The Amazing Spider-Man #1000!

The Amazing Spider-Man has reached its millennium issue! This monumental book brings together new and old Spider-Man writers and artists for eight individual stories. All of which are emotional journeys through Spider-Man’s life.

Creative Teams

“Ravaged”
Joe Kelly (Writer), Pepe Larraz (Artist), Federico Blee (Colorist)

“Still Standing”
Noah Hawley (Writer), Patrick Gleason (Artist), Marcio Menyz (Colorist)

“Requiem for a Goblin”
J.M. DeMatteis (Writer), Huberto Ramos / Victor Olazaba (Artists), Edgar Delgado (Colorist)

“Tears of the Spider-Queen”
Frank Miller (Writer), Peach Momoko (Artist)

“The Big Night”
Triple H / Rob Fee (Writers), Ed McGuiness / Mark Farmer (Artists), Matthew Wilson (Colorist)

“The Gesture”
Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Stuart Immonen (Artist), Marte Gracia (Colorist)

“Of Webs and Six-Guns”
Larry Lieber (Writer), Giuseppe Camuncoli / Klaus Janson (Artists), Rachelle Rosenberg (Colorist)

“I Can Never Rest”
Dan Slott (Writer), Marcos Martin (Artist), Muntsa Vicente (Colorist)

VC’s Joe Caramagna (Letterer for all stories)

Publisher: Marvel Comics

The Amazing Spider-Man #1000!

Issue one thousand of The Amazing Spider-Man (ASM) has been an issue that fans have been waiting for! Talks of this release started one to two months ago with the release of the various variant covers (which you can see all of the “open order” variant covers below). Seeing all of these amazing artists from prior Spider-Man arcs really got me excited for this release. Not to mention the list of writers that made their return to Spider-Man! This is one of the stacked writer rosters I have seen for a milestone issue!

As I stated in my introduction, this issue consists of eight different Spider-Man stories. All of which tell a different story about our star main character. There are a couple stories within this collection that will tug at your heartstrings. That is what makes Spider-Man one of the most relatable hero characters within comic books. The amazing writers of this character capture the full lore of Peter being a regular kid turned adult who deals with similar life struggles as the people who read this material. And when you can personally relate to something as creative as a comic book, it goes to show that somewhere out there you’re not the only one struggling. That even in a fictional realm, a kid from New York faces some of the same situations that you do within your real life.

Eight stories is a lot to get through within a review article. And I do not want to spoil or ruin anything for you potential readers. So I am going to break the rest of this review down to the individual stories and give a very brief description or “elevator pitch” in hopes that it peaks your interest to go out and get a copy of this once in a lifetime issue.

“Ravaged”
The first story within this collection is the continuation issue for the main storyline by Joe Kelly. This story takes off right where issue thirty-five concluded. If you need to catch up, please check out my review of that issue via the link below! Peter is still coping with the emotional difficulties of a “new” family member interjecting themselves into Aunt May’s life. Peter is seriously questioning his relationship with Aunt May, and it’s placing a rather heavy weight on his shoulders. Readers will get introduced to a new villain character within this issue, and you will be somewhat surprised by who it turns out to be. This entire issue revolves around Peter and Aunt May’s relationship and the potential travesty that awaits the both of them.

“Still Standing”
The next story comes from writer Noah Hawley. This story takes readers deep into the future of Peter Parker. This Peter is dealing with some very common health issues for an individual of his age. But things take a drastic turn when an old foe starts to meddle with Peter. This is a very emotion story from Noah. So much so that it makes me compare it to Spider-Man: Blue by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. There is yet another twist within this story that takes place towards it’s conclusion involving the same foe that I mentioned earlier.

“Requiem for a Goblin”
The third story of this collection comes from writer J.M. DeMatteis. This is yet another emotional Spider-Man story. Readers will follow along as Peter is dealing with nightmares revolving around a previous villain of his. During which Peter leaves an event and has an almost “Christmas Carol” type experience. Or think of it as a visit from a “force spirit” (Star Wars). Peter has dealt with a lot of loss in his life, not only as Spider-Man but as Peter Parker as well. This is an impactful story that just like “Still Standing,” will resonate with readers.

“Tears of the Spider-Queen”
The next story is written by the legendary Frank Miller. This story deals with a scared child who gets involved in a sketchy situation. Spider-Man does his best to extinguish the situation to the extent that only the young child is left sobbing. One of the most impactful moments of this story comes at the very end. Which will make you really feel the emotion that is pouring out of those panels. This story isn’t a long one compared to some of the others within this collection, but the impact of the story is delivered so perfectly!

“The Big Night”
The fifth story of this collection is written by WWE’s Triple H with assistance from Rob Fee. As you could guess, this story revolves around a wrestling event. Which pays homage to the first Spider-Man film featuring Toby Maguire. If you recall Spider-Man makes his debut within a wrestling ring with Macho Man Randy Savage. The only difference in comparing this story to the comics is the special guest that attends the event with a young Peter in the story. This story gives off the feeling that nice things can happen to Peter within a Spider-Man storyline.

“The Gesture”
This story is by writer Brian Michael Bendis. This story matches the amount of action that you will see in the “Ravaged” story at the beginning of this collection. Spider-Man takes on a new villain trio in the heart of the city. The action is amazing within this story! But it is the conclusion that will bring readers back down from an action high. The ending of this story is a true “thank you” to the character of Spider-Man throughout the past one thousand issues. The title of this story speaks for itself when it comes to the end of this story!

“Of Webs and Six-Guns”
Larry Lieber is the writer of this western themed story. Spider-Man is mysteriously taken back to the wild west and teams up with a ranger. Surprisingly they work very well together! This story hits on the fact that Spider-Man can adapt to any surrounding and make those conditions work for him and his abilities. There is some mild comedy thrown into this story, both in the wild west and in the present when Peter returns. Another shorter story, but the plot and development flowed so smooth amongst the limited pages.

“I Can Never Rest”
The last story of this one thousand issue collection goes to an individual who is no stranger to Spider-Man, writer Dan Slott. This story takes readers back to the night that Uncle Ben was murdered. But this story is not told behind the eyes of Peter or Spider-Man. This story is through the scope of a soon to retire police officer who’s career ending goal is to bring Ben’s murderer to justice. The ending of this story provides readers with empathy, forgiveness and closure. This story is a perfect fit to close out this amazing eight story celebratory issue!

The Writing

Every story within this collection is so perfectly written! The trips down memory lane to deal with past travesties in the present are so well crafted by these writers. There isn’t a story in this collection that Spider-Man fans will not enjoy or find another Spider-Man story to compare it to. This stacked roster of creators brought their “A” game when it mattered most for this monumental release. One of the best things about the writing of these stories is how they combine various other Spider-Man storylines from comic books to movies. The raw emotion that flows from these pages in itself shows the true nature of the web-slinging character.

The Artwork

I know I keep giving praise to the writers of these amazing stories, but the artwork deserves its flowers as well! The art teams for these stories did a stunning job bringing the writing and main character to life on the pages. The best part of the art within this collection is the fact that each story has very distinct art! Yes, it’s the same star character, but the various art styles within this issue bring out different textures and tones to the writing. One of the most dynamic artworks within this issue is the art for “Tears of the Spider-Queen”. The art for this story is done completely by Peach Momoko! It is absolutely stunning and vastly different from the others, which makes it stand out even more. All of the artists and colorists deserve just as much recognition for this issue in making the visuals captivate the reader. Amazing job, all of you!

Variant Covers

Final Thoughts

This astronomical thousandth issue of ASM does not hold back any punches! The writing from all eight writers stays in line with the lore of Spider-Man and his entire backstory from prior runs. The art is absolutely astonishing! The different styles of art give the reader a gentle refresh from story to story. As important as this issue is to the character of Spider-Man, the team at Marvel Comics really did a fantastic job in how they put this issue together. Fans of Spider-Man NEED to get this issue for their collections! This is a historical issue with amazing variant covers from artists who previously worked on Spider-Man. Do not hesitate; get your copy of this amazing issue today!

Overall Grade: 10/10!

Links

Comic Book Reviews & Entertainment News: Nerd Initiative
Previous ASM Review: The Amazing Spider-Man #35 – Mom
Travis’ NI Portfolio: TravisComicHaven – Nerd Initiative
Travis’ Personal Content: Travis’ Comic Haven

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