King in Black: The Amazing Spider-Man #1

Marvel Comics

Written by Jed MacKay

Art by Michele Bandini

Inks by Michele Bandini and Elisabetta D’Amico

Colors by Erick Arciniega

Letters by Joe Caramagna

The Rundown: Spider-Man deals with the his role in bringing on Knull to Earth and finds inspiration.

Per usual, Spider-Man blames himself for bringing symbiotes to Earth. As he contemplates the victims of Venom, Carnage and others, he attacks what he thinks is a symbiote dragon that turns out to be the young hero Reptil. With the hero trying to take an older woman out of the war zone and back home, Spidey teams up with him and the two head out. Unfortunately, a bigger threat changes their plans and the two must work together to save a ferry full of passengers as Peter works through his guilt.

A second story takes Reptil’s point of view as he reflects on recent losses professionally and how his young life as a hero has been formed through some pretty traumatic events. Events that make the Knull invasion almost tame in comparison. As he fights through the city to save as many people as he can, he thinks about the people he’s lost along the way and how much he admires Spider-Man for always fighting.

The Story: MacKay does a good job of expanding the world of the King in Black and taking Spidey back down to the street level to help him re-focus on who he is as a hero. The dialogue is great and the team up with Reptil does a great job of showing both how to inspire and what being inspired looks like. I like the humor and tone of both stories and how each one progresses and changes the hero at its center.

The Art: The art in both stories is great. There are beautiful details throughout and the action brings an energy to the overall story.

King in Black: The Amazing Spider-Man #1

8

8.0/10

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