Amazing Spider-Man #68 Review

Writer: Justina Ireland

Penciler: Andrea Broccardo

Inker: Scott Hanna

Colorist: Marcio Menyz

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Patrick Gleason & Richard Isanove; Skottie Young; Cory Smith & Edgar Delgado; Luciano Vecchio

Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe & C B Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: February 19, 2025

 

Peter Parker may have spent the night with Felicia Hardy, but he’s hardly ready to rekindle their romance. He's seen everyone in the world die. Finally, he can retire from the superhero career sparked by his uncle's death. Someone else can take up Doom's challenge and fight the scions of Cyttorak. If they succeed, Peter can pursue a life like Arcadium showed him. If they fail, well, everyone dies sooner or later.

 

Doctor Strange and Cyra couldn’t break through Peter’s malaise. Can anyone convince Peter to stop petting Felicia’s cats and don Doctor Doom’s arcane armor again? Let's grab some chew toys for Callix’s crimson hounds, thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #68, and find out!

 

Story

Why would a scion cry? That’s what Peter wonders when Cyra pulls him through a portal. Peter sees his best friend, almost-girlfriend, Aunt May, and another man on the ground. Instead of hosting the FEAST Community Day, the volunteers exemplify what happens when people don’t help the endangered.

 

Peter cried when he watched the characters die in Cyra’s sad stories. The corpses remind him that threats will always attack Earth in Amazing Spider-Man #68. Doctor Doom and Doctor Strange are tackling other dangers to the planet. But because Peter believed in the fiction Cyra created, Spider-Man withdrew his protection from the people he loved.

 

 

 

Cradios asked the X-Men to stop annoying him while the scion destroyed their world. Callix welcomes resistance in Amazing Spider-Man #68. Doom's arcane armor and Doctor Strange’s magic spells help Peter level up. But the Blight convinces the godling to shed the "weaknesses" that restrain him. Callix handed Spider-Man an easy victory during his challenge. Not even Juggernaut can stop Callix now. Still, Spider-Man vows to do what he can in Justina Ireland's story. 

 

Everyone struggles in their relationships. Like Callix, Peter has fought to meet others' expectations. The Blight senses the resultant irritation. Perhaps Juggernaut and Spider-Man can disregard this anger. But outrage over an inability to please everyone threatens to sweep across Earth like a pandemic. How much more might we accomplish if we could eighty-six all the people who refuse to be pleased with our efforts on their behalf?

 

 

 

Art

While the X-Men shine like a rainbow, Marcio Menyz clothes Peter in white and gray. Radiant red Cyra brings Peter to Phil Coulson. Attired in black and gray, Coulson stands before the shattered pearlescent windows of the golden-brown FEAST center. Red fabric and silver and green armor transform Peter. The white polygonal eye shields regard Aunt May. Then, the silver mask turns away. Doom's champion clutches his metal-clad fingers into fists in Amazing Spider-Man #68.

 

 

 

Once, Callix's face shone as brightly as Cyra’s. Like a star, the infected scion's face burns white-hot as red and orange energy beams surround him. After Spider-Man drops between the X-Men and Callix, Spider-Man leads the charge of the X-Light Brigade. Smoke rises around Callix and his Rot Dogs amid the Contest Of Champions. Andrea Broccardo and Scott Hanna show the Blight covering Callix as cells, amoebas, or miniature universes. But when Callix converts the Blight into a black shard, he demonstrates the ultimate effects of Soul Rot.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black lettering into dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. The dialogue grows bold and changes color for inflection. As it enlarges for volume and rarely shrinks, barking and snarling rise above the devastation. Energy beams and explosions amplify the growing chaos. But a snap decision could echo across the universe in Amazing Spider-Man #68. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Peter Parker dreams of a life without power or responsibilities. When he awakens, he discovers that reality differs radically from his fantasy. So, Peter makes a list of what he can do. But as the Avengers couldn’t prevent Thanos from pruning the crowded universe, Spider-Man struggles to halt the efficiency drive intended to simplify his complex world in Amazing Spider-Man #68.

 

Rating 9.7/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Amazing Spider-Man #67 Review

 

Writer: Justina Ireland

Penciler: Andrea Broccardo

Inker: Scott Hanna

Colorist: Marcio Menyz

Flashback Sequence Artist: Niko Henrichon

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Patrick Gleason & Richard Isanove; Skottie Young; Aka; Rogê Antônio & Marcelo Maiolo

Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe & C B Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: February 12, 2025

 

Spider-Man has defeated every scion of Cyttorak he has faced. Peter Parker dreamed of winning these bouts without using the Reeds Of Raggadorr. While he tires of dying, seeing the new Grim Reaper take millions of lives and not be able to revive them leaves Peter gutted. When Peter disengages from meaningful relationships, Cyra feels ashamed. Desperate to cope with these new emotions, the scion of Cyttorak turns to Doctor Strange for help. But the former Sorcerer Supreme can’t make her feel better about destroying the idealistic hero.

 

Will Peter Parker heed Spider-Boy’s assertion that things can get better? Will Spider-Man don Doctor Doom’s arcane armor and take on the mantle of Earth’s Champion again? Let's push Felicia Hardy’s cats off our laps, thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #67, and find out!

 

Story

In the Eight Deaths Of Spider-Man, Doctor Doom reveals that Doctor Strange sought to protect Earth. He entered into these periodic contests to gain the protection of the Crimson Casket Of Cyttorak. Yet the casket doesn’t just protect Earth. It also protects Cyttorak and his family. In Amazing Spider-Man #67, Doctor Strange reveals what Cyttorak and his family fear.

 

In Justina Ireland’s story, Callix grew so tired of trying and failing to gain his father’s respect that he ventured beyond the casket’s protection. He and his crimson hounds encountered the Blight. Although they fought off the symbiote-like limbs that threatened to drag him into one of Sarlacc’s cousins, Callix did not return home unaffected. In Amazing Spider-Man #67, an infection rages. The pain burns away Callix’s ambitions. In its place, Callix finds new strength. He doesn't need to impress anyone anymore.

 

Peter Parker has always pushed himself to his limits. Spider-Boy is ten, but even he realizes the importance of preserving one's mental health. Cyra’s test broke Peter's ability to keep striving to help others. The window washer that Peter fought to save has died. Doctor Strange wants Peter to understand the danger threatening Earth if he doesn't care about others. But with his mental health in tatters, Peter seeks serenity in accepting that it was always unrealistic to believe he could save everyone. After all, Peter couldn’t save the window washer any more than Kenneth could protect the Rick Jones album Peter bought for Shay.

 

Art

Andrea Broccardo and Scott Hanna show the scions beseeching their father in his throne room. But Cyttorak doesn’t look at them. Instead, he focuses on a vision of Juggernaut stomping Cradios. When the X-Men attack Cradios with swords, ice, and energy beams, an observer asks if Cyttorak will let the bout continue in the Champion's absence. The giant god resting his feet among skulls smiles.

 

While Lockdown used his spaceship’s magnet to wreak havoc in Hong Kong, Kid Omega and Doctor Strange demonstrate that psychic energy and magic can achieve the same results. Doctor Strange’s features finally glow with vitality in Amazing Spider-Man #67. If Peter notices, he emulates Thanos and refuses "to take the matter seriously."

 

When Marcio Menyz shows Peter at home with gray, brown, and beige cats, Cyra’s radiant red form seems a reminder of the vibrancy Peter has lost. Callix's white face shows how cold and uncaring Cyra's brother has become. Niko Henrichon’s flashback reveals Doctor Strange’s fright and determination to protect Earth in Amazing Spider-Man #67.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black lettering into dialogue balloons and narrative boxes as Peter no longer battles his malaise. The dialogue grows bold and changes color for inflection. It enlarges for volume and rarely shrinks as Randy and Shay rally around the aunt Peter has abandoned. Sound effects help us hear an immovable scion meet an unstoppable X-Man. Yet pain fills the air when red dialogue and barking enliven a purple background. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Doctor Doom refused to relinquish the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme because he wanted to ensure Earth’s survival. He criticized Doctor Strange’s deal with Cyttorak, claiming it was an unreliable and inefficient means of safeguarding the planet. Doom foresaw Bloodhunt and protected Latveria from Varnae’s coordinated attack. But when Spider-Man refuses to carry out his duties as Earth’s Champion, Amazing Spider-Man #67 asks if Doctor Doom planned for this eventuality.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Amazing Spider-Man #66 Review

 

Writer: Justina Ireland

Artist: Andrea Broccardo

Colorist: Marcio Menyz & Erick Arciniega

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Mark Bagley & Richard Isanove; Kaare Andrews; Skottie Young; Chris Samnee & Matthew Wilson; Paco Diaz & Frank D’Armata

Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe & C B Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: January 22, 2025

 

Callix wants to please his father. His sister, Cyra, wants her life to have meaning. Dr Strange wants Peter Parker to uphold his covenant with Cyttorak. Aunt May wants help running the FEAST Center. Randy Robertson wants Peter’s help to make the gallery show a success. Spider-Boy wants Spider-Man to continue his training. Shay Marken wants her boyfriend to invest in their relationship. And when Black Cat looks back on her relationship with Peter, she wonders why she thought Amelia was an upgrade.

 

Unlike everyone else, Peter Parker doesn't want anything. Food is the sole reminder of his former joy in life. Death has scarred and changed him. Can Peter remember who he used to be and why he sacrificed everything to be that person? Let's strap on our arcane armor, thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #66, and find out!

 

Story

Peter Parker cannot please everyone. Spider-Man cannot protect everyone. Peter was already at the breaking point when Doctor Doom lumbered him with another responsibility. Still, Peter defeated gravity-wielding Cyntros and the space beetle Cyperion. Spider-Man didn’t need a TARDIS to take down the time-traveling Cyrios. Nor did Peter need aspirin to tackle pain-inflicting Callix or a chew toy to distract the scion's Crimson Hounds. Spider-Man didn't even drop the ball when tried by the deadly Cyra. But at the end of her test, Peter realizes the truth behind the frustrations he voiced when all this started. “Everything’s so important that nothing matters.”

 

While Peter has lost hope in Amazing Spider-Man #66, a ray of sunshine pierces Cyra’s shell of indifference. Cyra is so inured to her depression that the warmth is alien to her. Her father's gift granted her a cosmic view of the universe. But instead of seeing life spring eternal, she only saw the Inevitability Of Death. Tasked with an unwanted responsibility from her father, Cyra judged everyone on Earth by Dr Strange. But Stephen Strange differs markedly from Peter Parker. While Cyra infected Peter with depression, Peter made Cyra wonder what it felt like to care about others. Her task, the one Cyra never wanted, is over. But instead of sinking into a hot bath with a glass of vino, Cyra lingers, desperate to understand the man she broke like an unwanted toy.

 

As Peter walks through the disaster zone that was once his life, Justina Ireland contrasts Peter Parker with Doctor Strange. Stephen calculates the cost of helping others. He observes them and strategizes the best way to help them. Dr Strange uses deceit and psychology to manipulate them into “giving their best.” As Cyra observes, Strange endured her “Emo Fanfic” by employing a professional distance from humanity. Yet even as Peter tells himself nothing matters, he cannot stop engaging with others. Peter Parker may be stumbling in the darkness. Still, he illuminates heroes and villains in Amazing Spider-Man #66. 

 

 

 

Art

Cyttorak’s eyes glow when his scions assemble. Yet the energy shooting from Cyttorak’s eyes dies when Callix claims he succeeded where his brothers and sisters failed. Andrea Broccardo reveals Callix's desperation when he takes his Crimson Hounds for walkies in a forbidden cave. Monstrous stalagmites rise while lightning leaps from hovering shards of rock. Yellow eyes and buried limbs suggest a graveyard. Yet the glowing orbs in the gray floor and the cracks that rent the red air reveal that life still throbs in this place of death. Or perhaps it is a shadow out of time in the mountains of madness.

 

Like everyone else Peter sees in Amazing Spider-Man #66, Dr Strange is dead and alive. Marcio Menyz & Erick Arciniega contrast his blue and aqua-green spirit with Cyra’s black, red, crimson, and magenta appearance. Despite the sunlight shining down on New York City, colors fade where Peter Parker walks. The vibrant street life before him hints at the vitality Peter once prized when Shay, adorned in a T-shirt with a yellow sun, shares what keeps her going. But when Peter looks around, he sees only black, white, and gray. 

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black lettering into dialogue balloons, red-edged narrative boxes, and tan boxes. The dialogue grows bold for inflection, enlarges for volume, and rarely shrinks. Dr Strange speaks blue letters into blue-edged white balloons, while Spider-Boy uses his foot to upbraid a criminal for his insensitivity. As Callix schemes and observers talk, the letters on a flyer confirm Peter’s new paradigm. Still, the numbers on a cash register urge Peter to remember why he became Spider-Man. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

While Miles Morales engages with the gods in Wakanda, Peter Parker struggles to grasp the reed of truth in New York. Like Miles, Peter cannot recover what he lost by fighting. Instead, Peter must peer into himself and rediscover the truth of his life in Amazing Spider-Man #66.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #4 Review

 

Writer: Steve Foxe

Artist: Andrea Broccardo

Colorist: Brian Reber

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Mark Bagley & Rachelle Rosenberg

Designer: Carlos Lao

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Recap Art: Mark Bagley

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 20, 2024

 

The Mole Man is bringing the New York Underground to meet their surface-dwelling family. Kaine wants his brother to help him with this Monster Mash, but Chasm wants to exterminate an Eternal. Can the spider-brothers and Hallows' Eve resolve their differences and work together to quell the uprising? Let’s slip on a monster mask, leap into Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #4, and find out!

 

Story

Moloids, Vermin, and monsters are trashing Queens. Kaine wants Chasm and Hallows’ Eve to help him drive them underground. But Ben is tired of people messing with his mind. Druig’s psychic touch left his brain itching. As Ben uses it like a locator beacon, Janine masks up and clears his path. But when the monsters increase in size, Ben heads off to the sewers, leaving Janine to face the music.

 

Druig has lost interest in the chaos he created. As Ben seeks a rematch, the Eternal helps his puppet take down his tormentor. But it's all another mind game in Chasm: Curse of Kaine #4.

 

Kaine wants a heart-to-heart with his clone-brother. After shaking off Druig’s control, Ben isn’t interested in singing Kumbaya with Kaine. Despite Ben’s claim to make a fresh start, he still grasps for anything resembling a win. And while love may conquer all, Janine doesn't encourage Ben’s better instincts. Hallows’ Eve tempts Ben into fun diversions that can't lead to lasting fulfillment. Still, Kaine does his bit for his brother in Chasm: Curse of Kaine #4, even if Madame Web thinks he’s wasting his time.

 

While Chasm emulates his creator and Kaine evokes Jackal’s late brother, Druig is the real Chasm in Steve Foxe’s story. An endless life and superpowers mean Druig doesn’t need to work for anything. Without death hanging over him, events lose significance, and memories fade. At least Druig wants to remind people that shoving their problems out of sight isn’t ideal. Having been around since Humanity’s hunter-gatherer phase, Druig knows it is easier to cast out those who don’t belong or prove difficult to help than solve the problems that lead to crime and mental illness.

 

Art

While Andrea Broccardo evokes an iconic Kirby cover, Kaine adopts Arachnobatix mode as he elbows aside Moloids and somersaults over a raging Freakazoid. Hallows' Eve mauls Vermin and snarls at Humans in her Black Panther mask. Chasm wields a psychoactive goo axe and fwips away monsters while Freakazoid smashes a dumpster like a spoon. But Chasm and Hallows’ Eve don’t look at each other until Ben smiles. Then they kiss while people die in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #4.

 

Tan Moloids and brown Vermin evoke the ground from which they sprang, while red splashes from Hallows’ Eve’s claws match the color of the Vermin’s eyes. Kaine's red suit, Hallows' Eve's hair, and the Freakazoid's scarlet skin underline their monstrous heritage. Orange fire burns from Druig’s eyes while Chasm’s burn bluish white. Yellow, orange, and red galaxies erupt from the Eternal’s hands as Brian Reber’s bluish-white psychoactive goo springs from Chasm's hands.

 

Amid Andrea Broccardo’s rampaging action and Brian Reber's vibrant coloring, Joe Caramagna thwips black uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #4. Words grow bold for emphasis, swell or change color for volume, and rarely shrink, while the Scarlet Spider shares his thoughts as white letters in red narrative boxes. Colorful and transparent sound effects help us hear a Black Panther roar, Chasm hew his axe into Kaine’s chest, and a monster squelch a rampant threat. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Druig spurs the disenfranchised to insurrection, Chasm gets kissy and corny, Kaine tries to be his brother's keeper, and Hallows' Eve goes killer kaiju in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #4.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

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

Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #3 Review

 

Writer: Steve Foxe

Artist: Andrea Broccardo

Colorist: Brian Reber

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Mark Bagley & Dean White; Alessandro Cappuccio & Rachelle Rosenberg

Designer: Carlos Lao

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Recap Art: Mark Bagley

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 30, 2024

 

Kaine heard his clone-brother was walking a darker path. Perhaps he is the Scarlet Spider now, and Ben is Chasm. Still, Kaine wants to help imbue Ben’s life with more meaning than robbing rich kids and frightening the criminally insane. Then Kaine learns Ben is making monsters out of dead people. Worse, his brother isn’t making quips or puns as he emulates Victor Frankenstein. What would Gene Wilder think? More to the point: can Kaine free Ben from Druig's influence and arrest his downward spiral into villainy? Let’s refill our psychoactive goo guns, leap into Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #3, and find out!

 

Story

After Druig halts Janine's psychic ramble through Ben's mind, Mole Man's Moloids carry the unconscious lovers away. Janine awakens in the sewers, and Druig doesn't want to relinquish another prize. So the Eternal sends Ben to reclaim another plaything, but Janine evades his grasp with a ghost mask. When Kaine finds her, Janine assumes the Scarlet Spider is involved with whoever was messing with Ben's mind. Then Ben finds them and launches another psychoactive goofest.

 

Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #3 ponders who is best qualified to help Ben. Both the Goblin Queen and the Queen Goblin promised to ease his troubled mind. Janine can offer Ben nothing more than diversions from his angst. Ben's actions have isolated him from many of the superhero community who could help him. Could a conventional therapist without the words Goblin or Queen in their name help Ben? Or should Chasm be imprisoned in the cell next to Doppelganger?

 

While Kaine ponders if his connection to Ben can help his brother, the Mole Man is grabbing his opportunity to become more than an Eternal's footstool. As Druig plays games with Ben's mind, he inspires Mole Man to rise above his subterranean existence and overthrow the world above. Druig enjoys watching people like the Mole Man pursue their pathetic schemes as much as Rocket Raccoon enjoys seeing Taserface depose Yondu and declare he will help the Ravagers rise again to glory. But in Steve Foxe's story, all these diversions leave Druig as unfulfilled as a life of crime with Janine would leave Ben. Like frightening Doppelganger with a werewolf mask, all this activity is just meaningless fun and doesn't address the fact that Druig has all the time in the world and nothing to fill it with.

 

 

 

Art

As Chasm pursues Hallows' Eve through the sewers, her eyes glow yellow, and Ben's eyes burn white. Hallows' Eve slips on a mask and fades away like Miles Morales. Then she phases through brickwork like Kitty Pryde. As Ben rips off his mask, tears stream down his face, and the building blocks of reality swirl around Druig’s glowing red eyes. Then Druig descends a revolving staircase and walks through an array of spider people like a Psi Corps officer walking through Commander Jeffrey Sinclair's mind. While Taskmaster projects imagery to make Deadpool smile in Deadpool #4, Druig does so to make Ben more miserable in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #3.

 

Brian Reber lavishes a loaded palette on Andrea Broccardo’s art, coloring sewer scenes in green, purple, and blue. Red dominates Druig’s mental landscape. Yet he wears green, like the Mole Man and the Vermin he views as beneath him. Janine’s red hair and Kane’s red suit link those most concerned with Ben’s mental health, while red drops falling from Kaine’s right arm reveal the lengths he will endure to be his brother’s keeper.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips black uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #3. Words grow bold for emphasis, swell or change color for volume, and rarely shrink. The font emulates hand printing, and the balloons get cloudy when Janine decides to change tactics. Colorful and transparent sound effects help us hear Chasm attack, the brothers deploy their webs, and a monstrous attack on the surface world. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

As Kaine attempts to help his brother, Druig empowers people to pursue their greatest desires. Despite his claims about others, the Eternal reveals that he is the pathetic one in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #3. Not only because Druig lacks fulfillment but also because he attacks people with lesser power instead of pursuing his grievances with his fellow Eternals.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

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

Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #2 Review

 

Writer: Steve Foxe

Artist: Andrea Broccardo

Colorist: Brian Reber

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Leinil Francis Yu & Dean White; Chris Campana; Craig Yeung & Rachelle Rosenberg

Designer: Carlos Lao

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Recap Art: Mark Bagley

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: September 25, 2024

 

While Peter Parker, Miles Morales, and Shift have been playing nice with the Vermin, Gwen Stacy and Chameleon gave one of New York’s humanoid rats a roast. But Ben Reilly is a changed man. With his scrambled memories, the former Scarlet Spider enters the fray and kills Jackal’s creations before he wonders, “Gee, might they be sentient?” Ben might not have much to spare, but Druig wants a piece of his mind anyway. What chaos will Chasm unleash when an Eternal messes with his muddled mind? And can his clone brother Kaine help Ben recover what he has lost? Let’s refill our psychoactive goo guns, leap into Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #2, and find out!

 

Story

Ben Reilly spent so long trying to be Spider-Man that he doesn't know who he is. The situation worsened when Maxine Danger messed with his memories. Now Druig is influencing him. When Ben realizes he has been sleepwalking, he wonders what else he can try to regain control. His girlfriend offers him fun and diversion in Steve Foxe's story. But Ben's love for Janine is coupled with need. Ben relies on her to retain his sanity in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #2. Where would he be without Janine?

 

Like Ben, Janine doesn’t view sleepwalking as a step toward mental recovery. She tries to distract him from his dark thoughts, but her bright ideas leave a trail of destruction in their wake. Still, she has one more card to play. Or should I say a mask? After using her Frankenstein's Monster and Werewolf masks, she pulls out another to help Ben. Using it exposes Janine to danger but demonstrates her commitment to him.

 

Kaine Parker has been following Ben and Janine’s trail of destruction. In the hospital morgue, Kaine doesn’t realize that Druig helped Ben reconstruct Freak. Using the dead Vermin and his psychoactive goo instead of lightning, Ben cobbled together a Super Freak. The monster pursues Kaine through the hospital. Kaine's plan doesn't include bringing the Super Freak home to his mother. (If he had a mother, that is). Kaine wants to get it away from people before the Super Freak brings someone's spirit down. 

 

 

 

Art

On his hands and knees, Moleman looks up at Druig. With a spider crawling over his hand, the Eternal looks down upon another cowering mortal in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #2. Kaine somersaults over Super Freak while a portable exam table crashes into the wall and ceiling. One of Jane Foster’s associates hangs from glowing webs alongside a security guard. The supersized Freak pursues Kaine down a corridor that evokes Jackal’s horrors chasing Peter Parker through a nightmare train. Andrea Broccardo’s Super Freak design suggests that HR Giger's Alien art diverted Druig. Kaine's solution to his Freakazoid dilemma evokes how Daniels and Tennessee banish unwanted guests from the Covenant's terraforming bay in Alien: Covenant.

 

Black and red Kaine battles a brown and red Super Freak as a suspended medical examiner’s blue scrubs pair with the blue-tinged white floor and wall tiles. A gray villain who liked Anna Watson stares through a transparent barrier and across a hallway grounded with black and grey flooring and illuminated by a glowing glass ceiling. Chasm’s lavender and black pairs with Hallows Eve’s mauve and black as yellow windows in distant buildings shine against a gray sky. The lovers regain their usual vibrant purple, green, orange, and black in their holy abode. But when Hallows Eve slips on another mask, she explores Brian Reber's purple and lavender world in orange, gray, red, yellow, and white finery.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips black uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons and Kaine's white thoughts into red narrative boxes. Words grow bold for emphasis, swell or change color for volume, and rarely shrink. Colorful and transparent sound effects help us hear Super Freak’s rampage and Janine's world shatter, while a yellow and orange growl suggests the rise of another spider villain in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #2. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

As an Eternal, Druig has too much time on his hands. Instead of taking night classes at Empire State University or volunteering at FEAST, Druig seeks diversion by manipulating others, including those with all eight eyes open in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #2.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

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

Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1 Review

 

Writer: Steve Foxe

Artist: Andrea Broccardo

Colorist: Brian Reber

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Leinil Francis Yu & Dean White; Elena Casagrande & Annalisa Leoni; Martín Cóccolo & Dean White; Salvador Larroca & Edgar Delgado

Designer: Carlos Lao

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Recap Art: Mark Bagley

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 28, 2024

 

Three teenagers from New Jersey receive an invitation to an underground rave. But when they break the police tape and descend into the closed Long Island subway station, monsters attack them. As they back away, two costumed people block their retreat. Is this an underground masquerade? Did someone lure the teens to their deaths? Let’s grab our Halloween masks, leap into Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1, and find out!

 

Story

Ben Reilly and Janine Godbe are putting the past behind them. Their idea of making a fresh start is luring teens into confined spaces and robbing them. Freak and the vermin surprise the two antiheroes-turned-villains. Janine dons a mask of Frankenstein’s monster and battles the sewer denizens, while Ben argues that citizens should pay for protection. Freak and the vermin press Janine hard. So, after taking the teens’ money, Ben defends his girlfriend. But then Druig gets into his mind and wonders what he can make of it.

 

The Beyond Corporation corrupted Ben’s memories. Society imprisoned Janine for protecting herself against her abusive father. So, Ben and Janine reject society's laws, customs, and morality. They take what they want and live for today. As usual, someone gets in the way of their happiness in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1.

 

After recent setbacks, Druig hid beneath the surface and usurped another ruler's throne. Like Hammerhead, Druig needs a victory to rebuild his brand. As an Eternal, he craves diversion. Druig decides to make the spider heroes his playthings. Then Ben Reilly walks into his hands. Stripped of his memories, Ben seems an ideal instrument for his amusement. So Druig attaches strings and prepares for his puppet show.

 

Ben's descent into villainy bothers Kaine. Peter Parker's clones share a dark past. Kaine assumes the moral center of Steve Foxe's story about clones gone wrong, humans playing god, and gods manipulating their creations. Kaine discovers he has his work cut out for him. He watches the police remove vermin and Freak in body bags. Kaine had intended to help Ben embrace heroism again. However, the murders remind Kaine of how he once punished a society that rejected him. Even now, after he has embraced heroism, society has yet to welcome Kaine with open arms. 

 

 

 

Art

Andrea Broccardo imbues Hallows Eve and Chasm with attitude and swagger in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1. As Hallows Eve wades into the vermin crush, Chasm’s body language suggests he owns the world. As Chasm kills Freak and the vermin, perhaps they remind him of his demonic captors in Limbo. But then the background breaks into blocks, and unseen hands insert an ornate key into his head. The top of his skull hinges open, and webbing thwips out. When Ben and Janine relax in their new home, they look relieved of the burden of recovering Ben’s memories. Yet their boarded-up residence evokes the fake Church with a hidden Beyond laboratory that Peter, Misty, and Lizard sheltered in during Bloodhunt.

 

Brian Reber fills the air surrounding Chasm with glowing green light. Hallows Eve projects yellow and orange light as she fights the red Freak and brown vermin. Druig appears as a red mist before taking Human form. Then, red makes way for a flesh-covered face and green fabric. Kaine thwips through the greenish-brown subway in his red and black suit. He finds the teens hanging from glowing green webs. Blue light tinges the stone throne as Druig kicks away his cringing servant. Like him, the man groveling at his feet wears green.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips black uppercase lettering into white dialogue balloons and Kaine's white thoughts into red narrative boxes. Words embolden for emphasis and swell or change color for volume. Expressive sound effects relate vermin hisses, Freak's rage, and a grate being pulled away so a Spider-Pinocchio can take the stage in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Like Victor Frankenstein, the Jackal sought to improve on nature’s work by creating Kaine and Ben Reilly. Like Frankenstein’s ultimate man, the Jackal’s creations have killed others. Now, as Hallow’s Eve dons the likeness of Frankenstein's feared creation, another person follows in the two creators’ footsteps in Chasm: Curse Of Kaine #1.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

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