Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #6
Writer: Chip Zdarsky
Penciller: Michael Walsh
Colorist: Ian Herring
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Price: $3.99
Release Date: 11/01/17
Plot: In exchange for information about Teresa Durland, The Spectacular Spider-Man agrees to an exclusive interview with J. Jonah Jameson. Additionally Jonah promises not to write about Spider-Man for one year if the wall-crawler agrees. Given these two characters history with each other, dinner is not the only thing boiling over.
Story: This issue is dialogue heavy since it focuses on Spider-Man and Jonah’s dinner conversation. Fortunately Chip Zdarsky keeps the plot moving with his sharp dialogue. Zdarsky manages to keep the classic exchanges between the frustrated Jonah and the humorous Spidey. Plus he uses this issue to add some more depth to Jonah’s mistrust in Spider-Man. This ultimately leads to Jonah’s breaking point and Spider-Man taking a big leap of faith.
This issue’s big takeaway is Spider-Man unmasking in front of J. Jonah Jameson. During the issue, Jonah has an emotional breakdown over all the loved ones he’s lost. This reveals Jonah believes all he has left is his hate. Therefore Peter unmasks so he can show Jonah that one person is there for him. Peter’s motive behind this decision feels true to his character. It shows Peter will always care for the people in his life. Even if that person constantly slanders them and forms an anti-Spider-Man task force.
This issue’s one problem is the storyline involving Teresa Parker and S.H.I.E.L.D. This arc has been set up since the first issue and it’s made barely any progress. At this point with six issues in, if no real development occurs then I could see a lot of people dropping this title.
Art: Michael Walsh does an excellent job with facial expressions. Since most of the issue is a conversation this is a key element. The most impressive thing is how Walsh draws Spider-Man’s face while wearing a mask. Fortunately Walsh delivers great expressions that match the character’s emotions with their dialogue.
Ian Herring also made some great color choices. The beige coloring for Jonah’s apartment helps Spider-Man’s red and blue costume stand out and grab the reader’s attention. Also Herring makes great use of pastel colors when a panel features a flashback to key points in Spidey and Johan’s history.
Verdict: This was a pretty great issue where Chip Zdarsky crafted a nice story focusing on Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson. It had a big revelation that could impact future Spider-Man stories. Unfortunately the series arc of Teresa Durland keeps this issue from being perfect. Nevertheless if you want an entertaining one-off story then you should read Peter Parker: the Spectacular Spider-Man #6.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars