Reviews

Amazing Spider-Man 30
(Marvel Comics)

I stopped reading Spider-Man awhile ago. 30 issues ago, to be exact. I felt that the changeover in numbering was a good point for me to stop collecting a book that I had only been buying out of habit anyway. To me, nothing more represents what has gone wrong with Marvel Comics more than Spider-Man. Spider-Man was once the most vibrant hero on the stands. Sure, he was a whiner, but you still cared about what happened to him. Somewhere along the line, though, Spider-Man became bland and uninteresting. A lot of people got upset over the whole "Clone Saga" debacle, but to me it was just another dull wrong turn in the later life of Peter Parker. So when they restarted the numbering of the series for no apparent reason, I thought that it was a good time to jump ship, and I haven't cracked a monthly Spidey book since. I will admit, I was tempted when Paul Jenkins took over Peter Parker: Spider-Man, but I held fast. You have to give Joe Quesada credit, he knows how to push us fanboy's buttons. When Marvel anounced that J. Michael Straczynski was taking over the writing of Amazing Spider-Man, I knew that I would have to at least give it a try. Damn it all!

The first issue of Straczynski's run hits the stands Wednesday with a fairly striking J. Scott Campbell cover. Having not read Spider-Man for 2 and 1/2 years has meant nothing, as everything was exactly as I left it 30 issues ago. Reading Spidy is like eating a Big Mac. For better or worse, no matter where or when you eat it, it's always pretty much the same. Spidey begins the issue swinging over the city trying to escape the problems that eternally plague him (and have for close to 40 years). This sequence adds litle story wise, but is great for those of us returning, wondering if anything might have changed. The story then takes us to back to his old high school, where Peter is going to get involved in teaching or counselling of some fassion. The idea behind this is pretty obvious, as it will get him back in touch with the loner/loser that he was in high school and get Spidey closer to the character as he was originally intended. If you can't have Peter Parker return to being an outsider/high school student (the Marvel Continuity Zombies would never allow that), then putting him into direct contact with other high school outsiders for him to identify with will serve nicely. The third act of the story has Spidy run into Ezekiel, an enigmatic stranger who clings to walls and seems to know lots of personal stuff about the wall crawler (like his secret identity, and everyone knows the Marvel Handbook has been out of print for years).

Where Straczynski is heading with the high school storyline is obvious. Peter will fight against the apathy that has stagnated the students and faculty there. After all, no matter how many times he saves the universe, of how hot his wife (Mary Jane has left left for the moment. Don't get me started!) is, Peter is still an outsider at heart. Where Straczynski is going with the Ezekiel character is much less obvious. All Ezekiel does is make cryptic comments and then dissappear. It is really pretty thin for a plot, but it's what we have come to expect from our comics these days. Any interesting ideas are stretched over several issues until they seem about to snap (unless your name is Ostrander, but that has nothing to do with this review).

I have a lot of respect for Straczynski's storytelling talents, and it is to his credit that I even picked up Spider-Man again. Unfortunately, as is too often the case, I'm going to have to read several more issues before I have enough story to know if I am going to like Spidey again or not. For one issue, Amazing Spider-Man 30 was pleasant enough. John Romita Jr's art looks pretty crisp and there is one moment of genuine humor as Spidey destroys an abandoned building. As Big Macs go, it tastes fresher than Spider-Man has in quite some time. Even if it is the same old burger underneath.

Reviewed April 9th, 2001

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