AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #657
“Torch Song”
Writer: Dan Slott
Penciler: Marcos Martin, Ty Templeton, Nuno Plati, and Stefano Caselli
Inker: Marcos Martin, Ty Templeton, Nuno Plati, and Stefano Caselli
Colorist: Muntsa Vicente, Javier Rodriguez, Nuno Plati, and Marte Garcia
Cover Art: Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente
Be warned – there are SPOILERS ahead!
I was strongly considering posting this tomorrow in order to screw with your minds. You see, I wanted to create doubt that the contents of this review are in fact real, because to many of you this will seem like a strange departure from the norm. What do I mean, you ask? Well, it’s simple …
I LOVE this issue.
The Plot
Spider-Man visits the remaining members of the Fantastic Four, and they reminisce about memories with Johnny and Spidey.
The Good
Slott has many inadequacies as a writer, but his biggest strength may be his ability to write light, friendly moments between familiar characters. This issue is a prime showcase of his innate talent for writing Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four (minus one, of course) together. He showed it in his Spider-Man / Human Torch miniseries, he showed it in the FF’s guest spot during Brand New Day, and he shows it here. There are several moments between these characters that genuinely demonstrate their friendly rapport, and as a reader I greatly enjoyed seeing it. This is especially true in the first two of the three flashback segments, in which the characters bond naturally in rather amusing circumstances.
Speaking of the flashbacks, I greatly enjoyed the structure and content of the story. The frame story takes place in the Baxter Building, with Spidey and the remaining FF members reminiscing, and the rest is told in flashbacks to illustrate the stories that they are telling. The frame story is drawn by Marcos Martin, and each of the flashbacks is drawn by a different artist: the first by Ty Templeton (the artist on Slott’s aforementioned Spider-Man / Human Torch), the second by Nuno Plati, and the third by Stefano Caselli. This is standard procedure for such stories nowadays, but it works especially well here because the artists are perfectly paired to the material. This is even true of the middle flashback – while I don’t care for Nuno Plati’s art, I will concede that it matches perfectly with such an offbeat and downright odd story.
The Fantastic Four have always been some of my favorite characters in comics, but they have a tendency to be written to “type” in guest appearances. Reed is always the smart but detached guy, Sue is always the index-finger-wagging wet blanket, Johnny is always the jerkass, and Ben is always … well, Ben. Here, however, Slott manages to veer them away from type as much as possible, once again owing to the fact that he really seems to GET these characters. Through the three flashbacks, we see Ben being complex, Sue showing a mischievous side, and Johnny even demonstrates some good thinking and mechanical know-how with regards to a faster-than-light warp engine (?!). This allows Slott to throw in some infectiously smile-inducing moments like … well, I won’t spoil it for you.
In short, this issue was great for the precise reason that The Amazing Spider-Man #655 WASN’T – because the characters (and, by extension, the readers) actually have individual histories with the deceased, and thus they (and we) have a reason to pay respect to his memory. Marla Jameson barely had any impact on the book or any of its characters at all (outside of Jonah, obviously), but EVERYBODY knew Johnny. Spider-Man and the Human Torch go all the way back to The Amazing Spider-Man #1, and the Torch was practically a regular supporting cast member in the early Lee / Ditko issues. In this case, then, the long goodbye is actually justified, and it comes across as completely natural.
The Bad
Like I mentioned earlier, I don’t really care for Nuno Plati’s art. That’s a minor quibble, all things considered.
The Ugly
The production department absolutely BUTCHERED that cover art. I mean, look at it. The title is haphazardly placed 2/3rds of the way up the page, and the box with the bar codes, price, and rating information is randomly slapped to the lower right of it. It’s baffling to me that they even felt the need to put it on the front, considering that there is precedent for putting the box on the back cover.
That’s too bad, because it would be an emotionally effective cover if it wasn’t mangled like that.
The Bottom Line
Simply fantastic. 5 out of 5 webheads.
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify
Pandora
Amazon Music
iHeartRadio
Podbean
Amazon Alexa
Player.fm
Listen Notes
Stitcher
This was a great, great issue, I don’t remember laughing so much at a comic book in a long time (for good reasons anyways) and nice to see it get a good review from Gerard 🙂
As for the cover, I don’t think the barcode would have bothered me if it hadn’t been brought up, but after someone mentioned it (on another site) now I do find it a bit distracting. Still a great cover though to go along with the great art throughout the book.
I have to agree with Gerard, the barcode is distracting on that cover. It does takes way from the art work, which is pretty good. They should have the barcode under by the water tower.
I think the cover to this issue is an instant classic. It’s memorable, it stands out – the elements aren’t haphazard, they’re actually arranged very consciously. This is something which has been designed for posterity – not a by-the-numbers cover with too much blurb, copy and pointlessness. Check out how the open space in the upper left balances out the space in the lower right. If you had the title sitting up where it usually would be, the upper part of the cover would be far too busy, take away from a focal point of the cover art (the Torch written FF logo) and leave an open lot of unbalanced space from mid-lower right.
As for the barcode, maybe not the best spot but where else would you put it? It’s in an area which doesn’t obstruct any of the art.
This is all just my opinion of course but as a graphic designer I’d like to think I know a few things at least.
Don’t you guys think that you are “judging the book by the cover”?
I don’t see anything wrong with that cover. It’s a sorry state of affairs when even the barcode and title placement get such a negative response. Anyone can see that if the barcode was at the bottom it would have covered the foreground/skyline, at least it wasn’t hiding anything but space.
It’s a shame when an artist tries to do something different with a cover and is lambasted for it.
also i think that marcos’s idea was to put the barcode in a place where nothing was and it turned out he picked the wrong place, but its not like there hasnt been worse
hey Steve, on an earlier comment yoou said that spidey gets newsstand distribution. I was wondering if you guys had ever thought about getting comics into places like walmart? Also Gerard, good reveiw.
@butters – I was about to suggest that Marvel already did: ASM #648.
But a quick Google search didn’t turn up any blank covers WITH barcodes on the front.
Someone want to clear that up?
What about a variant that’s nothing but a barcode? Id buy that ;p
I really hope they do a special variant cover with only the barcode moved and all else the same just to p*** people off, lol
The corrected version of my post posted above is:
the best spider-man story since the Annual Sensational Spider-Man # 1 by Matt Fraction. I loved every bit of it. It reminded me of the excellent Spidey Human Torch mini written by Mr. Slott. It brought tears to my eyes. Well-done issue in every aspect. I loved the fact that there was no reference to BND or Big Time in this story.
The best spider-man story since the Annual sensational spider-man number 1 by Matt Fraction. I live every bit of it. It reminded me of the excellent Spidey Human Torch mini written by Mr. Slott. It brought tears to my eyes. Well-done issue in every aspect. I loved the act that there was no reference to BND or Big Time in this story.
Alright, thank you for answering my questions.
As for this issue, I’ve seen it positively reviewed elsewhere. I’ll be picking this up tomorrow, and for the first time in a while, I’ll eagerly be anticipating in picking it up.
D***** if you do, d***** if you don’t, Gerard.
Thanks Gerard for another great and insightful review:) Did not get my hands on the book yet but thanks to your review, maybe there is finally a good Spider-Man story to read.
Thanks:)
#32-My “gain” is being a part of the conversation. Don’t know why you’re only applying your stance about “nudging” to me, but moderators everywhere can be inconsistent. Your guy is proud of and is constantly peacocking his hostile nature. He should be able to take my comments… which are much friendlier.
We used to be able to put the barcode on the back occasionally, but we’ve changed that. We’ve never done it for books that get newstand distribution…like Spidey.
Marcos had a specific idea in mind and has proven himself as a master of design, so I trust him. That’s all there is to it.
I suspect some of you are also people who claim to hate “editorially driven” comics as well and are always on us to let the creators do their jobs. Funny that.
SW
Ok, just wonderin’.
It sounds like a good issue!
I bet if you assembled all the various reviews on this site, from over the past three-four years, ansd reviewed the reviews, you would find a broad spectrum of assessments. This would disprove the smear that CS is fanatically anti-Spidey. What bugs those guys is that CS won’t drink the corporate Kool-Aid.
And folks, it is Steve. It seems four or five times he shows up someone asks. Yes Steve visits the site. (Mainly to read the daily comic)
Fine Steve. Fine so let’s say there is no conflict: why nudge Gerard routinely? What do you hope to gain?
Can you mention pray tell, where or when you’ve said positive things about CS? I, along with others would love to see it. 😉
I can take you at your word, sure, but I would like to see something to back it up.
A couple of actual legit questions: Does the Artist have to have a placement of the barcode? I know you are flexible with the logo, but the barcode has to be on the front or could it be on the back? (I know about a year ago they started putting ratings in the barcode, so I could see why they don’t put it on the back. But that’s an assumption.)
Anyway, thanks for answering Steve.
Dan Slott always seems to write the FF well. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets his hands on that book eventually. Nice review Gerard.
#25- You misunderstood. The poster was imagining a conflict with the website…as people here often do since many of you have spent years here building up
walls and a knee-jerk “us. vs them” attitude.
Comparing this book to Amazing 655 is like comparing apples to oranges.
This book was an homage to the life of the Human Torch, and 655 was a story about a tormented Peter Parker, not a celebration of the life of Marla Jameson.
I agree with Jack Brooks, how do we know its really Steve Wacker?
Personally think Wacker is hilarious.
Despite the obvious eyesore of the barcode, and the inebriated ramblings of my favorite ASM editor, I still may buy this issue. I liked Slott’s Spider-Man/Torch mini, and have to agree with Gerard, that for some reason Dan GETS that dynamic really well. I remember Dan also did a fine job depicting the FF in issues ASM #590 & 591, despite the whole time travel problem.
Nope, this weekend, thanks to Gerard, Marvel will be getting my money for a change…
Mr. Wacker, I don’t think this statement is fair: “Some of you are so obsessed with conflict you cant stop imagining there’s some ongoing battle going on.”
You say people here are imagining conflict, but your statements don’t make that conflict seem very imaginary. I mean, look at this:
“A lot seems “baffling” to you though that could actually have simple answers if you thought about it rather than jumping opt your standard “everyone’s an idiot” lashing out that we can set our watch by.”
There’s a degree between criticizing the placement of a barcode on a cover and criticizing an instance of someone’s behavior, and there’s another degree beyond that to doing what you did, which is attacking someone’s character (he did his “standard” lashing out, he was obnoxious “as usual”–these are character attacks because you’re saying he’s acting in propensity with a negative character trait, i.e. obnoxiousness). And the fact that he may have called himself obnoxious in the past is a cop out because, as you know, people often say things in a self-deprecating way that they would not want to hear coming from others.
So I really don’t think you can blame people for imagining conflict when you -as usual- have made posts calculated to stir up as much conflict as you can.
Let’s focus on the story and not the cover, shall we? Honestly I think it was a touching sendoff to Johnny. It was also a nice bookend to ASM #1, which saw Peter try to become part of the team. Now, years later, he’s more than that: he’s part of the family. And I loved the Sue and Reed story moreso than Ben’s, probably because seeing the practical joke stuff with Ben and Johnny’s run-of-the-mill. Seeing Reed and Sue screw up and having Flamebrain bail them out is a change of pace. The “kraven panties” thing was HILARIOUS!
Wow, Stephen Wacker used my name as a bad pun. So this is what it feel like to be in someones head. Interesting…
///TRYING TO AVOID READING AND SEEING SPOILERS
that bar code placement does look a bit out of place. Beautiful image though.
Gerard and Wacker have a Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck type relationship… if they were cartoon characters they’d be setting traps to one up the other
Heh…sorry you liked the issue.
This is a new one…usually people are upset that I only respond to negative reviews. Some of you are so obsessed with conflict you cant stop imagining there’s some ongoing battle going on. I say good stuff about your site all the time. So feel better about yourselves, for goodness sakes!
Good or bad reviews don’t change the fact that the guy was -as usual- needlessly obnoxious. He’s bragged about that fact in the past, so I don’t understand the issue…beyond the normal berserk fury of it all.
SW
Guys, Wacker’s not baiting anybody. He’s elaborating on Gerard’s only major gripe with the issue. Give the guy a break and quit demonizing him.
Steve Wacker Said:
“Sorry you didn’t like it.
A lot seems “baffling” to you though that could actually have simple answers if you thought about it rather than jumping opt your standard “everyone’s an idiot” lashing out that we can set our watch by.
SW.”
Zach Joiner says:
Dear Steve,
It seems you have a problem with Gerard. Gerard just gave this book a perfect score. Perfect. And the one thing you attack him on is the cover placement? Which granted is awkward, but still. To quote ESPN: come on mayn! Really?
You don’t dispell the notion that you don’t harbor an agenda.
To the rest of the community: let’s move it along.
If you have a problem: emails a click away. (Yes I’m talking to you Steve.)
Dude
Wow Gerard nice way to give the internet community a collective heart attack. But seriously this review has sort of made me curiouse to see if this issue really is that damn good. And thats kind of annoying since I usually only collect older stuff now(and when I do want something new I usually just wait for the trade). But if I find a copy of this issue next time I head down to the comic book store I might actually have to buy it. And if I do this would be the first time Ive bought a new issue of ASM (as in the current months issue and not a back issue) since the unmasked issue of civil war. Now look what youve gone and done!
Should have given it a 10/5 HATER!!!
This has got to be one of my favorite ASM issues in a long time. Just Amazing (haha you see what I did there?)
Whoops. Looks like I got cut off somehow.
@7 – I can’t remember what I was going to ask. You’re kinda going off the rails here, though, which is a shame. I generally find you funny in the letters column. Which was great this issue, by the way. Mostly thanks to Alexei Yeremeev.
Re the cover: I agree that it’s a little awkward. If they could have put the barcode on the back, they probably should have. I don’t know where the Amazing Spider-Man logo should be, though. Putting it in the top left corner might destroy the imagery of the FF logo standing alone in an empty sky, and anywhere else would seem just as weird. There might have not been a perfect way to do this.
Great issue.
@7 – What is the question taht re
Just read the thing. It’s a beautiful issue and I smiled through pretty much the whole thing. =)
I agree with Gerard’s rating.
Gerard-Nice review, might break my anti-OMD stance and pick it up.
Wacker-You aren’t fooling anyone but yourself.
Is that actually Steve Wacker? The real SW couldn’t possibly be so dense as to write as if this particular reviewer did not just give the issue a 5 out of 5. Gerard’s review makes me want to get it. It’s like Simon Cowell calling one of the Idols a truly great singer.
haha it comes across as though mr wacker is trying to pick a fight…..
interesting that you loved this ish and didnt enjoy 655 as much while IGN had an opposite opinion
@Stephen Wacker: Jesus Christ, do you ever drop the shtick? I gave the issue a freaking 5/5!
Oh yeah, that’s right … you have to perpetuate the “Crawl Space is made of hate” stance that you guys have for whatever reason, no matter how fictitious and inapplicable that nonsense has proven to be.
Sorry you didn’t like it.
A lot seems “baffling” to you though that could actually have simple answers if you thought about it rather than jumping opt your standard “everyone’s an idiot” lashing out that we can set our watch by.
SW.
@Two-Bit Specialist: 😆
@Sarcasmic: Actually, my scanner was stalling and not working. I was intentionally being a bit vague with some of the spoilers, but I fully intended to post panels until I couldn’t get my scanner to giddy up. 😉
I’ll start… should have been in the lower left on the water tower… out of the way.
Sue showing a mischievous side? I may pick this book up just to see THAT…
@ Two-Bit, Lol.
@Gerard, good job on giving me practically nothing to go off besides your word. Now I have to go pick up the issue :p (Nice review)
Watch. Everyone is now going to moan and groan about that barcode thing for the following 30 comments.
@Stephen: Well, in that case, he did a lousy job. The barcodes especially distracted from the otherwise beautiful cover.
Marcos placed all the cover elements himself.
SW