Amazing Spider-Man Presents: Jackpot # 1 Review (with slideshow)

COVER BY: David Yardin
WRITER: Marc Guggenheim
PENCILS: Adriana Melo
INKS: Array
COLORED BY: Andrew Dallhouse
LETTERED BY: VC – Joe Caramanga

Remember Jackpot? The super-heroine who may or may not be Mary Jane (she wasn’t). Well now she has received a makeover and her own mini-series. Is it worth picking up?

The Basics

Sara Ehret has resumed the identity of Jackpot after a guilt trip from Spider-Man. She’s a rookie, she’s sloppy and she’s making some mistakes. Mistakes that are getting the attention of the crime-lord Rose. Oh, did I mention that Sara has a husband a toddler at her home? Neither did the writers until this issue.

What everyone is talking about

The old Jackpot costume was corny, but this one makes the old one look classic. Did she raid the wardrobe on one of Joel Shumacher’s Batman movies? If you have a chance, use Google Images and look up what Robin wore in the 1997 “Batman and Robin” movie. Compare that to Jackpot’s costume now.

The creators

It’s fitting that this mini-series is scripted by Marc Guggenheim. He’s been handling most of the Jackpot saga now he gets his final word on her as he leaves the Spider-titles. Unfortunately, this suffers from the same thing that his “Amazing Spider-Man” issues did; poor dialogue. Adriana Melo’s inks aren’t too bad. It has a 90’s Tom Lyle vibe to it, which works for this book given the costume Jackpot wears.

The Good

* Jackpot is portrayed as inexperienced which makes for an interesting read. She flees from fights and gets her secret identity exposted because she doesn’t cover her fingerprints.

* The theme of responsibilty is played up in this issue, especially in the flashback sequence from Spider-Man. There has been much argument on the internet lately about how important the theme of responbility is to Spider-Man and it’s refreshing to see it in full force here.

The Bad

* Really horrible dialogue, especially between Sarah and her husband.

* The costume. See “What everyone is talking about”.

* So Sarah had this whole family who appeared out of nowhere?

I asked in the opening of the review if this was worth picking up. It’s not.

Check out the slideshow to see selected panels of the issue!