The Eight Deaths of Spider-Man

 written by Joe Kelly and Justina Ireland and various

drawn by Ed McGuiness, Gleb Melnikov, Andrea Broccardo, CAFU and various

inked by Cliff Rathburn, Mark Farmer

colored by Marcio Menyz, Erick Arciniega

(a review the Amazing Spider-Man issues #61 to #70, with some tie-in issues also included)

As this iteration of the Amazing Spider-Man, allegedly Marvel Comics' most consistently selling Spider-Man book, comes to a close, I've decided to review the storyline that has closed it out, the somewhat offbeat, magical tale "The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man" which was tied into the line-wide "One World Under Doom" status quo that was established just a few months ago, in which Victor Von Doom has assumed the mantle of Earth's Sorcerer Supreme. This is relevant because it lays the context for a pretty out-there story, even by Spider-Man's standards.

In a nutshell, Sorcerer Supreme Doom recruits Spider-Man for a very important task that involves defeating the children of the god Cyttorak (yes, as in "the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak" that gave longtime X-Men bad guy-turned ally Juggernaut his powers...more or that later).  In besting Cyttorak's children, Spider-Man gets Cyttorak to keep sealed a cask that guards against an unspeakable evil. This seems straightforward enough, except that Cyttorak's children are, themselves, gods and Spider-Man basically has to die fighting each one, for which he requires a magical reed to ring him back to life. As he continues to fight and die, Spider-Man finds himself wondering if this time even he's bitten off more than he can chew.

I'm on board for this last storyline because I'm happy to see off Ed McGuinness, who during his tenure has, in my opinion, brought something quite special to the book, but who also joined at an unfortunate period in Spider-Man's publication history, i.e. one of the worst written runs the character has ever had to endure, from the ultimately inconsequential "Gang War" storyline, to the utterly imbecilic "What Did Peter Parker Do?" storyline, in which Zeb Wells and Marvel editorial contrived to drive Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson apart yet again.

It's a small consolation to me that Wells is nowhere to be found in this storyline, save perhaps through his avatar, the annoying self-insert Paul Rabin, and the writing tandem of Marvel veteran Joe Kelly and relative newcomer Justine Ireland provide an interesting sendoff for Ed to draw. Unfortunately, given that the main story is ten issues long, with a number of rather irritating tie-in issues upping the total page count, there's simply no way McGuiness would be able to draw all of the issues, so he just draws the first two and the last two. Fortunately, one of the artists sharing art duties with Ed, relative newcomer, Gleb Melnikov is a notable talent in his own right.  Andrea Broccardo, unfortunately, is arguably the weak link in the chain. 

For all the inconsistency in the art quality, at least the script is quite decently solid; Kelly and Ireland make a pretty decent writing team, all things considered. We see some great character work on display, and while some writers tend to lay it on thick with Peter's hang-ups about guilt and personal responsibility, here Kelly and Ireland present a take on the trope that actually feels refreshing.

For all the brickbats I've given this book of late, I'm glad this particular run has had a decent sendoff and I'm ready to start over with the new numbering and the new artist in the form of Pepe Larraz, who'll be teaming up with Kelly and John Romita, Jr., who, I hope can recapture his mojo by drawing better stories than the ones Wells gave him to draw. 

8.5/10

Why I'm Glad It's Almost Over: A Review of The Amazing Spider-Man #55

 written by Zeb Wells

drawn by Emilio Laisio

It figures that just after the story that has had me hanging on to this book despite how many of its plot developments have made me want to just drop the book like I have nearly every other title I once collected, Marvel would come up with a story reminding once more just why I have lost interest.

Long story short, Peter Parker goes on a date with some girl who works at Ravencroft Institute. The date is threatened when Rhino and Screwball run by and Peter very nearly leaves to suit up as Spider-Man, but when he realizes he wants his date to go well, he decides to just talk Rhino and Screwball down instead, and he goes back and enjoys his date.

It's yet another badly written installment in the ongoing idiocy that is Zeb Wells' clumsy attempt to enforce Marvel editorial's wishes that Peter Parker and MJ should remain separated.  Peter going on a date with yet another character that Wells and editorial crapped out feels like yet another ham-handed attempt to get us used to the fact that he and MJ are done and that we'd better get used to the notion to that she'll be staying with Zeb Wells' avatar from now on. 

Well, sorry, I don't feel like moving on, and this issue made a pretty poor case for Peter "seeing other people" because it was a lousy story from a lousy writer.  It was crap, in short.  I really can't wait till Zeb Wells is gone from this book.  

0/10

The Reason I Stayed, Part II: A Review of The Amazing Spider-Man #54

written by Zeb Wells

penciled by Ed McGuinness

inked by Mark Farmer, Wade Von Grawbadger, Mark Morales and McGuinness

colored by Marcio Menyz

This one's for all the marbles: Peter Parker and Norman Osborn are now locked in a dark room under ground with one of the deadliest foes imaginable, the sum total of Osborn's sins, also known as the Green Goblin. This time, the Goblin's playing for keeps, and he wants a new home: Peter Parker himself.  Norman and Peter fight tooth and nail, but even their combined strength may not be enough, but fortunately Peter still has a trick up his sleeve, and an ally he doesn't even realize could help him save the day: the robot form of the Living Brain, of which only the head remains. Will all this be enough to stop the embodiment of evil itself?

When Nick Spencer ended his mammoth 75-issue run on The Amazing Spider-Man in 2021, one of the arguably most interesting story threads he left open for further development was the removal of Norman Osborn's evil side. Along with ridding the world once and for all of the narrative abomination that was Osborn's sexual tryst with teenage Gwen Stacy, the idea of Osborn heading on the path to redemption was a promising one. To Zeb Wells' credit, as angry as much of his writing has made me over the last two years, this one idea he has actually managed to run with quite effectively. Wells actually got me invested in the idea of benevolent Norman, a man struggling with the pain of his sins and now always wanting to do right by the people he has harmed.

Also, stories like Superior Spider-Man  in which Doctor Octopus took up residence in Peter Parker's body for over a year mean that there are actual stakes here, i.e. it's not exactly a given that Peter would come out on top.  So the stage, in short, has been set for a pretty exciting finale.

Of course, it helps that Ed McGuinness, who has the art chores all to himself this time around, has brought his A-game to this rip-roaring final chapter.  There's something really special about this guy's art: it's such simple linework when one looks at it, and it's evocative of some of the all-time greats like Jack Kirby and John Romita, Sr., but it's just gorgeous to look at with its dynamism and expressiveness. Like I said in a prior review, these are the years in which he establishes himself to be one of the best artists ever to draw Spider-Man, and fortunately, this particular story is certainly worthy of his talent. 

10/10 

The Reason I Stayed: A VERY Late Consolidated Review of The Amazing Spider-Man Issues #51 to #53

 written by Zeb Wells

penciled by Ed McGuinness and Todd Nauck

inked by Mark Farmer, Wade Von Grawbadger, and Nauck

colored by Marcio Menyz

Were I not reviewing these issues so egregiously late, I would probably give each of them an individual review, but, well, I am late, and considering that the weekend is basically done and in a few hours I will be putting my nose back to the old grindstone that has kept me from reviewing anything for several months now, I am just going to squeeze three issues into one review.  Fortunately, because there is a bit of story decompression at work here by Zeb Wells, it won't be that hard to capture everything that's important.

Peter Parker aka Spider-Man has discovered the Green Goblin's nefarious plans, and for a change, it doesn't involve Norman Osborn destroying his life, or taking over something or other, nor, for that matter does it involve Norman Osborn at all: the Goblin, having tasted Peter a few issues ago courtesy of having been injected into him through Kraven the Hunter's magic spear, now wants to make Peter Parker his permanent place of residence, and has basically set in motion the process of transferring all of Osborn's assets to Peter.  It doesn't help that, when the Goblin persona, or Osborn's extracted "sins" first took residence in Peter's mind, it left a little bit of itself behind in order to manipulate Peter into doing its will.  Given the challenge he faces, Peter won't be able to handle this alone, but fortunately, he's got quite a few people in his corner, including Ms. Marvel, Curt Connors, Otto Octavius' former arms, the Living Brain, and Rek-Rap, the Spider-Man copycat from Limbo.   Together, will their efforts be enough to stop the Goblin's evil plans, or is Peter Parker doomed to spend his days as a vessel for one of the greatest evils he's ever known?

That's a pretty silly question, of course, the answer to which any fan with half a brain can guess, but really, it's not so much about the destination as it is the journey, and to Zeb Wells' credit, as he guides this particular story to the finish line, he keeps things moving along at a very decent clip, with plenty of thrills in each of these issues. In issue #51, the now Goblin-possessed Peter takes on the Sinister Six and, unburdened by compunction or even a basic sense of humanity, he wipes the floor with them. In issue #52, he takes on Ben Reilly who, due to the brief time he spent using the Winkler device, knows the evil plans the Goblin has for Peter and sincerely wants to stop him, and in issue #53, Peter finds himself confronting the Goblin.

My only major regret regarding these issues is that Ed McGuinness, no doubt having to endure the extreme pressure of putting out so many issues in so short a time, has to share art chores with Todd Nauck, who is an entirely competent artist in his own right, but whose work, next to that of McGuinness, looks quite shockingly ordinary. 

All told, these issues make the anticipation for the final chapter all the more exciting!

8.5/10

Another Day, Another 50th Issue: A VERY Late Review of The Amazing Spider-Man #50

 written by Zeb Wells

penciled by Ed McGuinness (with backup story by Todd Nauck)

inked by Mark Farmer

colored by Marcio Menyz

At the outset I'd like to clarify that I will only be reviewing the main story and its directly-related epilogue at the end of this mammoth-sized 50th issue. I am not a fan of either this "jam" format or the price-tag it entails, but at the very least Marvel have treated us readers to twice the page count of a normal Spider-Man story, with some truly glorious art by Ed McGuiness.

So with nearly all of his major storylines wrapped up, writer Zeb Wells, this time with artist Ed McGuinness, who has been the star of this run, if I'm honest, now tackles what I would argue is probably the most important story of this run: the fate of the Green Goblin. 

The Living Brain, which has been Oscorp's custody since very early into Wells' run, has come alive, and spouts out a cryptic message: Peter Parker is not Spider-Man, a message picked up by Oscorp employees Dr. Curt Connors and his assistant Doug, neither of whom know Peter Parker's secret identity as Spider-Man. Norman Osborn knows, however and has Peter summoned from his day off work as an Oscorp employee, a day he normally spends web-slinging, to look into the mystery. Unfortunately, park of what the Living Brain has generated are a series of seemingly random words, but when Peter speaks them in Norman's presence, he learns to his shock that Norman hasn't been completely honest with him.

If I'm honest, if I really tried to, I could point out how little sense this story actually makes from a continuity perspective since it relies quite heavily on events that have preceded this issue, but in truth I don't really care to do that because not only is Wells moving things along at a nice, brisk pace befitting a climactic story, but Ed McGuinness is absolutely firing on all cylinders here. There is a reason this man has been a fan-favorite artist for nearly three decades, his art is both incredibly stylish and dynamic at the same time and yet ironically his line work is deceptively simple. One won't see the proliferation of cross-hatchings or other attempts at jampacking detail onto a page with his stuff; it's just some of the cleanest, most crisp art I've seen in these pages since John Romita Sr.

The epilogue by Wells and Nauck, which comes after a whole bunch of filler stories I didn't really care for, was also properly intriguing as a come on for what comes next.

As off-putting as I found the cover-price of this issue, in this economy I understand why Marvel did what they did, and I am at least grateful that for all of the superfluous stories crammed into the book, the main event was still worth the effort it took to check the book out. 

8/10 

The Other Spider-Man Zeb Wells Screwed Over: A VERY Late Review of The Amazing Spider-Man #47 and 48

written by Zeb Wells

drawn by Todd Nauck

colored by Sonia Oback

With his tenure (finally) winding down, and with most of his major storylines having drawn to their close, current writer of The Amazing Spider-Man, Zeb Wells, revisits a character that he literally last left in Limbo at the end of the "Dark Web" crossover, Ben Reilly, aka Chasm. 

In this story, the antihero Chasm and his girlfriend and partner-in-crime Janine Godbe aka Hallow's Eve reunite following Ben's escape from government custody, and they have a plan to fix Ben's broken mind once and for all, to use the Winkler device,  a McGuffin which supposedly helps capture and transmit memories, with the help of Ashley Kafka, aka the Goblin Queen.  The only problem is that Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man and his friend Betty Brant are also after that very same device because Betty needs it to prove the innocence of her husband Ned Leeds, who was brainwashed into becoming the Hobgoblin by that very same device.  What Ben doesn't realize is that Kafka has very different plans for him and the device, and the only question is whether Peter will be in time to stop her.

I'm not going to lie; it's been difficult to persevere with this series for a number of reasons, foremost of which has been Zeb Wells' writing. 

I have, however, wanted to know what he had in store for Ben Reilly, and while this brief two-parter is really just a prelude to the grand finale that Wells had lined up for Peter Parker, Norman Osborn and the Green Goblin, it was a fairly satisfying story in its own right, thanks in part to Wells' guest artist, Todd Nauck, probably best known for the five-page story in 2009 in which Spider-Man met Barack Obama. Nauck is a solid if not quite spectacular artist whose clean linework was, if I'm honest, a refreshing break from the last few issues. That said, he's no Ed McGuinness. 

Up next: my thoughts on yet another 50th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man. 

 

7.5/10

Fancy Meeting You Here: A (Very) Late Review of Ultimate Spider-Man #3

 written by Jonathan Hickman

drawn by Marco Checchetto 

colored by Matt Wilson

I was tempted to review this alongside the next issue given that I got them both quite late, but given that this is Marco Checchetto's last issue before he is spelled by a different artist, and given that the first mini-arc of this  new storyline kind of ends at this point I thought it merited a review all on its own.

So Peter Parker has finally adopted a definitive look for his new crime fighting guise, courtesy of his daughter May, and continues his crusade. Meanwhile, J. Jonah Jameson and Ben Parker roll up their sleeves and get to work transforming the hellhole they have acquired for their new office into an actual news operation, and the mysterious man in green armor antagonizing Wilson Fisk may have actually met his match in a rather deadly assailant who gets his target every time...unless Spider-Man has something to say about it. 

Familiar faces from old Spider-Man stories pop up again, but as is the case with everything that's come before so far in this title much has been changed. Best friends are now strangers, and what was once a hand-sewn costume is now a proprietary piece of tech.

I'll lay off the hyperbole; this book isn't the second coming of Jesus or the absolute best Spider-Man story I've ever read in all my life, but it is engaging and fun, and it does have me intrigued to see where Hickman and his rotating team of artists are going with this story.

Truth be told, since I jumped on this Ultimate Universe revival last year I have found myself questioning some of Hickman's changes to the Ultimate Marvel universe as random or arbitrary, but so far these creative choices have worked to the betterment of this particular book, so I'm not really inclined to complain. 

I'd also like to add that I really enjoyed Checchetto's work here. He really does have a distinct and attractive style, and at a time when veterans like John Romita Jr have turned into caricatures of themselves and notorious tracers like Greg Land are still getting work, that's a very good thing.  

The first-three issue mini arc ends on an intriguing but largely upbeat note, and while we're clearly a way to go from the first story arc properly wrapping up I have to pat both Hickman and Checchetto on the back for launching a credible new entry in the Spider-Man mythos.

8.5/10