Welcome back to the Marvel Rundown! This week we’re covering Amazing Spider-Man #1000 by a whole host of creators in our main review while our Rapid Rundown looks at Alien vs. X-Men #1 and the finale of Queen in Black.
Note: the review below contains spoilers. If you want a quick, spoiler-free buy/pass recommendation on the comics in question, check out the bottom of the article for our final verdict.
Amazing Spider-Man #1000
Writers: Joe Kelly, Noah Hawley, J.M. DeMatteis, Frank Miller, Triple H, Brian Michael Bendis, Larry Lieber, Dan Slott
Artists: Pepe Larraz, Patrick Gleason, Humberto Ramos & Victor Olazaba, Peach Momoko, Ed McGuiness & Mark Farmer, Stuart Immomen, Ciuseppi Camuncoli & Klaus Jansen, Marcos Martin
Colorists: Federico Blee, Marcio Menyz, Edgar Delgado, Matthew Wilson, Marte Garcia, Rachelle Rosenberg, Muntsa Vicente
Letterer: vc’s Joe Caramagna
Once again, the Marvel Rundown is checking in on Amazing Spider-Man for an anniversary issue and once again, the Rundown comes back wanting a better book. If there’s a series that highlights some of Marvel’s continued creative stagnation, it’s Amazing Spider-Man. Even on the occasion of such an anniversary with stories by past contributors, the book can’t help reading as worn out.
The main story by the current creative team Joe Kelly and Pepe Larraz, “deals” with the stroke Aunt May suffered last issue. Really it’s more about Peter Parker and his recently revealed cousin Cormac Crane coming to blows over the fact that Peter got to be raised as May’s kid and not Cormac. And is this all revealed in a dramatic conversation reach in theme and subtext? No, it happens in a fight narrated with a lot of cliches because Cormac is also a supervillain named Rampage. Thrilling, sigh.
If that sounds all over the place that seems indicative of the tenure of Joe Kelly as writer on the book. There’s a lot of ideas being thrown at a wall and seeing if they stick. Peter Parker sent to space. Ben Reilly and Norman Osborn fill in for Parker. Uh Symbie anyone? Now he gives us a memory stealing cousin jealous of Peter’s life. Credit should be given to Kelly for his attempts to introduce new villains into Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, even if none of them seem particularly memorable. How long will it be until Cormac gets either retconned or forgotten?
At least, Pepe Larraz and colorist Frederico Blee got the memo it was an anniversary issue because their work looks amazing here. As always, Larraz and Blee are an exceptional visual team knowing how to make both the drama and the action look dynamic. Larraz really goes to town with his page layouts on this issue. When he has Spider-Man fighting, panels are all jagged edges. When Cormac/Rampage sifts through Peter’s memories, his pages become more fluid with memories bleeding into one another. If there’s a reason anyone is reading this book it’s because Larraz and Blee really shine on it. 
That’s what’s really insulting about this issue. Extremely talented artists forced to draw, with two exceptions, incredibly lackluster stories. Stuart Immomen, who famously retired from doing superhero comics, returns to draw Spider-Man! That’s great! It’s always great to see new Immomen art. Except it’s a jokey Brian Michael Bendis comic about Z-grade Spider-Man villains that ends on a note of unearned seriousness. Peach Momoko makes a meal out of a very slight Frank Miller story about a spider cult. Ed McGuinness feels especially wasted on a story about Spider-Man the wrestling fan written by Triple H.
When was the last time Marcos Martin, one of the all time great Spider-Man artists, drew a Marvel book? Well he’s here on a story where Dan Slott finally gives a back story to a character we all wanted to know about; the guy who yelled at Spider-Man that he could have stopped Uncle Ben’s killer. Slott seems to attempt matching the dramatic irony of Amazing Fantasy #15 which it doesn’t. But hey, Marcos Martin on a Marvel book is still a good thing right?
That said, there are two stories that do stand out for positive reasons. Legion and Alien: Earth showrunner Noah Hawley tells a story about an older Peter Parker. It deals with aging and regrets. It may not be the deepest short story but it at least gets who Spider-Man is. The other story by longtime Spectacular Spider-Man writer J.M. DeMatteis has Peter attend Harry Osborn’s funeral. It’s DeMatteis playing his greatest hits but there’s a heft to this story sorely missing throughout the rest of this book. Peter deals with very real guilt and his past in a way that seems uniquely Spider-Man. It might not be a story for the ages but it certainly stands out in an issue like this.
It’s not fun to constantly report a book is rudderless. Spider-Man should be Marvel’s flagship book. One where Marvel’s best and brightest put forth their best work. Instead, this issue shows a bunch of big name writers (and uh Triple H) coasting on their reputations to tell pretty forgettable stories. At least, it’s cool to look at.
Verdict: HARD SKIP
Rapid Rundown
Alien vs. X-Men #1
Alien vs. X-Men is a strange beast of a book. It contains two very different takes on the X-Men meeting the creatures from the Alien franchise. One written by two distinct X-Men writers Kieron Gillen and Chris Claremont. Both stories are very bizarre. Gillen seems to be operating knowing that this is a throwaway book and everything in his story reads as very dumb fun. Xenomorphs with X-Men powers attack the mansion? Cable and a Xenomorph kill squad coming in from the future? It’s all in here aided by Geraldo Borges’ shadow drenched line work and the unfussy colors by Andrew Dalhouse. Claremont, on the other hand and unsurprisingly, takes the assignment far too seriously and gets really weird. Kitty Pryde gets visited by the ghost of a Brood Queen and gets zapped to an alien hive. This is a Claremont story through and through; overly expository captions, Kitty Pryde, weird sexual tension between X-folks. This is supposed to be a flashback story but honestly it feels like Claremont’s attempt to play a little in the modern X-Men sandbox. So it reads as a little bizarre. This might be the weirdest book (but not in a fun way) that Marvel’s released this year. – DM
Queen in Black #5The conclusion to Queen in Black, one of the many Marvel events out right now, writer Al Ewing gives us what we’ve come to expect with big Endgame type conclusions to these cosmic comic events. Iron Man and Cable’s Plan B has forced Hela and Knull to face off against each other, giving the heroes a chance to take out whoever’s left standing, and the plan kind of works, kind of as Knull is able to become the God of Light and Black. Knocked out by the level up our heroes are fortunate that the most unlikely heroes, Mary Jane Watson and Venom, are able to do something that we’ve seen a variation of in other comics, one that comes to mind is a bit in Morrison’s JLA run where everybody is given powers to help fight for Earth. In this case, Mary J and Venom turn Earth and everyone on it into a unified Planet Venom. But this level up comes with its own problems and vulnerability, but for a minute, they are able to fight back and put Knull on his backfoot. It’s an interesting, fun twist on the concept that we’ve seen before, and it has its moments, especially with the heroes conversing inside the mindscape about the viability of this tactic. The main problem I have with this book and the storyline is that you have to have a more than passing understanding of Venom lore, especially its characters, since I did not know who Dylan is or what the Chainbreaker ability was. Don’t get me wrong, you’re able to infer these things from reading and you get the gist of it, but it feels like this is for the hardcore Venom fan. If you’re a casual reader, it can feel like there’s a little bit of homework to do in order to understand the complexity of this, especially the ending. Which I don’t want to ruin because SPOILER ALERT, SPOILER ALERT, SPOILER ALERT, SPOILER ALERT, SPOILER ALERT, it’s a Venom cat called Sleeper who becomes the new King in Black. I wasn’t all in on this event but I was enjoying the ride, specifically the Defenders of Light and Dark side book. But to end it with a character that you haven’t seen before unless you’ve read another book, is a misstep. Artists Iban Coello & Paco Medina did their thing with strong storytelling and crisp linework, the straight hair is flowing in this book full of speedlines and sharp teeth. The energy they put in is a perfect complement to the threat that is Knull. I would say this series, and its conclusion, doesn’t stick the landing for the casual reader, but the diehard Venom fan will enjoy this cosmic romp. – GC3
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