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Editor: Paul Van Der Werk. Sunday 1st August 2004.
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      <font face="Arial" size="4"><center>
Amazing Spider-Man #30-35 Review<br>
by Stephen Kok
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      </p>
      <p>Introduction<br>
        Comics have two important aspects to each issue, namely story and art. 
        If both elements are in sync you have an extremely fantastic read. The 
        review of Amazing Spider-man #30 to #35 brings together J Michael Stracyznski 
        of Babylon 5 fame with incredible art of John Romita Jnr.</p>
      <p>[Please note that although each review does contain a little section 
        of the plot, it will not spoil the story]</p>
      <p>The review is divided into :<br>
        &#8226; Issue and Title<br>
        &#8226; Short Blurb<br>
        &#8226; Key Events<br>
        &#8226; My Thoughts</p>
      <p>Quick Story Synopsis<br>
        Below is a quick synopsis of the overall story arc. It&#8217;s in the 
        usual comic fanfare for all you comic fans out there.</p>
      <p>Peter meets a mysterious stranger who has similar powers. The stranger 
        warns Peter of a new villain who Peter can not defeat. How will Spider-Man 
        defeat the new villain Morlun before the villain destroys Spider-man and 
        New York city in the process?</p>
      <p><strong>Amazing Spider-man 30 </strong><br>
        Transformation, Literal &amp; Otherwise</p>
      <p>Peter's life has been a little difficult of late and he finds a way to 
        let off steam. He meets up with Ezekial who has powers mysteriously similiar.</p>
      <p>Key Events<br>
        1st J Michael Stracyznski as regular writer<br>
        1st Apperance : Ezekial<br>
        1st Apperance : Dex<br>
        1st Apperance : Morlun</p>
      <p>No one does Spider-man like JMS. The scripting is brillant as you hear 
        Peter's anguish and even in his darkest he still manages to find the humour 
        in the situation. The story arc opens with Ezekial who will play a bigger 
        role in the story to come as well as a new villian, Morlun.</p>
      <p><img src="../../images/spiderman30.jpg" width="191" height="290"></p>
      <p><strong>Amazing Spider-man 31</strong><br>
        No Title</p>
      <p>A mysterious gun man appears in the local school and Spider-man is on 
        hand to deal with the situation.</p>
      <p>Key Events<br>
        1st Apperance : Joey</p>
      <p>Spider-man was never your typical superhero. He wasn't rich like Bruce 
        Wayne, what made him very identifable was that he still had many &quot;real 
        world&quot; problems. The comic opens with a delightful sequence in which 
        he discussed his current situation with Aunt May. The writing is light 
        and witty and makes for an extremely enjoyable read. </p>
      <p><strong>Amazing Spider-man 32</strong><br>
        The Long Dark Pizza of the Soul</p>
      <p>Peter accepts a position as a teacher in the local school. Later he discusses 
        the nature of his powers of Ezekial, before Ezekial offers his sanctuary 
        against the villian Morlun. Peter turns down the offer and decides to 
        face Morlun.</p>
      <p>Key Events<br>
        Origin : Spiderman</p>
      <p>Every so often in comics, there is a re-telling of the hero's origin 
        to bring back the nostalgia as well as introduce new readers to the character. 
        JMS's origin of Peter is intriguing to say the least as it focussed on 
        the supernatural element of Peter's power. </p>
      <p><strong>Amazing Spider-man 33</strong><br>
        All fall down</p>
      <p>Peter faces Morlun but finds he is outmatched. His only choice is to 
        flee and seek help from Ezekial.</p>
      <p>You reach a point in every story arc which I commonly term the &quot;Biff&quot; 
        issue. Watching Morlun and Spider-man go at it one on one. Here is where 
        Romita really shines in the art department capturing the brutal battle 
        in the frames on the page. Definitely one of the battles of the ages.</p>
      <p><strong>Amazing Spider-man 34</strong><br>
        Meltdown</p>
      <p>Ezekial says he is too late to help. Battered, bruised and tired Peter 
        is hounded by Morlun. Getting severely beaten, it looks like the end until 
        Ezekial shows up to help.</p>
      <p>Key Events <br>
        Death of Ezekial?</p>
      <p>The &quot;Biff&quot; Part 2. Trying to combine an action sequence between 
        two combatants is tricking enough but introducing a third (Spider-man 
        &amp; Ezekial against Morlun) is extremely difficult. To do it well is 
        good, to do it like Romita is excellent. Romita has an eye for detail 
        and captures the excitement of fight superbly!</p>
      <p><img src="../../images/spiderman34.jpg" width="190" height="289"></p>
      <p><strong>Amazing Spider-man 35 </strong><br>
        Coming Out</p>
      <p>With Morlun hot on Peter's trial, Peter applies his scientific knowledge 
        in an attempt to best his advesary.</p>
      <p>Key Events<br>
        Death : Morlun<br>
        Aunt May discovering Peter Parker is Spider-man</p>
      <p>This is the final story of arc and it does not disappoint at all. Straczynski's 
        crisp writing and Romita's brillant visuals lead to the climatic conclusion. 
        The final battle is tense and every moment is captured in Romita's pencils. 
        JMS's little jokes throughout this issue add a lot to the enjoyment of 
        this issue. (Spider-man talking to the traffic cop at the end is a priceless 
        moment) More importantly JMS proves his writing talent by the introduction 
        to the next story arc, Aunt May (after how many years) finally discovering 
        that Peter Parker and Spider-man are really one and the same.</p>
      <p>Overall analysis<br>
        There was a lot of hype built up by Marvel before the release of this 
        issue and it does not disappoint. JMS grabs the characters and builds 
        a story not just around them but about them. Through the review of each 
        individual issue I have spoken very highly of Straczynski and with good 
        reason. He&#8217;s easily one of the best writers to take on Spider-Man. 
        The story is exciting and opens up many plot lines that are explored further 
        down the track. </p>
      <p>The humour of Spider-Man makes the read even more enjoyable. Spider-Man 
        is not your dark brooding superhero (e.g. Punisher), he&#8217;s just a 
        regular guy who feels extraordinary responsibility. The writing captures 
        both aspects of Peter&#8217;s life as well as his sense of humour. Even 
        all grown up, you still have the feel that he&#8217;s still has a little 
        science geek in him.</p>
      <p>The art style of John Romita Jnr is never in question. It&#8217;s crisp 
        but has a good attention to detail. It can easily capture the heat of 
        a battle along with emotions of the characters. The splash scenes will 
        absolutely blow you away. One of note would be Ezekial and Spider-Man 
        battling Morlun.</p>
      <p>Other notes<br>
        The 1st Edition of the particular issues may be a little difficult to 
        find as they were sold out pretty quickly especially issue #30 which was 
        snapped up pretty quickly. I have seen #30 sell for approximately $35 
        pretty recently.</p>
      <p>However if you want a good read rather than starting a collection ,this 
        story arc has been combined into a trade paperback. so if you having troubles 
        looking for the appropriate back issues, picking up the TPB is definitely 
        the way to go. (Available in all good comic book stores) It's a story 
        arc definitely worth picking up and an excellent starting point to Spider-Man.<br>
      </p>
      </p>
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