Ultimate Spider-Man #56
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #56 REVIEW
Originally Presented at Comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Good
Title: Hollywood Part Three
Peter Parker faces off with Dr. Octopus on the set of Spider-Man: The Movie!
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: Mark Bagley
Inks: Art Thibert
Colors: J.D. Smith
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Cover Art: Mark Bagley
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Review: Last issue, as Spider-Man was staking out the set of the movie that carries his name, albeit without his permission, Dr. Octopus arrived and threw things into chaos. This issue is mostly an extended fight scene between the two classic enemies. As with any issue-long fight scene, the book runs the risk of getting kind of repetitive, although Brian Michael Bendis manages to break up the monotony with gags about the crew of the movie, including a very funny scene where one of the stunt men steps up and joins in the fight.
The fight really goes on a bit longer than it should, however, making the real gem of this issue a four-page sequence where we get to see some rare interaction between Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson. The two most important women in Spider-Man’s life (except for Aunt May, of course), don’t get enough of a chance to play off each other, and this issue marks a high point for the two of them. We also get not one, but two cliffhangers, one involving Spider-Man and the fight with Doc Ock, and a much more subtle one with a supporting character and what may be a pretty big change, depending on which way Bendis goes with it.
Mark Bagley, as always, does a fantastic job with the artwork. He picks up a fight scene that gets tedious with great, dynamic visual storytelling. It’s been said before but it bears repeating - I’m always amazed at how Bagley can produce such consistently quality work at the frequency he does. He should be giving lessons to all the so-called “superstars” who can’t bother to put out one issue every three months.
While still a basically solid story, this issue is running the risk that Ultimate Spider-Man usually does - namely, of stretching out the storyline past the point of viability. With three issues left, there will have to be some drastic actions in the next couple of issues to keep this story from running out of steam before the end.
Rating: 7/10