PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #39

By: Tony Whitt
Date: Sunday, January 27, 2002

Peter gets suspicious when Congressman Bradley Miles, a recent victim of an octopus attack that left him an amputee, throws all his support behind a company called Biotechnix, the firm responsible for his replacement arm. But when that suspicion is coupled with a spider-sense that just won't quit, Peter decides to investigate. With the help of his friends Robbie and Daredevil, he discovers that several high-profile individuals have received replacement limbs from Biotechnix, and his own investigations lead him to Doctor Octopus-who, for once, is not just working for himself.

Comparing Paul Jenkins's work on this book with his work on ORIGIN is like comparing a dreary, cloudy day with a bright and sunny one. While this title has seemingly very few links with AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, much the same way the original version of PETER PARKER lacked those links way back when, it feels less like a book capable of standing on its own and more like a lesser book trying to harken back to earlier times. And even then it doesn't quite make it, sadly.

The first problem is the plot itself. Apart from modern touches like computer chips and the like, this story feels very much like the kind that would have appeared back in the '70s, and the appearances of Jonah, Robbie, and Daredevil all contribute to that feeling. But no comic script back then would have been quite this talky-it's exposition-heavy and action-poor. Now, I'm all for a plot-driven script-Brian Michael Bendis, Judd Winick, and their equals have all done entire issues involving nothing but splendid character development-but here it doesn't seem to be as comfortable a fit.

Nor does the artwork inspire much confidence. Buckingham and Faucher try to go for a straightforward approach, but having to make room for all those dialogue balloons seems to baffle them, forcing them to go for a conservative layout style that merely sits on the page. The one bona fide action sequence is not much better-we've all seen Spidey fight Doc Ock before, and we've seen just about every move that's possible between these two, including the classic "Spidey gets knocked in the head just as his spider-sense goes off" one. The only surprises this issue come from Octavius's unidentified cohort-or maybe everyone else knows him and I'm the one who simply doesn't care enough to find out who he is. There's simply too little going on here to truly hold any interest.

Supposedly this issue kicks off an "intense three-part saga"-but if this is what passes for "intensity" in PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN, I think I'll go back to reading truly intense titles like POWERS, or even ORIGIN. There, at least, I can see Paul Jenkins doing his best work and not some of his most mediocre.

PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN

Grade: C

Issue: No. 39

Author(s): Paul Jenkins, Mark Buckingham, Wayne Faucher

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $2.25