Amazing Spider-Man #28 Review

 

Writer: Zeb Wells

Penciler: Ed McGuinness

Inker: Mark Farmer

Colorist: Marcio Menyz

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Ed McGuinness & Marcio Menyz; Elena Casagrande & David Curiel; Olivier Coipel; Lucas Werneck

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 28, 2023

 

J. Jonah Jameson's got legs and he knows how to use them. Only they're not his legs: they used to belong to Doctor Octopus. But Doc Ock doesn't want them because they didn't kill Spider-Man. So he tried to destroy them. Doc Ock’s injured legs crawled off to J. Jonah Jameson's door. Can J.J.J. save Otto's old legs for Old Time's sake? Let’s thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #28 and find out!

 

Story

Triple J doesn’t have time to waste. He charges past the secretary at Oscorp looking for Peter Parker. But Peter’s with his boss Norman Osborn, and J. Jonah doesn't want Osborn's help. Likewise, Norman doesn't want to mess with Doctor Octopus. But Jameson pleads for help, and Peter realizes they need Norman's help to reassemble Doc Ock’s old legs. Besides, the legs have a mind of their own. They defied their builder and saved Peter’s life!

 

 

Amazing Spider-Man #28 continues this series' ruminations on second chances. It features a cameo of Kraven The Hunter and shows the capabilities of Doc Ock’s new, improved replacements. The issue reveals the vulnerability that hides beneath Jameson's bluster and unveils the ultimate aim of Doc Ock’s plan.

 

Zeb Wells often kickstarts new stories by drawing on the past. While I've been walking alongside this series for twenty issues, the history of Otto's old legs runs back further. Thankfully, a write-up on the credits page brings us up to date and helps us appreciate the resumption of these leg-endary events.

 

 

Art

J. Jonah Jameson looks as broken as Doc Ock’s old legs. Peter looks concerned, Kraven The Hunter’s suspicious and angry, while Doc Ock has never seemed more malicious. But his new legs steel the show in Amazing Spider-Man #28. Composed of individual units, each with a mind of its own, the metal components with green gooey insides swarm around Doc Ock like armored Adipose babies. But don't let their appearance fool you. The metal baby legs will adopt your cell phones and laptops and start emailing your old boy- and girlfriends the first chance they get!

 

Vibrant coloring provides texture and contrast, allowing panels packed with passion and punch to pop. Expressive dialogue grabs leg fanciers' hearts from white balloons, and colorful sound effects help you hear the sounds Doc Ocks’ new legs make. Like Oscorp’s lobby secretary, Amazing Spider-Man #28 may make you shriek. But that’ll only be because you’re having so much fun.

 

 

Final Thoughts

A hard-bitten journalist’s surprising vulnerability and the deadliness of endearing creatures allow readers to ponder the worth of first impressions in Amazing Spider-Man #28.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.