Amazing Spider-Man #43: My Pet Monster

It’s part three of “True Companions” and man, it’s really good. Author Nick Spencer takes a breather from one of the storylines to concentrate on wrapping up another, which he does quite likely. I think. It’s hard to tell with Spencer, he loves cliffhangers and this issue is no different, but he ends his story with a definitive ending that could also be a pause. I’m making it sound more confusing than it is. Bottom line, it’s a really enjoyable book. Spider-Man and Boomerang are forced into a buddy cop dynamic and it works perfectly, even with Spidey plopped securely in the straight man role.

What I absolutely love about Spencer’s story is that it’s steeped in Marvel history, but it never references specific comics that you feel like you need to go find in the back issues boxes of your local store or go buy on ComiXology. If you have a really general knowledge of the Marvel Universe, you’re good. You don’t need to be a Marvel historian at all Spencer makes his books really accessible and that makes then a lot more fun in my opinion.

Hey! It’s artist Ryan Ottley AGAIN this month!! How awesome is that? I’ll be honest, I’m not in love with the way Ottley draws Cog, and unfortunately, there’s a LOT of Cog in this issue. If you move beyond that, it’s Ottley at his best, but again, Cog is in almost every panel. Gog should be a fun scary looking character, but here he looks like someone made a costume out of scaley material and put it on a dinosaur. IF you can look beyond that, you’ll enjoy the art on this issue.