The Amazing Spider-man #618

Marvel Comics
The Amazing Spider-man #618
By Hervé St-Louis
January 25, 2010 - 22:40

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Dan Slott
Penciller(s): Marcos Martin
Inker(s): Marcos Martin
Colourist(s): Javier Rodriguez
Letterer(s): Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist(s): Marcos Martin
$2.99 US

Members of the main mob family in New York are dying in mysterious circumstances one after the other and the only member of standing tied to the original family is a doofus with stupid ideas about how to operate the mob. Buts his plans are useless next to an assault by an Asian gang with the Hammerhead as one of the lieutenants. It’s up to Spider-man to save the mob from the Asian gang, the Inner-Demons. But why is the Asian somehow connected to Aunt May?

This story ties in an old subplot involving Hammerhead that was introduced months ago, as well as continuing to show how Aunt May was involved with very bad people without knowing. This issue also serves as a way to reintroduce the old Spider-man villain Mysterio, although I’m not sure which version it is this month. I can say that this is the type of Spider-man story I like to read. The entire issue was not just focused on the fight scene. There were a lot more things shown, like more about Peter Parker’s troubling life.

With Pulido, Fiorama and now Rodriguez, I have to say that I don’t understand Marvel Comics’ current taste for non American comic book style illustrators on this series. We had the likes of Barry Kitson and Phil Jimenez for so long that I didn’t know how spoiled I was. Rodriguez is not a bad artist at all. His characters have distinct features and his fine lines are a delight. But he seems to be of that same school of artists with a less heavy-handed approach to comic book art closer to what one would expect from something like the Will Eisner’s spirit or even a European artist. It feels metrosexual. I’m not complaining, but it is an interesting artistic direction for Spider-man as a series.

Rating: 8.5/10