Joe Kelly and Pepe Larraz got off to an impressive start to their creative run on Amazing Spider-Man. They were able to balance this being a reset period for Peter Parker while making sure the character and his world moves forward. Creating that balance allowed how we are basically getting a fresh start, including Spider-Man’s Rogues Gallery in their familiar forms, be exactly that. A fresh start that this series has needed for years. Now let’s see how they follow up a successful debut with Amazing Spider-Man #2.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist: Pepe Larraz
Colorist: Marte Gracia
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #2 SOLICITATION
“RHINO RAMPAGE! What amped Rhino up from criminal super-bruiser to rampaging disaster machine? We aren’t spilling, but it just amped up Spider-Man! That’s right, Spider-Man is going in and out of control of his senses trying to figure out how to get full control of his body. And the only people who can help are Norman Osborn and… Peter’s long-lost childhood best friend?!” – Marvel Comics
REVIEW
Amazing Spider-Man #2 delivers on exactly what you want from a successful debut. It continues the momentum while developing a greater story based on how Joe Kelly and Pepe Larraz kicked off their creative run.
What was particularly impressive was how this second issue we really saw the chemistry of Kelly, Larraz, and Marte Gracia’s coloring shine. The writing and artwork were equally important in getting over how immediately something was wrong with Peter Parker. Between using the different lighting to show us what Peter was seeing and the reality of Spider-Man’s actions was well done.
Being able to established this confused state of Peter Parker made how things continued to deteriorate in Amazing Spider-Man #2 even more effective. Just like Peter, you are questioning when, if at all, we will see Peter return to reality. That is where mixing in Peter’s new job into things made this question even bigger. We’re left wondering if Peter beat the confusion or if this was yet another part of his hallucination.
It all led to one of the best uses of Norman Osborn since he rehabilitated his image. Kelly did a great job at showing Peter and Norman started fresh without making that the complete focus. Norman used his own experience as Green Goblin to help Peter understand what exactly caused his hallucinations.
It was a nice touch to show that buried deep within Norman that his Green Goblin persona is still there. The way his Green Goblin side was presented does put into question if we will eventually see him return in that form. It was certainly a big tease.
The choice to have Itsy Bitsy as the villain of this first Amazing Spider-Man story arc isn’t surprising. Itsy Bitsy is a semi-recently introduced villain, having first appeared in Spider-Man/Deadpool #8 by Kelly and Ed McGuinness. Kelly bringing back one of his new creations thus freshen things up for Amazing Spider-Man. It will be Kelly’s job to get Itsy Bitsy over as a villain since her last appearance was back in 2017. So how well Kelly and Larraz are able to get over Itsy Bitsy will make or break their first story arc.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Amazing Spider-Man #2 did its job of continuing the positive momentum for the start of Joe Kelly and Pepe Larraz’s creative run. The nightmare experience Peter Parker goes through showed how strong the creative chemistry between Kelly and Larraz is. Now as long as they can use that creative power to get over a villain Kelly created a decade ago the winning can continue for this series.
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
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