Spider-Man is in for the battle of his life! Peter Parker's life has been worse. He's got a steady job. Black Cat is giving him the time of day again. As Spider-Man, Peter's taken some super-powered punches. But he's never caught the kind of Hell that's in store for him fighting for survival as he tries to keep Hellgate from destroying Manhattan! But what does this strange new foe want? And can Peter figure it out before his day gets a whole lot worse?! The city watches as Spider-Man takes the worst beating of his life. Battered and broken, Peter needs to level up if he's going to survive the next round - and he has resolved to get stronger by any means necessary. He is a different man following Hellgate's revelation - but Mary Jane Watson has a secret of her own to share! And the first foes to put Spidey's strength to the test are Shocker and his new allies, the Aftershocks!
Loved the ‘Spidey-vs.-Firelord’-type battle from the first half this book and as for the fallout in the second half of the book, well, colour me intrigued…
I really enjoyed how ''day in a life of'' this issue was. it's good to give us a chance to just check in with Peter, especially since following on from his new job last arc, things seem to be going quite well for once. We get another sweet scene with Aunt May; May and Peter really looks to be one of the things Kelly is best at writing so I'm very glad he's making use to pepper her into Pete's life frequently. We also get some romance stuff with both Shay and Black Cat in what I personally think is a great display of what modern dating is like, even if I feel editorial needs to have a big sit down meeting to figure out what Felicia actually want out of life. I enjoyed the action, as deliberately standard fare as it was and especially enjoyed the moment where Tombstone tracked Peter down to get a message to Spidey, a genuinely quite tense scene in my opinion!(even if I'm clearly missing some context from Well's run)
I also think JRJR did a pretty good job on art, with the cover being weaker than anything actually inside, though I am missing Pepe Larraz for both the quality of his work in issues 1-5 but more so for the sense of continuity having just one or two artists brings.
Issue 7
I'm not the only person to have noticed this but this fight feels like a complete 1 to 1 remake of the Morlun fight from the start of the JMS run. New powerful villain who shows up specifically to fight Spider-Man, Spidey doing his biggest hardest punch and not even making the bad guy flinch, resorting to running away and trying to mitigate civilian casualties, it's all very similar right down to having the same artist drawing it.
This issue is pretty good, Kelly continues to write Peter well, Black Cat was kinda a badass here and I liked the brief cutaway to Jamerson. Heck the fight is very good, some of JRJR's best recent work even, but it's so clearly a re-hash of a very iconic fight from over twenty years ago and I can't for the life of me think why either the writer or the artist would want to draw comparisons with such an iconic and storied chapter of Spider-Mans past.
I can see Hellgate shaping up to be a really good villain, I'm certainly intrigued by him right now and perceive him as a threat; but I do worry he's going to end up feeling like a discount Inheritor due to how similar this first appearance is to Morlun's.
Issue 8
Okay still quite a few moments her that feel like a retread of the Morlun fight (especially the stuff about what parts of Peters body gets buried or broken with each punch) but I don't want to retread my own review of last issue so lets jump into what's good.
The use of flashback to Peters childhood was really strong. It gives a good sense of consistency with the previous arc in this run and it clear that Peter still has his past on his mind ever since running into Brian again. It also ties into the fight well, with Peter both drawing strength from memories of uncle Ben, but also using the specific teachings in the moment to moment combat. It's sharp and smart storytelling from Kelly. The fight itself continued to be very well choreographed and if nothing else i read Hellgate as a serious threat. The idea that he's leaving specifically cause he wants to fight Spidey when he's stronger than this is really cool and adds a timer to upcoming events.
We also got a small cutaway to MJ's morning routine which felt consistent with Jonah's last issue and provides the same contrast that did with how Peter's early mornings usually go. As a fan of All New Venom it was nice seeing her with Dillan in ASM and I hope we see more of her soon.
Issue 9
Having a down and out Peter unable to be Spidey for a bit is great. I love how rather spend the new free time on his relationships and hobbies he pushes them away and dive head first into work. I've never seen Peter ghosting everyone before ; he's late and misses appointments and work and commitments, but he always does so apologetically and normally because eye had to do some super-heroing. Kelly writes this wounded Peter well and I enjoyed the range of reactions his loved ones had to him being radio silent. I still love May here, still Kelly's best written character in my opinion. I also loved the scene with MJ, the way he rejects her is wrong but its coming from a place of anger, some earned but mostly misplaced and it make for good and believable drama. ''you too deserve each other.'' is a low blow but I think it works for where Peter's head is at right now.
Issue 10
So the only thing I knew about this run is that Peter goes to space at some point so the twist was one I was predisposed to see coming but my got what a twist!
I'm continuing to really like this jaded and disenfranchised Peter, or 'Peter' I suppose now and the darker no-jokes Spider-Man impersonator was great too, with some shades of Superior without feeling like copying. Really excited to see where this goes.
Normally something with ROmita Jr art woudl get at least 2 stars but here I just can't... Random notes on a truly terrible comic book:
Fuck you, Joe Kelly, you suck on so (so) many levels... -"a quick prayer that it looks worse than it is". Spider-Man does not pray. Leave your religious shit out of comics
-"Hope you enjoyed that refreshing taste of Sucker Punch" a) If you are shit-talking someone and standing face to face, what you receive is not a "sucker punch". b) throwing a punch does not "taste" like anything, more than likely the receiver is the one "tasting" something.
-(Mi)using "literally" is a jack-ass move. Eliminate this word from your vocabulary.
"On my god". No. There is zero reason for personal gods in the Marvel Universe.
-"pumping out heat like the Human Torch on a hot date" No, You're not nearly as clever as you think you are. If the editor wasn't a total cunt, he'd call you on this shit.
-Calling Hellsgate "Smellsgate" See above. There is no previous mention of odors. And this is just kindergarten shit.
-J Jonah Jameson can be a right asshole, but even he would not be an "oxford comma" user, especially in a newspaper.
-"Bob-omb" No. Just fucking no
"fart barbarian" fuck you
"God, please don't let anyone get caught in this..." Really.
After THREE issues of Uncle Ben flashback we get the line, "I think of Uncle Ben. His words come to me at times like these..." um, yeah. We know. We saw. For 3 issues. Also, Hellgate is not in any way acting cowardly, yet Spidey calls him this 3 times. And even Hellsgate points out his misuse of the word (Spidey is being far more a Whiny Bitch) Spidey, ever so ironically, also says, "Words are hard sometimes, I know".
Captain Kintsugi Fuck you. Stop trying to "create" new characters. You're not good at it.
"For the love of god, run". No.
Good fucking grief, a "guest artist" interruption. Do. Not. Interrupt. A. Romita. Arc: it's the ONLY good thing about this! Mr Guest Artist also seems to have never seen Norman Osborn or Tombstone before. Or Aunt May orrrrr any other character... And oh good, new issue: new "god" mention. Sorry, mentionS. Three! Annnnnnd Mary Jane. Is now Venom (or some symbiote shit). Pathetic. Mary Jane is Parker's ex. Nothing more. Not a super hero. Not a super model. Not a venom. Stop trying to make her relevant. Lazy lazy and simply pathetic, fucking writing.
next issue, shitty artist still. god count x1 miusing literally x1
"the bag that holds your guts in" really.
Then we just turn into a science fiction story, which has no place in a Spidey tale. What are the two plot points one relies on when one quite clearly has no actual ideas? -Clone Nonsense -New Costume Bingo Kelly,
I can't say that I've ever had a chance to say, 'Never Have I Ever' with Spider-Man. It's always been a lot of the same things rearranged and given back to the fans as NEW. This chapter seems much more adult than I was expecting..
Life has been good for Peter Parker. Great new job doing science. Adulting. He even has a girlfriend he's establishing relationship boundaries with. Then, in wanders a DnD'eese' talking character named, 'Hellgate' that says he's here to learn from Spider-Man (and kick the absolute $h!+ out of Peter).
Given the ultimatum by Hellgate, 'Get stronger!', Peter is left battered and broken ...and (time jump) more violent(?). As Peter, he seems indifferent to his family and friends. As Spider-Man he seems much more in the league of Frank Castle/Punisher. End of this volume has them meeting face-to-face and saying that the other isn't who he claims to be.
Hellgate, teased at the end of the last Spider-Man run, has arrived, and he's going to kick the crap out of Spider-Man whether he wants it or not.
While Hellgate's whole motivation is a little murky, I'm all for a massive fight drawn by John Romita Jr. I know he's not as good as he used to be, but there's still something insane about seeing the guy just let loose, and this is a fight that's hard to look away from. Coming off the heels of that Tombstone fight at the end of the last volume, I didn't expect to see this fight go this way quite so soon, but I'm impressed, and hooked.
Plus, the final issue that sets up the new status quo for the next 10 or so issues is neat.
Overall, I'm very engaged by Joe Kelly's Spider-Man run thus far, which is as surprising to me as I'd hoped it'd be.