Amazing Spider-Man #46 Review

 

Writer: Zeb Wells

Artist: Carmen Carnero

Colorist: Marcio Menyz

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz; Michael Cho; Mark Brooks & Marcos Martin

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: March 27, 2024

 

Spider-Man cured Mary Jane’s aunt of Krakoan Derangement Syndrome. How is Anna spending her time in New York’s high-security Ravencroft Institute? And how is Peter Parker adjusting to life post-Gang War? Is he ready to start dating again? Let’s thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #46 and find out!

 

Story

Aunt Anna once frightened Shay Marken. Now, Mary Jane's aunt works in the greenhouse with William Baker. Anna gets along with the former Sandman and the other inmates. As a professional caregiver, Shay marvels at the villains' affection for Anna. In Amazing Spider-Man #46, Zeb Wells asks, Were the Beatles right? Is love all you need to reform villains?

 

Michele bumps into Peter Parker as he leaves his apartment. Tombstone’s lawyer accuses him of standing her up. Michele claims that he called her. Did she seek him out, then get cold feet? Or is someone messing with Peter Parker’s emotions? Peter hadn’t planned to see Michele again after their dinner date to discuss Randy Robertson and Janice Lincoln's troubled love life turned sour. But Tombstone vowed to destroy Spider-Man, and Michele is Lonnie Lincoln’s lawyer.

 

Although they had separated, Peter consulted Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat, before dining with Michele. After his second consultation with Tombstone's lawyer, Peter meets up with Mary Jane. Although not present, Paul still stands between them. Could a Spider-Man and Jackpot team up cure the awkwardness both feel and forge a healthier relationship between them?

 

William Baker proves central to Amazing Spider-Man #46. Composed of particles of sand, the man is a gestalt entity. The former Sandman turned himself into Ravencroft Institute because he sensed a shift in his consciousness. William wants to wield executive power over his future and consign the Sandman to Carousel. Yet all the constituents of his consciousness must have their say. Could another invitation from the Sinister Six—and a reminder of their exhilarating exploits—prompt a referendum? William Baker's soul and the safety of New York await the outcome of his body's decision.

 

 

 

Art

While Mysterio, Vulture, Kraven, and Doc Ock frown, Electro smiles. Electricity crackles from his hand, and he plops his feet on the conference table before heading into the night. Peter Parker grabs his backpack and leaves his apartment. Michele hails him as he reaches the sidewalk. She props one hand on her hip and points at him with the other. With William Baker's troubled face on his mind, Peter's mouth opens. As Michele stalks off, he spies Mary Jane above him. Dressed as Jackpot, she watched the encounter from a fire escape.

 

Just as Aunt Anna brings smiles to everyone’s faces, Carmen Carnero shows how relaxed the inmates feel as they wish Anna goodnight. Then lightbulbs explode in Ravencroft Institute, and Shay shields Anna from sparks and broken glass. Spider-Man and Jackpot see a ball of energy crackle with lightning. 

 

 

 

Marcio Menyz paints a New York City street in blues, grays, browns, and greens. Jackpot’s sunglasses reflect her red hair and gray sleeves. Streetlights illuminate her face and make her red and gold suit shine. A blueish glow radiates from the fluorescent lights in Ravencroft's greenhouse. The air momentarily turns purple as gold and purple symbols appear on Jackpot's arms. Then her powers manifest, reflecting the gold and red of her uniform and evoking a member of the Sinister Six.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black lettering into white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes through crackling light shows and shadowy encounters. The font grows bold for inflection and rarely shrinks. A Ding Ding rewards Jackpot’s anticipation. Electro howls as electricity surges through him. A Krak portends the voting results of William Baker’s consciousness in Amazing Spider-Man #46.

 

Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

After someone messes with his head, Peter Parker seeks to overcome the distance between him and Mary Jane. The inmates at Ravencroft Institute also face a dilemma. Is who they were who they wish to be? Or can kindness transform psychopaths? Heroes and villains ponder their identities, friendships, and futures in Amazing Spider-Man #46.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

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

Amazing Spider-Man #44 Review

 

Writer: Zeb Wells

Penciler: John Romita Jr.

Inker: Scott Hanna

Colorist: Marcio Menyz

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz; Carlos Gómez & Rachelle Rosenberg; Tadam Gyadu & Romulo Fajardo Jr.; Marcos Martin

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: February 28, 2024

 

Peter Parker teamed with Tombstone to fight the Gang War. Madame Masque and the Beetle staged a battle in Central Park to determine who would control the New York underworld. Team Spidey and Tombstone wanted to protect the Beetle and defeat Madame Masque. Instead, Tombstone retook control of his criminal empire. Can Tombstone’s forces and Team Spidey defeat Madame Masque’s militia? Let’s thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #44 and find out!

 

Story

Gang War has taken its toll. One brutal battle after another has left New York City in flames. Citizens feared for their families as villains fought for dominance. But now, with the Allied Spidey Tombstone forces presenting a united front, it's all over but the shouting. At least, that's what Spider-Man hopes.

 

Yet team dynamics are problematic among heroes. In Amazing Spider-Man #44, Tombstone knows Team Spidey will defeat Madame Masque. The crime lord remembers how he came out the loser when he helped Spidey take down the Rose. After reclaiming his organization, Tombstone has little reason to stick around.

 

Zeb Wells' story gives lesser characters a chance to shine. The expert chemist Trapstr uses her glue cannons to trap She-Hulk in a sticky situation. Shotgun, the undercover government operative, exerts revenge on Madame Masque. Elektra and Spider-Woman discover common ground, and Spider-Boy enjoys working with Ms. Jackpot. (Sorry, Bailey. Mary Jane says it's just Jackpot). 

 

 

 

Amazing Spider-Man #44 also leaves us wondering what we haven’t seen. Chang Shi and Danny Rand mention one battle. Luke Cage also mentions something nonpowered New Yorkers have accomplished. It implies changes in his mayoral leadership post-Gang War.

 

Peter Parker’s not interested in those stories, though. Right now, he’s upset that his city is in flames and his best friend is lying at death's door. Madame Masque makes a convenient target for Spidey's rage. Yet she only manipulated the gang lords after she learned that her father had ordered her death. Madame Masque never wanted Hammerhead to hurt Randy. She bludgeoned the gang lord's head immediately afterward. Tombstone wanted his daughter to live happily ever after with Randy. Yet after Shotgun shot up her father, Janice fought with her betrothed and usurped her father's criminal empire. Tombstone let Janice wield his organization while he and Team Spidey took on Madame Masque. But when Shotgun admitted that the government had ordered a hit on Janice, Tombstone ripped off the Beetle’s wings and sent his little girl packing.

 

Amazing Spider-Man #44 leaves us wondering if the federal government wanted New York City in chaos. Janice Lincoln played a pivotal role in the Gang War. Yet, like Wilson Fisk's son, the Beetle played no part in its conclusion. Zeb Wells’ story also makes us wonder how the dynamics between Tombstone, Mayor Cage, and Spider-Man will change. Despite Spidey and Madame Masque’s separate claims, Gang War wasn't about Spidey obsessing over morality or Madame Masque's selfishness. Sure, there were opportunists. Perhaps Janice even fell into that category. Yet Gang War was about people trying to preserve themselves and those they value. The story's ending satisfies, with two friends reuniting as a new kingpin arises. 

 

 

 

Art

Spider-Man punches out Madame Masque. Miles Morales takes on Rabble. Count Nefaria blasts Elektra and Spider-Woman with the power of the sun. Electro shoots She-Hulk. And all that’s on the first page! As Team Spidey takes on Madame Masque’s forces across two pages, smaller panels show Tombstone ordering the Rabbit to fall back. He may be a hardened crime lord, but emotions play over Tombstone’s face, creating an opening scene as dramatic as when his longtime rival Robbie Robertson grasped his son's arm and cupped his head in his hand in the previous issue.

 

John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna pack pages with action and drama. Both aspects build off each other, creating a high-octane mix that fuels every scene. Particularly noteworthy are smaller panels, such as when Miles and Spider-Boy take on Rabble in the background while Madame Masque battles Spider-Man in the foreground. The artists pair Spidey's assertion--that she’s responsible for the violence, and it’s not down to chance--with a closeup of three matching diamond symbols on Jackpot's armbands. Affiliated heroes stand side by side: Miles and Spider-Boy, Elektra and Spider-Woman, Luke Cage and She-Hulk. Yet Amazing Spider-Man #44 ends with sunlight warming the city and emotions flooding Peter's expressionless face.

 

 

 

Marcio Menyz brings multi-hued majesty to the Central Park rivalry. Rabble's gauntlets fill the air with pink and lavender. Electro's suit matches She-Hulk's skin as they battle. Count Nefaria’s eyes and sigil glow as he unleashes yellow energy beams. Below Miles' venom sword, yellow dominates Madame Masque's militia as her A.I.M. army takes on the predominantly red Team Spidey.

 

Joe Caramagna wades into the vibrantly colored, highly populated panels with uppercase black lettering in white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. Spider-Boy and Jackpot's conversation dances in syncopation as each learns to work with the other. Amid the noisy battle, a satisfying thwak and ka-boom follow a relatively quiet thwip. Spider-Man may still use his fists. But his web shooters pack the knockout punch in Amazing Spider-Man #44.

 

Thanks to Marvel for providing this essential chapter of the Gang War saga for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Amazing Spider-Man #44 crackles with energy and drama, leaving much to ponder as Spider-Man achieves a moral victory, empowers a villain, and helps inspire the citizens of New York City to achieve the impossible.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

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

W0rldtr33 #3 Review

 

Writer: James Tynion IV

Artist: Fernando Blanco

Colorist: Jordie Bellaire

Letterer: Aditya Bidikar

Cover Artists: Fernando Blanco; Marcos Martin; Aaron Campbell; Ariel Diaz; & Martin Simmonds

Publisher: Image Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 28, 2023

 

Ellison climbs into his lawyer’s car. Silk and Nicky don’t want to release him, but the FBI agents can't arrest him for his brother's murders. As Ellison realizes no one else is in the car, it drives away from the police station, and a man’s voice pours through the speakers. What happens next? Let's climb into W0rldtr33 #3 and learn more!

 

 

Story

The voice pouring through the speakers calls himself Gabriel. He explains he's back at the police station, stealing his late brother's laptop and cell phone from the evidence room. The car stops behind the police station, and the wealthy technologist climbs inside. As the FBI agents guess they've made a fatal error, an explosion rocks the car. Ellison looks out the window. The police station is in flames. What has he gotten into?

 

Fausta—Ellison’s podcast producer, and perhaps more—had searched his late brother Gibson's house while the FBI agents detained him. She found an internet address and password on his desktop computer. Although he killed sixty people, she can't resist seeing what the Undernet revealed. Now she's mesmerized. 

 

 

Darren and Amanda—two members of Gabriel’s team that discovered the Undernet—intended to torch Gibson's house. Now they attempt to rescue Fausta, unaware that PH34R—the naked, tattooed woman--has ignited their fire.

 

What kind of person is Gabriel? Who gives Silk and Nicky their marching orders? Can Darren and Amanda rescue Fausta and escape? While some things get murkier in W0rldtr33 #3, others grow clearer. Ellison has entered a nightmare he may never leave.

 

 

Art

Fernando Blanco spoils us with 196 panels across 24 pages, ensuring we never miss a moment. He draws buildings, vehicles, and characters with precision and attention to perspective. It's easy to care about Ellison. It's harder to read Gabriel and his cohorts. One minute they appear heartless, and the next approachable. If Silk and Nicky look cold and uncaring, their boss is a block of ice. Yet no one compares to PH34R. The naked, tattooed blonde strides through the suburbs in W0rldtr33 #3, serene, stately, and unabashed. If she smiles at you, run away as fast as you can!

 

Whether in Gabriel's car, the police records room, inside Gibson's former home, or anywhere else our characters travel, you feel like you're there too. Many creators would waste an entire page—or devote a double-page spread--to the explosion Gabriel unleashes. Blanco gives it nearly half a page, along with seven small panels. If any other creators out there average eight panels per page of art so detailed and representative, I want to read their comic!

 

 

 

Ellison looks gray against the car's gray interior. Gabriel searches the gray police evidence room wearing a gray pinstriped suit. When he opens the back door and slides in beside Ellison, orange twilight is fading to gray. The cars on the highway reflect the fading orange light as they speed across gray asphalt. Guess what color Gabriel's hair is? I'll give you a clue. It's not orange.

 

While Jordie Bellaire seems fixated upon gray, orange, green, and blue in W0rldtr33 #3, she delivers nuanced and contrasting colors that deepen the mood, intensifies the drama, and heighten the reality. Yet all pales before the howling kaleidoscopic void that opens when the Undernet invades our world.

 

 

 

Aditya Bidikar helps us hear dialogue with (mostly) uppercase black letters in white balloons. The font makes for easy reading, but I wouldn't mind it slightly larger. The Underworld's ZIZZ grows unintelligible as it assaults Fausta. A WUFF overwrites Gabriel's face as he turns off all lights in the police station. The white letters baDEEP, outlined in green, hover over the bomb. The yellow, orange, and red KRAKOOM reveal the intensity of the explosion.

 

Final Thoughts

W0rldtr33 #3 overturns our preconceptions and ponders how readily we may advance objectives detrimental to our well-being.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

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