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Amazing Spider-Man #64, Amazing Spider-Man #64 Review, Boomerang, Kindred, King's Ransom, Kingpin, Marvel Comics, Nick Spencer, Peter Parker, Sinister War, Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man #64 Review
The Amazing Spider-Man #64 Review
Review by Paul Bowler
The Amazing Spider-Man #64 finds Tombstone and Robbie Robertson at loggerheads yet again and Spider-Man’s life is getting trashed in the crossfire as a result! Mind you with Pete and his roommate Fred Myers (AKA. Reformed super villain Boomerang), teaming up with Spidey to keep the pieces of the all-powerful Lifeline tablet out of the Kingpin’s clutches, and Peter’s other roommate Randy Robertson dating Tombstone’s daughter, Janice Lincoln (the Beetle), its little wonder Spider-Man’s life is a tad chaotic right now!
Nick Spencer continues to steer the series back towards a more scattershot, back-to-basics and fun approach to Spider-Man’s world that was so indicative of the early stages of his run. The first half of “King’s Ransom Part Two” is a frenetically paced blend of recap and cliff-hanger fallout after Madame Masque and Crime Master ambushed Randy and Janice back at Pete’s apartment — which was interrupted when Peter and Fred suddenly returned home. The ensuing fight details how Spider-Man managed to enter the fray — with Peter cleverly managing to protect his secret identity — while safely sidelining Fred but also failing to prevent Randy and Janice being kidnapped.
Amazing Spider-Man #64 features slick artwork from Federico Vicentini, with Alex Sinclair on colors and lettering by Joe Caramagna. The pace of the action hardly lets up for a moment. Every page is dynamically structured, vibrantly illustrated and accentuated with a striking pallet of color. Spidey’s battle with Madame Masque and Crime Master in the apartment offers further insight into the abilities of Spider-Man’s new high-tech suit (courtesy of JJJ’s Threats & Menaces podcast). The suit enhances Spider-Man’s strength, agility, web shooters, and also enables TNM’s subscribers to livestream Spidey’s adventures — at his discretion of course — and this quirky modern twist on Peter’s old job selling photos of Spidey to the Bugle has boosted Spider-Man popularity in NYC (much to the Kingpin’s annoyance) and sent JJJ’s channel subscribers though the roof! I quite like the new costume, although I’m not overly fond of the Social Media slant to it all that much. Mark Bagley’s cover impressively showcases the current story line, however, it features Spidey in his classic suit, which seems a bit strange given all the time Marvel spent building hype about the new suit — guess this cover was commissioned before the new suit was revealed or decide on?
The one thing I’ve really like about Spencer’s time on Spider-Man is the humour peppered throughout the dialogue and the fun dynamic between all the characters and situations they stumble into. This issue is no exception to that rule. The bromance between Peter and Fred has also been a real highlight, and there are some especially moving moments this issue as Fred decides to take matters into his own hands against the Kingpin’s plans. Given all the years of bad blood between them, having Robbie and Tombstone set aide their differences — for now anyway — also leads to some fun hijinks as they try to track down Randy and Janice – as for the happy couple, well, as you’d expect there’re still bickering like crazy and testing their captors patience to the limit!
If all that wasn’t enough we also have the Kingpin’s scheme to assemble villains to send against Boomerang and Spider-Man, along with sinister machinations involving Kindred and Baron Mordo behind the scenes, and an ominous hint towards the Sinister War that’s coming in July thrown into the mix as well. While this issues not the best jumping on point, it does bring a lot of longstanding plot threads together, and sets up some intriguing possibilities. If you’ve stuck with Spencer’s run this long you’ll find plenty to enjoy here, while newcomers will find Amazing Spider-Man #64 crams in a hell of a lot but still manages to be a fun and enjoyable — if somewhat overwhelming — read nevertheless.
Publisher Marvel Comics
Writer Nick Spencer / Artist Federico Vicentini
Colorist Alex Sinclair / Lettere VC’s Joe Caramanga
Cover Mark Bagley, John Dell, and Edgar Delgado
About The Author
Hi, I’m Paul Bowler, blogger and reviewer of films, TV shows, and comic books. I’m a Sci-Fi geek, a big fan of Doctor Who, Star Trek, movies, Sci-Fi, Horror, Comic Books, and all things PS4.You can follow me on Twitter @paul_bowler,or at my website, Sci-Fi Jubilee, and on YouTube and Facebook
Sci-Fi Jubilee 
Interesting review Paul, again I haven’t been following this run of Spider-Man (although I saw his new costume, has that been and gone now?) and to be honest it’s unlikely I’ll jump on at this point or go back, but it’s cool to hear some of the things you talk about. I was always a fan of Tombstone from the 90s comics and the animated series, he tends to be one of the more underutilised Spidey villains.
Yeah, I really enjoyed the start of Spenser’s run on Amazing Spider-Man, then I dropped it for a bit when there were lots of crossover events which were a bit heavy going – which I just don’t normally bother with now. But I started reading Amazing Spider-Man again with the Kindred storyline and I’ve been enjoying is even more since. I like the humour in the book, so many comics are deadly serious now, so its a nice change. I like Tombstone as well, great to see him getting time in the spotlight again. I believe the Sinister War will bring back the Sinister Six next.
So Boomerang and Spider-Man are teaming up now? I remember near the start of the series, they were roommates, but I kind of like the idea of a somewhat minor villain going through a redemption arc. Sounds like this series might be worth catching up on whenever I do get back into comics.
I really like the dynamic between Spider-Man and Boomerang, its really fun. I’ve enjoyed Spenser’s run for the most part, its taken a more back to basic approach to the character, which I like. Well worth checking out some of the trade collections if you get a chance.
The illustration on the cover is fabulous!
Spider-Man is such a dynamic and exciting character, and I love how this cover captures that aspect as well.
It most definitely does Paul!
That cover makes me think of some of the great Spidey covers from the 1980s. I really like it. I’ve only dipped in and out of Spencer’s run. It sounds like you’re enjoying it at the moment.
Yes, the covers of late have harkened back to the tone of some of those classic 80’s covers. I have enjoyed Spencer’s run for the most part, like you I have taken brakes from it – usually during the crossover events which I don’t tend to bother with much with in modern comics now anyway now – but I started reading again with the Kindred storyline and have been really enjoying it since then.
Intriguing thoughts on this one. I’m not following this Spidy run but it’s nice to hear this many positive thoughts, especially with the back-to-basic approach and the humour being on point. I’ll keep in mind to try Spencer’s run someday in its collected form. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks. Yeah, there’s been a lot of different storylines in Spencer’s run, but the current arc has been very good. The humour is the main reason I’ve always liked Spider-Man so much, and Spencer has got that balance with the action just right. Hope you enjoy checking out the trade collections when you get a chance.