A Spider-Man Podcast

Amazing Spider-Man: Who Am I? #1 – REVIEW

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The single greatest characteristic that defines Spider-Man and has made him so endearing for the past 50 years is his deep sense of responsibility, no matter what the stakes.  It defines him so much, it’s nearly impossible to imagine Peter Parker without it… until now.  Would Spider-Man still be a hero if someone erased everything that he’s learned from Aunt May & Uncle Ben?  That might be a pretty serious question to tackle, but the creators of Amazing Spider-Man: Who Am I? #1 deliver a fun and playful opening chapter to a very enjoyable reading experience.

bank sceneThe issue kicks off with Spidey regaining consciousness from an apparent trance, but he has retrograde amnesia.  He doesn’t know who he is or why he is wearing a costume.  He certainly doesn’t know why he’s holding a gun in the middle of a bank heist.   But he’s going to go along with it all anyway, at least until he can get his band of thieves out of the bank safely and away from the police.

Writing an amnesiac can be a little tricky.  For the sake of time and plot, our hero can’t be completely helpless.  Joshua Hale Fialkov and Dan Slott bend the rules in places to keep the pace moving.  For instance, Spider-Man doesn’t know his own name, but he figures out how his powers work pretty easily.  The art of web slinging appears to be no problem whatsoever.  And he’s able to remember movies for the sole purpose of cracking a “Die Hard” joke.

Even though the theme of this series seems to be center around identity, the tone of the issue is breezy and fun.  In fact, with the amount of jokes that Spidey cracks in this issue, you’d think Groucho Marx was under the mask.  Maybe one reason Peter can’t remember his name, is because all he can think about is making fun of his ridiculous, skin-tight costume.

who i amDespite the fact that Spider-Man seems to be going along with whatever these bank thieves say, there are moments that seem to foreshadow his more noble potential.  Spidey never gets violent in this issue and actually tries his hardest to keep the peace.  He apologies to his hostage a number of times, as if he truly knows that what he’s doing is wrong.  In one of those apologies, Spider-Man says “This is just who I am now.”  It seems to imply that he’s aware that he should be behaving differently, if only he knew why.

The art of the issue matches this fun tone to a tee.  Juan Bobillo draws a unique and playful Spider-Man.  At times he is drawn very lanky and disproportional, which makes Spidey look even more clumsy and awkward as he stumbles through this issue.  Some of these angles and poses may be a bit extreme, but for the most part they are very successful.  One particular detail worth noting is the way Bobillo drew the gang of bank thieves.  Their ill-fitting ski masks make every scene comical and show that these guys probably shouldn’t be taken too seriously (I wish there was a bonus scene showing them making their masks).

bankWhat makes this issue most successful is its production as an Infinite Digital Comic.  Storyboardists Mast and Geoffo use all the tools at their disposal to enhance the story and art.  Their techniques create action on the page, in some cases literally.  By changing a panel from color to black and white, they’re able to move it from the foreground to the background.  They create forward motion simply by creating and removing word balloons.  Pages don’t always move from left to right, sometimes they go back and forth.  All these surprises keep the reader engaged and help create suspense.  The cliffhanger alone, (which is as shocking as anything in Spider-history), is enough of a hook to have any reader hungry for the next chapter.

Overall, Amazing Spider-Man: Who Am I? #1 is a very entertaining first chapter that did its job of clearly defining the rules of the situation and setting-up all the dominoes.  I hope future issues try to explore the nature vs. nurture aspect of Spider-Man’s virtues, but I’m just as excited to see what the creators have planned next for the Infinite Digital format.

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