Superior Spider-Man Creators: Dan Slott, Christos Gage, Mark Bagley, Ryan Stegman, Humberto Ramos, Giuseppe Camoncoli, John Dell, JP Mayer, Victor Alazaba, Edgar Delgado, VCs Joe Caramagna
Story
Glenn: Setting up a new story, this one shot by Superior Spiderman mastermind Dan Slott tells us an untold tale of the period where Otto was piloting Peter Parker’s body. Although this one shot was released to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the original story, it read like no time had passed at all.
It was all here, the great story, Otto as a flawed hero, the comedic over the top nature of the whole affair, the minions and a Spider-Man thinking he is doing the job better than ever. It was brilliant, I loved it and I can’t wait to see where the consequences of present day Otto inadvertently freeing something he himself caused/contained comes back to bite Peter.
Every time I read someone say Slott ruined Spider-Man and then read something like this, it’s easy to remember when it comes top modern Spidey that no one does it better.
Steve: I loved, loved, loved this. (and not just because I read Amazing 35 and it made it look better) This is such a fun story that took place during Doc’s time as Spidey. The story itself is fun and compelling, and best of all, it sets up the rest of the series in a very clever, natural way. Slott, with Gage’s help here, writes an amazing Doc Ock: his relationships (and his misunderstanding of how they actually work), his drive to beat Spidey and his over the top brilliance. Can’t wait to see where this goes.
Art
Glenn: We had a lot of artists here. The original Superior Spider-Man artists Humberto Ramos, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Ryan Stegman all return along with Mark Bagley. These are all great artists so they all do a great job in their segments. The difference in segments and the varying art styles isn’t jarring and all clearly have a lot of fun coming back for one last Superior tale. As this one shot launches into a new ongoing, Bagley will be picking up the baton but of course, he’s hardly a stranger to the world of Spider-Man. These guys could have all done this blindfolded and did a great job.
Steve: I completely agree with Glenn here. The artists are all great and the meshing of styles in no way distracts from the story. All are up to par and the flow is in tact. For me, Humberto Ramos is my favorite Spider-man artist. He gets the fluid nature of Spider-Man in comics. Spider-Man should be gangly at times, arachnid-like, posed in ways that don’t quite meet skeletal soundness and frenetically paced on the page. Check, check, check and check. Ramos is that guy! I go through spurts with Spider-Man, unlike Glenn the Spider-guru. Books like this will keep me reading. The story is well told, engaging and has stakes that matter. Books like the current run on Amazing tempt me to jump ship. (see below)
Overall:
Glenn: 5 Webshooters! Reminder of an era that compared to the main title is just well…Superior.
Steve: 5 Webshooters! It’s one of the few books where a $6.99 price is justified.
Creators: Zeb Wells, Patrick Gleason, Marcio Menyz, Erick Arciniega, VCs Joe Caramagna
Story
Glenn: Kraven, Norman and the Goblin Queen team up to take down super sin filled Peter. There’s some stuff with MJ’s new powers, Peter feels sad and there’s a hint that Norman is going to turn evil again (fetch my fainting catch). After a great start, the story ends in just a bunch of stuff happening. The almost meta dialogue is the only thing mildly interesting. The rest of it is just…bleh. I’ve read worse to be fair, but its just all so forgettable.
Steve: I hate to keep agreeing with Glenn, but he is right. This is a very forgettable story. It seems the entire story was meant to perhaps bring Norman back to his Goblin nature. We knew this was coming. It was telegraphed from the beginning, so when the laugh comes out, it’s a yawner. The only interesting bit here came from Kraven 2. While he serves as an excellent villain for Spidey, or at least the original Kraven did, he does have a code. Here it seems, that a Peter gone crazy with murderous lust makes him unworthy of the hunt. It gives great motivation for his role in returning Peter to his former, non-Goblin, self. With this out of the way, hopefully Wells can stick the landing with all of the gangster threads dangling.
Art
Glenn: Gleason continues to do a great job. I hope he gets to go do another title soon that is worthy of his talents. I did notice an odd panel in terms of how it was positioned with the Goblin Queen hitting Spidey, but my brain couldn’t quite figure out in my mind given the positioning of the panel how it would be possible.
Anyway, next up is Rekrap returning. Send help.
Steve: Yeah, I really like Gleason. He deserves better. I didn’t see a problem with the Queen/Spider battle. Looks like she bonks him on the back of the head with her staff and then gives him a back staff to lift him back up. Not much to say here, but let’s move on.
Overall:
Glenn: 1.5 or 2 Webshooters. I don’t care, I’m going to go read Superior again.
Steve: 1 Webshooters- would have been two but that cover is awful!
Webshooters return each week here.