The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #2 Review

 

Writer: J Michael Straczynski

Artist: Pere Pérez

Colorist: Guru-eFX

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Mark Chiarello; Ario Anindito; Gabriele Dell’Otto; Steve Rude; Pere Pérez & Marte Gracia

Designer: Carlos Lao

Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 12, 2025

 

Life at Empire State University challenges Peter Parker. Some General Education classes tax him. Other subjects he could ace in his sleep, but must sit through regardless. Peter feels torn between his duty to protect the public and his schoolwork. College life also prompts Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, and Mary Jane Watson to contemplate the careers they will pursue and the people they will share their futures with.

 

As Peter struggles to figure out where he belongs and what his future holds, trouble explodes on campus. While stealing a rare book, the stone-cold killer executes the librarian and his assistant. But before Peter can apprehend her, the woman transforms into a winged demon. Who will the demon thief attack next? And can Peter draw on German 101 to read the 13^th-century tome and figure out how to reverse the thief’s transformation? Let's thwip into The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #2 and see!

 

Story

The dangers that threaten people know no boundaries. They may occur across the Hudson or when Peter is relaxing with his friends. After his uncle taught him the relationship between power and responsibility, Peter feels the weight of every soul he couldn't protect. So, while Gwen, Harry, and Mary Jane mourn librarian Tom Ambrose and his assistant Lauren Connor, Peter blames himself for their deaths.

 

In The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #2, Peter researches the book he grasped from Evangeline's claws to understand why they died. But he finds little or no mention of the book online. Languages change over time, and Peter keeps tripping up in Dr Dunkle’s class. He realizes he’s not up to deciphering 13^th-century German. So, Peter seeks assistance, even though doing so risks his secret identity.

 

As Peter navigates the complex web of his investigation, guilt, and relationships, Evangeline strives to understand what has happened to her. She seeks the aid of the person who commissioned her theft. Evangeline is frustrated and shocked by her transformation. And while she's not thinking straight, she lashes out with her newfound strength. In J Michael Straczynski’s story, Evangeline clings to the hope of regaining the body she has lost.

 

 

 

 

Art

In Lafayette Deli, a young employee struggles to comprehend the intricacies of customer service. His pupils rise when webbing yanks the bag from his smiling employer's hands in The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #2. As Peter sits atop a column high above the street, Pere Pérez shows how Peter relies on coffee to prepare for those grueling 8 am general ed classes. Amid the streamlined towers, a man gazes out upon the city through his wall windows. His Garfield-like cat leaps from his arms when a winged demon makes a spectacular entrance.

 

 

 

 

As Guru-eFX adorns The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #2 with a radiant palette, he gives Mary Jane and Peter black shirts, and dresses Dr Dunkle in a black suit. The man who commissioned Evangeline’s theft wears a purple robe, a color historically linked with wealth, royalty, and power. The story he weaves for Evangeline’s pointed ears appears in white, black, and purple. As he explains how the book transformed her, Evangeline’s brown skin links her with the leather-bound volume.

 

 

 

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. The words grow bold for intonation, swell for raised voices, and rarely shrink. Evangeline speaks into cloudy balloons, while the font hints at her traumatized state. Sound effects herald a shrieking demon, enhance fighting, and remind Peter of an upcoming engagement. Ask not for whom the bell tolls, Peter. It tolls for thee! Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

While Peter fears hurting his friends, losing the last person he sees as a parent, and not saving those in need, he worries about the trauma people undergo following a life-threatening ordeal. Mary Jane fears the consequences of an opportunity not taken, while Evangeline fears life as an outsider. Yet the greatest fear people face in The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #2 isn't death, relationships, or the future. Instead, it is the secrets contained in an ancient book, and what drawing upon its power could unleash.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

Amazing Spider-Man #3 Review

 

Writer: Joe Kelly

Artist: Pepe Larraz

Colorist: Marte Gracia

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia; Alex Maleev; Ed McGuinness & Marcio Menyz; Rose Besch; Ario Anindito

Designer: Jay Bowen

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

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 7, 2025

 

Peter Parker has a new job. Thanks to Brian Nehring’s recommendation, Peter is now the Supervising Engineer of Cooperative Disciplines at Rand Industries. But his boss, Maira Osmani-Milton, ponders Peter's ability to focus on his duties. Peter’s conversation skills suffer as his mind keeps flying back to his childhood. And then there are the villains that relentlessly attack him, even if they look like Korean automobiles to everyone else.

 

Peter's mad rave started in the Rhino’s apartment. So he goes for an after-party chat. But with the Rhino staying in the Ravencroft Institute, Shay Marken wonders if she should let Spider-Man question her horned guest or give the superhero the room next to Doppelganger. Can Peter discover why Rhino went on a rampage before the perpetrators detonate his life like they did the FDA Product Safety building? Let's grab some Narcan, leap into Amazing Spider-Man #3, and see!

 

Story

Spider-Man finds Itsy Bitsy playing Dr Ashley Kafka with the Rhino. But Spidey doesn't want her to scramble Rhino's brain like Queen Goblin tried to clean up Ben Reilly’s muddled mind. So once again, Spider-Man and Itsy Bitsy come to blows. But this time, Spidey doesn’t have Deadpool backing him up.

 

Peter’s recent responsible behavior fuels Aunt May’s hopes. She has invested so much in her nephew, only to see him become the most unemployable scientist in New York. Seeing him get a position at Rand Industries, even if it came via a troublesome childhood pal, gives May a chance to think about finally relaxing that parental responsibility. Riccardo Villanueva volunteers at FEAST. In Amazing Spider-Man #3, she asks Riccardo for help at her apartment. But then Peter shows up, looking every bit the nephew in need of mothering. Again.

 

While Joe Kelly plants characters and situations that bloom with action and drama, Amazing Spider-Man #3 is rooted in guilt. Peter regrets Uncle Ben's death and the way May worries about him. He struggles to avoid recognizing that he is letting Brian Nehring and Dr Osmani-Milton down. Aleksei, aka Rhino, mourns his wife’s death. Norman wishes he hadn’t hurt people as the Green Goblin. Aiding Peter’s crime-fighting assuages his guilt. Perhaps Itsy Bitsy feels guilty over all the trouble she has caused Peter. As Spider-Man investigates how Itsy drugged Rhino, Peter doubtless wishes he could have helped her embrace a better life (and not played a hand in her death). 

 

 

 

Art

Pepe Larraz uses jarring camera angles that reveal Peter's distorted perceptions as he fights Itsy Bitsy. Despite not knowing what he can believe or where he stands with Shay, Peter's first inclination in Amazing Spider-Man #3 is a desperate lunge to save his would-be girlfriend. A meetup on a bridge spanning the Harlem River must provoke more bad memories for Peter. But seeing Peter climb the stairs to her apartment in another man's dripping wet clothes must remind Aunt May of her plea for Spider-Man to leave her nephew alone.

 

Itsy Bitsy's red, black, and blue uniform suggests a funhouse mirror reflection of Spider-Man. Her six arms wield red swords in a hypnotic rhythm like Kali's battle with Sinbad. Black and White memories overlay Marte Gracia's colorful people and places amid the living and the dead. Violet foregrounds in Ravencroft Institute emphasize that Itsy Bitsy’s swords are red for a reason. But when darkness tinges her spider-eyes, mask, and swords with magenta, Itsy forms a powerful connection with Spidey in Amazing Spider-Man #3.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black lettering into dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. Words grow bold for inflection, swell, change color, and shrink for lowered voices. White letters in edgy black balloons hail a villain's return, while gray dialogue balloons drive daggers into Peter’s heart. Sound effects shatter glass, recall a stormtrooper’s stun beam, and suggest a villain’s fiery temper as Peter’s investigations continue. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Drugs helped Itsy Bitsy cope with life. Illicit chemicals enable Peter to connect the dots in his investigation. But Peter's brainstorm worries his friend Brian, who breeds magic mushrooms for a living. And despite Peter's plea, Norman says, "No more." As Peter struggles to discern reality, the drugs twist his childhood memories into an unending nightmare in Amazing Spider-Man #3.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #17 Review

 

Writer: Cody Ziglar

Artists: Partha Pratim & Federico Vicentini

Colorist: Bryan Valenza

Letterer: Cory Petit

Cover Artists: Federico Vicentini & Richard Isanove; Ario Anindito; Mateus Manhanini

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: February 28, 2023

 

Despite Hobgoblin’s help, Rabble still struggles to talk to machines. She scavenged technology from A.I.M. and Beyond but can't repair what Spider-Man broke. Can the talented weapon designer find the key to restoring her powers?  Let's ignite our venom-sabers, leap into Miles Morales: Spider-Man #17, and find out!

 

Story

Rabble invades her next target: Roxxon Tech Depot #32-B. Searching the company’s records alerts Security to her presence, and they send guards to apprehend her. If only Rabble's ability to talk to tech wasn't so wonky!

 

Shift and Ms Marvel help Miles fight the new D-Lister Zip Zephyr. The Olympian revels in his ability to channel wind. Unlike Gust, Zip has yet to comprehend the consequences of his actions. The Gang War prompted New York citizens to overturn Fisk's Anti-Vigilante Law. Don't expect the blowhard baddie to repay the city by joining Agent Gao’s Cape Killers. 

 

Benjamin Rabin killed Miles’ friend, Ms. Marvel. Rabble destroyed Miles' home and threatened his family. After two Body-Shaming remarks about Shift in two issues, Miles and Ms Marvel work to boost Shift's ego. Helping others with their mental health reminds Miles he's late for his therapy session. So it's time to thwip the friendly skies in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #17.

 

The Gang War cost Agent Gao her job. The voters spoke, and superhero Mayor Cage can do what he wants. Agent Gao knows that for every superpowered individual who tries to help others, a dozen like Zip Zephyr revel in their power and seek to better their own lives at the expense of others. She deployed superpowered people in a supervised and responsible manner with her Cape Killers crew. Don't expect Agent Gao to accept being seconded to Vice quietly in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #17.

 

The biggest story in this issue is Miles' ongoing battle with stress. Trauma affects our psyche in countless ways, and Dr Kwan reminds Miles that there are no cures for mental health. At least this time Miles patrols the city while sharing his concerns instead of hiding in Misty's headquarters. Managing his stress and priorities gives Miles an idea. His plan may be unrealistic, as Starling points out. Still, Miles is an optimist. If he can help another soul in torment, Miles is going to try!

 

 

 

Art

Electricity crackles around masked Rabble as she swoops through the Roxxon Tech Depot on her glider. Bullet casings fly as fire blossoms from rifles. Energy swords slash. Blood sprays. Lights glow from the silhouette of her weaponized exoskeleton. Clouds frame Rabble's return to the sky, her drones in close pursuit.

 

Partha Pratim & Federico Vicentini’s loosely drawn double-page spreads feature sharp angles and convey movement. Zip Zephyr's windy backpack hurls a car into the air. Miles thwips webs at the Olympian that evoke throwing stars. Shift may not ace Ms Marvel's exercises. Still, her joy shows as her enormous fist raps against that of Miles’ clone in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #17.

 

Bright foregrounds dazzle while backgrounds fade. The sky outside compliments the shoulders of Agent Gao’s white jacket, shirt, and slacks. The distant light-yellow skyscrapers compliment Luke Cage's shirt, a reminder of who rules this city. Dr Kwan’s blue and yellow clothes suggest that, like Luke Cage, she’s more concerned with effectiveness than adhering rigidly to a rulebook. Curiously, Brian Valenza casts Miles’ memory of Rabble in yellow. To what extent did Fisk’s law propel Raneem Rashad down her dark path?

 

Cory Petit thwips uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #17. The large, thin font grows bold for inflection and turns lavender during Rabble’s tetchy Tech Talks. Miles' thoughts appear as white letters in red narrative boxes. Roaring rifles and swishing swords accompany Rabble’s ruckus in Roxxon. Displaced air and brutal takedowns remind upstart Olympians that New York City is not their playground. Shift and Ms Marvel's fist bump likely pumps up Miles. Isn’t it great when your friends get along?

 

Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Heroes decide to convert a supervillain, and a public servant decides the ends justify the means in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #17.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

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