The Amazing Spider-Man #686 Review

Beware of spoilers!

Okay, Dan Slott got me. In a story featuring both Mysterio and Chameleon, I should have known the catastrophic ending to last issue was not what it seemed. The twist at the start of this issue suddenly makes what came before it seem not so bad. The curse of reviewing comics. This penultimate chapter to Ends of the Earth provides a glimmer of hope that it will turn around into an event worth talking about.

Stefano Caselli is a big part of why this issue works. He’s got the right style for the big superheroics that fill up this issue. Spider-Man saving people from burning cars, Silver Sable taking on Doc Ock, that beautiful splash page reveal at the end -- they all look great. Even better, he relishes the more intimate moments, such as the closeup of Doc Ock’s decrepit face and Spider-Man’s elevator pitch to Mysterio.

Slott ups the action, the drama, and the fanboy moments throughout the issue, making it finally feel like the fun Spidey event I was hoping for. Unfortunately, It all comes a little late in the game. It seems too much time was spent on the wrong parts of the story. Everyone is obsessed with finding the cloaked satellites, and rightfully so, but that plot has moved forward at such a slow and awkward pace that it kills the momentum of the story. On top of that, there is a revelation squeezed in at the end that did not get the proper time, space, or setup it needed to be truly effective. Despite all this, the end result is surprisingly entertaining, so long as you don’t think about it too much.



Source : http://www.ign.com