Amazing Spider-Man #557 – Review

By Zeb Wells (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils, colors), Townsend, Irwin, Faucher, Mendoza, and Vey (inks), Antonio Fabela (colors)

Just when I’ve hit my comfort zone with Chris Bachalo drawing Spider-Man he leaves. It’s just not fair, I tell ya! He and writer, Zeb Wells have arguably constructed the best Brand New Day story arc yet. As much as I’ve enjoyed this series since its reboot, what’s been accomplished in the past three issues doesn’t feel as fragmented as previous arcs. It’s a complete story with a satisfying ending. Yes, the on-going subplots are still going, but this story with Mayan gods and sacrifices was entertaining, fulfilling, and even suspenseful at times.

Wells continues to do a good job with Spidey and his dialog. The climax of the story was unexpected, and actually pretty cool! The way things come full circle at the end will also bring a smile to your face. I dug seeing Carlie in this book, it’s just too bad she was forced to play the damsel in distress. It would have been nice to see her character grow some more. I also could have done without Dr. Rabin’s constant expository dialog which quickly became redundant. But hey, no one’s perfect.

Hats of to Chris Bachalo for his Mayan God design. It’s undecipherable at times, looking like pieces of husk, bone, and straw all tossed onto a skeletal structure, but when we get a pull back on the camera and see this thing for what it is, I gotta say,  it’d make one heck of a cool statue! His art here is probably the best of the three issues. I know I’ve said this before, but the borderless pages, the white panels, and the coloring are exceptional. Great package, all around. (Grade: A-)

– J. Montes

Amazing Spider-Man #556 – Review

By Zeb Wells (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils), Tim Townsend (inks), Antonio Fabela (colors)

I flipped through this book at my local comic shop today before paying for it and my initial thought was, “No Wolverine?! This is gonna suck!” Now why would I think such a thing? Well, if you read my review of issue #555, I thought the Zeb Wells’ interaction between Spidey and Wolverine was the best thing going for the book. And with no Wolvie in this issue, we’d be stuck in a lot of mediocrity. In this case, I was wrong, and I couldn’t be happier.

Zeb Wells’ second installment of his three issue storyline is superb and stands as one of the best Brand New Day stories since Dan Slott’s opening run. Wells completely nails every facet of this story giving a fair amount of time to each of the supporting cast, timing the pace to perfection, providing a new, formidable foe, and tossing in an excellent twist at the end. Just forget about the critisms I had last issue, it’s all a distant memory as far as I’m concerned. This is simply a classic Spidey story in every sense. And I didn’t even miss Wolverine!

Storytelling wise, Chris Bachalo keeps the muddiness to a minimum, allowing the eye to follow the story with ease. And other than a few, odd panel choices, the art stays consistent with his effort from last issue. We get more of the snow white borderless panels/pages, which I’m liking more and more, but there’s some composition anomalies that left me scratching my head. In particular, we get one shot of Spider-Man’s back in which he looks completely bloated. He’s not stuffed with newspaper either, he just looks like Santa Claus! Ah well, you can’t win them all.

Spidey fans will be very pleased with this issue. Everyone else? Pick it up along with #555. I think you’ll be surprised. (Grade: A-)

– J. Montes