Amazing Spider-Man #52 Review

 

Writers: Zeb Wells

Pencilers: Ed McGuinness

Inker: Mark Farmer

Colorists: Marcio Menyz

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Ed McGuinness & Marcio Menyz; Adi Granov; Davi Go; Pablo Villalobos; Skottie Young

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: June 19, 2024

 

The Hobgoblin's Winkler Device put Norman Osborn's sinful thoughts into Peter Parker's head. Now Norman orders his lawyer to transfer ownership of recent Oscorp acquisitions to Peter. What is Norman Osborn's grand design, and can anyone scuttle his evil plans? Let’s thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #52 and find out!

 

Story

Kraven tried to save Peter, but that didn’t work. So, Chasm decides to have a go. As Kraven flees, the experienced hunter fears they will fight to the death. A mysterious substance flows through Chasm's veins. It transformed Ben Reilly into Chasm. What might it do to Spider-Goblin in Amazing Spider-Man #52? Kamala Khan’s phone call to Norman Osborn didn’t go as planned. So, she returns to where she believes Peter’s recent troubles began. The last time she risked her life for Peter Parker, she lost it. But Peter is her friend, and she believes her former employer injured Peter when he appealed to Norman for help.

 

In Amazing Spider-Man #52, Zeb Wells recalls events thirty issues ago, although his story also harkens back to Ben’s Beyond Era and Dark Web. This time, Ben Reilly is on Peter’s side (mostly). Ms Marvel joins a team to combat the goblin menace. A hero many love to hate (or hate to love) will return. Spider-Goblin and Chasm clash across pages while a battle rages inside Peter Parker's mind. We all know how difficult it can be to control our thoughts. Could we focus on our tasks and helping others if we shared our thoughts with someone opposed to our existence? At times, Peter seems more interested in quipping than thwipping. He struggled to lead a team of heroes in the Gang War. Should his personality resurface, can Peter Parker retain control of his mind? Zeb Wells' ending will leave readers anticipating the fireworks erupting in comic shops after Independence Day.

 

 

Art

Kraven crouches, looking on as Spider-Goblin and Chasm have a stare-down and a crouch-off. The combatants spring toward each other as silhouettes, sharing a panel with Kraven's jaw falling open. Chasm and Spider-Goblin tangle across a double-page spread while Norman sits in his Green Goblin costume, surrounded by open laptop computers. He smiles as he holds the phone to his ear and props his legs on his desk, released from the morality that bound him. Then his face contorts, and he yells into the phone as Kamala Khan appears on his blue-streaked monitor. Ed McGuinness and Mark Farmer evoke the high-flying action of Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man movie as Chasm and Spider-Goblin tangle through the air, crash into brickwork and demolish architecture. Ms Marvel reaches out to punch someone’s grasping metal arm. Then she faces off against a Tin Man with a brain in Amazing Spider-Man #52.

 

 

 

Marcio Menyz lavishes a loaded palette of bold, eye-catching colors on Ed McGuinness and Mark Farmer's energetic and charismatic art. Green energy crackles around Chasm, while Norman's costume brings life and energy to Oscorp’s subdued grays and beiges. Where there is yellow smoke, there is orange fire as Spider-Goblin aims his glider at Chasm’s chest. The glider slams purple Chasm into brown brickwork, sending bricks flying amid a cloud of green. Ms Marvel's yellow, red, and blue costume shines in the evening as she steps through a hole in the wall and beholds gray machinery amid the shattered remains of brown wooden crates. The Walking Brain glows green as it casts a stream of green light. 

 

 

 

While the brainy Tin Man projects a forest of faces and documents, Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black lettering into dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. The fonts grow bold for inflection, swell for increased volume, get italicized for machine-speak, and shrink for lowered voices. Chasm clocks Spider-Goblin’s face with a yellow-orange smash, Spider-Goblin carries Chasm into the wall with a giant red slam, and red-and-blue Spidey screams red letters diagonally across a panel in Amazing Spider-Man #52. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Kraven, Spider-Goblin, and Spider-Man all reach for a broken spear, while someone who destroyed most of its mind tries to save Peter Parker's broken brain in Amazing Spider-Man #52.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

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