Comic Review: Amazing Spider-Man #18

Amazing Spider-Man #18
Written by Dan Slott & Christos Cage
Pencils by Humberto Ramos
Inks by Victor Olazaba
Colors by Edgar DelGado
Letters by Chris Eliopoulos
-The final battle for Parker Industries finally gets settled in this final issue! Spidey battles The Ghost, who's out to destroy Parker Industries and in the meantime he's got to contend with Sajani, Anna Maria, and the rest of the Parker Industries employees. But, turns out, they're pretty well skilled at taking care of themselves.
The Good: Even though Peter's never had his own mega-million dollar science company, this whole situation reminds me of a typical Spider-Man scenario. Spidey's fighting for his life, trying to protect his friends, and meanwhile, there's some heavy stuff happening across home that he doesn't know about that he's gonna need to take care of. This issue is actually almost 2 stories, the first is the third part of "Trade Secrets", while the second one is the final chapter in the Black Cat story "Nothing Left to Loose". Both stories are really solid, but........
The Bad: This doesn't exactly feel like an ending. AT. ALL. The first story is more of a pause in the story than a definite ending, and the end of second story is pretty much a beginning. Seriously. Now, this would be fine if this was a "normal" issue, but it's the final issue of the series. Well, almost. In 2 weeks we get issue 18.1, which is the final part of the Spiral story by Gerry Conway. Anyway, Secret Wars has started, which promises to change EVERYTHING, but this book really feels like it's taking a four month break and then it'll be back, without missing a beat. Bottom line, it would've really been easy to end this story better, and I was a little disappointed that it didn't.
What you should do: I know it sounds like I didn't like this book, but I'm saying buy it. For the most part I did like it, I just think it should've ended differently. Aside from that, it's a really good issue!

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.

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: 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!!