Amazing Spider-Man #26: Ladies’ Night

First things first: I do hate a lying cover, and this issue of Amazing Spider-Man‘s is no exception. A cursory glance sets the expectation of a Superior Foes of Spider-Man reunion, and although writer Nick Spencer is definitely playing in that stylistic sandbox, it most definitely – in no way, shape, or form – a return to that cult classic comic. In fact, most of the characters don’t even appear in this issue at all!

But like I said, this issue is at least in that ballpark. Nick Spencer is at his best when writing that intersection of crime and comedy; he also has a skill for reimagining supervillain organizations as soulless corporations, with all the drudgery that comes along with it (W9s, marketing-speak, etc.), best evidenced by his mostly-forgotten (but heartfelt, brilliant, and overshadowed by his concurrent Stevil silliness) run on Sam Wilson: Captain America. So having the new Beetle reorganize the Foes as a sort of nu-feminist mission statement is not only right in his wheelhouse, but a lot of fun to boot.

And frankly, it’s great to see Spencer back to writing something that he’s so obviously more comfortable with than, say, the undercooked melodrama of “Hunted.” He writes this kind of stuff in his sleep (in a good way, I mean) but I’d be lying if I said it feels like an appropriate tonal fit for Amazing Spider-Man, especially after so much drama lately. It’s one thing to take a break from so much sustained seriousness, but another to give the reader whiplash to the degree they feel like they’re reading two completely different books from month to month. At this point in his Spidey tenure, I’d rather see Spencer take on a lesser title and just keep plugging away at stories like this, and award Amazing to a writer who understand the gravitas that comes with writing a book of this stature. (Someone like, say… Tom Taylor. Hmmmm…. Marvel, maybe a title/writer swap is in order?)

Without splitting anymore hairs, though, this is legitimately the most fun issue of Amazing Spider-Man I’ve read all year. Spencer is onto something here – the question is, with all the plates of subplots he has spinning right now, can he sustain it?

This issue also sees the debut of Kev Walker as rotating regular artist, alternating arcs with Ryan Ottley. I may not particularly care for either artists’ style, but I will say they’re a better pairing than Ottley was with Chris Bachalo or Humberto Ramos. If nothing else, there should be better visual consistency between arcs going forward.

Walker’s art style is more on the cartoony side, a touch of Art Adams mixed with the softness of Stuart Immonen. It doesn’t always work – check out the panel where Peter Parker looks like he’s about twelve – but it’s at least consistent, with strong inking and coloring to match. Since this issue was mostly talking with no real action beats to speak of, we have yet to see what he can really do with the ol’ web-slinger. Walker is an industry vet, though, and has always acquitted himself well, and always turns in consistent work.