Spiderman #698 Review - Mobile Edition

Marvel Comics
Spiderman #698 Review
By Alexander Jones
November 21, 2012 - 16:00

Writer(s): Dan Slott
Penciller(s): Richard Elson
Inker(s): Richard Elson
Colourist(s): Antonio Fabela
Letterer(s): VC's Chris Eliopoulos
Cover Artist(s): Paolo Rivera
$3.99 US

Spoilers and Speculation abound for Spidey #698

With the Superior Spider-man looming in the background this book seemingly has a lot of plot to get through. Yet the title only has a few issues left. The biggest draw of the writing itself was how it was paced. Spider-man was swinging through the streets having a mostly average day until the cliffhanger at the end of the book is revealed. In many way the issue itself is homage to Spider-man issues of 1960's the way the scripting is so elegant yet compressed. However the pencils of the issue don't match up to the standards of the artists from that era. Reading an elegant Spider-man issue with beautiful pencils is a work of art. Reading a good script with off kilter art is a travesty. In the end the issue while good ends up being less than the sum of it's parts.

The supporting cast gets a nice moment to shine here and in many cases those parts are the strength of the issue. Mary Jane has fun bouncy dialogue and has opened a new nightclub. Aunt May is suffering from minor health issues. The conversation piece of the issue itself lies in the end. Spider-man emerged from the previous story arc scathed. Spidey has been possessed by the mind of Otto Octavious. Which changes virtually everything and explains why the arms play such a prevalent role on the covers to upcoming issues of The Amazing Spider-man. While the cliffhanger is a new spin on the series it is hard to imagine that Spider-man will be possessed by Doctor Octopus for much longer. The only thing true believers can do at this point is speculate and wait for the next issue.
Rating: 6.5/10