Amazing Spider-Man #48 Review

 

Writer: Zeb Wells

Artist: Todd Nauck

Colorist: Sonia Oback

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz; David Marquez & Jesus Aburtov; Francesco Mobili; Peach Momoko; Annie Wu

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: April 24, 2024

 

Betty Brant wants her husband back. Janine Godbe wants her boyfriend back. And Doctor Ashley Kafka wants to help people again. At least, so she claims. Can Spider-Man make these (mostly) lovely ladies happy? Let’s thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #48 and find out!

 

Story

Ben Reilly is half a man. That's how he sees it. His hunger for what he lost drove him to hurt others. But after escaping Limbo, his anger fades. Ben wants to feel whole. When he met Spider-Man amid the squalor of a broken-down tenement in Alphabet City, he blamed Peter for his incompleteness. But in Amazing Spider-Man #48, Ben's not violent or angry. Instead, he slides past Peter, hops onto the Winker Device's upholstered seat, and says, "Aaayyy. Let’s do this!”

 

Janine Godbe is half a woman. Like her beau, Janine got locked up for her crimes. She found love with Ben, only to lose him when Beyond tampered with his memories. Now Ben goes by Chasm, and Janine hides behind masks. But living half an existence has cost her. Her latest go-to alter ego is a monster that denies the existence of a soul. While striking a dangerous bargain with Queen Goblin to reclaim Ben’s identity, Hallow's Eve becomes a monster who denies others' uniqueness.

 

 

 

Ashley Kafka is a woman of two minds. She holds grudges yet wants to help others. Ashley promises to restore identities but will readily conduct a lobotomy. Like Ben and Janine, Ashley yearns to reclaim what she lost. Once, she was a therapist. We're unsure of Ashley's intentions in Zeb Wells' story. After infecting him with Norman Osborn’s sins, Spider-Man judges her guilty. He also refuses to believe that any good can come from the Winkler Device.

 

Yet Amazing Spider-Man #48 leaves us wondering. Unlike the Living Brain, the Winkler Device is a machine. Can it be programmed and repurposed? Does Ashley Kafka want to return to Ravencroft? Does she yearn to work alongside Shay Marken (and perhaps Mary Jane’s aunt Anna) and help people again?

 

 

 

Art

Betty Brant shines like a beacon of sanity in Amazing Spider-Man #48. Amid costumed heroes and villains, her attire, hair, and expressions reveal a woman who knows what she wants but won’t compromise her principles. When he removes his mask, Ben looks open to suggestions and hopeful. Spider-Man resembles a taut spring, ready to leap to another's assistance but hoping not to get physical. Todd Nauck shows Janine transform from a lovestruck innocent into Mr. Hyde as Jason Voorhees. Unlike Madelyne Pryor, Ashley Kafka may not tempt Ben with fruit from a tree. Yet her pointed teeth, scaly face, and glowing eyes make one wonder. Is the knowledge she offers Ben good, evil, or a bit of both?

 

 

 

Sonia Oback casts readers into an abandoned building. Amid dimly lit gray walls and brown wood, heroes and villains bring their light. Blue smoke wisps off Chasm, and flames arise when Hallows Eve dons her mask. Yet Queen Goblin turns Amazing Spider-Man #48 into Bonfire Night. Fire erupts from her pumpkin scepter, leaving trails of orange and yellow as she wields a spiked metal ball in each hand. While the fire adds a sheen to her red skin and golden armor, her glowing eyes prove most haunting. 

 

 

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black lettering into white dialogue balloons in Amazing Spider-Man #48. The font grows bold for inflection and occasionally shrinks but more readily swells to an enormous size. These immense words turn yellow, orange, or red to emphasize pain and loss. Yet Spider-Man's not opposed to uttering them, as a whip-like thwip leads to a yellow crash. This issue resounds with crashing, smashing, and the crack of a fist. Yet a thud near the end feels most poignant.

 

Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Once, Mary Jane and Paul sought a therapist to deal with losing their children. In Amazing Spider-Man #48, Ben Reilly and Janine Godbe sit on a couch and share their concerns. But who is most capable of helping them overcome their pain?

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

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

Amazing Spider-Man #47 Review

 

Writer: Zeb Wells

Artist: Todd Nauck

Colorist: Sonia Oback

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz; Greg Land & Frank D’Armata; Peach Momoko; Alessandro Pastrovicchio

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: April 10, 2024

 

Mary Jane’s Aunt Anna has been having the time of her life since Peter cured her of Krakoan Derangement Syndrome. Anna has been hanging with Hippo and sharing the greenhouse with Sandman. What is she doing at New York’s high-security Ravencroft Institute now? And how might it impact Peter Parker’s awkward social life? Let’s thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #47 and find out!

 

Story

As Peter hurries toward a restaurant, he chats with Mary Jane via cell phone. Mary Jane is settling down for an evening with Paul. She wonders why Ravencroft or her aunt didn’t contact her about this meeting. The penny drops for both as Peter reaches Shay Marken and sees the disappointment in the caregiver’s eyes. Peter may excel at thwipping villains, but as he readily admits, he often fails in social situations.

 

Shay may have ordered Peter to leave Ravencroft when he upset William Baker, but she warms over his unease during dinner. She's no longer tasked with protecting her troubled patients and knows what it’s like to feel out of her depth. Whether Shay finds Peter's penchant for suddenly abandoning dinners—and leaving her to pay the bill—remains to be seen.

 

 

 

Betty Brant stands by her man in Amazing Spider-Man #47. Mary Jane sought her aunt's release. Now, Betty refuses to rest until she clears her husband's name. She hunts for the Winkler Device that Roderick Kingsley used to brainwash Ned Leeds. But Hobgoblin doesn’t take kindly to people poking their noses into his business.

 

Aside from Peter's awkward dinner date with Shay, the big talking point in Zeb Wells' story involves Chasm and Hallow's Eve. The lovebirds may never win an award for New York City's Most Balanced Couple, but both demonstrate that life apart hasn't aligned their mental wheels. Intriguingly, they partner with someone who exhibited remorse over a previous contretemps with Spider-Man. But that's why they're supervillains. Because they hold grudges and channel negativity.

 

 

Art

Todd Nauck pairs dark and gritty settings with violence in Amazing Spider-Man #47. Whether it's a machete-wielding thug or gunmen kicking down doors, these encounters hum with intensity. Spider-Man's thwip yanks a villain through a window. Then he leaps into the room between the man's still feet and whips another man to the floor.

 

Nauck readily transitions between violent encounters and heartwarming moments. Hallows Eve's transformations from menacing monsters to her familiar costume reveal Janine's youth and vulnerability. Nauck also imbues panels with a timeless quality, grounding scenes in abandoned warehouses and historic architecture. Peter wears an old jacket over his Oscorp polo shirt. Shay wears a pendant over her turtleneck sweater and skirt. Neither wears the latest fashions. Peter and Shay seem open with each other and share a refreshing optimism at the wonders of everyday life.

 

 

Sonia Oback steeps backgrounds in shades of gray and brown. Aside from Mary Jane's hair and Shay's blouse, few colors emerge from their surroundings. These links with the red of Spider-Man's costume remind us of Peter's past and hint at another potential love interest. Even the red in Spider-Man's costume seems subdued. The red reflects light and darkens in shade. Yet Chasm and Hallows Eve's costumes blaze like beacons at night, suggesting the power they'll unleash to take Spider-Man down.

 

Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black lettering into white dialogue balloons and narrative boxes in Amazing Spider-Man #47. The font grows bold for inflection and occasionally shrinks or gets italicized. Sound effects help us hear Peter’s cellphone alerts, a window shattering as Spider-Man swings into action, and a “dog” with glowing eyes snarling in a dark room. And no, no one named this “dog” Indy.

 

Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Amazing Spider-Man #47 reveals an intriguing link between the living brain in Oscorp and New York City restaurants and hints at who arranged Peter's date with Tombstone's lawyer. After his great fall, Chasm finds a new champion. But can anyone put Ben Reilly together again?

 

Rating 9/10

 

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