Writer: Joe Kelly
Penciler: John Romita Jr
Inker: Scott Hanna
Colorist: Marcio Menyz
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hana & Marcio Menyz; Gleb Melnikov & Edgar Delgado; John Romita Jr; Peach Momoko; Damion Scott; Paulo Siqueira & Yen Nitro; Stefano Caselli & Federico Blee; Mark Bagley & Edgar Delgado
Designer: Jay Bowen
Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $4.99
Release Date: June 18, 2025
Peter Parker had an Itsy Bitsy drug habit. So, the Hobgoblin took Peter on a bad trip that made him a serial no-show at his new job. But since he kicked his Queen’s Cola addiction, Peter is raising Aunt May, Shay, and Dr Osmani-Milton’s expectations. Can Peter be a dependable nephew, boyfriend, and employee? Let's play a game of Pickleball on the Rand Enterprises court, leap into Amazing Spider-Man #6, and see!
Story
Aunt May sees Peter’s potential. Yet, he still struggles to be dependable. It’s been a long road as a single parent since her husband died. May knows she won’t be around forever. Still, she carries on, encouraging and nurturing, in the hopes of seeing her nephew settle down. But what if she didn’t have to carry that burden alone?
After his failure with Mary Jane, Anna Watson nudged Shay into Peter's orbit. As a nurse at the Ravencroft Institute, Shay spends her days caring for villains in need. She's also seen coworkers die, as when Itsy Bitsy wrecked Rhino's rest day at Ravencroft. So, while she's well-versed in the roadmap of grief, Shay understands what causes it. Like May, she wants to be there for Peter. Just not too close.
After emerging as the head crime boss, Tombstone returns in Amazing Spider-Man #6. Brian Nehring may think it's cool that Peter is Goodfellas with the mob. But Peter knows that Tombstone only uses him to remain the new Kingpin of New York. Peter doesn’t want to prop up a gang lord. But neither does he want rival gangs fighting each other to expand their territories in another Gang War.
Art
Red combats purple when Spider-Man blows up a hoodie convention in a hijacked limousine. Blue dominates the engineering labs of Rand Enterprises Applied Science Division. A folded yellow note from a man wearing a purple shirt in another black limousine portends a nightlife of crime. The bluish-purple hangout promises to enliven Peter’s prospects while awaiting action in Amazing Spider-Man #6.
While Marcio Menyz wields his nuanced palette of colors, John Romita Jr and Scott Hanna focus on Peter's preparations to keep New York safe. They balance his technical know-how with the physical necessities of a stakeout. The artists also show Peter using his webs to create an ad hoc HQ while he monitors crime scenes via remote cameras in Amazing Spider-Man #6.
While crashing through glass like Tombstone, chatting with mushroom-man Brian, walking with Shay at sunset, or hanging out with Black Cat, Peter shares his thoughts in red-edged narrative boxes. Joe Caramagna's black uppercase letters in white dialogue balloons grow bold for intonation, swell for raised voices, and rarely shrink. Block letters indicate time shifts in Joe Kelly’s nonlinear story, while enlarged colored dialogue and sound effects heighten the action. Yet nothing seems as essentially Peter Parker as when we hear him struggle with a big gulp. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
Success in life necessitates multitasking. Succeeding in business requires keeping secrets. Earning the boss’s trust threatens Freaktastic friendships with coworkers. While combating his fears of losing the people he loves, goblins and nurses show Peter Parker the way. Old foes and feline friends enmesh Peter in a web of duplicity in Amazing Spider-Man #6.
Rating 9.6/10
To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
