Amazing Spider-Man #563 – Review

By Bob Gale (Writer), Mike McKone (Penciler), Marlo Alquiza (Inker), and Jeremy Cox & Antonio Fabela (Colorists)

Nothing’s better than picking up a Spider-Man comic written by Bob Gale and not wincing. He’s a funny guy, but he sometimes over does it with the funnies. Not here though. Everything resonates well and leaves you feeling good about the status quo of Amazing Spider-Man.

When Spider-man discovers online sensation/criminal Speedball impersonating him in an Off-Fight-Scene-Betting scam, ol’ Webhead follows the money to the “Bar with No Name” and comes face to face with 20 or so drunken, costumed goons. The scene that ensues is hilarious, as Spider-man quips like the smart-ass he is and beats the sauced squad with similar comedic effect.

Unlike the other Brand New Day writers Slott, Guggenheim, and Wells, Gale readily makes use of the editor’s caption as part of the narrative. This really works in this issue, as it did last issue when Gale tried to figure out in what issue Spider-Man fought the Basher (Answer: Spider-Man never fought the Basher). Gale utilizes the captions to conveniently segue into a side story of Aunt May at the soup kitchen without losing the momentum of the main narrative.

Also worth mentioning is artist Mike McKone, who does good job overall, capturing the main character’s body. Spider-Man’s physique should reflect his underdog persona. McKone depicts Spidey with a tight, but diminutive frame. The effect provides both youthful airs and vulnerability.

Gale also employs numerous side characters with distinct voices and crafts Spidey’s adventure around them. This gives the issue heft (because there is a lot of dialogue) and subsequently a larger scope, as Webhead’s world becomes bigger than just super-villains, Aunt May, and sexual frustration. It’s The Bookie and his gambling father, the sensible but sneaky bartender Deke, and the honest villain Ox, that makes the story more relevant and touching.

And honestly with a cover of Spider-Man being chased in a Coney Island bumper car, how can you resist? (Grade: A-)

-Steven M. Bari

A Second Opinion

This book is good… for a Bob Gale issue. Frankly, I was surprised at how he managed to turn things around within the first few pages of the book. I even laughed out loud at a couple of the jokes, too. But that doesn’t mean this story is without faults. Though it does it a lot less than normal, this book, once again jumps around. You know what I’m talking about – that weird one page detour to Aunt May’s soup kitchen. Any momentum that was built up was lost all because one page left me saying, “WTF!?” to myself.

The story is entertaining, there’s no qualms there, but I don’t like how easily Spidey takes down The Enforcers. If you’ve been reading the latest issues of Daredevil, Ox just by himself is a formidable opponent. Here, he and the rest of his team are relegated to loser status, and I don’t like it. We have enough losers in this book as it is (most of the villains in the bar and the “Bookie family”), why take one of the classic groups of bad guys and completely neuter them?

Mike McKone’s art is definitely the highlight of this book. His compositions are tight, clean, and just beautiful. He brings a lot of energy to Bob Gale’s script and allows the reader to skip through all the unneeded dialogue (not that I condone doing this) while preserving the story. As I said, this is a good issue for Bob Gale. Hopefully, he’ll continue to improve, because he’s not out of the woods yet. (Grade: C+)

– J. Montes