Wow, I really enjoyed this issue. I recently purchased this from CCL'er "
ComicsCastle" (
Check out his store if you get the chance).
I’ll start off with a little background as to why I bought this issue (
along with 314, 317 and 319). The first comic that started my collecting obsession was
Amazing Spider-Man #312. I have a goal of collecting every Amazing Spider-Man issue from #312 to present which would span my entire comic collecting timeline. Once that goal is complete, I’ll look into acquiring earlier issues, but for now, this is a realistic goal that I’ve set for myself.
On with the Review!!
Firstly, I wave of nostalgia washed upon me as I turned to the first page of this issue from 1989 (
wow.. it’s already been 20 years!). The slight yellow hue of the pages, the feel and smell of them. Man, they sure don’t make comics like they used too. Anyway, I’m immediately greeted with some fantastic (
and classic) McFarlane artwork. No wonder I got hooked on Spider-Man 20 years ago. Everything is dynamic and fast and chaotic. Anyone wanting to witness definitive eras of published Spider-Man stories should check out some examples of McFarlane/Michelinie collaborations. These guys were a winning combo.
The story slightly touches upon the “Inferno” crossover that was going on in the X-Men books. In short, Goblyn Queen (
Madelyne Pryor) went nuts and a portal opened between Hell and Earth and Demons started infesting New York City (
or something like that). So although Spidey wasn’t part of that crossover, he is feeling the effects on New York city in this issue (
as well as issue 311 & 312).
Peter and MJ are trying to get to Aunt May’s house to make sure she’s alright. When they get there, MJ’s cousin Kristy tells them that Aunt May went into the city to look for Peter. So Peter swings into action to go try and find Aunt May. First place he thinks she’ll come looking is at ESU, the University Peter attends classes at.
Meanwhile, Curt Connors is at ESU trying to control his Lizard transformations, without much success. Connors’ ex-wife and child pay him a visit only to get caught in this "Inferno" chaos as well as a Lizard'out Connors. Spidey saves the day of course and some pretty awesome fight sequences occur. McFarlane sure knew how to draw destructive battles.
As far as the writing goes, David Michelinie did a commendable job. A lot of the elements seemed rushed, forced or even too compressed, but he managed to squeeze a lot of stuff into this issue. Some of the dialog was a bit cheesy, but didn’t impede the story. He also managed to set-up the next issue in the last 2 pages. In the very least, anyone who bought and read this issue should have felt like they got their money’s worth.
Bottom Line: It was a fantastic issue and I’m looking forward to tackling #314. This is some classic Amazing Spider-Man which launched Todd McFarlane (
homegrown Canadian, btw) into comic book artist stardom. I urge anyone to check out some late 80’s McFarlane/Michelinie ASM issues. Entertainment factor is through the roof.