Share this
Out of 8 Deaths comes a rebirth. Following a very polarizing run of everyone’s favorite wall-crawler comes a fresh start. Peter Parker is jobless. Norman Osborn is goblin-free. A new villain has arrived. The latest chapter of the life and times of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man starts NOW!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1 Joe Kelly, Pepe Larraz, John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, Marte Gracia, Marcio Menyz & Joe Caramagna takes center stage with a fresh new beginning.
Teaming up for this review are NI’s Megan and Yours Truly (Ken – N.I. Editor-In-Chief)
HOW WAS THE WRITING?
KEN: Coming from the previous run, expectations are put in an awkward spot. Knowing Kelly’s writing style, they’re amped up more than usual. The first chapter centers around a “normal” day in Peter Parker’s world. It nails the traditional “lovable loser” themes Spidey is known for. Once the story goes into a familiar showdown does it find its’ footing.
Kelly throws a twist into a classic rogue. Readers watch as it becomes the start of a larger scheme. The writing also slides in a dastardly return. This eventually leads into quite the shocking turn of events. The final pages here carry a deafening take before passing the baton to Norman Osborn.
His story reflects the new stat quo without the Goblin. It plays well to translate Normans attempt at forgiveness. Events switch gears to a more appeasing approach. How long this will last is anyone’s guess. The issue caps off with a new villain making an entrance. All in all, Kelly adds enough fuel to get a fire burning inside Spidey’s latest adventures.
Megan: Joe Kelly brings something fresh to accompany the usual Spider-Man/Peter Parker we all know and love. While the beginning is more focused on the troubles Peter has with finding a job and the well known “Parker Luck”, we see things turn around when he’s brought on to a new job. As fate would have it, and that blasted Parker Luck, Peter looks out the window at the beginning of his first day of his new job to see Rhino losing ever piece of his mind on the town. So, of course, Peter has to duck out and save the neighborhood as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man does. Fortunately for him, he was able to excuse his way out of his disappearance and keep his new and shiny job.
That’s all usual Peter Parker, but what’s interesting is the grander scheme that opens up as the story goes on. Why was Rhino acting so out of control? Why is it being reported that so many are acting the same way?Something big is going on, and it’s fairly evident when Spider-Man starts to feel out of sorts himself.
LET’S TALK ART AND LETTERING!
KEN: Art duties are split between Larraz (Main Story) and Romita jr. (Normon and Hellgate). The panel set-up by Larraz works well to run with the dueling Peter/Spidey moments. It gives readers a great segway before his latest job begins. There isn’t much time to pause here. A two page splash of Rhino takes center stage.
Events move fast as the curve is thrown into play. This sends events towards a classic Spidey villain. A half panel indicates what’s to come next with him. Readers watch as the closing pages begin here. This story is capped off with an incredible two page splash. It’s a perfect landing spot to pass art duties to JRJR on.
His portions start with Osborn addressing reporters. It doesn’t take long for things to escalate. A would be attacker is given a half page debut. The eventual fight is classic JRJR. It sets up a solid mic drop moment before the easier close. Once here, the art showcases Spidey’s latest threat with a full page image. As previously eluded to, this chapter is juggling many hats.
Megan: Can we please keep Pepe Larraz drawing Spider-Man forever? I loved his art all throughout Amazing Spider-Man #1, as I feel he really brought the essence of Spider-Man to the comic. John Romita Jr. was the artist involved with the chapter that dealt with Norman Osborn, and that was expertly handled, making the story even more of a power play for Osborn.
Of course, you can’t just have the drawings in the comic to make it such a visual success. You also have Marte Gracia and Marcio Menyz on colors, Scott Hanna on inks, and Joe Caramagna on letters. All artists really showed up and showed out for Amazing Spider-Man #1 and deserve all their flowers.
OVERALL GRADE: 8.6/10
KEN: 8.6 Welcome back Pete! Kelly’s writing brings back sorely missed themes for Spider-Man. Larraz, Romita Jr. and their respective art teams flourish in the new stat quo with solid images. It’s a welcomed return that can only push forward from here.
Megan: 8.5/10 With Joe Kelly on writing and the rest of the artists of Amazing Spider-Man, I can’t wait to see what’s next for our favorite web-slinging hero!
