The Amazing Spider-Man #30 (Marvel Comics)
Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! This week I'm going to be reviewing the 30th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man from Marvel Comics!
Spider-Man is face to face with his newest foe Spore! Spore is targeting as many people as he can, and Peter is struggling to stop him! That’s also not the only problem Peter has to face by the end of the issue. So with that said, let’s jump into it!
Credit: Marvel Comics // The Amazing Spider-Man #30 by Joe Kelly (Writer), Pete Woods (Guest Artist), VC’s Joe Caramanga (Letterer), Mark Bagley & Dean White (Cover Art)
*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***
The Story
Joe Kelly is penning what might be the best Spider-Man story of the last ten years, and this issue is adding to the greatness of that story. Yes the story being told is only in it’s second issue, however the story is stretching back a way and it’s been setting up incredibly! This is sure to be an issue that everyone is going to be talking about, and deliver’s on multiple fronts.
There’s a couple of stories playing out in this issue worth noting. The first one picks up where the last one left off with Peter Parker confronting Spore. It’s not your typical confrontation either because Peter is in a room full of people who don’t know his secret identity, so as a result he’s stuck to keeping it a power free event. Luckily his new friend Kintsugi makes an appearance to help him out. The battle is spectacular and we even get an interesting moment with Peter’s Spidey-sense ability that appears to be undergoing a metamorphosis. Does it have something to do with his training with Daredevil? I say probably! However only time will tell! The battle is so not over, but I’m really enjoying the way Joe Kelly is building Spore up already. He doesn’t really feel like a standard villain Spider-Man has faced recently, and it’s honestly working really well!
One of the other stories is involving Aunt May and the cleanup of F.E.A.S.T. after the battle involving Torment. However it’s not the clean up, and Peter’s noted absence that’s the real interesting focus. The part worth noting is involving one of the folks helping out with said cleanup, and it’s someone we met for the first time during the Death Spiral storyline and that’s Peter’s cousin is helping out! Yes, that’s right Cormac Crane is in town to help out. The real twist however comes at dinner with Peter, Aunt May and her boyfriend Ric. Cormac shows up unannounced to dinner and drops what might be the biggest revelation in Spider-Man history. I will not say what it is under any circumstances whatsoever, but trust me when I say you’re going to want to read it ASAP because this is not going to take long to get spoiled.
There’s also a little bit of story development with Kintsugi and his life outside the mask. As a new character I really liked the way Joe is laying the groundwork for this character. We don’t know the full story, just enough to buy into the the story. Now that he’s peeling back the layer’s of the proverbial onion I’m fully bought in. I’m really excited to see where Joe takes not only Kintsugi but this whole story.
The Artwork
Pete Woods is the guest artist again for this issue and their style is really winning me over to it. Pete brings their own style to the issue but also managed to capture the look and feel fans will be used to at this point. I don’t know if there are any plans to have Pete on as artist in a permanent or semi-regular basis but I think they could bring a lot to the table and really push the boundaries in some interesting ways. Pete’s style is quickly becoming one of my favorites to see in comics, and if you haven’t seen their work before you need to remedy that ASAP.
Overall Grade: 9/10
Joe Kelly drops what might be the best issue of his run thus far with a story that is sure to have everyone talking. Together with fantastic artwork from Pete Woods, this is a series that you cannot miss out on!
