AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #666-668 (bi-weekly series, Marvel Comics, $3.99)
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? Dan Slott (writer); Stefano Caselli and Humberto Ramos (pencillers); Carlos Cuevas and Victor Olazaba (inkers).
This could still go horribly wrong. THIS, of course, is “Spider Island,” the much-ballyhooed, multi-issue story line for “The Amazing Spider-Man” in which New York City is overrun by people boasting powers and abilities similar to those of our web-slinging title character.
As it turns out, the old Spider-Man villain Professor Miles Warren, aka the Jackal, has bio-engineered bedbugs and other insect creatures that have “infected” much of the city’s population. Now millions of New Yorkers must decide what to do with the proportionate strength of a spider, the power to stick to walls and even organic webbing.
Predictably, some of them have turned to crime, and now Mayor J. Jonah Jameson and his police force are overwhelmed by hordes of ne’er-do-wells. Villains that … horrors of horrors! … have disguised themselves as various incarnations of Old Flattop’s longtime nemesis.
Luckily, the Avengers, the Future Foundation and other heroes have leapt to the city’s defense. Since they’re unable to tell which of these numerous Spider-Men is the real one, though, his teammates have cautioned him to stay out of the action. Never one to take no for an answer, Peter Parker swings into action as himself, without a costume. (Hey, HE could have gotten powers this way as well, you know! )
Meanwhile, the Jackal, the Tarantula and the Spider-King have yet to reveal what they’re really up to, aside from unleashing chaos upon the Big Apple. Then there’s Jackal’s mysterious benefactor, who must have her own motivations for funding and equipping the bad guys.
THE GOOD.
The Marvel Comics flagship title boasts some of the best art of any of the company’s books. Stefano Caselli, who drew the “prelude” issue
(No. 666) has a more refined, realistic style, as compared to the almost manga-esque, exaggerated and cartoonish work of Humberto Ramos.
You can’t lose with either one, though Ramos is doing art for six of the eight issues. Both artists’ scenes are dynamic, exciting and well-drafted. Of course, it helps that Slott has been writing this story line as if it were a blockbuster, summer action movie, which plays to both their strengths.
And while this material has its dark elements, it’s done in a pretty fun manner. This is one “event book” that never takes itself too seriously.
THE BAD.
Two words: Clone Saga. It’s already been shown that this story line is referencing that most-dreaded, nearly-title-killing run on the book. (It turns out the Tarantula is a transformed version of one of the clone characters, and Jackal was prominently featured in those earlier stories as well.)
Also, I have the distinct feeling that the person behind the Jackal might turn out to have connections to the Clone Saga. Either that, or she could have tied to a forgotten story line from the Paul Jenkins run on “Peter Parker, Spider-Man” (one that wound up giving Peter Parker organic webbing for a time, for anyone that remembers it).
THE UGLY.
Sigh. Marvel can’t have sort of “event” book or story line without having a series of crossover books to accompany it. In this case, that means there are a handful of interconnected miniseries as well as tie-in issues of the monthly “Venom” title. In fact, if you haven’t read issue No. 6 of that series, you might have missed the revelation about which Marvel hero was transformed into the Spider-King. (It’s a real shocker.)
That being said, the first issues of the “Cloak and Dagger” and “Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu” tie-in miniseries were very enjoyable.
IN CONCLUSION:
As mentioned, this could still go wrong if it’s too closely tied to the Clone Saga. However, Slott’s entire solo run on “Amazing Spider-Man,” his so-called, new “Big Time” directive for the book, has been really good. So it’s hard to believe that he won’t do something special, memorable and good with the material.
This is as good a place to start if you haven’t already done so. Together with the Ultimate Comics version of Spider-Man, there’s rarely been as good a time for be a fan of the character and concepts.
Jerk-Bot is the robotic nom de plume or Utah-based writer/reviewer Jeff Michael Vice. He would like you to listen to him rant about movies and other geeky stuff on both the Geek Show Podcast (www.geekshowpodcast.com) and the Mediocre Show (www.mediocreshow.com), as well as watch him review movies on the Xfinity On-Demand program Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/bigmoviemouthoff).