Comic Review: Amazing Spider-Man #677
Story follows Spider-Man & Daredevil as they attempts to clear the name of Felicia “The Black Cat” Hardy after she is framed for a crime she didn’t commit.
Release Date: OUT NOW IN STORES & DIGITAL DOWNLOAD (VIA COMIXOLOGY)
I remember my exact reaction when I discovered that there would be a two-part crossover between Daredevil and The Amazing Spider-Man: Oh god that means I have to read Spider-Man doesnt it? In recent years my interest in the Spider-Man books have sadly dropped due to the new direction post-One More Day. I was flicking through the details of the crossover and assumed regular ASM writer Dan Slott would pen part one, to my surprise current Daredevil writer Mark Waid was tapped to write both parts of the story. Id be lying if I said this didnt perk up my interests slightly in the crossover.
Ive been quite a fan of the direction Waid has taken Daredevil in the past year and its nice to see him shake some of that magic over my once favorite web crawler. I was always a fan of the Spider-Man/Daredevil team up stories as a kid and its been a while since our last team up. Seeing two of my favorite characters bouncing off each other was a really nice throwback moment for me and its a fun entry point for casual readers like myself to get back into Spider-Man.
The story follows Spider-Man & Daredevil as they attempts to clear the name of Felicia The Black Cat Hardy after she is framed for a crime she didnt commit. Dialogue throughout is quick, snappy and almost always funny. There is some slightly clunky expository dialogue in the stories middle to help fill in the gaps for readers who arent the most familiar with Daredevil. Not to mention a reference to the awful black spot on DDs history known as Shadowland (something the core series has gone out of its away to avoid mentioning). The story so far is a lot better than what I was expecting and I actually feel like I give a dam about what happens to characters like Peter and Felicia again. I was planning to buy this issue of ASM and drop the series after its connection to Daredevil had finished however I may stick around for a while to see what its like on this side of the pond. Fair props to Marvel, this crossover got me interested again.
Artwork is where I was most surprised throughout #677. Emma Rios pencils were a real joy to behold, characters are dynamic with whispers of Steve Ditko in every panel and this classic feel does help make my return to Spider-Man a little more smoother. Im quite intrigued by Rioss style and Ill be looking out for any of her work in the future.
I was expecting very little from this crossover and I now find myself pleasantly surprised at what has been brought to the table from the creators. If youre up for a quick fun crossover, pick this issue (and Daredevil #8) up when you go to your local comic shop and enjoy the ride.
rating: 3.5