Amazing Spider-Man #55 Review

 

Writers: Zeb Wells

Artist: Emilio Laiso

Colorist: Bryan Valenza

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe & C B Cebulski

Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz; Michael Cho; Donald Soffritti; Luciano Vecchio

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 14, 2024

 

The first time Peter Parker took out Shay Marken, Mary Jane's aunt Anna tricked him into a date with her favorite nurse at Ravencroft. Peter enjoyed their dinner but had to bail before dessert. The second time Peter stepped into the date knowingly, ditto. Did his second attempt express interest or an apology? Why should he try again? Is Shay even interested in him? Let's thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #55 and find out!

 

Story

Peter arrives late. He's surprised Shay waited. She wants to know why Peter arrived without shoes and with a black eye. He tries to palm her off by saying he has responsibilities to others. But Shay isn't letting him off that easy. Shay works in the Ravencroft Institute, after all. She knows what it means to devote her life to the betterment of others. Shay has seen how people's pursuit of wealth, fame, or whatever they valued turned them into villains.

 

In Zeb Wells' previous story, Kraven said his father feared the monster inside Spider-Man. Given what she deals with daily, Shay imagines the worst: Peter preys upon people's need for love and belonging. Late in Amazing Spider-Man #55, Peter Parker discovers a surprising symmetry with supervillains. Zeb Wells seems to ask if Kraven was correct. Is a man who regularly puts the needs of people he doesn't know over the people he has made commitments to a hero or a villain?

 

In its bid to defeat the Green Goblin, the Living Brain gave up everything it was to save Peter Parker. In Amazing Spider-Man #55, Peter must ask himself if Peter Parker was worth that sacrifice. Or was Peter only worthy of the Living Brain’s sacrifice because he was Spider-Man? The story makes for a brisk, thought-provoking read, alternately uncomfortable and charming. Given the series' history and title, it may only provide a glimpse of what could be. Or it might signal a new direction for our titular hero. One thing is unarguable. Shay understands that dating is hard. But Shay expects Peter to prioritize her and do his best for her.

 

 

 

Art

Emilio Laiso opens this issue with Spider-Man flying through the night. He looks lithe, fit, and elegant in his costume. When Peter reaches the restaurant, he finds Shay looking stylish and dressed to the nines. Yet Peter Parker arrives in casual attire. Unlike Shay, he has more than a few hairs out of place. His clothes cling to his limbs and torso as if he is out of shape, making you wonder how well Peter is attending to his fitness and how much of Spider-Man's appearance is due to the suit.

 

Compared with Shay, Peter looks awkward and childlike. Yet he gains the upper hand when he responds honestly and can't explain his tardiness. Shay momentarily relaxes. She knows employers often force employees to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements, and some personal issues must remain private. Peter is also masterful with the waiter. Yet Shay remains the dominant partner.

 

Bryan Valenza lavishes yellows and browns on the background behind Emilio Laiso's characters. The art exhibits a dreamlike luminosity outside and inside the restaurant. Much of Peter and Shay's conversation occurs in six- or eight-panel Old School page layouts. Highlights and shadows play across the couple's changing expressions. Shay rests a brown hand on the blue-white tablecloth when hope fades from her eyes. When Peter lays his hand atop hers, her flesh tones warm, and the tablecloth changes color to match Peter's hand.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase lettering into dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. The fonts grow bold for inflection, swell for increased volume, and shrink for lowered voices. Jolting red letters accompany a closing door, suggesting the end of a chapter of Peter Parker’s life in Amazing Spider-Man #55. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Peter Parker always means well. But his friendships suffer, and every voyage across the sea of love ends in a shipwreck. In Amazing Spider-Man #55, Shay forces him to look into the mirror and reassess his life. Will his costume and Uncle Ben’s words always define him? Or could he become the Amazing Peter Parker?

 

Rating 9/10

 

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

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #19 Review

 

Writer: Cody Ziglar

Artist: Federico Vicentini

Colorist: Bryan Valenza

Letterer: Cory Petit

Cover Artists: Federico Vicentini & Richard Isanove; Derrick Chew; Luciano Vecchio

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: April 17, 2024

 

Miles' clone Shift isn't breathing. The Cape Killers are killing Miles' friends. He wanted to help the talented weapons designer, but she didn't share his interest in a talking cure. She'll take away everyone he loves unless he kills her. Can his friends deflect attacks from Rabble's super-powered Cape Killers until Miles incapacitates or kills her? Can he even do that? Let's ignite our venom-sabers, leap into Miles Morales: Spider-Man #19, and find out!

 

Story

Agent Gao made the Cape Killers a deal they couldn't refuse. They use Rabble's powers to take down Spider-Man, and she erases their criminal records. With the sun setting on Gao’s Cape Killer program, it was their last chance to snag a Get Out Of Jail Free card. High-Tail and Taskmaster agreed readily enough, but Scorpion and Gust took more convincing. Still, who could resist the thrill of wielding more strength and speed?

 

Rabble proves more ruthless than Miles expects. She has one goal in life: to kill Spider-Man. She doesn't care how much collateral damage she causes and who lives or dies, provided she ends his life. But she also views death more fondly than life. Her mother is dead. Her father doesn't recognize her. Only her machines feel like family. So in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #19, Rabble evokes Robert Oppenheimer's famous paraphrase of Bhagavad Gita 11:32.

 

While Rabble yearns for death, it's harder to discern Agent Gao's motives. She's made excuses for her obsession, but neither Spider-Man deserves her hatred. Like Rabble, suffering has twisted her into someone she no longer recognizes. Someone who enslaved her team before Rabble usurped her control.

 

In Miles Morales: Spider-Man #19, Miles faces the prospect he's long dreaded. The clock is ticking until Agent Gao and the Cape Killers die. Until they die, Miles' friends are in danger. Rabble can turn his superpowers against him. So Miles must push past his pain to put Rabble down, even if it means killing her. To paraphrase Scorpion: it's time for this Spider-Freak to stop pulling his punches.

 

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #19 reminds us of Miles' essential goodness. As his uncle Aaron says, Miles sees the best in everyone. Ziglar's story challenges us to be more like Miles. Perhaps we won't gain the respect of villains. But who knows? We may find that people we initially regarded as enemies become allies or friends!

 

 

Art

While Spider-Man faces off against Rabble, Starling tries to resuscitate Shift, Gao pummels Prowler, and Rhino rises above the smoke caused by the furious fighting. Yet Federico Vicentini primarily focuses on Miles and Rabble, matching eyes for eyes, blow for blow, and her energy sword versus his thwip. Her drones seek an opening as Rabble's strike leaves a streak of white and provokes a splatter of red. Miles' venom blast is a trail of yellow that leaves drones sparking and smoking and Rabble reeling.

 

As Spider-Man and Rabble bang against walls, floors, and ceilings, Bryan Valenza’s brilliant coloring can’t escape the chaos, as intense light limits Miles’ vision to Black And White. Yet colors return to Miles Morales: Spider-Man #19 as the camera turns to Team Spidey and the Cape Killers. Sadly, we don't see Ms. Marvel until the end. Misty's there with Mayor Cage. Somehow, I suspect that Agent Gao won't be joining the NYC Vice Squad after all.

 

Cory Petit’s sound effects intensify the electric shocks, venom blasts, blows, whirlwinds, and crashes. Whether in color or Black And White, they remind us that even people with superpowers and enhanced healing abilities can feel pain. Miles shares his thoughts in red narrative boxes while large and small uppercase dialogue fills white balloons. But it's Rabble's lavender dialogue and her bone-shattering blows that readers will remember long after the dust settles in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #19.

 

Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

As Rabble and Agent Gao make their final moves, Gust gets windy and weepy, Scorpion blasts his boss, and Miles' family gets a new face in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #19.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

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

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18 Review

 

Writer: Cody Ziglar

Artists: David Marquez; Sara Pichelli; Juann Cabal with Matt Horak; Luciano Vecchio & Federico Vicentini

Colorists: Bryan Valenza

Letterer: Cory Petit

Cover Artists: Federico Vicentini & Richard Isanove; Kaare Andrews; Iban Coello & Jesus Aburtov; Mr Garcin; Adi Granov; David Marquez & Rachelle Rosenberg

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $8.99

Release Date: March 27, 2024

 

Luke Cage gave Agent Gao her marching orders. But instead of disbanding her Cape Killers squad and reporting to Vice, she sought out Rabble. Agent Gao wants the troubled weapons designer’s help. Does she have a plan, or at least 12% of a plan, to keep her crew of semi-reformed supervillains together? Let's ignite our venom-sabers, leap into Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18, and find out!

 

Story

Miles is on a mission to reform Rabble. A natural—or at least the best--reaction to receiving help is wanting to help others. Doc Sasquatch and Dr Kwan have helped Miles deal with his traumas. Miles feels an affinity for the talented young woman who induced them. Miles believes he can help Rabble by sharing what he's learned. The chances may seem remote, but he's trying anyway.

 

Gust returns, and Cody Ziglar tells us the young Cape Killer's name. Ziglar also gifts Scorpion, Ms. Marvel, Shift, and Rabble some powerful character moments. After throwing Miles into harm's way with Rabble and Hobgoblin before vanishing, the Prowler returns to help his nephew. Unfortunately, the villains have pieced the clues together and realize that Prowler is Miles' uncle. That's another weapon in their utility belts now.

 

 

 

But the big news in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18 is Agent Gao's team-up with Rabble. Everyone’s heard the sad tidings. The clock is ticking on the Cape Killers. Agent Gao gives her people an offer they can’t refuse. Rabble can boost their powers to the max! So it's time for one last blowout battle. But good teamwork involves people working together for the good of all. Does that sound like something Rabble would be part of?

 

The Battle Of Central Park pitted armies of heroes against hordes of villains. Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18 features fewer combatants but packs the last 25 pages of the 60-page story with ferocious fighting. People will be hurt. Villains won't play by the rules. And far from curing Rabble, Miles may have to relieve her suffering in an undesirable way. 

 

 

 

Art

Spider-Man, Ms. Marvel, Shift, and Bumbler leap off the opening pages with startling clarity. Drones whiz through the air and bang off people. Spider-Man thwips webs resembling balls of sticky string while Bumbler shoots globs of honey that leave a gooey residue on his gun. Spider-Man’s visors prove expressive, and animal-like villains frequent The Bar With No Name. Shift demonstrates his alien-like morph-ability, while Ms. Marvel gets stretchy and venomous at a disagreeable suggestion.

 

Character depictions alter with the artist, but Bryan Valenza applies appealing colors throughout the supersized Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18. Prowler’s purple outshines other patrons in The Bar, while light and shadow add depth and interest to Scorpion. Overhead lights reflect off Bumbler’s lenses, becoming spots of yellow while showing darker yellow beneath. The pink sweater Rabble wears to visit her father evokes the pink of her armored suit, while orange circles radiate from Taskmaster when he pulls back his bowstring.

 

 

 

Cory Petit thwips large, uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes. Giant letters indicate places. Laughs whiz past Spider-Man's head like Rabble's drones when he leaves The Bar, while immense transparent letters fill the charged air as Miles stops pulling his venom-punches in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18.

 

Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Two women with axes to grind lure Brooklyn’s Team Spidey to a last stand at the Cape Killers’ Corral in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

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

Spider-Man #11 Review

 

Writer: Dan Slott

Artist: Luciano Vecchio

Colorist: Edgar Delgado

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Mark Bagley & Edgar Delgado; Luciano Vecchio; Peach Momoko

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: August 16, 2023

 

Spider-Boy claims he is Spider-Man's sidekick. Peter Parker doesn't remember him. Can he trust the boy who protected him from Electro’s lethal attack? Let's fwip into Spider-Man #11 and find out!

 

Story

The Spider-Man of our universe got erased from the Web Of Life And Destiny. His multiverse counterparts returned him to Earth-616. Along with Peter came others, including a young boy. Bailey Briggs can’t web-sling, but he can spring into action, wall-crawl, and monster-out. (He'd prefer not to do the latter). He claims Peter rescued him from Madame Monstrosity (last seen in Amazing Spider-Man #31). Even though Peter doesn't remember him, all Bailey asks is that Spider-Man gives him a chance. 

 

To make his case, Bailey shares tales of their adventures. These stories cover his training, Murderworld, and saving someone dear to Peter’s heart. The more spectacular his exploits, the more Bailey peels away Peter’s objections. Spider-Man is all about embracing responsibility. But how would any mature adult feel about putting a ten-year-old child in harm's way? How would you?

 

Spider-Man #11 is a talky story, giving readers plenty to read. For some, the dialogue may prove excessive. Still, action-packed scenes enliven as Spider-Boy helps Peter Parker—and readers—learn more about him.

 

 

 

 

Art

Luciano Vecchio takes up the pencils and brushes as Spider-Man #11 picks up where the last issue ended. Spider-Man is lean and muscular. He displays a thoughtful but commanding presence. In the present, his reserve melts as Spider-Boy relates their history as he remembers it. In the past, Spider-Man helps him defeat androids, monocyclists, and ninjas. Whether fighting foes or each other, they fwip, fly, and leap through New York City in highly detailed scenes, making a seamless transition from Mark Bagley’s masterful art.

 

Edgar Delgado’s fully-loaded palette provides bold colors and rich shading, making Spider-Man #11 a pleasing and immersive experience. He applies highlights and shadows to ground characters and shows movement and depth with water. The Spidey-Duo's eyes glow, and their suits grow vibrant after dark. When Bailey removes his mask, his face radiates wonder, uncertainty, hope, and warmth.

 

 

Joe Caramagna’s uppercase black letters in white dialogue balloons are easy to read. Inflection makes words bold, grow, and change color. Sound effects help us hear laser fire and web shooters and feel the motion and impacts as we accompany Spider-Man and Spider-Boy on their adventures. But did they take place on Earth-616?

 

Does it matter?

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Spider-Man #11 is a delectable anthology-in-miniature, wrapped in the candy coating of Peter Parker’s dilemma. While the stories entertain, they also set the cornerstone for later adventures. I look forward to seeing what Dan Slott and Paco Medina build atop this foundation in their upcoming Spider-Boy series.

 

Rating 9.5/10

 

Preview interior art in my review on Comic Book Dispatch.