Review: ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ #61 Tests Power & Responsibility
by Tony Thornley
Peter Parker is the world’s greatest hero, often just through sheer grit and determination. But The Amazing Spider-Man #61 demonstrates that even given incredible power, he would still do everything to save the world, just on a larger scale.
Joe Kelly, Ed McGuiness, Mark Farmer, Marcio Menyz, Niko Henrichon and Joe Caramagna kick off the 8 Deaths of Spider-Man event with this issue, one of the earliest stories of the One World Under Doom initiative.
Peter Parker thinks it’s just any other day in New York. But when Doom butts his way into his day, Peter doesn’t just have his morning inconvenienced. He’s about to face the most difficult and horrible adventure of his career — one that will claim his life 8 times.
Kelly nailed this out of the gate. I was worried because his Non-Stop Spider-Man series was actually my least favorite in a very long time. Here though, he captures Peter’s voice remarkably well from the beginning, hook us with a good action sequence and great interpersonal drama, and keeps us engaged with the central supernatural threat. It’s a lot of fun, but even better kept me interested enough to keep me coming.
McGuinness and Farmer do a great job translating the overwhelming heroics into something more. McGuinness has been working Spidey off and one for the last two years, and his simply issue is his standout. Whether it’s Peter Parker trying to keep his personal life together while a supervillain scatters across New York, or the mystical hook that set him on the path of the rest of the story, McGuinness and Farmer making it all look good. Henrichon steps in to help with an absolutely gorgeous painted flashback moment as well that’s just stunning to look at.
Menyz’s colors are bright throughout, capturing the spirit of the superhero adventure the rest of the creative team has prepped for us readers. Caramagna continues his absolutely fantastic work on the lettering, keeping up with the patter and banter in Kelly’s script incredibly well.
Amazing Spider-Man #61 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Overview
This book could have been paint by numbers. It didn’t just succeed though, it became one of the most fun reads I’ve seen from the big two in a while.
