REVIEW: ‘Amazing Spider-Man,’ Issue #57

Amazing Spider-Man #57 is written by Nick Spencer, penciled by Mark Bagley, inked by Andrew Hennessy and John Dell with Andy Owens, colored by Rachelle Rosenberg and Edgar Delgado, and lettered by VC’s Joe Caramagna. It is published by Marvel Comics.  The second part of “Post Mortem” picks up right where the last issue left off, with Spider-Man confronting Norman Osborn over the imprisonment of Kindred. Meanwhile, Peter’s fellow Spider-Heroes decide to officially form the Order of the Web and Carlie Cooper discovers a disturbing secret about one of the corpses that Kindred exhumed.

If that sounds like a lot, that’s because it is. This issue is packed with too many story threads, compared to “Last Remains,” which put the focus on Spidey or one of his supporting characters. The plotline concerning the Order of the Web feels superfluous. As they have all been working together prior to this, there’s no need for them to officially declare themselves a team when they’re already a team. Likewise, the corpse plotline feels like it could have been introduced further down the line; that way it wouldn’t feel tacked on.

The best sequences concern Spidey and the Osborns, and Spencer digs deep into their shared history to make the confrontation work. Spidey has had a long and violent history with Osborn, and he finally comes to a decision to put it to an end. One can’t blame him, especially considering the people Osborn has taken from him and what Kindred has put him through. And even though Kindred has been locked up in prison, it’s fairly clear that he’ll return to torment Spidey in the future. The best comics mix drama with action and this issue has plenty of drama to spare.

On the artistic side, Bagley continues to impress. His depiction of Peter/Spidey is especially on point, masked and unmasked. Unmasked, Peter’s face shows the trauma he’s been through. Tears fall from his eyes, and his face is caked in dirt. As Spidey, even though his face is masked you can feel the rage pouring off his body and soaking through his words. His eyes are extremely expressive as well, narrowing in anger.

This all boils over into an intense sequence where Spidey attacks Osborn. The web-slinger’s fists slamming into Osborn’s face intercut with scenes of Kindred killing him, as Spidey lets loose all of his rage and pain. Rosenberg and Delgado shade the sequence in an increasingly bright shade of red, making the audience feel like Spidey is literally seeing red—which is a nice touch. Caramagna tops it off with descending word boxes, fully immersing the audience in Spidey’s fury.

Amazing Spider-Man #57 feels a little overpacked with plot points, though it contains a highly emotional confrontation between Spidey and Norman Osborn. Next issue has promised to start the next era of Spencer’s run on the series, and I hope it keeps its focus on a singular plot/character.

Amazing Spider-Man #57 is available wherever comics are sold and through Comixology using our affiliate link.