Review: Subscribe To JJJ’s Podcast In ‘Amazing Spider-Man #39’

Spider-Man has survived countless encounters with super villains, saved the world on multiple occasions, and dealt with all kinds of clones. Now he faces his biggest challenge yet…a podcast with J. Jonah Jameson? These two former enemies have become friends, dare I say, allies, but recent transgressions have put them at odds. Can they clear the air over some microphones? Or will they come to blows instead?

The action is light in Amazing Spider-Man #39 as it’s literally a podcast interview. It largely consists of two people talking to each other for twenty pages. Writer Nick Spencer does provide an interesting look at the relationship between these two that makes for a lively conversation. From the look of things, they’re both being manipulated by Norah Winters though.
We always take JJJ’s views of Spider-Man with a grain of salt. He’s the kooky old man played for laughs. Here we get deeper insight into how he saw Spider-Man’s adventures and his own actions as the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Bugle. We’re presented with two sides of the same story and it doesn’t always paint the wall-crawler in the best of light, especially when we reminisce about all the jokes he played on Jonah.

Although we’re watching these two talk to each other for the duration of the comic, artist Iban Coello presents some dynamic and visually entertaining work. You get the sense that Spider-Man can’t sit still even if he’s planted in a chair. He’s fidgeting and moving all over. When the interview starts, he’s hanging from the ceiling. Coello gives the web-head some extra expressiveness through the mask, turning his lens into fun looks that shine, adding just the right amount of sarcasm to the dialogue.
Colorist Brian Reber differentiates some flashback shots with a faded, beige tone, giving them the appearance of old photographs. This contrasts well with the bright palette used for the present day scenes. The colors really pop in the studio, especially the reds in Spider-Man’s costume.

Unsurprisingly, with this dialogue heavy issue, letterer Joe Caramagna has his work cut out for him. He seamlessly guides us through this conversation with just the right amount of emphasis on certain words. This adds some inflection to the dialogue, giving each character a more defined voice.

While this is a fun side quest in the overall adventures of Spider-Man, too much time is being dedicated to this. We’ve seen a number of great ideas introduced over the course of this series so far and many times they’re thrown out there, teased, and then left to languish for awhile. This feels like a distraction, which is something I find myself saying about more and more of these issues. The voice and essence of the character is there, but for such a flagship title, it’s rather underwhelming.
Amazing Spider-Man #39 from Marvel Comics is currently available at your local comic shop and digitally through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle.