Amazing Spider-Man #10

By Dan Slott, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Cam Smith and Marte Gracia

There is an old saying that a hero is only as good as his villains. There are few heroes that have better rivals than Spider-Man. If you’re naming iconic baddies, chances are Batman and Spider-Man are going to have a lot of names on that list. This story arc continues with the Zodiac crew and, more specifically, Scorpio. He’s been a major pain in Spidey’s neck and Peter is finally ready to take him in, even if it means he has to chase him all over the world.

Dan Slott has been writing Amazing Spider-Man for quite a while. He’s had some good arcs and there have been some not so great ones. This arc focuses on Spidey taking on the Zodiac crew. If we’re being honest, it’s been mediocre so far. Maybe it’s that Spider-Man has so many iconic villains or that Scorpio just isn’t interesting enough, but this is just meh territory. The writing of the characters themselves is fine; Peter is witty and actually uses his abilities instead of all of his tech, which is nice, but it’s just not that exciting of a read. Slott starts us off where we left off, with Spidey fighting Scorpio after being knocked down a bit, but last issue’s cliffhanger doesn’t bring much excitement. Slott does continue to do a good job using Peter’s supporting cast well in this issue, though. There is a scene near the end where almost all of the Parker Industries crew is present, but the story still drags. The side-story involving the mysterious man in a suit gathering up villains is actually very fun. We have no idea who the man in the suit is, but it’s fun to see him round-up baddies as he attempts to form a Sinister Six type squad.

The pencils this issue are handled by Giuseppe Camuncoli with colors by Marte Gracia. There aren’t too many problems with the art this issue as Camuncoli is a true pro and Cam Smith on inks keeps everything cleanly in line. Much of this issue is a battle, and Camuncoli draws it all very well. Spidey leaping out of his vehicle after train looks great as the background looks like a speeding blur behind him. There is also an interesting panel where Spidey goes to fire his web shooter and Camuncoli has a closer insert of Spider-Man’s wrist as he goes to do it. These are the little touches that he does that make his work so good. The colors by Marte Gracia work wonderfully here. There is a heavy dose of green being used as Scorpio is constantly firing his weapon. Shading is wonderful in this issue too. Rhino busting into a dark room while almost completely shaded is quite the sight. The art is spot-on this issue and credit should absolutely go to this crew.

This wasn’t a bad issue; it just wasn’t anything too exciting. Dan Slott writes everyone well enough, but this storyline just isn’t all that interesting. The art on the other hand has been very good and helps boost the enjoyment of the issue.