THE BASICS
On day two of "The Fear", Spider-Man is injured, hungry, and exhausted. The only rest he's gotten is losing consciousness after falling from a multi-story building. And things have just gotten started.
MY COMPLIMENTS TO THE CHEF
- From a storytelling perspective, Spider-Man is always at his best when he's pushed to and beyond his limits. Conquering insurmountable odds is at the core of his character. This series thus far has done a great job of piling up everything it can against the wall crawler and it's a joy to watch. We know he's struggling and about to break, but he presses on anyway because he made a promise and he isn't about to break it. Everything in the comic is true to what Spider-Man is and it's refreshing to see that. Especially when his main title seems to have forgotten what makes Spider-Man tick.
- I really enjoyed the multiple side-story threads weaved through the story in this issue and the first, as well as how they've all come together so far. Spider-Man can't be everywhere at once and stepping away from him for a few brief moments allows us to see more of the state that New York City is in. It does a great job of adding more to the sense of dread and urgency and the story benefits all the more for it.
- We get quite a few strong character moments from multiple sources. Spider-Man, of course, gets a good many, but J. Jonah Jameson gets one of his own and even Vermin has one. Jonah's is my personal favorite, simply because it shows that he isn't just a raving lunatic. He's wise and determined, even motivating. All of which are character attributes often forgotten about him.
FEEL THE STING OF MY DISCONTENT!
- The only complaint I have is minor. The decision to change the blue sections of Spidey's costume to black is a little annoying. Not because it looks bad or because I'm a costume purist, but because it's distracting. I know the coloring is wrong every time I see Spider-Man (which is a lot, obviously) and every time I think of that, it's an instant where I'm being distracted and pulled away from the story. You could argue that it fits in to the mood of the story, but that could have been done by just using a darker shade of blue. Using black seems unnecessary and is really only distracting.
WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE
A very strong issue. Not quite as good as the last one, but this series is still the best tie-in to Fear Itself I've read yet.
