The Amazing Spider-Man: The Sins of Norman Osborn, published by Marvel Comics, is an outstanding issue that keeps the energy high in the Sins Rising Event.
About the Book:
The Amazing Spider-Man: The Sins of Norman Osborn is a direct follow up to The Amazing Spider-Man #48, and continues with Spider-Man heading into the Ravencroft Institute to protect Norman Osborn from the Sin-Eater and his army of followers. It also leads up to issue #49 of The Amazing Spider-Man, which is also known as The Amazing Spider-Man #850.
The Amazing Spider-Man: The Sins of Norman Osborn Story
Nick Spencer is a master at giving the reader reasons to continue reading. For example, The Amazing Spider-Man: The Sins of Norman Osborn has a scene before its opening credits that raises an interesting question that is not answered until very late in the issue. Spencer has done this throughout all of the Sins Rising event, and it has made each comic an absolute pleasure to read. There are always mysteries that need to be resolved, and each issue answers questions while raising new ones. It is an excellent way to make each comic an enjoyable read while also leaving enough unresolved, so there is a want to continue following the event.
This one-shot has everything that you’d expect from a tie-in to the Sins Rising event: new reveals, insight into character motivations, and a lot more interesting developments. It seems the event constantly has other Spider-Man characters introduced to play a part in the event, and The Amazing Spider-Man: The Sins of Norman Osborn does not hold back on that front.
Art
Federico Vicentini absolutely kills in The Amazing Spider-Man: The Sins of Norman Osborn. The action scenes are stunning, and the use of blurred lines to show motion in several panels in a row does a phenomenal job of causing a scene to seem slowed down. The way the characters’ faces were drawn throughout the one-shot was very expressive and helped many scenes that were mostly comprised of dialogue come to life.
The Amazing Spider-Man: The Sins of Norman Osborn at first seemed to have a very bland color palette — since most of the issue takes place in the Ravencroft Institute, which features little color — but later in the comic, the skills of Edgar Delgado became apparent. In the many scenes that were flashbacks or dreams have a nice distinct tone that helps highlight the drama. Towards the end of the issue, new areas are introduced that have a more pleasing variety color, and an action scene where Delgado is allowed to shine with some colorful backgrounds and brightly colored blasts.
The lettering of The Amazing Spider-Man: The Sins of Norman Osborn makes the dialogue of the story flow with ease and packs a punch in the action scenes. VC’s Joe Caramagna uses many different bold texts to make sound effects stand out and add to the blows exchanged in the combat. At one point, a thick red outline is used on a speech bubble, which does a perfect job of expressing the loud shriek of anger.
Conclusion
The Amazing Spider-Man: The Sins of Norman Osborn is full of the reveals and unresolved mysteries that make the Sins Rising event so enjoyable to read, and the art and lettering are fantastic complements. The one-shot would always be worth the read just so you could follow along with the thrilling event, but it can more than stand on its own. The one-shot is also the last issue leading up to The Amazing Spider-Man #850, and it does a brilliant job of setting the stage for the super-sized issue.
