Spider-Man's Amazing Friends Review: Spider-Gwen #2

Spider-Gwen #2: Spider-Gwen has what I refer to as "super hero hangover". That's what happens when a super hero gets the crap kicked out of them so bad that they end up feeling hung-over the next day, and wallowing around feeling terrible, sorry for themselves and shamed. You know, like having an honest to God hangover. Add to this, some heavy stuff with Captain Stacey, a cartoon pig, and you've got a pretty jam packed issue!
The Good: There's a LOT going on this issue, but guess what? It's never overwhelming or confusing or tough to follow or unbelievable in the least. Gwen wakes up on a garbage barge after battling The Vulture and she's pretty beat-up. Luckily, Spider-Ham is there (not literally),to be her "Jiminy Crickett" and help her make some wise choices. Meanwhile, Captain Stacy is looking for his daughter and in the midst of that, he's got to deal with officer Frank Castle, Jean DeWolff, and The Kingpin. A lot of familiar characters from the 616 Marvel Universe show up, all in unfamiliar rolls. It's a fresh change of pace and is really quite entertaining.
The Bad: This is a tough one. I mean, NO comic is perfect, right? Well, if you find anything wrong with this issue, drop me a line and let me know. I enjoyed the whole thing from cover to cover.
The Verdict: Snap it up! Between Jason LaTours writing and Robbi Rodriguez's excellent artwork, this is a hell of an awesome comic!

Comic Review: The Amazing Spider-Man #14

The Amazing Spider-Man #14: The end is HERE! The ultimate chapter of Spider-Verse has arrived! Who lives? Who dies? Find out answers to this and more right here, in this very comic!
The Good: This issue had almost everything that I wanted in Spider-Verse. All my favorite Spider-People (save one), show up to the final showdown with the Inheritors. There's some great moments and beats in this story. Not going into spoiler territory, but there's a moment with Spider-Ham that had me cheering out loud! Plus, getting to see all my favorites again. Spider-Girl, Spider-Ham, Superior Spider-Man, ect, was really nice. The art was really great, and I look forward to the titles that are going to spin out of this story.
The Bad: Surprisingly enough, I wasn't really 100% in love with the ending. It seemed a little rushed. I'm not sure if this issue was oversized, but if it wasn't, it probably should've been. It ends on a nice enough last panel, but we're left with a TON of questions about The Inheritors, the other Spider-Beings, and not to repeat myself, but it the story seemed to come to a screeching halt within the last 5 to 6 pages. It was abrupt, and I mean REALLY abrupt.
The Verdict: If you've gotten the rest of the Spider-Verse story, there's no way I'm going to tell you not to get this one, you absolutely should. But, I have to say that overall, I was disappointed with this issue. ALTHOUGH, in this book's defense, it's pretty hard to get emotionally invested in ANY Marvel book right now, knowing that everything in the Marvel Universe is going to change once Secret Wars is finished.

Comic Review: Amazing Spider-Man #13

Amazing Spider-Man #13
Written by Dan Slott
Penciled by Giuseppe Camuncoli
Inks by Cam Smith
Colors by Justin Ponsor
Letters by Christ Eliopoulos
Assistant Editor: Davin Lewis
Editor: Nick Lowe
Editor in Chief: Axel Alonso
Chief Creative Officer: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Executive Producer: Alan Fine
-The penultimate chapter of Spider-Verse is HERE! And after last week's shocking last page revelation, what in the heck is the Spider-Gang gonna do? This issue they prepare for the coming all out war with the Inheritors, grabbing up Spider-People from different worlds, and laying out their strategies. Meanwhile, the Inheritors are getting ready to take the battle to the Spiders by laying out their plans.
The Good: There's a lot of good stuff this issue. I think the SPOILER ALERT!! stuff with Uncle Ben being a terrible Spider-Man is a really interesting take, I mean, we were all expecting that he would be the (no pun intended) ultimate Spider-Man, since he's the one that gave people the whole "great power" stuff. But, I guess we were WAY off on that one. END SPOILER Besides that, we got a LOT of fast-paced story and action, and before you know it, this issue ends on a really great cliffhanger.
The Bad: There's a couple of things that bothered me this issue, but they were VERY minor. First, The Inheritors feed on Spider-Totems, right? So, why would they want to destroy them? That would be like me wanting to murder all the food on Earth. And second, there really should have been a "This issue takes place after Scarlet Spiders #3  & Spider-Woman #3" line in the recap page. I read this one first and, needless to say, now those issues are spoiled for me. Not a huge deal, but I would've at least liked a warning.
What You Should Do: BUY IT!!!! Besides being another solid chapter in this story, it's got some really fun bits scattered throughout the issue, and honestly, the last page of this issue is now my favorite comic page IN MY LIFE!!!! Nope, not telling you what it is, but you'll definitely know it when you see it.
SIDE NOTE: I've heard a lot of people on a lot of podcasts slam this story and this issue in particular, because Peter Parker seems to be taking a back seat in Spider-Verse. I would respectfully disagree. I think people need to take into account that this story is called Spider-VERSE. That implies that it's a story about a while UNIVERSE of Spider-Men, Woman, Animals, etc. Besides the tagline for the story is "EVERY SPIDER-MAN EVER!!". So, with that in mind, do you really think that the whole story is going to focus on JUST ONE Spider-Man? Nope, me neither. So, take my opinion with a grain of sale, but take the story for what it is, not what you want it to be. You'll enjoy it a heck of a lot more.

Comic Review: Spider-Verse #2

Spider-Verse #2:
Credits: WAAAAY to long to list!!
-TONS and TONS of Spider-People this issue! It's packed with FIVE Spider-Verse stories, a couple of them featuring more than one Spider-Men. We've got Captain Britain Spider-Man, an African Spider-Man, "Punk Rock" Spider-Man, and a few that I'm really not sure what to call them.
The Good: There's 2 pretty good stories in this issue. Actually, there's 1 pretty good story and 1 that made me smile slightly. The Punk Rock Spider-Man AKA The Anarchich Spider-Man story is a great twist on the classic Spidey mythos. It's almost a "Dark Knight Returns" (the comic, not the movie) adaptation, where Norman Osborn is the President, and Spidey's the "common man" hero. Writer Jed Mackey and artist Sheldon Vella really did a great job here. And, the last story in the book, by Dan Slott, Ty Templeton & Co. is downright charming.
The Bad: As I stated before there are TWO out of FIVE stories in this book that are good. That leaves three that are.....let's just say less than spectacular (No pun intended). The "main" story in the book by Kathryn Immonen and David LaFuente is a bit too messy for my tastes. In fact, I really can't tell you what the whole point of the story was. There's a Spanish language story with fantastic art by Francisco Herrara, but the story by Enrique Puig wasn't enough to hold the story up, and the opening chapter by Dan Slott and Kris Anka just wasn't that great.
What you should do: I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but honestly, give this one a pass. This was basically some stories that weren't good enough to make it into Edge of Spider-Verse, cut down and thrown into one book. There's absolutely NOTHING to do with the fight against the Inheritors, nor is there enough entertaining materiel here to make this worth the $5 or your time.

Comic Review: Amazing Spider-Man #11

Amazing Spider-Man #11:
Written by Dan Slott
Penciled by Olivier Coipel
Inks by Grawbadger, Coipel, Livesay, Olazaba, Morales
Colors by Justin Ponsor
Letters by Eliopoulos with Lanham
Associate Editor Ellie Pyle
Editor: Nick Lowe
Editor in Chief: Axel Alonso
Chief Creative Officer: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Dan Buckley
Executive Producer: Alan Fine
-Welcome to part 3 of Spider-Verse!! The Inheritors are loose and making their way across the Multiverse eating up Spider-Beings!!!!...No, I just can't bring myself to say/type "Totems". But, Spidey 616 is putting together a plan to get everyone to safety, all the while trying to avoid The Superior Spider-Man from taking control of the group and heading everyone into what is sure to be a disaster!
The Good: What's better than 1 Spider-Man? How about like 30!!! OK, so they're not all MEN, but you get the gist. I gotta tell you, I'm REALLY loving this crossover. It's one of the few Marvel crossovers in recent history that actually works AND is entertaining! You've got all the different Spider-People all working together towards their very survival! Plus, we get some great focus on some of the less spotlighted characters this issue(and even more if you read the spin-offs, but we'll review them later), and some foward movement in the main plot of the story. Coipels art is, as per usual, fantastic!! The book looks great and each Spider-Person/Creature looks uniquely different, all the while maintaining a solid look that makes them easily coexist in the "same" universe. But, the best part? We get to visit THE most AWESOME Spider-Man universe in the HISTORY of the character!! I truly NEVER thought that I'd see this in comic book form in my lifetime!!
The Bad: Hmmmmm. I'm a little torn on this one. But, gun to my head, I'd have to say I'm a little tired of the mystery of The Inheritors. I'm assuming there's some big reveal coming that tells their origin (but, maybe not), but just REVEAL IT ALL READY!!!! It's almost oft-putting that we have pretty much no clue as to the motivation of these characters beyond the fact that they like to hunt things with Spider-Powers and that they need to eat them. Again, I'm guessing a big reveal about them is coming, but a little more info on these big baddies would be nice.
What you should do: BUY IT!!! Yes, it's part 3 of a mega-crossover and you probably want to get the whole thing. BUT, left to it's own design, is it worth the $4? The answer is a great big YES!!!!! You'll definitely get your money's worth out of this issue!!