Distracting hyper-stylized art from cover to cover.
On paper "Spider Island" continues to be a preposterous concept. Issue #668 is the second part of Marvel's mini-event from writer Dan Slott. Jackal and his henchmen have unleashed a virus in New York City that has given the people spider powers. It's all being done at the behest of a mysterious woman looming in the shadows. Slott starts the issue with a manic battle between the Avengers and the more irresponsible spider powered New Yorkers. Peter struggles to see where he fits in and how he can best help find out who is behind the infection.
This issue is written in the same slick style that we are used to from Slott but it lacks the energy and impressiveness of the previous issue. There's a lot that happens, most of it in the second half of the book, and Slott does a good job of bringing it together without it feeling cramped or forced. But it's hard to figure out his intended tone. As goofy as the concept is, there are ingredients here for an interesting story. But Slott adds so many quirky character moments, many of which don't work, that it's hard to take it seriously. You need some humor in a story like this but to much can really confuse the tone.
My biggest problem with the book is Humberto Ramos' art. His hyper-stylized pencils are terribly inconsistent and at times annoying. His action panels are entirely to cluttered and busy which really takes away their pop. But an even bigger problem is with Ramos' characters. I know there are fans of this style but it seemed to me that he went way over the top. We get out of proportion body parts, huge oversized jaws, crazy off-the-wall expressions, missing facial features, and an assortment of other style choices that are utterly distracting. There's one of the weirdest versions of Hawkeye in one panel and another that has Aunt May looking like a corpse. A quick thumb through may make the art look acceptable, but as I was reading it and giving the art more time I quickly noticed it took so much away from the story.
This issue was a step back from part one of the series. Slott still puts together a fairly interesting story even though he struggles with the tone. But his positives are undone by some really poor artwork. Ramos' art style may work for some people but not for me especially on this book. It's visually unattractive and may be what turns me off of this title. "Spider Island" was walking a thin line and had little room for error. Ramos' art didn't make walking that line any easier.
