Comic Review: Amazing Spider-Man #17.1

The Amazing Spider-Man #17.1
Written by Gerry Conway
Pencils by Carlo Barberi
Inks by Juan Vlasco
Colors by Israel Silva
Letters by VC's Joe Caramagna
Assistant Editor: Devin Lewis
Editor: Nick Lowe
-The battle for control of the underworld continues!! This issue pits Hammerhead against The Goblin King for control of Tombstone's "territory". While Spidey tries to deal with the chaos that's broken out over the criminal underworld, he's also got The Wraith to deal with, who's turned out to be a little more....aggressive than she should be!
The Good: Almost everything!!!! Stories like this is why I love Spider-Man, and boy, have I missed them! Sure, big sweeping epics are always nice and fun to read, but there's something to be said about "smaller" stories like this one. Not to say that this story isn't important, but the threat here is much less cosmic and world-ending than what we've had in recent years. Yes, the threats are real and you feel a sense of danger for Spider-Man, but again, the worst that can happen is that someone gains control of the criminal organizations that "run" New York, and then eventually Spidey will have to deal with that. There's some great stuff here. I have to admit, I'm a huge mark for Hammerhead and to see him a main character in this story is fantastic. On a funny side note, with Marvels "no smoking" policy, seeing him pop a piece of gum all the time is almost laugh out loud funny.
The Bad: There was only one thing that bothered me in this issue. During the course of the issue, Spider-Man has to fight Hammerhead inside a steal cage, and Hammerhead makes the comment "I've always wanted you somewhere nice & tight, where you couldn't jump around!". The only problem? There's no top on the cage. Spidey could just "web" right outta there! OK, I know it's really nit-picky, but it just didn't make sense to me. Other than that, I couldn't find anything wrong with this awesome issue.
What you should do: BUY IT!!!! It's awesome!!! Needless to say, I'm really enjoying this mini-series withing a series, and you will to!!

Want some more Spider-Man/Gerry Conway awesomeness? This month, I'm suggesting that you pick up Essential Spider-Man Volume 6. Some great stuff in this trade and some of my favorite stories. Classic!!

Comic Review: Amazing Spider-Man #17

The Amazing Spider-Man #17
Written by Dan Slott & Christos Gage
Art by Humberto Ramos
Inks by Victor Olazaba
Colors by Edgar Delgado
Letters by Chris Eliopoulos
Assistant Editor Devin Lewis
Editor: Nick Lowe
-Things are somewhat back to normal for Peter Parker. Except for the fact that Alchemax has hired The Ghost to break in and destroy Parker Industries. And, his Aunt May still thinks he's dating Anna Maria. And, he's gotta go on the defense to hide his secret identity from Sajani while trying to save her and everyone else that works at Parker Industries' lives. So yeah, for Peter Parker it's back to business as usual.
The Good: SOOOO much! We're back to some classic Spidey stories here, folks. Spider-Man's balancing his civilian life with his superheroics, he's struggling to keep his civilian life intact, unbeknownst to him, he's got both super villains and people in his life plotting against him, and that's just in the first half of the book! Yes, I loved Spider-Verse, but honestly, I never felt danger for the character in that storyline like I did here. In the back of my mind, I knew Spidey was going to make it back to the 616 OK. Here, even though I know Peter's NOT going to die, while reading this book, I really got emotionally invested in whether or not Peter was going to make it out of every cliffhanger that he gets put in or not(and believe me, there's about 3 cliffhangers on every page). I really do think Spider-Man works best as a street level character. Sure, I've enjoyed him in out space adventures and giant crossovers, but my favorite Spidey stories are the ones like this one, where he's fighting for both his lives in good old New York City.
The Bad: While this isn't a complaint about this particular issue, I think I'm ready for a change of status quo for Spider-Man. Or rather, Peter Parker. It's clear that he's in way over his head running his own company and it'll only be a matter of time before the good old "Parker luck" kicks in and something happens to it. Where ever Slott decides to take the character next, I'm all for it. I feel like he's living in the shadow of Doc Ock/Superior Spider-Man, and Peter deserves better.
What you should do: GRAB IT!!! On Wednesday, none of this "waiting for Saturday" crap. Get up, get out and get to your local comic store. Wait. I just realized I never even addressed the Black Cat back-up story. I'll write a separate review after the 2 part story has wrapped up, but here's the verdict: It's awesome.