Marvel brings us the 25th-issue anniversary celebration of “Amazing Spider-Man” with a giant-size issue packed with content. But is any of it worth the $9.99 price tag? Read on for our review, which may contain minor spoilers.
Written by Dan Slott, Christos Gage, Jacob Chabot, James Asmus, Hannah Blumenreich, Cale Atkinson.
Illustrated by Stuart Immonen, Todd Nauck, Ray-Anthony Height, Tana Ford, Hannah Blumenreich, Cale Atkinson, Giuseppe Camuncoli.HUGE BLOWOUT ISSUE! STUART IMMONEN (STAR WARS, AVENGERS) takes the artist reins of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and joins Dan Slott for a 40-page main story! Then don’t miss a super-secret short story by Dan and Giuseppe Camuncoli! TOP-SECRET BONUS CREATIVE TEAM!!! Hannah Blumenreich makes hers Marvel, making her Spider-Debut! Cale Atkinson brings another story of the A-May-ZING SPIDER-AUNT!
It’s a strange comic book tradition, to celebrate a series reaching twenty-five issues. It’s been a staple of superhero books for decades at this point, but in these times of reboots, rebirths, and a more seasonal approach to storytelling, an issue reaching that magical quarter century is becoming something actually worth celebrating.
Here, Dan Slott takes the extra room an oversized issue provides to explore the spaces in between, both literally — in the case of Spider-Man and Mockingbird’s frantic global search into every nook and cranny for the face-swapping Norman Osborn — and figuratively. For all its action, the main, 40-page story is a chance to reflect on what’s come before and breathe a little before what is yet to come. It’s a stronger issue for it.
Peter Parker’s life is never easy or quiet, especially when the Marvel Universe as a whole can’t stop hopping from one World Changing Event to the next, but having the room for a couple scenes here and there that explore the dynamic between Parker and his current supporting cast before everything changes again is very welcome. In fact, Slott’s tale is noticeably well-paced, with an almost effortless balance between high-stakes action and character-driven melodrama.
Stuart Immonen is no stranger to the Spider-Man universe, and his style is a welcome return. In an issue filled with many, if not quite all, of Parker’s family, friends and foes (not to mention a villain that has a literal wall of faces to switch into), there’s little room for lazy characterization. Thankfully Immonen not only keeps all their identities unique but expressive enough to capture the emotional moments well. His style is accomplished enough by now to take on the classic poses of the Wall-Crawler with ease, and there are a couple of standout pages, structurally speaking, that really feel fresh whilst maintaining that classic Spider-Man energy. Likewise the globe-trotting nature of the plot allows for regular team-mates of Immonen’s, inker Wade von Grawbadger and colorist Marte Gracia, to showcase a rich and complex palate that really makes the story feel like a big budget movie.
Overall this main story is a great capstone on the event that came before it as well as a more than adequate tease of what’s to come. Rather than this being a simple palette cleanser, Slott takes the time and space to not just set up the main action beats to come, he lays more than enough bread-crumbs and foreshadowing for you to sense the end of something big, probably coinciding nicely with the upcoming ‘Secret Empire’ event. Speaking of which, the other story penned by Slott in this issue sets the table nicely for the “Everybody-Hates-Nazis” Mega-Event, moving pieces of Spider-Man’s world into place to make his inevitable crossover feel more organic. Specifically the focus is on Otto Octavius, fresh from ‘The Clone Conspiracy,’ as he takes on yet another new persona, illustrated by Giuseppe Camuncoli. Camuncoli’s run on this book has been solid, if the facial expressions are a little ugly at times, but here his ten-page backup is a frenetic and fun villain-centric piece that serves as well placed tease of what’s to come.
There are six backup stories in this issue, including the aforementioned Doctor Octopus tale, which range from the serious to the silly. In the former camp is Gage and Nauck’s action-packed tale of returning villain Clash, which is a perfectly serviceable if a little uninteresting, and Asmus and Ford’s five-pager which is frankly a little forgettable. It’s main purpose seems to provide yet more foreshadowing about the end of Parker Industries, throwing in a pair of very minor super-crooks to flesh out the piece. In the latter, more silly camp, sits Chabot and Height’s Tsum-Tsum adventure which, much like the mini-series that came out last year, is actually surprisingly charming. If you can get past the blatant marketing gimmick, it’s cute and colorful all-ages art and its slight tongue-in-cheek attitude makes it worth more than a passing glance. There’s also an all-too brief two-page series of strips from Cale Atkinson, once again providing a hilariously comic take on Aunt May.
Continued belowSitting perfectly within this collection, however, is the real star of the show, Hannah Blumenreich’s truly fantastic short, ‘Mutts Ado About Nothing.’ Blumenreich’s younger, more innocent Peter Parker is recreated here from her amazing online zine, and in just eight pages she captures the heart in such a simple yet effortlessly effective way. Her art is expressive and evocative of the humor in her writing, and the pacing and tone is so skillful that you fly through a range of emotions reading the simple tale. Guaranteed to give Hawkeye’s Pizza Dog a run for his money, Parker’s newest addition to his supporting cast is the adorable pooch Sandwich (what is it with dog’s named after food?!) in a story that sees Peter try and convince Aunt May to let him keep the cute mongrel he found alone on the street. Joined by Jordan Gibson on inks and The always amazing Jordie Bellaire on colors, Hannah Blumenreich gives us a Spider-Man that feels real, fresh, simultaneously fun and heart-breaking and more importantly utterly unique, a feat that should be impossible after over fifty years of the character.
Overall this is an impressive collection of stories, with enough content here to satisfy Spidey fans of all shapes and sizes. While Slott provides two great stories that are frankly essential reads not only for what’s to come but what’s already been, the real winner is Blumenreich’s piece, which is worth the price alone. There may not be a place for her Peter Parker in the current Marvel landscape, but there is always room for new, engaging and unique talent like this.
Final Verdict: 7.9 – A satisfying main story, five backups and a teaser story for the future of the series means “Amazing Spider-Man” #25 is a strong celebration of the character.
