Friday, August 10, 2012

Spider-Men #4 (of 5)

The title of this series may be Spider-Men, but the focus has really been on Spider-Man (as in The Amazing, not Ultimate).

That's mostly because the story has taken Peter Parker and dropped him in the Ultimate Universe - which is especially traumatic, because his counterpart in that world was killed - and there are a perplexing number of similarities between the worlds - and differences.

This chapter is especially designed to tug at the heart-strings, because it's all about Peter facing this version of his loved ones, including Gwen Stacy, his first love who met a tragic end in the Marvel Universe.

The story is loaded with emotional moments, and writer Brian Bendis makes the most of it, loading up some wonderful dialogue and bittersweet observations.

I like the art by Sara Pichelli a lot - the characters are very animated, and their expressions really shine through. She also does an excellent job making the distinction that Peter is older (though not a geezer by any means).

There's not much in the way of action in this story - it's all about the emotions - but judging by that final splash page, next issue will more than make up for it.

And hopefully Miles Morales will have a bit more to do, too.

Grade: A-

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