Writer: Zeb Wells
Penciler: Ed McGuinness
Artist: Emilio Laiso
Inkers: Mark Farmer, Wade Von Grawbadger & Ed McGuinness
Colorists: Marcio Menyz & Erick Arcinega
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: Ed McGuinness & Marcio Menyz; Valerio Giangiordano & Mattia Iacono; Dike Ruan & Alejandro Sánchez; Steve Skroce & Richard Isanove; Victoria Yang
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $4.99
Release Date: November 22, 2023
Madelyne Pryor sent her Repossessor to capture Rek-Rap. But her Re-Po Man made plans without her. He kidnapped Peter's friend Randy Robertson. When Peter tried to save Randy, Re-Po swallowed him. Now he’s getting sucked down to the supermax section of Limbo. Can anyone liberate Peter Parker from another internment in Madelyne Pryor’s domain? Let’s thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #38 and find out!
Story
Although Peter abandoned him, Rek-Rap is in a forgiving mood. Why not? He's got his show: Rek-Rap Storytime Adventure! He turns everything into a positive and rewrites disappointments and failures into startling successes.
Madelyne Pryor took Re-Po’s soul. Then she planted him in her garden of jagged souls. She thought she could use him like a slave. But memories of his past linger. Bereft of conscience, he resumes old habits.
Peter abandoned Rek-Rap to Re-Po's less-than-tender care. Now Peter is imprisoned alongside the ever-lovin symbiote slugger. After deriding Rek-Rap's abilities, Peter needs his demon-fan's help. Thankfully, Rek-Rap forgives everyone and admires Peter! A day in Limbo opens Peter’s eyes to Rek-Rap’s greatness in Amazing Spider-Man #38. Rek-Rap may twist his tales in a misguided attempt to gain admirers, but he’s got talent. He'll gladly mobilize a Great Escape attempt to help Peter save Randy. I wonder: will Peter remember that?
All this casts Madelyne Pryor in a poor light. The X-Men debated her personhood. She allied with Ben Reilly after the Beyond Corporation stole his memories. Yet she strips souls from people and treats their fragile remains like automatons? Bad Goblin Queen! Bad! Bad!
The Gang War Chapter
Hammerhead's stirring more unrest among his crime lord fraternity. While his machinations pit gangs against each other, the warring factions threaten Hammerhead's domain. Janice Lincoln dreamed of a life with Randy Robertson, but Randy is pushing to rescind Wilson Fisk's antivigilante law in Amazing Spider-Man #38. Along with the gang war, it feels like another attempt to destroy everything her father built. It's a heartbreaking irony that exposes the fallacy of Randy's belief that love conquers all. But shouldn't a good person try to reform those who do wrong?
I wonder: is that what Madelyne tried to do with Re-Po?
Art
Ed McGuinness, Mark Farmer, and Wade Von Grawbadger bring us more Rek-Rap craziness in Amazing Spider-Man #38. His insidious cousins may be suffering, but the Web-Whanger looks more invincible than ever, both in body and spirit. White lines radiate his positivity, while white energy crackles off Spidey after his rapid arrival. Camera angles shift, and panels tilt as Re-Po threatens Randy, while scenes of Spidey and Rek-Rap's rescue play against Re-Po's continued menacing. Backgrounds may suffer, but the energy never flags as the crew in red and blue race to combat Madelyne’s Monster Menace.
Emilio Laiso’s Hammerhead lacks grandeur, and some panels cry out for backgrounds, yet Laiso packs four compelling scenes into his six panel-stuffed pages. We witness the smoky aftermath of Jake's attack on Lady Yulan's grunts. Janice's sorrow deepens as she dons her Beetle suit and flies into the air. When a cyborg and a costumed supervillain come to blows, readers will question who's pulling the strings in this manufactured Gang War.
Marcio Menyz proves a multi-hued wonder in Amazing Spider-Man #38. While purple seems the background of choice, gray also serves as a backdrop to the blue-and-red Web-Whangers. A yellow and brown wall contrasts with Randy's green hoody and Re-Po's gray face, while white and yellow suggest reflections on his sharp knife. Re-Po's toothy maw burns like an inferno, yet Rek-Rap's epic save casts the next panel into the shade. The festive, holiday lighting of the final page reminds us that—given time--the demon symbiote can turn every negative into a positive.
Erick Arcinega turns the first panel of The Gang War Chapter into an airbrushed lithograph. Color tones shift as rapidly as the gangs switch allegiances. Janice's lavender suit contrasts with the gray-green hospital room as we glimpse Silvermane and Nefaria through a red-and-yellow holographic map.
Joe Caramagna’s black letters in white balloons and boxes vary in size in Amazing Spider-Man #38, while their larger cousins denote how time flows differently in Limbo. Sound effects play off Rek-Rap and Parker Pete-Man's biological surroundings, and the giant, colorful words of the penultimate page evoke a popular 1960s superhero TV series. Thud! Crack! Pow!
Thanks to Marvel for providing this issue for review.
Final Thoughts
As Rip-Rap's relentless positivity wins new converts and the Gangs Of New York go to war, Re-Po and Madelaine remind us how results often oppose ethics in Amazing Spider-Man #38.
Rating 9.4/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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