Amazing Spider-Man #1 (2018)
Writer : Nick Spencer
Artist : Ryan Ottley
Publisher : Marvel
The title for this new Amazing Spider-Man comic is called “Back to Basics” and that’s no lie. Classic villains, a new villain, super hero allies, the Daily Bugle, Aunt May, Mary Jane and of course, Peter Parker’s trials & tribulations. AMS #1 is part of Marvel’s “A Fresh Start”, yet another relaunch, the 7th in the last 10 years I believe. If you’re like me, you did enough eye-rolling that would upset your father, he hated that. Anyway, I bitched and complained when it was first announced, but of course I’m in, it’s Spider-Man after all, my favourite super hero of all time.
For the record, I will try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible. Taking over the reigns as writer, from Dan Slott’s previous run is Nick Spencer, to be honest, I’ve seen his name here and there, but I can’t say I’ve read any of his work. The issue has a lot going on, some plots told in flashbacks, an additional side story about a classic Spidey baddie that’s hilarious and a dream sequence that takes us back to Spider-Man’s black suit days when he and MJ were newlyweds. Spencer digs in deep to give the readers, old and new, the current situation about the current state that is Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s life, with new events and a very brief recap of why he does what he does as Spider-Man and who he is as a human being. Good script and the usual humour that defines Spider-Man.
On board as penciller is Ryan Ottley from Image’s Invincible, who in my opinion is already a classic Spider-Man artist. The guy delivers the goods, classic Spidey poses including the spiralling webbing made famous by Todd MacFarlane, the attention to details, even the smallest and terrific facial expressions. There’s something else too, something I’ve never noticed from his run on Invincible that I’m only noticing now. His anatomy of characters, especially with Spider-Man, have square features and edges very much like Erik Larsen’s style, but in a better way. I’m not dissing the drawings of Larsen, but I just prefer Ottley’s art, it’s more structured then Larsen’s. With Laura Martin’s vibrant colours, this is a great looking comic.
This comic made me feel like a kid again, I got flashbacks from that summer in 1985 when I bought my first Spider-Man comic book, I was 12 years old. My family and I visited my cousins in Ottawa, there was a community pool nearby and after swimming all afternoon, I went to the corner store to buy some chips and pop to bring back. My father said that if there was any change that I could keep it and buy whatever I wanted. I had a little over a dollar left and I saw the new comic books spinner and the first one that caught my eye was Amazing Spider-Man #267 “When Cometh… The Commuter!” At the time, my only knowledge of Spider-Man was from the cartoons on TV, but seeing that cover with Spidey perched on the moving subway like that, something inside me told me to get it. Without flipping through it, I grabbed it, paid for it and read it 3 times on the way back to my cousins. Since then, it’s been a love affair, on and off with comics. I’ve collected for years, sold some back issues, bought some trades and quit may times, but I always come back. Today I’m 44 years old and this comic cost me 4 times the price of that very first one, but it doesn’t matter, because that feeling and magic I felt is still there.
Artist : Ryan Ottley
Publisher : Marvel
The title for this new Amazing Spider-Man comic is called “Back to Basics” and that’s no lie. Classic villains, a new villain, super hero allies, the Daily Bugle, Aunt May, Mary Jane and of course, Peter Parker’s trials & tribulations. AMS #1 is part of Marvel’s “A Fresh Start”, yet another relaunch, the 7th in the last 10 years I believe. If you’re like me, you did enough eye-rolling that would upset your father, he hated that. Anyway, I bitched and complained when it was first announced, but of course I’m in, it’s Spider-Man after all, my favourite super hero of all time.
For the record, I will try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible. Taking over the reigns as writer, from Dan Slott’s previous run is Nick Spencer, to be honest, I’ve seen his name here and there, but I can’t say I’ve read any of his work. The issue has a lot going on, some plots told in flashbacks, an additional side story about a classic Spidey baddie that’s hilarious and a dream sequence that takes us back to Spider-Man’s black suit days when he and MJ were newlyweds. Spencer digs in deep to give the readers, old and new, the current situation about the current state that is Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s life, with new events and a very brief recap of why he does what he does as Spider-Man and who he is as a human being. Good script and the usual humour that defines Spider-Man.
On board as penciller is Ryan Ottley from Image’s Invincible, who in my opinion is already a classic Spider-Man artist. The guy delivers the goods, classic Spidey poses including the spiralling webbing made famous by Todd MacFarlane, the attention to details, even the smallest and terrific facial expressions. There’s something else too, something I’ve never noticed from his run on Invincible that I’m only noticing now. His anatomy of characters, especially with Spider-Man, have square features and edges very much like Erik Larsen’s style, but in a better way. I’m not dissing the drawings of Larsen, but I just prefer Ottley’s art, it’s more structured then Larsen’s. With Laura Martin’s vibrant colours, this is a great looking comic.
This comic made me feel like a kid again, I got flashbacks from that summer in 1985 when I bought my first Spider-Man comic book, I was 12 years old. My family and I visited my cousins in Ottawa, there was a community pool nearby and after swimming all afternoon, I went to the corner store to buy some chips and pop to bring back. My father said that if there was any change that I could keep it and buy whatever I wanted. I had a little over a dollar left and I saw the new comic books spinner and the first one that caught my eye was Amazing Spider-Man #267 “When Cometh… The Commuter!” At the time, my only knowledge of Spider-Man was from the cartoons on TV, but seeing that cover with Spidey perched on the moving subway like that, something inside me told me to get it. Without flipping through it, I grabbed it, paid for it and read it 3 times on the way back to my cousins. Since then, it’s been a love affair, on and off with comics. I’ve collected for years, sold some back issues, bought some trades and quit may times, but I always come back. Today I’m 44 years old and this comic cost me 4 times the price of that very first one, but it doesn’t matter, because that feeling and magic I felt is still there.
A Look Inside
