The Hobgoblin Strikes Back: ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #11 Reviewed
by Tony Thornley
One of the greatest foes in Spider-Man’s rogues gallery is the Hobgoblin. The mysterious and brutal Goblin had long been a thorn in Peter Parker’s side, and has commonly been much more frightening than his predecessor, the Green Goblin. In Amazing Spider-Man #11, one of the many Hobgoblins returns, but the most frightening question is not why, but who?
Zeb Wells, John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, Marcio Menyz and Joe Caramagna bring a popular villain back to New York and face to face with Spider-Man.
Norman Osborn is still trying to make amends for the evil he caused, even in ways beyond what Peter Parker recommends. One of those amends is to restore the holdings of Roderick Kingsley, the original Hobgoblin. Unfortunately, the new Goblin might throw a wrench in the works. But exactly who is he?
It’s great to have Hobgoblin back and in the way he is. Wells executes it in a way that’s interesting, but doesn’t distract from the stride he’s found with Peter’s new Oscorp-heavy status quo. The clues to the new Hobgoblin’s identity point to an obvious culprit, and it makes the mystery more interesting. Wells is a smart enough writer to not do the obvious, so it makes me immediately wonder what the twist is.
Romita and Hanna continue to do great work together. Though the faces are still a bit overly blocky, they’re expressive, and drive the story along. They also do some great stuff with the action sequences. When the Hobgoblin literally bursts on the page- which happens multiple times through the issue- he’s always a dominating presence that fills the page or panel- whether it’s sneaking into a sleeping child’s nursery or mowing through mobsters to confront Norman and Kingsley.
Menyz drowns the pages in color that sets tone and mood. When Norman and Roderick meet, he uses a foreboding tone of red, so the appearance of the Goblin has an even stronger impact. Caramagna packs the pages with information, and makes it easy to read. It’s subtle but strong lettering work.
The series is making some interesting progress. The new Hobby is creepy and the mystery is interesting. I hope that we can see some of that in the other plots of the volume, because it’s really getting fun.
Amazing Spider-Man #11 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Overview
The Hobgoblin returns to menace our heroes. It’s a lot of fun, and the creative team captures the frightening nature of his return!
