahmed and Aaron Kuder. 

After the Zdarsky/Checchetto team really solidified their credibility with Devil's Reign, it was genuinely sad to see how inconsistent in quality this "War on the Hand" storyline has been, and this showdown really is just the final insult.  I'm at least glad that it's over, save for one more issue which will no doubt be an epilogue of sorts before the new creative team takes over.   

6/10

The Ties that Bind: A Review of The Amazing Spider-Man #29

 written by Zeb Wells

penciled by Ed McGuinness

inked by Mark Farmer, McGuinness

colored by Marcio Menyz

As Otto Octavius, aka Doctor Octopus continues to exact his revenge against Norman Osborn, formerly the Green Goblin, for the humiliation Otto suffered at Osborn's hands back in the dying days of his tenure as the Superior Spider-Man, Jonah Jameson and Otto's old set of octopus arms whisk the beaten Peter Parker aka Spider-Man to safety. After a brief moment of recovery, Peter sets out to rescue Norman with the help of Otto's old arms...for which seems to have an affinity he cannot explain. Meanwhile, even as the captive Norman's repentance from his old ways catches Otto off-guard, Doc Ock is still determined to wreak havoc on his old rival's life.

With Wells' big gimmick now firmly in the rearview mirror, this new story involving Otto Octavius, which actually launched back in the landmark 900th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, is genuinely intriguing, in particular because of how it references a very interesting time in Otto's life: the year and a few months that he lived in the shoes of Peter Parker.  This Otto/Osborn rematch is something I have been genuinely interested in seeing, especially with Osborn having turned over a new leaf.  It's an interesting contrast to Otto's crack at being a good guy, which was ultimately undone by his own ego. I like that they're slowly revisiting the story beats that led to the Superior Spider-Man saga, because I'd like to think Otto's desire for redemption that Wells' briefly flashes here is something genuine. 

It also helps, of course, that McGuinness' work here is nothing short of sublime. This is peak McGuinness, displaying the kind or artistry that truly made Deadpool a household name and ushered in a new era of glory for Superman in the early noughties.   I am so glad I stuck around for this, no matter how bad a taste issue #26's gimmicky death left in my mouth.  McGuinness is just pure gold on this book.  Here's hoping he keeps up the good work!

9/10