Review: ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #50 Is Fun But Overstuffed
by Tony Thornley
I love Spider-Man. He’s probably my favorite character in all of fiction. One of the biggest problems with Spider-Man, though, is that Marvel knows he’ll sell no matter what, and that’s exactly what happens in Amazing Spider-Man #50.
Zeb Wells, Ed McGuinness, Mark Farmer, Marcio Menyz, Erick Arciniega, and Joe Caramagna create the main story with backups by Marv Wolfman, Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, Nikesh Shukla, Chriscross, Andrew Dalhouse, Lee Gatlin, Joe Kelly, Juan Ferreyra, Todd Nauck and Rachelle Rosenberg.
The Living Brain speaks. But the AI has a dire message that Peter Parker, Norman Osborn, and their allies have only minutes to decipher- “Peter Parker is not Spider-Man.” What does that warning mean? And how will it lead to the most horrifying moment of Peter’s life?
I like the main story in this issue. This volume of Amazing Spider-Man has been at its best in the Tombstone plotline and the Peter/Norman plotline. The relationship between the two- particularly with Norman trying to make amends- has been fantastic. To see the expected heel turn finally happen, and in such an unexpected way is genuinely good. Even better, McGuinness turns in the best work he’s done on Spider-Man to date, nailing the interpersonal moments as well as the superhero moments, with Farmer, Menyz and Arciniega all enhancing it in their way.
The issue is that this issue is unnecessarily long, and with that length comes an extremely high price point for a single issue. If it had been only occasionally that this volume had hit this price point, that would be one thing. However, this is at least the fourth time in right around two years that this volume has had a $10 “anniversary” issue.
Sure, do the extra sized issue. Even do a back-up or two. But 73 pages for $10 is excessive, especially when about 40% of it is fluff. Trim it to 50 pages and sell it for $7 instead.
Of the back-ups, the Wells and Nauck one is fun, but it’s just an epilogue for the main story. The best of the rest is Wolfman and the Dodsons’ Spidey/Black Cat caper. It’s in, out and satisfying in less than 6 pages (and who doesn’t like Dodson-illustrated Spidey and Black Cat?). The others ranged from fun to fine, and that just doesn’t justify the price point or extra page count.
Amazing Spider-Man #50 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Overview
This issue starts strong, but by celebrating an artificial anniversary that was only created through Marvel’s sales tactics, it becomes a bit of a slog. It’s worth reading, but maybe not at that price point.
