Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War First Strike #1 Review

 

Writer: Zeb Wells

Artists: Joey Vazquez & Julian Shaw

Colorists: Bryan Valenza

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz; Sweeney Boo; Nick Bradshaw & Rachelle Rosenberg; Joey Vasquez

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $5.99

Release Date: November 29, 2023

 

Hammerhead has thrown the criminal families of New York City into chaos. With her father in the hospital and her fiancé Randy Roberson publicly arguing that Wilson Fisk's antivigilante law benefits Big Crime, Janice Lincoln's ready to throw in the towel, invest in her supervillain status, and protect Tombstone's turf. Can Spider-Man take down Hammerhead and reunite the lovebirds? Let’s thwip into Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War First Strike #1 and find out!

 

Story

Peter Parker’s doing a team-up. That’s right, the Spider-Men are in the house! This time, they're taking down Slyde. After his recent partnership with Blade and Bloodline, Miles Morales delivers the decisive blow to the sleek-streak. But then Miles slays Peter with guilt. Yikes!

 

Can you ghost someone when drowning and barely keeping your head above water? Miles thinks so. Still, Miles has also been drowning lately. Sometimes friends can’t be there for you, no matter how much they want to be.

 

Janice and Randy lived a lie. It was a beautiful self-deception. With the crime families drooling over Harlem, she won’t let them carve up Tombstone’s legacy. Randy's calling for a crackdown on crime, so Janice has to choose. Hammerhead says: If you're eighty-sixing Randy, prove it!

 

Grooving up old grievances has made the crime lords come together. They look to old Flat Top for leadership. Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War First Strike #1 reunites the axis of evil from ASM #31 with a few intriguing differences. Zeb Wells has built his deck of cards into a skyscraper. This issue asks: How might it become a towering inferno?

 

 

 

 

Art

Joey Vazquez and Julian Shaw use motion lines, dots, and haze to show air friction and speed. Their inked lines suggest shadows. Camera angles sustain interest. Even if some features look exaggerated, body language conveys poise and power. The tag team fuels Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War First Strike #1 with anger, energy, and power.

 

Bryan Valenza lavishes a vast spectrum of color on Wells’ drama- and action-packed story. Whether the action occurs in the boardroom, the hospital, or the streets, colors heighten the fury. The Beetle contrasts wonderfully with Randy, as does Spidey with Luke Cage. Combinations only simplify to ratchet up a panel's effectiveness.

 

Zeb Wells dishes out the dialogue in Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War First Strike #1, and Joe Caramagna delivers it with black letters in white balloons and boxes. Despite minor skirmishes of tiny text, normal Spidey-size rules these ASM streets. Most of the color, size, and style text changes involve Randy. When a player sweeps another off the game board, Caramagna’s sound effects ensure we notice.

 

Thanks to Marvel for providing this issue for review.

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Criminals learn that no one is essential, and heroes forget their friends have difficulties to overcome in Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War First Strike #1. This crucial chapter of the Gang War saga is about love, loyalty, and responsibility, with the odd double-cross thrown in for good measure.

 

Rating: 9.6/10

 

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

The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 Review

 

Cover Artists: Corin Howell & Brian Reber; George Pérez & Alex Sinclair; Clarice “Saowee’ Menguito

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 2, 2023

 

First Story

Writer: Erica Schultz

Artist: Julian Shaw

Colorist: Andrew Dalhouse

 

Second Story

Writer: Celeste Bronfman

Artist: David López

Colorist: KJ Díaz

 

A transplant from Milwaukee discovers why, as she tells her mother, New York City has a superhero on every corner. Not even birthday parties are safe in the Big Apple! What can Spidey do to protect people on the streets and in their homes? Let’s fwip into Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 and find out!

 

First Story

Peter’s flying through the streets when he notices a demon harassing a woman from Milwaukee. After the fight, Spider-Man tracks the miscreant back to Limbo Embassy. His attempt to capture Demon Daddy sends both crashing inside. Naturally, this initiates more fighting as the miscreant's fellows take umbrage at Peter's intrusion. Amid the chaos, Hallows' Eve slips into Chasm's cell and tries to free him.

 

At first glance, Spider-Man seems incidental to Erica Schultz’s story. But the careful reader will notice the links I missed on my first read-through. I should have been reading Marvel's Hallow’s Eve series (and perhaps the X-Men), as Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 made me realize how much I've missed Janine, Ben Reilly, and Madelyne Pryor since Dark Web Finale #1. The ill-fated lovers' saga continues while the Goblin Queen discovers that ruling a kingdom is less fun than chicanery. Madelyne's weariness over the tedium—and her solution to Spider-Man's intrusion—is understandable. One can only imagine her pain for her fellow mutants' suffering after the events of X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1.

 

Art

Julian Shaw kicks panels into high gear in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. Characters show spark and individuality, and he captures motion well. Sometimes the demons' features look fuzzy. That's a shame, as they've got a spunky appearance. I especially liked Peter's Spider-Glider. While I've been reading this series for ten months, Julian's take on Bug made me sit up and take notice. I also loved the way the Limbo Embassy rose above NYC's crowded skyline and the architectural design of its halls and rooms.

 

After enjoying his coloring on Valiant titles like Bloodshot, Ninjak, and Rai, Andrew Dalhouse’s contribution to Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 was a pleasant surprise. Intense, bright colors gave ample contrast to outside scenes. The way he gradually faded the background colors was a nice touch. Characters usually stand out inside the embassy, and he makes Hallows' Eve and Chasm pop. I wish he could have made the walls, columns, and spiky ceilings brighter and less gray.

 

 

Second Story

After Erica Schultz’s twenty-page story, Celeste Bronfman's ten-pager gets off to a rocky start in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. At least it did for me, as I missed the Spider symbol that stood in for The End. The lack of titles for either story and editor Nick Lowe's decision to leave the second story credits for the final page tricked me into thinking this constituted a continuation of Spider-Man’s Limbo Embassy chicanery. Still, after a page or two, I remembered that annuals often include multiple stories. The difference in art styles also helped.

 

Mary Jane and her beau Paul throw a birthday party for her aunt Anna Watson. Sadly, chaos erupts due to events spinning out of X-Men Hellfire Gala #1, which editor Nick Lowe insists, "I’m telling you, stuff went down!" While Spider-Man plays the hero, the story doesn't show Peter at his best. Or how about the peeps at the bakery who wrote "Happy Earth Day, Anna" on the cake? Peter suggests it was a misunderstanding, but Earth Day only happens once a year. Or do people celebrate personal Earth Days? Is that a thing? In any case, I can't imagine it taking more than a few minutes for the decorators to fix the mistake. Also, Mary Jane's solution works so rapidly that I had trouble believing this tale.

 

David López’s characters are appealing and convey motion believably in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. I had trouble interpreting emotions in a few scenes, and most panels could have benefitted from more background elements. Perhaps a bolder palette would have enriched the party scenes. Still, those set at Ravencroft, when the characters are outside in the rain, and the final panel, will thrust a dagger into your heart.

 

 

Joe Caramagna’s lettering is beyond impressive. Ample-size uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons are easy to read, even when scenes burst with dialogue. Sound effects and heightened dialogue are expressive and energetic. Small moments—such as Madelyne thumping her staff and Spidey hitting the pavement—are only two highlights of his word mastery.

 

Final Thoughts

The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 gives readers a peek inside New York City's exclusive Limbo Embassy, an invitation to Anna Watson's B-Earth Day party, and a haunting look at Ravencroft Institute. While Spider-Man seems more incidental than central, the stories explore the edges of his world and hint at possible future events.

 

Rating 8.9/10

 

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