Comics this week

Amazing Spiderman #14- It’s finally over! The Spiderverse is Marvel's best event in years but instead of ending in a bang, it ends...maybe not a whimper, but with an anti-climactic conclusion. #14 is almost entirely a big slugfest as the surviving Spiders and Inheritors meet up on Loomworld for the final battle. Now I have no problem with big slugfest, and I do enjoy the way writer Dan Slott uses Spider-ham to save baby Benji Parker, but this issue did not play to the strength of Spiderverse. The biggest plus for this event was the dynamics between the various Spiders, how they gel and rub off each other. This interaction is almost totally missing in this issue. On the whole, the event is great and it was a joy to all these different Spiders; too bad about the ending though.  

Astro City #20- The current arc has been stop-and-start for me but then this issue came out and made me rethink everything. The premise on aging superheroes is one that I can’t help but engage on, and the diverging paths Crackerjack and Quarrel are handling the issue is great. Different people handle things differently and writer Kurt Busiek makes no bones about that fact. These two may be heroes but they are also desperate. They see the writing on the wall and are not happy about the words. It’s no surprise that someone will try something desperate, and suffer the consequences of the decision. Superb!

Rai #7- Reluctant allies usually mean terrible allies and Rai found that out the hard way in this issue as the Positrons and the Raddites goes at it. This comes as no surprise as both Silk and Izak were always going to go at each other sooner or later but both Rai and Spylocke were hoping they would hold off till they taken down Father. No such luck and writer Matt Kindt even managed to throw in a mystery when the appearance of an older Rai. That plus the beautiful work of artist Clayton Crain make this issue nothing short of excellent.