Amazing Spider-Man #653
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Stefano Caselli
Cover: Stefano Caselli
“Revenge of the Spider Slayer pt 2”: All I’ve been hearing for the past few months is how Dan Slott and Caselli are making Spidey great again. Since this was the same team that kept me reading Avengers: Initiative, I decided why the hell not. So I decided that after quite the long hiatus from Amazing Spider-Man it was time to check things out for myself. Let’s just say that after I read this issue I went back and picked up the previous ASM issues Slott and Caselli had teamed on, and I’m officially hooked again!
The Spider Slayer is on a mission to not only kill J. Jonah Jameson, but loved ones as well, and he’s got an insect army to help make this happen. He’s rigged the space shuttle that Jameson’s son is piloting to explode, and Spidey is riding piggy back fighting both the G-forces and an enhanced Mac Gargan, aka the Scorpion. Spider Slayer has also sent his other generals to find and kill Jameson’s wife, who just happens to be having a spa day with Aunt May. Times like these it’s great to have friends, as Spidey calls for the cavalry in the form of the New Avengers who show up to help turn the tide of battle. Things are gonna get messy in the streets of NY yet again!
Slott and Caselli are bangin’ out a very strong and just freakin’ fun series in Amazing Spider-Man! The main story had the over the top action that you’re supposed to have in a Spidey title while still maintaining some focus. Which I felt the series was lacking when I left the title and it just wasn’t fun anymore. It’s refreshing that Slott is having some things go right in Parker’s life for a change and not just beating us over the head about how crappy Pete’s life is. Having the New Avengers show up just seemed natural since Spidey is fighting an army and he can’t be in several places at once. The dialog was also everything it should be: smart, witty, and entertaining. Anything else is a slap in the face!
Caselli’s art continues to blow me away and when you add Delgado’s colors, then that’s just icing on the cake! I’ve always liked his style and even though it may resemble a more cartoon-like or animated look, he’s still able to bring out the emotion in his characters for that needed bit of realism. Now, I was wondering why Luke Cage didn’t have any pupils in the issue, and what happened to the new costume that Iron Fist has been wearing in very recent issues of New Avengers. I actually didn’t notice those things until my second read of the issue, but it’s a minor thing when you’re getting this level of artwork in an ASM. There is also a back up story titled “Lock And/Or Key pt 2” written by Fred Van Lente with art by Reilly Brown. This is a team up featuring the new Power Man and Spidey as they attempt to stop the Looter. Great dialog and art make these few pages very enjoyable and are an added bonus to the overall issue.
Slott and Caselli have brought me back to actually buying Amazing Spider-Man again, and I’d suggest that if you haven’t checked out an issue in a while that you give it a shot. It’s going to be interesting to see what part three of this arc brings us, but if it’s anything like the last few issues then I’m definitely on board!
Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
I only peeked inside this issue because of the cover, and it turned out to be pretty good. Still not sure if this new creative duo is enough to get me to read a Spidey book on a regular basis.
I think Slott was MIghty Avengers, while Christos Gage was Initiative IIRC. Sounds like a good ‘ol Spidey story though. 😀
I thought Slott and Gage were the writing team on AI. I’ll have to go back and check now but if I’m wrong I’ll take back one thing I said about Dr. Strange okay Billy 🙂
@Speech- I just checked and both Slott and Gage were on Initiative for the first 20 issues, then Gage took over solo. lol 😀
I agree totally, ‘Speech. I love Caselli’s rendition of Spidey. I’ve never really liked the smaller-eyes mask on Spider-Man, but it looks slick in this comic.
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