written by Zeb Wells
drawn by John Romita Jr. (p) and Scott Hanna (i)
colored by Marcio Menyz
Spider-Man's effort to stop the gang war between Tombstone and the returning Rose kicks into high gear as Spidey chases after Tombstone, only to find that Tombstone is ready and waiting for him with a plan that is truly sinister. Meanwhile, the reasons behind Peter's separation from Mary Jane remain shrouded in mystery, but it looks pretty darn serious, with MJ's new beau even attempting to pay Peter a visit to tell him to get lost. In stark contrast, Randy Robertson and Janice Lincoln decide to take their own relationship to the next level as Janice asks Randy to marry her.
As I said when I reviewed the first issue of this latest reboot of Marvel's flagship title, this is the kind of story I've missed for years, one written by a single writer and drawn by a single artist for a full five or six issues, and the team of Zeb Wells and John Romita, Jr. truly deliver the goods. It's kind of hard to believe that this actually their first-ever collaboration considering how long each of these guys has worked for Marvel, but hey, better late than never.
I'm reviewing these issues together because I bought them together and read them in rapid succession, but also because they actually feel like a "mini" two-parter within Wells and JR, Jr.'s story arc focused entirely on Tombstone. The narrative is tight and quite rewarding, even as it ends on the inevitable cliffhanger given that there are two issues left in the five-part story to go.
It's gratifying to see Wells picking up on threads started by other writers, continuing the return of the Rose storyline started by Nick Spencer a couple of years back and bringing back Digger, the gamma-powered mobster that J. Michael Stracynzki and Romita Jr. created over a decade ago. Not everything has to be a status-quo shattering extravaganza.
The strongest part about these two issues is how they put the spotlight on Tombstone, who has actually been pretty prominent in the last few years thanks to Nick Spencer's story. More than Spencer did, though, Wells really explores Tombstone as a character, providing a brief retelling of his origin while at the same time giving a bit of insight into just how wily he is, and what direction his character might be heading into, especially with his daughter about to take a big step into the unknown. It's gratifying to see a longtime character get the respect he's been due for a while.
Romita Jr. continues to deliver here, with some great money shots here; he always was such a consummate storyteller, and Wells brings out the best in him.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how these two wrap up their first arc.
8.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment