Spielberg Review
Writer, Artist, Colorist & Letterer: Amazing Ameziane
Publisher: Titan Comics
Book Description: 192 Pages, Full Color
Paperback Price: $24.99 US
Kindle ebook: $23.74
Release Date: October 13, 2026
His father enjoyed repairing TVs. His mother loved to dance. Together, they inspired their son to make movies. Even though they would eventually part, the Spielbergs supported their young son’s interest in filmmaking. Then, young Steven saw a movie that made him wonder if he had what it took to be a director.
Instead of giving up his dream, Steven returned to the cinema to watch Lawrence Of Arabia again. As he rewatched the movie, Steven began to understand how David Lean alternated spectacular imagery with the personal and seemingly ordinary. So, when he moved to Hollywood to study filmmaking, Steven took guided studio tours. Then, he snuck onto the set of another director he admired and watched him until he got thrown out.
How would Steven Spielberg get his start as a movie director? And how would he go on to make some of Hollywood’s biggest films? Let’s grab some popcorn, leap into Spielberg, and see!
Story
When Sid Sheinberg saw Steven's college movie, the Universal TV exec signed the aspiring filmmaker to a 7-year deal. At first, Steven struggled to find his feet. But in his second year at Universal, he became one of the studio’s busiest directors. Steven had to learn how to work with people of all ages. As he impressed actors, crew members, and studio execs with his artistry and finished episodes on time, Steven found a project that propelled him into the movie business.
Spielberg shows how things didn’t always go his way. Some movies, like JAWS, could have ended the director’s career. Still, he aimed high and strived to tackle subjects in unexpected ways. When one of his films proved a big success, he used the opportunity to film a passion project. Steven climbed the Hollywood ladder with some ambitious friends, including George Lucas and Martin Scorsese. While he helped them when he could, both directors guided Steven to make some of the most important films of his career.
After portraying Steven Spielberg’s youth in the 1960s, Amazing Ameziane devotes additional chapters to the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. Perhaps because some critics hail 2002’s Minority Report as Spielberg’s last great film, the author combines the director’s 21st-century work into one final chapter. Yet this later period produces some of Steven’s most personal films. All these lead up to 2022’s The Fabelmans, which fictionalizes his journey toward Hollywood success.
Art
While Amazing Ameziane shares how Steven Spielberg’s films inspired him, he allows the director to tell his own story. A full-face view of Steven often dominates a page, with dialogue balloons introducing the movie, his struggles, or the people in his life. Friends and collaborators interact with the director. Actors appear in character amid film settings in Ameziane's Spielberg.
Interactions with his friends may appear in Black and White. Amazing Ameziane usually adorns films with a limited or full palette. Vibrant colors adorn full-face portraits. Some of his highest-grossing films receive one or two pages. Some popular films are only mentioned in passing, if at all. While JAWS gets 10 pages, two passion projects equal or receive more. Schindler’s List, the film in which Steven confronts his heritage, receives 16. Pixel art characters enliven Steven's stories about making his movies. They star in their own version of a game that once dominated arcades. Still, the shark that rarely worked in the ocean lurks beneath the story, before unexpectedly arising to attack pages.
While Steven speaks to the reader through dialogue balloons, narrative boxes also showcase off-camera dialogue. He also shares his thoughts and provides commentary between panels and on the sides, bottoms, or tops of pages. As the director ages, his appearance diverges from the image that readily sticks in our minds. But then, the director often challenges viewers' assertions about his career in Spielberg. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a physical review copy.
Final Thoughts
As Steven Spielberg sought to make his mark in Hollywood, he invested in his heritage. Yet while living his childhood dreams, his parents’ divorce haunted him. So as he made movies about aliens, dinosaurs, or archeologist adventurers, Steven Spielberg also made movies about the struggles that bind families together and tear them apart. He may have adopted Martin Scorsese's suggestion as his career formula. Yet as Spielberg nears the end, Quentin Tarantino points to another reason for the director's extraordinary success.
Rating 9.8/10
For a look inside see Spielberg SC Preview.
