HELL YEAH, MILES! THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!
…er, sorry. I was still going crazy over that cover. This week, we step away from the latest event series to deal with the fallout (those story arcs are usually better, anyway). We also get the start of a Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen crossover, which has the potential to be all types of good.
Spider-Man #12 (Marvel Comics)
Observations
- That opening page is amazing (although your racist uncle who posts lots of fake news links on Facebook probably wouldn’t like it).
- There’s something very comforting (and highly entertaining) about watching Miles deal with life’s biggest questions with his fellow roommates.
- Mariah Hill: The master of elegantly explaining how she screwed something up.
- Really wish Miles would start looking around this dimension for his dad, but I kind of don’t want this fight with an alternate version of a D-list villain to end, either.
- Boom.
The Verdict
Even as a full-blown Bendis fanboy, I’ll be the first to admit that Civil War II was not good.
That being said, it’s great to see Bendis back doing a more intimate story like this. Not only does it give him a chance to create the character moments and dialogue he excels at, but he still manages to throw in a lot of big themes and ideas without all the MAJOR EVENT SERIES bloat.
We also get some light-hearted action along with the beginning of what I could easily see becoming one of my favorite relationships (romantic or otherwise) in the Marvel Universe.
Unfortunately, the issue’s fun tone doesn’t always match up with the fact that Miles is still looking for his dad. I get that Bendis wants Miles’ mix of excitement and fear about his current situation to be a focal part of the story, but it ends up making the narrative feel a bit disjointed. Also, from the standpoint of this being a single issue, the promise of the wonderful opening page isn’t paid off very well. Like a lot of Bendis’ stories, this one will probably end up reading better in a collected edition.
That’s not to say you should forget about picking up the single, though. Anything Sara Pichelli draws is worth having on your pull list, especially with a script that gives her so many different characters and reactions to work with. Also, unlike Civil War II, this feels like the start of something genuinely good and special—a story that’s being told because it’s a really cool/fun idea instead of a marketing vehicle.
Yes, I know I just said that about the first issue of a crossover. But trust me when I say that if you’re any type of Spiderfan, then Spider-Man #12 needs to be in your hands this week.
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