Amazing Spider-Man #62: It’s the Magic in the NIght

“The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man” rumbles on in Amazing Spider-Man #62! After last issue, one might be forgiven that writer Joe Kelly could conceivably fall into one-trick pony mode – replaying the same kinds of fights over and over again for poor Spidey, each one ending with his death – but Kelly’s too sharp of a writer for that. The overworked Spider-Man is once more put through the paces, but this time, he faces a foe that relies on space-time and base cunning than on sheer strength. It’s the kind of fight that forces Peter Parker to rely on his brain, not his brawn – in other words, classic Spidey.

Kelly does a great job of keeping the stakes high throughout the issue, whether it’s Spider-Man training with Doctor Strange or stretching into infinity throughout the Quantumverse and beyond – or once more allowing his obligations as the web-head to wreck his social life. This bit feels a tad forced, as we’ve seen it play out countless times before, but not so much as to ruin the story by any means. And in the end, we get a fantastic set-up for Spider-Man’s next demonic foe.

Ed McGuinness flexes his finest on the art duties here, and not even a trio of inkers can stop him. Normally, this would be a red flag for inconsistent art, but not even having two different colorists on top of the triple-team inkers stops him or slows him down. Is there nothing McGuinness can’t do? At this point of his career, all signs point to “no.”

Amazing Spider-Man #62 isn’t quite the slam-dunk the previous issue was, but then, this is a pacesetter issue, rather than one kicking the barn door open. There’s a lot here that relies on coincidence in terms of set-up, but it isn’t so galling as to take readers out of the story. And as with last issue, half the fun is watching Spider-Man out of his element – i.e., the world of magic. That alone puts Peter on his heels, which is always fun to watch.