Amazing Spider-Man #58 Review

 

Writers: Zeb Wells

Penciler: John Romita Jr

Inker: Scott Hanna

Colorist: Marcio Menyz

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Nick Lowe & C B Cebulski

Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Morry Hollowell;Chris Allen & Frank D’Armata; Giuseppe Camuncoli & Ramulo Fajardo Jr; Ryan Meinerding; Leonardo Romero

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: September 25, 2024

 

When Lonnie Lincoln lay on life support, Janice took his crime syndicate away from him. Lonnie teamed with Spider-Man in the Gang War because he didn’t want his daughter to become like him. Then he stripped Janice of her Beetle wings at The Battle Of Central Park, abandoned Spider-Man’s coalition in the fight against Madame Masque, and boogied home with White Rabbit and his gang. After his lawyer arranged bail, Lonnie sent White Rabbit after his would-be son-in-law and murdered the police outside his daughter’s apartment. Will Lonnie kill Janice to prevent his daughter from sending him back to Ryker’s Island? Let's thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #58 and find out!

 

Story

When Spider-Man admitted he convinced Janice to testify against her father, Lonnie Lincoln told Spider-Man, “You have no idea what you’ve done.” When Michele got Lonnie out of Ryker’s, Peter Parker asked Lonnie's lawyer, “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” No one expected Lonnie to attack his daughter in her apartment. They assumed Janice would be safe. But Janice is the key to locking her father behind bars, and as Lonnie once told her, "Whoever wins today will own everything and will have to be a monster to keep it."

 

 

 

Perhaps Shotgun’s indictment still rings in Lonnie’s ears. The government didn’t view him as a long-term threat and sent Shotgun to assassinate his daughter. But when Janice reminds Lonnie of his paternal relationship in Zeb Wells’ story, her father says, “Not anymore.” Lonnie once told Wilson Fisk, “It’s Tombstone when I’m working.” Intriguingly, whether wearing street clothes or his costume, Peter Parker never uttered Tombstone’s name when he tried to cage the crime lord in Amazing Spider-Man #57. But when he interrupts the family squeezefest in Amazing Spider-Man #58 and Tombstone races outside after his daughter, Spider-Man never utters Lonnie's moniker. Instead, Spider-Man repeats the crime lord’s name in the fading hope that part of the man doesn’t want to be a monster.

 

 

 

Art

When Tombstone took out the police guarding her apartment, Janice heard three shots. Yet when Tombstone enters her apartment, he replaces the magazine in his semiautomatic with a fresh one. As she dives behind the bed, crawls into the bathroom, and dons her costume, Tombstone sprays the apartment with bullets. When Janice knocks the gun from his hand with a laser blast, Tombstone tosses an EMP grenade that chokes the room with smoke. As Janice goes for his throat with both hands, Tombstone grabs one of her arms, hurls her to the floor, and squeezes the life out of Janice with his free hand. John Romita Jr and Scott Hanna respect page boundaries while delivering an average of four to six panels per page. The exception is a double-page spread with inset panels when Spider-Man makes a spectacular entrance in Amazing Spider-Man #58.

 

 

 

Marcio Menyz surrounds Janice's chocolate features with mauve-brown walls. When Tombstone points his gun at her, orange fills the background and illuminates her face. Tombstone's stony features and white skin suggest Frankenstein's monster as he relentlessly pursues his daughter. His purple vest echoes his daughter's Beetle costume. Tombstone's choice of shirt seems deliberate, as it links him with the other person determined to rob him of his empire in Amazing Spider-Man #58. 

 

 

 

Joe Caramagna’s uppercase black lettering in dialogue balloons and narrative boxes grows bold for inflection, swells and changes color for increased volume, and shrinks for lowered voices. While colored and transparent sound effects enhance the nonstop battle and chase, red dominates with gunshots and enlarged dialogue that often disrespects balloon boundaries like Madame Masque, Spider-Man, Janice Lincoln, and the US government have disrespected Lonnie Lincoln. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Janice Lincoln doesn’t want Spider-Man to rescue her. Lonnie Lincoln doesn’t want Spider-Man to prevent him from killing his daughter. As Tombstone, Lonnie always put business over family. But then Spider-Man found Tombstone’s weak spot. So, in Amazing Spider-Man #58, Tombstone seeks to eliminate it before his weakness destroys what he values most.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

Preview the interior art in my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Spine-Tingling Spider-Man #2 Review

 

Writer: Saladin Ahmed

Artist & Colorist: Juan Ferreyra

Letterers: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Juan Ferreyra, Björn Barends; Chris Allen & Guru-Efx

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 15, 2023

 

Peter Parker lost his spider powers. No one recognized him. A text message directed him to board a train. But when Peter couldn't produce a ticket, the conductor opted for a pound of flesh instead. Without his healing abilities, can Peter withstand the conductor's attack? Let's thwip into Spine-Tingling Spider-Man #2 and find out!

 

Story

While fleeing the mad conductor, Peter befriends a young girl. She suggests a means of escape. He follows her lead but chooses not to follow her example. Hearing the conductor again, he flees into another car. Shocked by what he finds there, he suddenly realizes the conductor has caught up with him. Peter embraces attack as the best form of defense and escapes the conductor. A timely stop allows him to disembark, where more horrors and discoveries await.

 

Spine-Tingling Spider-Man #2 lacks the usual quips or character interaction that celebrates friendship and empowerment. Horrific events propel Peter Parker into flight mode. While not out of proportion, Peter's attack on the conductor seems like something he'd never do if he had his spider powers. It’s not Snowpiercer, but the issue boasts more graphic violence than your usual Spidey title. The final act evoked The Cell, which I saw in the theater and never watched again! 

 

 

 

Saladin Ahmed's story feels more like a nightmare than a reality. As Spider-Man, Peter built humor into an impressive armory. He constantly deploys it to defuse tension and distract criminals. I wonder why Peter didn’t try using it on the conductor. Is Spine-Tingling Spider-Man #2 a Spider-Man book? I don’t know. I can tell you that the horror feels more restrained than the latter portion of the first issue, and the story is better for it. 

 

Art

Juan Ferreyra focuses on facial features. While steeping backgrounds in gray, he imbues people with realistic skin tones, highlighting, and shading. All this enhances the feeling of dread and helps you identify with Peter amid these nightmare events. Juan proves adept at portraying action, especially on the train. After Peter leaves it, Ferreyra streaks panels with rain. Ferreyra adds a dash of Hansel And Gretel to these scenes while seasoning the final act with classic Haunted House imagery. Art and coloring combine to make Spine-Tingling Spider-Man #2 a compelling read, made all the more immersive by Joe Caramagna’s black uppercase letters in white balloons and boxes. Oh, and did I mention Caramagna's eerie and vicious sound effects?

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Dan Slott’s recent series freed Peter from Spider-Man duties, which allowed him to devote more time to his family and career. By stripping away his spider powers and identity, Saladin Ahmed frees Peter from any responsibility to himself and others. Yet even while fighting for his life in Spine-Tingling Spider-Man #2, Peter grasps opportunities to help others.

 

Rating 9.2/10

 

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

Invincible Iron Man #10 Review

 

Writer: Gerry Duggan

Artist: Juan Frigeri

Colorist: Bryan Valenza

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Lucas Werneck; Chris Allen & David Curiel; Cafu; Meghan Hetrick; Bob Layton & Paul Mounts; George Pérez & Edgar Delgado

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: September 27, 2023

 

Industrialist Kelvin Heng, a.k.a. Feilong, bought Stark Unlimited via a hostile takeover. He used Tony Stark's proprietary technology to aid Orchis' attacks on mutants by building thirty-foot-tall Stark Sentinels. Tony's bid to destroy the Sentinels ended with Rhodey, a.k.a. War Machine, in prison.

 

Forced to comply with a court order, Tony deleted his B.O.S.S. operating system and gave Feilong his Mark 70 armor. Can Tony Stark free Rhodey, turn the tables on Feilong, and save mutants everywhere from the evil Orchis organization? Let's blast into Invincible Iron Man #10 and find out!

 

 

Story

Feilong is all about the show. He gets a guard to hand Rhodey a cell phone, then uses a masked servant at the Hellfire Club to bring Tony Stark one. Feilong arrives in time to watch Tony listen while inmates beat Rhodey to death. Thankfully, Tony's made a deal with Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin, the new White King of the Hellfire Club. The big man's got friends in places high and low. That includes the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, one of the harshest prisons in the United States.

 

Feilong doesn't realize that Tony could kill him at any time. Disguised as his assistant Hazel Kendal, Emma Frost would like nothing better than to use her psychic powers to fry his brain. But that wouldn't stop Orchis from hurting mutants or inciting hatred across the globe. Feilong holds all the cards, and Tony's only got one viable play. As readers of X-Men #26 know, opportunity strikes when you least expect it.

 

 

 

Feilong doesn't miss an opportunity to disadvantage Tony Stark in Invincible Iron Man #10. When he sees Tony hustle Hazel into a side room, he intrudes on Tony's privacy. Feilong misinterprets the inhibitor ring Tony wants Emma to wear for a wedding band. To see the former billionaire bachelor settling down with his secretary must smell like victory. How else can you explain Feilong following Tony and Emma to Las Vegas? Now that he's broken Tony, Feilong can help Tony rebuild his life. So long as Tony knows who's the boss.

 

Feilong doesn't realize Las Vegas is all a show for him. Or perhaps not all. Tony Stark's got practical reasons for slipping into Sin City apart from a shotgun wedding. Still, after Wilson Fisk lost his wife at the Hellfire Gala, Tony Stark gets a wife in Invincible Iron Man #10. Wilson Fisk wants Typhoid Mary back. Emma wants out of the relationship ASAP. As for what Tony wants, time will tell.

 

 

Art

Juan Frigeri portrays Tony Stark's reversal of fortune with imagery that celebrates Iron Man's rich history in Invincible Iron Man #10. Scenes inside the Hellfire Club marry well with those in X-Men #26. Colorist Bryan Valenza helps prison scenes hum with drama and surprise with explosive action. Some favorite moments include seeing images of Howard Stark, Tony clad in his first Iron Man suit, and the rented red Ferrari parked outside the aptly-named Gamble Of Love wedding chapel.

 

 

 

Joe Caramagna's dialogue occasionally shrinks in Invincible Iron Man #10, but most are easier to read than in X-Men #26. I especially like the typewritten narrative in light-blue boxes. Ostensibly extracts from Tony's memoir, they don't impress Emma Frost. Still, Tony Stark's autobiography could prove a best seller and fund his next financial empire.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Desperate situations call for unlikely partnerships and desecrating sacred institutions in Invincible Iron Man #10.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

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