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: The Amazing Spider-Man #16.1

The Amazing Spider-Man #16.1: After a months long journey around the multiverse rounding up different versions of himself, fighting endless battle after battle, and trying to figure out a way to end the insanity of the Inheritors and get home, it's over. Spider-Man is back home and relaxing...until a gang war starts brewing.
The Good: Writer Gerry Conway (yes, for real!) returns to give Dan Slott a slight break and to give us a street-level Spider-Man story like only he can!! This is why Spider-Man is such a fantastic character. He can go from huge cosmic crossover one week to an awesome gangster story the next and it's all totally natural and not forced or out of place in the least. Thank you Gerry! All the classic Spider-Man bits are there. Spidey catches Tombstone red-handed, but he goes free on a technicality. He tries to get concrete evidence, but something goes wrong. This issue is just filled with classic Spider-Man goodness. And did I mention that Carlo Barberi does the art? It's SOOOO good!
The Bad: Surprisingly, there was ZERO Peter Parker in this issue, and I really couldn't figure out why. Maybe he's coming in future issues in this story, at least I hope he is. I miss Gerry writing Peter. Other than that, no major problems with this issue at all!
The Verdict: Don't you DARE miss this issue!! Seriously, this is the single best issue of Spider-Man in a while!
One a side note, I realize that I forgot to review Amazing Spider-Man #16! I'm hoping to get that corrected sometime before next Wednesday. Sorry about that.

First Look at The Amazing Spider-Man 16.1-SPIRAL by GERRY CONWAY!!!!

 Marvel has given us our first look at the brand NEW story from legendary Spider-Man scribe, Gerry Conway entitles "Spiral". This storyline deals with the New York Underworld since The Kingpin's demise in Shadowland, and includes a TON of classic Spidey villains like The Black Cat, Mr. Negative, Tombstone and Hammerhead, just to name a few. Check it out!

 If you're subscribed to The Amazing Spider-Man at your local comic book store, you SHOULD get these issues, as they're #16.1 (like the Spider-Man: Learning to Crawl story arc), ect. But, you might want to check anyway. Be sure to pick this up when the action starts in March!