AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #652

REVENGE OF THE SPIDER-SLAYER Part 1 of 3 “Army of Insects”

THE SCORPION was just the beginning! Alistair Smythe, THE SPIDER-SLAYER, has returned, and Mac Gargan isn’t the only subject he’s upgraded. The Spider-Slayer is about to unleash an entire INSECT ARMY on Spider-Man’s world! And as part of his ultimate revenge, Smythe is out turn one of Spidey’s first ever victories into one of his biggest losses. Everyone is at risk. Big changes are coming! Don’t you dare miss an issue! All this, plus an all-new story showing a hidden side of Mac Gargan’s past!

Story by Dan Slott
Art by Stefano Caselli
Colors by Edgar Delgado
Letters by VC - Joe Caramagna
Cover by Stefano Caselli

Price: $3.99
iFanboy Community Pick of the Week Percentage: 10.6%

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Comments

  1. Kind of disappointed this became a book with a back-up rather than a bigger main story.

  2. @NawidA  That, and the delay of last issue have really hurt this – my main shop still hasn’t got last week’s issue; had to go to another one to find it.

  3. @NawidA  I don’t have a problem with having 8 pages, or so, of back-up story if that back-up story lays the groundwork for the next arc, especially if it is done by the artist who will eventually draw that next arc.  This “hidden” Mac Gargan back-up just seems like filler, but maybe it does lay some groundwork for whats coming later in the spider-slayer arc.

  4. YAWN!!!  I flip through it in the store but I doubt I’ll be picking this up until there is a no writer on board, like serously. 

  5. I like Slott’s writing so far…i hope that the art maintains a similar feel….

  6. So excited to have Stefano Caselli back in my life

  7. Spiderman back to back weeks. Love it. 

  8. casellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicasellicaselli

    Been waiting for more of his art since Wake the Beast 

  9. BIG TIME has lived up to the name so far in my opinion, I’ve had a (forgive me) BIG TIME reading each issue. It has everything i want from spider-man and the perfect tone but also with just enough new and creative things going on to make it feel fresh. Loving it so far and can’t wait to start the next arc!

  10. Caselli is killing it on art. Love it

  11. @NawidA  I don’t mind the back-up either. Its written by the same writer, has the same tone, and is directly related to the core series. Back-ups only bother me when the tone i different between the two stories and the core series and the back-up are only loosely related. A perfect example of a terrible back-up was the Nomad back-up in Captain America. 

  12. The Mac Gargan Scorpion suit looked kinda dumb. Not to sure about this arc…I like Casselli though.

  13. Loving Slott on this book consistently. The rotating writers of BND were to jumbled and uneven, leading me to drop the book.

  14. I’m glad the artist changed hopefully it stays changed, wasn’t digging Humberto’s art

  15. I really liked the art and story, but the jokes in this were 10 years old…and the VCR reference was weird.

  16. @Zeppo:  I agree 100% about the writing.  These are the types of jokes that are hokey now, and also the types that don’t hold up for longer than a month before they’re horribly dated and cringe-worthy.

  17. I loves this issue.  Wonderful Caselli art and a great Van Lente penned Power Man backup.
     

  18. The art is finally better?  THANK GOODNESS!  This pseudo-anime style bullshit of the past couple issues has been driving me nuts.

  19. The art was good, but uneven in places. The story was… lacking. It’s not so much that I was disappointed, but that it just felt rushed and not thought out. The overall convenience of things bothers me as well? Why did Peter have to be part of the tech staff at the launch? Why couldn’t he have just gone as a guest of the Jamesons? The backup was a lot of fun. I love FVL. 3/5

  20. @PraxJarvin  I had no problem with why he was there. he has a new job, i like that they’re using it for as a plot device

  21. @Roi Yes, but what exactly was the point of Peter being called in? He only ends up using his spider sense which just feels like the only reason he was there for his job was plot convenience. As well, why not have Peter’s boss set up his involvement in a more natural way? Having the pilot of your space craft text his grandfather to ask his step-nephew seemed… a stretch. I admit this might be a hint that things aren’t as they seem, it felt tacked on – even amateurish.

  22. It’s… it’s just so nice to read ASM and love every issue. This was great, can’t wait for more!

  23. I get what PraxJarvin is saying, it just doesn’t really bother me that much, they did the same things when he was a photographer, having him take photos at places that didn’t make sense for him to be taking photos and then of course, something would happen there and Spider-man would show up.

    I’m tired of the awkward Carly and MJ moments, actually I’m just tired of Carly, I wish she would go away.  Other than that, another solid issue of ASM.

  24. Apparently Caselli got really really good since Avengers: The Initiative.  Good issue

  25. Still loving this series. The back ups are actually useful and set up future stories.

    I just hope whoever it was on the art isn’t the permanant artist. Ramos was making this book someting to look at, this new guy just isn’t doing it for me. It’s almost like he’s trying to mimic how MacFarlane used to draw Parker…including those huge eyebrows….they could get their own series their so big.

  26. @Zeppo  that was the point. To show JJJ being forever out of touch with the times. I got the joke right off and thought it was very well played.

  27. @Zarathos81

    That’s true, but it wasn’t the only example of Slott using old jokes. That was just the one from this issue. I think last issues was “I don’t know what you just said, but it had better have been last words”, I think I read that in a Warren Ellis comic from a few years back.

    Again, nothing against Slott’s story, I actually thought that was really fun, but I haven’t been floored by Slott’s humour, and everyone tells me he is hilarous.

  28. @Zeppo  I’m with you on the jokes.  I think Slott’s a good comic book writer but unfortunately he’s just not very funny and a lot of it feels kind of forced.  Not enough to ruin the story for me though, this book has been a consistent 4

  29. I don’t want to give the impression I didn’t enjoy the book. It was my POTW, the art was great, I love all three of the new artists, so it’s win win every week, and the drama of the story of which Jameson to save was classic Spider-man.

  30. Just to change the topic abit, does anyone else think this arc will end with John Jameson being injured and having to accept the Vemon symbiote to survive.

  31. @Zeppo  Not a bad call.  I just hope they can make Venom cool again, and specifically a villain that Spidey has a tough time handling.  Venom was so so good during the McFarlane/Larsen days on ASM

  32. @Zeppo  I think Flash might get the symbiote, he seems more of a fighter than Jameson lately. Over the last few years they’ve really been playing up Jameson as an astronaut and Flash as a soldier. Plus Jameson has already been the Man-wolf, no need to give him yet another identity.

  33. @RoiVampire  But then he wouldn’t be a Spidey Villain…

    You know, Remender and Tony Moore are doing that Venom as a secret agent comic.  I don’t think its the same “Venom”, but if it was, then the obvious transition would be Flash gets infected in ASM and then transitions to his own book after the arc.  He does have military training afterall

  34. @cutty  That’s what I’m saying. I’m real interested in how exactly this new venom becomes venom

  35. Anybody know how much longer Slott’s gonna be doing this?

  36. @RoiVampire  I just read a promo on Remender’s Venom comic, and he is a “yet to be revealed member of Spider-Man’s supporting cast at the behest of the U.S. military”.  Plus he makes his debut in Dan Slott’s ASM 654.1.  You know, Flash Thompson should be super hero.  I don’t know if he can carry his own book, but its a cool idea with a character that everybody knows and likes.

    You my friend nailed it.  Nicely done

  37. I wasn’t a huge fan of Caselli’s art on this one. There was nothing wrong wit it…it was well done, but combined with the inks and colors it was just a bit expected and average looking. To me it was just generic “house style” superhero comic art. Thats why i liked Ramos’ work so much….it was a unique voice and completely unexpected for a mainstream comic title (which is what i suppose some of you hated about it)

    Looks like he’s coming back though next issue so thats cool. Overall i enjoyed it, but just saying, i like things that are different and fresh. 

  38. I loved this ish. Caselli KILLED IT with this book. Best spidey art in a long long while. Probably since McNiven.

  39. I like how MJ is around. There should be some interesting exchanges.  The art rotates between Ramos, Caselli and Martin.

  40. Caselli was fantastic on this, he has a real talent for conveying emotions in characters’ facial expressions so well. Dynamic action sequences too.

  41. I’m disappointed with this new arc. I liked where the whole hobgoblin/kingpin thing was going. I don’t know if i liked the new insect gang that was introduced. Combined with the art that i felt was good but expected, the whole thing for me was lacking that fun spark the previous few Big Time issues had. I’ll keep going with it, but i do feel this was the first “its just ok” issue of Big Time for me. 

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