The Amazing Spider-Man #562

Marvel Comics
The Amazing Spider-Man #562
By Geoff Hoppe
June 12, 2008 - 21:14

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Bob Gale
Penciller(s): Mike McKone
Inker(s): Andy Lanning
Colourist(s): Jeromy Cox
Letterer(s): VC's Cory Petit
$2.99 US, $3.05 Canada

In Amazing Spider-Man #562, Peter Parker searches fruitlessly for a new job, Spider-Man locates “the other Spider-Man” who’s been impersonating him, and “the Bookie,” owner of a super-villains only bar, gets in some gambling trouble.

Amazing Spider-Man #562 may not be outstanding, but it is a solid performance by writer Bob Gale and penciler Mike McKone. After defying DB editor Dexter Bennett last issue, Peter Parker finds he’s been blacklisted from all journalistic jobs in New York. Meanwhile, bar-owner “the Bookie” is having money problems, and tries to solve them by taking advantage of a b-grade villain who issues a YouTube challenge to Spider-Man. “The Bar with No Name,” the bad guy hang out owned by “the Bookie,” is a clever concept, and Bob Gale uses it to engaging effect. The reveal of “the other Spider-Man” is also pleasantly surprising.

Penciler Mike McKone has a simple but realistic style evocative of Phil Jimenez. There’s nothing particularly thrilling about his style, per se, but its straightforwardness makes it somehow well suited to comedy. Villain Basher’s facial expressions, for instance, are hilarious. McKone’s images of Spider-Man focus on the character’s acrobatic contortions, enlivening his simple approach, and the layout in the sequence where Spider-Man chases his imposter is playfully clever.

Worth the money? Definitely for Spider-Man fans. Casual readers, skim it and see what you think.