Writers: Zeb Wells & Lee Gatlin
Penciler: John Romita Jr
Inker: Scott Hanna
Artists: Andrés Genolet, Ramon Rosanas & Lee Gatlin
Colorists: Marcio Menyz, Rachelle Rosenberg & Lee Gatlin
Letterers: Joe Caramagna & Lee Gatlin
Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Nick Lowe & C B Cebulski
Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz; Rafael Albuquerque; Joëlle Jones & Rachelle Rosenberg; Paco Medina & Jesus Aburtov; Pablo Villalobos
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $7.99
Release Date: August 28, 2024
Lonnie Lincoln once worked for Wilson Fisk. On a hunting trip, Wilson recognized Lonnie’s potential. So, he taught the new boy what it means to take power and retain it. During the Gang War, Wilson showed that he had changed. The former Kingpin was putting family before power. Now, Lonnie controls the criminal underworld of New York. Lonnie stripped his daughter of her wings. What else will he do to stay on top, and how will his actions affect Spider-Man? Let's thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #56 and find out!
Main Story
Peter’s life is a mess, but he doesn’t want it to be. He lost Mary Jane and Felicia Hardy. Now he’s got a chance with Shay Marken, and he doesn’t want to blow it. But that means getting his life under control. That’s not easy, given his responsibilities as Spider-Man. Creditors may no longer hound him, but neither does he have a job. A visit to the Daily Bugle knocks that possibility off Peter’s list.
Often, people who struggle in personal relationships throw themselves into work. Peter is better at being Spider-Man than he is at being Peter Parker. But if he’s such a great Spider-Man, why couldn’t he prevent Randy from getting shot? Nearly losing his friend plagues Peter, so Spider-Man takes his anger and frustration out on criminals. If he’s not hassling dodgy real estate agents, he’s making Tombstone look like a crook that other crooks can’t trust. Peter has good reasons to hurt Lonnie, Kareem, and White Rabbit’s reputations. But his actions not only make them look bad. Spider-Man’s duplicity could get them killed.
Lonnie Lincoln recognizes this. Like any leader, he knows his position is tenuous. If Spider-Man contemplates loose threads in Zeb Wells' main story, so does Tombstone. After he won the Gang War back in ASM #44, Tombstone told White Rabbit he'd have to kill Spider-Man. But like the new-and-improved Wilson Fisk, Lonnie has been holding back. In Amazing Spider-Man #56, Spider-Man wants to take down Tombstone. Tombstone needs to take down Spidey. But unlike Peter Parker, Lonnie Lincoln gets no pleasure from it. It’s just something he has to do.
Art
Peter’s eyes glow, and he smiles wide as Randy walks on crutches. His smile fades, and Peter's eyes narrow when Randy asks him to leave. Spider-Man looks like he's addressing flies from atop the villains’ van. Then he yanks the back doors open, filling the air with their blood. Spider-Man thwips the crate of guns away and rides atop Kareem's car. Then he thwips away, leaving a locator beacon on the roof. Lonnie dines alone in a restaurant while bodyguards wait nearby. He wipes his mouth with a cloth napkin as he studies photos of Peter Parker. Do Tombstone's thoughts return to Fisk's object lesson in Africa?
Marcio Menyz tinges John Romita Jr and Scott Hanna’s Daily Bugle newsroom with yellow. While Robbie Robertson’s head glows, the overhead florescent lights cast light diagonally into Robbie’s darker office. But they’re no match for the streetlight that shines over the silhouette of Janice on the sidewalk, casting shadows across her eyes and shoulders as she sniffs red roses. Light streaks the window and the mirror as Tombstone adjusts his tie. He wants to look his best when he rolls down the green window of his black limo and tells Peter to get out of the rain.
Proxy: Story
Spider-Man requests that She-Hulk meet him at Pigeon Coffee And Donuts. He wants to discuss building a case against Lonnie Lincoln, but Bulldozer gets in the way. She-Hulk helps Spidey take Bulldozer down, but she’s upset. She’s on her way to Ned Leeds’ hearing, and the brawl with Bulldozer ruined her favorite blazer. With so much going on in his life, Spider-Man forgot about Ned’s hearing. He wants to be there for his friend. But while She-Hulk heads directly to the courthouse, Spider-Man arrives late.
Ned is unhappy with Peter in Amazing Spider-Man #56. Like Randy Robinson and many in Peter’s life, Ned feels that Peter hasn’t stood by him like a friend should. In Proxy, Spider-Man may win, but Peter Parker loses.
Art
Like Jaws in Moonraker, Rhino consumes his side of a booth, while his date requires little. As they glimpse the fight on the street through the streaked coffee shop window, their guarded expressions relax, and they exchange smiles. Spider-Man thwips a car. She-Hulk rips a streetlight off the curb. Sparking electric cables cast a yellow glow on the rising smoke as She-Hulk throttles Bulldozer with the streetlight. As the villain lays face down on cracked concrete, She-Hulk doesn’t look at Spider-Man. Instead, she inspects her torn shoulder seam and ripped sleeve.
Rachelle Rosenberg paints Andrés Genolet’s courtroom in gray, beige, and brown. While She-Hulk dominates the room in her purple blazer, Ned echoes her color with his V-neck sweater. Bettie and her child wear light blue. The red, white, and blue American flag hangs next to her in the adjacent panel. Peter’s presence offers a weak glow, but his gray clothes diminish him as he pursues Bettie, Ned, and She-Hulk past brown wood and white marble walls. The overhead lights and the sunlight streaming in through the windows behind them give She-Hulk an angelic appearance, while Peter casts a black spider and a Spider-Man standing before a spider-web on the wall.
Responsibilities: Story
Peter visits Mary Jane and Paul one night. Before he thwips away for an evening of crime fighting, he thanks them for Paul's delicious Chicken Korma. The time Paul took to learn how to make the Indian curry is another reminder of how Paul cares for MJ. But Paul's concern for others isn't limited to the woman he loves. In Zeb Wells' story, Paul is a visitor from another universe. Yet Paul made a list of people injured by his profit-driven focus before he traveled here. He can't help the people who died or still suffer there, so he helps their counterparts on Earth-616. The affecting story makes you wonder. What kind of Spider-Man might Paul become?
Art
Paul and Mary Jane’s apartment is a showroom of straight lines and rectangles. The panel doors, kitchen cabinets, wood floor, kitchen tile, picture frames, and the sleek couch exude ordered calm. When Paul ventures outside into the sea of humanity, he gives a street vendor money, even though he doesn't buy anything. Yet when Paul ventures into the apartment building of a person in trouble, the lines go askew. The building has fallen into disrepair, and the stark lighting creates drama.
Rachelle Rosenberg lavishes a loaded palette of appealing colors on Ramon Rosanas’ art in Amazing Spider-Man #56. The subdued colors of Paul and Mary Jane's apartment make it a beacon of light. The next day, Paul travels past beige buildings, vibrant foliage, and passersby dressed in colorful attire. Paul's memories of his business career reinforce Paul's former indifference to his world, while the warm greens and browns of the apartment he visits suggest the occupant's connection. By the time Paul leaves, the sky has turned gray, and rain pelts down, a final reminder that Paul's form of caring means investing time in others.
Stark Kraven Mad
In Lee Gatlin's delightful cartoon, Kraven sits on one of the stone statues outside the New York Public Library when Spider-Man thwips into view. The soft green foliage surrounding Kraven evokes the jungle. Is the stone lion Patience or Fortitude? Given Spidey's antics, I can make an educated guess.
Aside from Lee Gatlin’s one-page story, Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase lettering into dialogue balloons and narrative boxes in Amazing Spider-Man #56. The fonts grow bold for inflection, swell and change color for increased volume, and shrink for lowered voices. Colored and transparent sound effects heighten thwipping, headbanging, gavel-banging, a car crash, police sirens, and a brutal brawl. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Mary Jane has her life in order. Randy Robertson and Ned Leeds are making progress. But Peter is more lost than ever. He wants to start something good with Shay Marken but doesn't even have a job. So he’s putting Spider-Man’s house in order in Amazing Spider-Man #56. But will becoming a more controlling Spider-Man create more problems than it solves?
Rating 9.6/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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