Review: Amazing Spider-Man #2
Dan Slott – Writer. Humberto Ramos – Penciler. Victor Olazaba – Inker. Edgar Delgado – Colorist. Chris Eliopoulos – Letterer.
Published by Marvel Comics.
[pulledquote] Remember when you read ‘Big Time‘ and thought “How has this not been done before?” That’s exactly how this issue works.[/pulledquote]
After the thrill-ride that was ASM #1, you have to wonder, can Dan Slott keep the momentum up? Of course he can. Amazing Spider-Man issue 2 answers a lot of the questions raised in the previous issue and raises just as many more. It’s action packed, and impossible to put down. Honestly, I walked blindly up Grafton St. Dublin, refusing to put it back into my bag and bumping into everyone around me as I read it. The issue opens with a cryptic sequence involving the controversial newcomer Silk, that again raises a lot of questions while still giving us a lot too.
Then finally we’re brought to where the last issue left us hanging. The ‘talk’ between Peter Parker and miss Anna Maria Marconi. She’s been dating Peter while he was brain-swapped with Doc Ock during the Superior Spider-Man saga, so she’s essentially been dating Ock the whole time but IN Peter’s body. Now she’s discovered Peter is Spider-Man and they have to talk. I have been dying to see how Parker was going to get out of this one and having read it now it totally surprised me how it all went down. Peter has changed, and Anna Maria is somehow even cooler than she was before. As the issue continues from here Peter begins to see the changes Otto’s made to his life, starting with changing all his ringtones (absolute villain). This again leads to another ‘talk’; this one with the Avengers. Spidey finally at long last, proves he is who he says he is and even learns a few secrets himself. None of which I will spoil here though …
Throughout the issue Peter’s trademark comedy and … hilarious misfortune is ever present. Remember his ‘Spidey-Whiteys’ from before? Still a problem. This coupled with the fact that Peter now finds himself CEO of a new company and has absolutely no clue what that company even does. Queue the ever helpfully and “you’re dealing with this so well” Anna Maria Marconi. SO sound. Also woven through the issue is Electro’s plot. last issue Electro accidentally blew up a prison when he lost control of his powers (again) thanks to the experiments of Doc Ock as the Superior Spider-Man. So naturally Electro isn’t pleased to see Spider-Man show up. After a catchup with Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch, Peter decides on a new direction for ‘Parker Industries‘ that honestly makes a ton of sense.
Remember when you read ‘Big Time‘ and thought “How has this not been done before?” That’s exactly how this issue works. Everything happening makes a fantastic amount of sense. I know your all thinking “Ugh they only used Electro because of the movie” and yeah, you’re probably right, but it works perfectly with everything Slott seeded in Superior building up till now. The entire issue is fresh, dynamic and very exciting. Things are genuinely changing and going in all new directions, and I love it. For as much praise as I’m giving Dan Slott, Humberto Ramos deserves just as much. It’s his art for me that makes this book as good as it is. His layouts, paneling and action shots, pacing and expression just cram as much fun as humanly possible into these pages. Why Ramos hasn’t been drawing Electro before now astounds me.
[easyreview cat1title=”The Arcade Verdict” cat1detail=”Fresh, familiar, dynamic and groundbreaking all at once. Slott and Ramos do it again.” cat1rating=”9″]
