COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Amazing Spider-Man Annual #39

Reviewing Amazing Spider-Man Annual #39 by Brian Reed and Lee Garbett.

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #39 features an interesting concept, and brings to light a subject that I find myself thinking about every now and then: “what would the world be like if I didn’t exist?”

Brian Reed wastes no time in getting the story moving; every page of the annual from start to finish is packed with action. Peter Parker is a perfect fit for a story like this – who else among the heroes of the Marvel Universe would think about the significance of his existence but its biggest worrywart and guilt-tripper? The story presents the consequences of Peter’s nonexistence in the Marvel Universe in a sequential, orderly manner. Sadly, this does not work as effectively as you’d think – there were some sequences that I had to read a second time to fully understand. Additionally, the entire premise of Peter getting retconned out of existence was a bit weak for me.

However, the emotional impact of the story as a whole more than makes up for any shortcomings in terms of plot and execution. Actually, the entire comic is reminiscent of Amazing Spider-Man 500 a few years ago, where Peter had to revisit his earliest battles and FIGHT them again, making sure that he won every single one of them to make it back to the present. Think of this story as the “Peter Parker” version of that, where he tangles not with supervillains, but with the people he holds dear. The ending was appropriately bittersweet, and really hammers the point that, well, life isn’t exactly a parade for superheroes, and especially not for Spider-Man.

Lee Garbett’s pencils look really good here. He has a smooth, rounded style reminiscent of Olivier Coipel, and I think that’s a good thing. He does tend to draw some characters a bit wider than how I usually see them, but I think it works for a simultaneously action-packed and heartwarming story like this.

Also, I love the cover – it’s a really nice throwback to Secret Wars #8.

My verdict? Get this. It’s a nice break from all the stuff going on in Ends of the Earth, and, well, aren’t you curious about how the world would be like without our favorite wallcrawler?

VERDICT: 4.5/5

This review is powered by Comicx Hub. We got our copy of Amazing Spider-Man Annual #39 from Comicx Hub.