review for Amazing Spiderman 616

This is my first review for the blog so here it goes.

This is the fifth issue in the ongoing gauntlet. thus far the series has been well written, well drawn, and bad at reinventing characters. We pick up on Spiderman in the middle of a fight with Sandman over a girl who claims is his daughter. We see him here as having problems with multiple personalities. The end result is a uniquely sixties Spiderman book.

I want to say this about the art. it is some of the most inspired work in comics outside of detective comics. It's idea of a modern retro look contributes to the feel of the book perfectly. When I say modern retro I refer to the fact that the art is very sixties style, but at the same time it is filled with little modern quirks. The end result of something that works on many levels.

Much like the art, the writing is reminiscent of Stan Lee era Spiderman books, but at the same time things like the ending show just how far the industry has progressed. The book was a wonderful ride, with a good story, good action, and a good sense of pacing.

However the book is not without problems. The characterization of Sandman in this book is way out of character. I was disappointed with the lack of subplots. But most of all, I don't like what this or any of the other gauntlet books are doing with my favorite characters. If you, like me, have learned to like sandman over the years then you will be disappointed. It seems like this was a step back for the character. This in fact seems like a complaint I have continued and will continue to have against all the reinventions of classic characters in gauntlet. More on that on Sunday. That however was my largest complaint against the book.

I would be lying if I liked the writing for sandman in this straight out of the sixties book, but that is not nearly enough to bring this stellar title down.

my review: A-