The Amazing Spider-Man #1000 (Marvel Comics)
Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! This week I'm going to be reviewing the 1000th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man from Marvel Comics!
1000 issues is an incredible milestone for a comic book series. Only two other series in all of comics have achieved to reach that accomplishment in all of comics, and now The Amazing Spider-Man is joining that club! This landmark issue features EIGHT stories in all! So let’s jump into it!
Credit: Marvel Comics
The Amazing Spider-Man #1000 by Joe Kelly, Noah Hawley, J.M. DeMatteis, Frank Miller, Rob Fee, Paul Levesque, Brian Michael Bendis, Larry Lieber & Dan Slott (Writers); Pepe Larraz, Patrick Gleason, Peach Momoko, Stuart Immonen, Marcos Martin (Artists); Humberto Ramos, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Ed McGuinness (Pencilers); Victor Olazaba, Klaus Janson, Mark Farmer (Inkers); Federico Blee, Erick Arciniega, Marcio Menyz, Edgar Delgado, Matt Wilson, Marte Gracia, Rachelle Rosenberg, Muntsa Vicente (Colorists), Joe Caramanga (Letterer); John Romita Jr, Paulo Rivera; Pepe Larraz & Marte Garcia (Cover)
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
The Story
There is A LOT to talk about with the stories taking place in this issue, as I said before there are eight of them. I won’t go through every story, some of them need to be read without any influence on them. This issue is MASSIVE, coming in at over 100 pages in length. Each story is incredible, and some of them are some of the best storytelling you’ll read in Spider-Man comics this year.
Let’s start off with the main story, Ravaged by Joe Kelly. This is of course the story directly related to the ongoing tale being told by Joe. I really like the way he ratcheted up the tension and raised the stakes in a really exciting way. Let’s be honest I think we all saw the twist coming, but it’s the way in which it’s laid out that was really surprising. This feels game changing for Peter Parker and that if things are going to return to normal it’s going to take a miracle. I’m very invested in this story as it feels so unlike anything I’ve ever read from a Spider-Man story. Where this story leads to next is anyone’s guess, but Joe Kelly is easily writing the best Spider-Man story of the last 25 years.
Another story worth mentioning is the one titled Still Standing by Noah Hawley. I really enjoyed this one even more than I did the main story because of how ambitious it is, and how unique it is in this modern day Spider-Man story. The story is set in the future where Peter Parker is an old man living in a retirement home/assisted living facility and is getting visited by his family members. It’s an incredibly moving story that really caught me off guard with how touching it is. There’s one page in the story that particularly moved me on an emotional level that I was not expecting. I’m not going to spoil it, because it’s one that you really should experience for yourself. But trust me when I say that you’ll know it when you see it.
There really is something for everyone in this issue and it’s one of the strong points of the issue. There’s a classic Spider-Man story, a story that revisits one of the classic points in Peter’s history. Plus there’s one that is on that’s a little bit on the horror side of things. There’s even one from the WWE COO Triple H, which I have to be honest. When it was announced that he was going to be doing a story I had to ask, “Why??” But after reading it I have to admit that it makes total sense why and I really loved it. From start to finish this really is the best issue of The Amazing Spider-Man and a beautiful love letter to the whole series.
The Artwork
I really have to give credit to everyone who worked on the art because it’s some of the most impressive and beautiful art you will see this year. The art is incredibly varied from story to story, and it all stands out on it’s own in an impressive way that works incredibly well with the story. I particularly enjoyed the art from the second story the most, because I can’t remember if I’ve ever read a story with old man Peter Parker in it before. So getting to see our favorite wall crawler in a new perspective was awesome and a real treat to read. Also that one page in the story I mentioned before had the most beautiful art of the whole issue and it really moved me on an emotional level.
Overall Grade: 10/10
Quite simply this is the best single issue of The Amazing Spider-Man ever. A milestone like this deserves to be celebrated and this issue is an incredible love letter to not just the series, but Spider-Man in general. There’s a story in this 100+ page issue for everyone and it really is worth the price for that and the incredible art along with it. You seriously DO NOT want to pass up on this issue and you need to add this issue to your collection.
