Written by Dan Slott and Chris Yost
Illustrated by Giuseppe Camuncoli– Because you asked for it… SPIDER-MAN IN SPAAAACE!
– Trapped 22,300 miles above the Earth, Spidey has to rescue John Jameson from the ongoing machinations of Doctor Octopus!
-Plus: a guest star so special…and so secret…we can’t even tell you until next issue!
Chris Yost joins Spider-Scribe Dan Slott to lay the foundations for the upcoming “Ends of the Earth” storyline. Does their writing thrive together, or do the two bash heads? And just what does artist Giuseppe Camuncoli have to say about their dalliance? All this and more juicy drama waiting after the cut.
(No, I don’t get it either.)
One of the biggest strengths of Slott’s run so far has been the solid characterization. Since the first issue of “Big Time,” Peter has almost consistently been the Peter that I believe in. Another character that he has a knack for is Johnny Storm, and his Spider-Man/Human Torch miniseries remains one of my favorite works of his to this day. The buddy dynamic is well-captured in this issue, as the often comical Peter has to tone himself down in order to balance out Johnny’s even greater lightheartedness. I was, at first, skeptical; Johnny went through hell and back in the pages of Fantastic Four, surely he couldn’t be the same man that he was before? Slott and Yost understand this concern, though, and actually address it within the comic in a way that, while not quite perfect, satisfies.
This issue also shows the other, more human, side of J. Jonah Jameson, rather than the 60’s animated series influenced side that we tend to see in Slott’s work, but it is not handled quite as well as in “Revenge of the Spider-Slayer.” Jameson’s fatherly concern is very real up until he slaps his signature “Menace!” label on Horizon Labs; it’s one of those odd situations which simultaneously makes sense without being believable, if only because the reader is immediately snapped back to the “classic” perception of JJJ, thus severing any emotional connection.
A common annoyance within Slott’s run so far is the occasional pop culture reference that goes too far. No, I’m not saying that referencing Rebecca Black’s “Friday” is an unforgivable sin. Pop culture references certainly have their place in the ongoing comics field, and especially in a book featuring the quippy Spider-Man, but they work better as the occasional one-liner. If, ten years in the future, a younger comic read goes back and reads Slott’s run for the first time – which I like to think will be likely, as this is shaping to be one of the most memorable Amazing Spider-Man runs – they might not find the one panel in this issue where Peter spoils Johnny’s television shows quite as funny as a current reader might, but it will hardly be off-putting. A two-page sequence about a viral song, though? That’s hard to ignore, and will almost certainly be jarring to future readers.
Throughout his run, Slott has had the opportunity to work with a variety of great artists, who each bring something different to the table while still fitting the series quite well. As I’ve said before, artist Giuseppe Camuncoli suits Slott’s semi-nostalgic writing style quite well. His penciling follows the more modern school of loose and scratchy lines, but his figures are built on a classic, geometric framework reminiscent of John Romita Senior, without going to the blocky extremes of his son. Camuncoli has more than a few chances to shine in this issue: the two “widescreen shots” of the space station are particularly magnificent, especially with the colors of Frank D’Armata, and the two separate spreads where the heroes are ambushed manage to be overwhelming in a positive sense, without feeling like too crowded as compositions. That Camuncoli has become a frequent contributor to this book is only good news, and I hope we see more of his work in the future.
I don’t mean to downplay Chris Yost’s role as co-writer in this issue at all. I am unaware of how much of a contributor he was this issue, whether he scripted Slott’s page-by-page plot, or fleshed out the entire thing based off a basic plot synopsis. This is, however, a part of Slott’s run on the title, and it fits well with the issues preceding it. To be honest, if I did not know ahead of time that Yost was co-writing this issue, I never would have guessed. That is not a bad thing, though; as this arc is most likely going to be instrumental to the upcoming “Ends of the Earth,” the book would suffer if the presence of a co-writer shifted the tone too much. If anything, it demonstrates Yost’s facility with working with another writer, something he has plenty of experience with, even if it’s in a way many might not notice.
Continued belowOne final, very minor nitpick: the narrative boxes on the last page were wholly unnecessary. Everything told was already shown, making the text redundant. This was the only instance of this problem, though, so I suppose Slott and Yost can be forgiven.
Amazing Spider-Man is one of the more enjoyable superhero titles on the spin-racks these days. A mixture of fun adventuring and engaging character-based drama, it hits all the beats that Stan Lee and Steve Ditko established many moons ago. It isn’t always great, but it almost never is bad. The $3.99 price tag is still lamentable, but good comics are good comics.
Final Verdict: 7.8 – Buy it!
