Amazing Spider-Man #674
Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Giuseppe Camuncoli, Klaus Janson and Frank D’Armata
In the wake of Spider-Island, a rash of apparent teen suicides has broken out across New York City. The cops assume these suicides are the result of kids who had a taste of spider powers during the “spider virus” incident trying to jump and/or swing from buildings. New York’s Finest are also none too happy that they turned into giant spiders and had webs coming out of their butts.
Naturally, this means the NYPD doesn’t care too much for Spidey. Again.
On the first page of the book, we see one of these “jumpers” going splat near the arch in Brooklyn. Longtime Spidey fans will notice, however, that this goth kid plummeting to his death has some rather familiar wing-like tech. I wonder how the cops missed that bit.
If you’re not entirely new to this, then you already knew from the shadow on the book’s cover that the Vulture was back. When and how Adrian Toomes escaped from the Raft at Ryker’s Island is still a mystery, but that’s where he was at the last time we saw him nearly 100 issues ago. Speaking of which, what happened to the newer Vulture that debuted in that same storyline? One can imagine that the younger, acid-spitting, Predator-jawed, all-around more monstrous Vulture isn’t going to like sharing the skies with Toomes and these newer, gothier Vulturions (They haven’t been called that…yet. But I’m old enough to remember those guys.)
Anyhow, this issue also touches on Spider-Man’s spider sense being back and what a crucial part of his power set it really is. Of course, this is set up for the developments on the following pages with the Kingpin, Hobgoblin and their inside man at Horizon Labs. It didn’t take Slott long at all to start weaving in new subplot threads after the biggest event of his career. There’s a reason he’s the best Amazing Spider-Man writer since Michelinie, and this is it. Let’s just hope his run with the book is as long and influential.
On the art front, Giuseppe Camuncoli delivers big time. Along with Klaus Janson’s inks and Frank D’Armata’s color job, this is right up my alley stylistically. I’ve been a sucker for realism since I was a kid, and this definitely works for the gritty, creepy direction they’re taking Vulture in.
My only complaint here involves the lightsaber scythe things that the Vulturions carry. I can suspend disbelief for a lot of things (including that ridiculous fire sword that Hobgoblin carries now), but lightsaber scythes are kind of beyond my threshold. Can’t criminals, you know, just carry knives or something?
Overall, though, Slott continues his stellar run on the book.
Story: 9/10 (Those lightsaber scythe things drop it down a notch.)
Art: 10/10
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