The Amazing Spider-man #596

Marvel Comics
The Amazing Spider-man #596
By Hervé St-Louis
June 12, 2009 - 07:26

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Joe Kelly
Penciller(s): Paulo Siqueira
Inker(s): Amilton Santos
Colourist(s): Jeremy Cox
Letterer(s): Chris Eliopoulos
Cover Artist(s): Phil Jimenez
$2.99 US

Spider-man’s first attack against Norman Osborn did not turn well, as Harry Osborn, his son still returned to his father. So Spider-man is working on another strategy to infiltrate the Avengers’ tower. His plan, replace Venom as the Dark Avengers’ fake Spider-man.

Complicated? Let me back track. Norman Osborn added a fake Spider-man to the Dark Avengers to gain credibility. Venom is the fake Spider-man sporting a black costume. Now the real Spider-man wants to replace the fake Spider-man sporting a black costume to infiltrate the Dark Avengers and spy on Norman Osborn. There you go!

One obvious question is of course, is how is this black Spider-man perceived by the public? For years, Spider-man was treated as a villain by the press. Now, he’s just a hero in a black costume, while the real Spider-man is still roaming the streets and being hunted by the police. Also the trail of bodies he leaves behind is just too big, for no one to have pointed out his failing before and have him removed. Although the real Spider-man saves the hooker the black Spider-man was about to kill, it’s not like he felt concerned about the other deaths that must occur daily because of the black Spider-man’s appetite. Although the rest of the narrative is good, such fundamental questions are important to establish credibility.

Siqueira’s work felt still at times, and with tons of expressions at other places. I’m not sold on his Harry Osborn depiction yet, although it resembles the design established in comic books these days. His face is not long enough and too cheeky. But I do like the Kevin Maguire influenced pages, like the one with the fake Hawkeye. They were quite fun. Siqueira draws beautiful women, but they all look alike. At first, I thought that the Invisible Woman was another hooker...

Rating: 7/10