AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #4
Writer- Dan Slott
Pencils- Humberto Ramos
Inker- Victor Olazaba
Colors- Edgar Delgado
Review by Justin Townson
It’s no secret to those who know me that I have a soft spot in my heart for Spider-Man. The character brought me into comics with my first issue as a kid and brought me back into comics when I drifted away for a few years. Much of that is due to the great writers who’ve written the character over the years. With that in mind here we have Dan Slott, who has been the lead writer on Spider-Man since 2010. In that time he’s taken Spider-Man on quite a wild ride. Even though it’s one of the highest monthly sellers in all of comics, I feel it’s rarely ever talked about. Every issue is good, but not pick of the week kind of good. So in a way one of the best known heroes on the planet goes about his business unnoticed.
Personally, I hate tie in comics. When an event is happening and whatever storyline I’m reading gets interrupted by some crossover it’s very frustrating. So when I saw the Original Sin tie in notice on the front cover I was curious to see how Slott would make this interesting. Slott carefully weaved together the tie in with his upcoming massive Spider Verse storyline. There is a lot going on in this issue but it doesn’t feel too cramped. The introduction of a new character that was bitten by the same spider that bit Peter could have felt like a “yeah right” eye roll fest, but Slott makes it work. I was immediately taken with Silk and I want to know more about her. The one thing I do hope to see more of is the interaction between Anna Maria and Peter. There’s a huge plot thread there that’s been left hanging. While it seems like she’s taken Mary Jane’s role of covering for Peter while he has to go do his Spider-man thing, I hope that’s not all she’s reduced to.
I love Humberto Ramos. There. I said it. He’s not for everyone I would agree, but in my opinion he’s is the definitive Spider-Man artist. Some would say his heavily exaggerated bodies look too cartoonish, but to me the sense of agility that Spider-Man possesses is captured perfectly by his pencils. The first word I always think of when I see Ramos’s art is kinetic. Everything looks better when it’s moving and thus the sense and style of movement is wonderfully displayed here.
VERDICT
BUY IT. Spider-Man is awesome, plain and simple. The introduction of a new character and the looming threat of Spider-Man’s old nemesis are good enough for me to recommend this book. The relaunch of Amazing Spider-Man is only 4 issues old. It’s the perfect jumping on point. GO JUMP ON.
