There’s a lot to cover on Wednesdays. We should know, as collectively, we read an insane amount of comics. Even with a large review staff, it’s hard to get to everything. With that in mind, we’re back with Wrapping Wednesday, where we look at some of the books we missed in what was another great week of comics.
Let’s get this party started.
Amazing Spider-Man #26
Written by Zeb Wells
Illustrated by John Romita Jr.
Inked by Scott Hanna
Colored by Marcio Menyz and Erick Arciniega
Lettered by Joe Caramagna
Reviewed by Gregory Ellner
Note: we already ran a review of this comic on Friday, but whenever a comic is this controversial, we encourage multiple people to discuss it. We encourage you to read both.
Ahead of its release, “Amazing Spider-Man” #26 has received a lot of flak for killing off a relatively popular character as a side note in another book. That said, it could come across well under certain circumstances, given time to develop before the event itself.
Unfortunately, none of that is present in Zeb Wells’s writing. Rather than develop the relationship with the character who has a death flag alongside our hero, the story’s apparent climax feels more like some random people around town dropped in to help out with a villain of the week, with one even noting how they are “here too” as if to acknowledge how tacked-on the appearances are. Sure, they may have been helpful, but these characters do not appear to have had an influence on the rest of the story arc, making them stand out immensely.
Beyond the random appearances, the events Wells put together surrounding the death feel more geared toward shock value than a genuine response. The apparent villain of the week barely is worth mentioning, as a casual reader would know more about how we are supposed to feel something for the newer supporting characters connected to him, rather than actually illustrating it beyond removing other new characters we barely know. Some cameos make zero sense from a chronological standpoint, and contribute nothing to the story anyway. The characters we do know are either overly antagonistic or hiding information from one another by omission, if they even were in the story for an extended period to begin with, making them difficult to root for. The one who dies does so in a way they likely would have been able to either avoid or survive if the story did not mandate that the wounds be fatal, as if the decision to kill someone took precedence over who, how, or why. Further, the dying is not even given any niceties afforded to other famous heroes, such as being around people who genuinely care for her rather than having just met a few minutes ago.
John Romita Jr.’s artwork, aided by Scott Hanna’s inks, definitely is missing emotional impact. It says something when Spider-Man, in full costume with his mask on, shows more emotion than people without any special attire on at all, to the point that they appear to have been drawn without any attention to the script. To take the reactions to the aforementioned death, the surrounding people may speak as though they are upset, but the body language and facial expressions show at best neutrality, at worst boredom or, in some cases, looking as though they have fallen asleep standing up. Yes, death is pretty much a revolving door for most of the Marvel universe (give or take a few months or years, and excluding some specific people), and in some stories this lack of any reaction might be a plot point about how people barely care about death anymore, but the writing does not line up with Romita and Hanna’s portrayals of these characters. In general, when the characters are thinking of themselves and their own pain, they almost seem normal, but when thinking of others, their apparent enthusiasm in the artwork all but evaporates, making them out to be far more selfish than was likely the intent.
The colors provided by Marcio Menyz and Erick Arciniega are decent enough, fitting the intended mood in the present and the muted approach to a flashback, but no matter how good it may seem, they cannot overcome the artwork or the story.
Continued belowFinal Verdict: 3.0- There are ways to handle character death and climaxes in a plot. This decidedly not “amazing” story is one to avoid, with the colors and perhaps lettering being the closest we could have to something of a saving grace.
Edge of Spider-Verse #2
Written by David Hein and Benjamin Percy
Illustrated by Luchiano Vecchio and Marika Cresta
Colored by Brian Reber and Ruth Redmond
Lettered by Joe Caramagna
Reviewed by Quinn Tassin
“Edge of Spider-Verse” #2 tells two stories and gets entirely mixed up as to which deserves more time. Where Spintress’s story, “Home is Where the Heart is Cut Out By a Huntsman” is a fun idea that proves it doesn’t have nearly enough depth to deserve a lengthy story, Sky-Spider’s “The Tree Child” demands much more time to deliver the emotional impact that it wants to.
Spintress’s story is definitely cute and funny. Seeing a Spider-story in a Disney universe has some serious charm, thanks in large part to the art team’s beautiful work emulating the classic Disney style while maintaining the spirit of a Marvel comic. The character design is especially strong, merging popular figures like the Evil Stepmother and Doctor Octopus, Maleficent and the Green Goblin, and Gaston and Kraven. The idea that people are always breaking into song is also charming. And of course, Merry James Watson is one of the funniest things to ever appear in a Spider-Man comic. But the overall charm wears off pretty quickly. For one thing, these musical numbers lack, y’know, music, which makes it tough to actually enjoy them. Then there’s the fact that just replicating Disney tropes doesn’t make for a good story. On the merits, this is really just a parade of Spider-Man/Disney amalgams with a paper-thin narrative holding it together. There’s nothing to really care about because there’s no dramatic tension and the humor of the thing is so simple that it can’t make up for the lack of substance.
The other story, which focuses on Sky-Spider, meanwhile, tries to pack far too much into far too little space. Here, a witch curses a couple and their child, Petor, is born with 4 extra spider legs and, of course, Spider-Man powers. He grows up in isolation where his mom brings him food and sometimes spends time with him and then one night he saves his village from attackers but his mom dies and his dad (who doesn’t know that Petor is his kid) shuns him. This is an attempt at a tragedy but reads like a Wikipedia summary of a tragedy. You can intellectually understand that sad things are happening, sure, but there’s nothing that actually makes you feel it given the lack of time. We leap straight from Petor’s birth to his adolescence and while we can understand his mother’s love for him, the fact that she doesn’t murder him as a baby and feeds him as a teenager isn’t really the shorthand for deep emotional connection that Benjamin Percy seems to think it is. Plus, not seeing any of his life makes his emergence from the shadows feel anything but dramatic. This is a story that demands real time and buildup to situate us in its world and emotional context but instead we get an abbreviated story. The bones of the Sky-Spider’s story are strong but the execution is not.
On the bright side, “The Tree Child” does have excellent artwork. The coloring is tonally strong, creating a real otherworldly sense of dread from the opening frames. The moments where Petor and his mother speak in the forest are the only ones where we see warm tones and sunlight, creating a strong visual sense that this is a meaningful, safe space for the characters. The character design is solid, if a bit obvious, and generally the level of detail provided to both characters and environments is incredible. There’s a strong sense that Petor is a child in the way that he’s illustrated, a fact that helps the story emotionally. Plus, the action that we get is strong, exciting, and expressive. The best moment in this whole issue is easily when Petor sprays his webbing and the strands form panels where we see him dispose of the village’s attackers. It’s a visually inventive, gorgeous moment that makes it hard to see why this isn’t the story that got real time and a tease of more to come.
Continued belowFinal Verdict: 5.9- “Edge of Spider-Verse” #2 tells two stories, one cute but bloated, the other interesting but with far too little space to make the impact it should
X-23 Deadly Regenesis #3
Written by Erica Schultz
Illustrated by Edgar Salazar
Colored by Carlos Lopez
Lettered by VC’s Cory Petit
Reviewed by Alexander Manzo
Erica Schultz delivers her best James Bond villain vibes in this issue with Kimura having captured Laura in the previous issue and now gives her a handcuffed tour around her new facility and gives a glimpse into her evil plan. There’s no action in this issue other than the brief glimpses from a flashback from when Laura was on the verge of stabbing someone with her claws and getting pulled back into the present. Schultz is still building up for an emotional explosion by keeping Laura physically and emotionally handcuffed. Her X-Force flashbacks with her team and glimpses from her previous time with Kimura are used as fuel to keep her spirit going and try to devise a proper means of escape. Kimura, at this point, has kicked her while she’s down and is standing on top of her with her entire body weight to make sure Laura realizes who is truly in control. Most of the issue is her tour of the facility, and even Laura’s thought bubbles are scarce and brief, so three issues are in, and it’s feeling like she’s a side character in her series.
Edgar Salazar’s artwork delivers on being clean, crisp, and detailed. Since Schultz continues pushing on the emotions in this issue, Salazar draws them to perfection. Throughout the issue, Kimura has this Joker-like smile and psychotic calmness whenever she gets to remind Laura that she’s under her command now. There’s a scene where Kimura shoots a man in a medically induced coma to send a message to Laura, and she doesn’t even bat an eye. Speaking of eyes, when one of the workers in the facilities is having a breakdown when he needs his fix for the drugs he’s helped create, the reader can feel the desperation and addiction despite him wearing a mask to cover most of his face.
Final Verdict: 6.5 – The artwork is the saving grace for another issue of build-up that keeps stringing the reader along while needing action.
