The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #19 Review

“Yeah, but Parkers and vacations…they don’t seem to pair very well.”

Eight years ago, Peter and MJ tried to take a vacation together. What could possibly go wrong?

WRITER: Jody Houser

ARTIST: Scott Koblish

COLORIST: Ruth Redmond

LETTERER: VC’s Joe Caramagna

COVER ARTISTS: Scott Koblish & Brian Reber

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Anthony Gambino

EDITORS: Heather Antos & Kathleen Wisneski

SUPERVISING EDITOR: Nick Lowe

SPIDER-MAN created by STAN LEE & STEVE DITKO

STORY: Peter is going through family photos from the last decade and regales Annie with the story of how her parents attempted to relax on a cruise eight years ago. After dealing with snobs, the ship gets attacked by Giganto, with Namor arriving to defuse the situation. With the cruise cancelled, MJ and Peter road trip it instead.

THOUGHTS: Knowing the Parker Luck (and the Parker budget) the first thing I thought of when I saw this cover was that the photos were taken in front of a travel agency, with the Parkers posing in front of the photos in their costumes, making it look like they had traveled to those places. I could see MJ going to Paris for a work-related vacation, but can’t imagine the Parkers being able to swing >ahem< trips to all these locations unless they got a Blackbird or Quinjet on loan! It’s a fun idea based on this issue’s theme, though.

This has to be the best issue of Renew Your Vows since Conway left the title. Houser proves with this comic that she gets the Peter/MJ dynamic and crafts a fun, done-in-one flashback tale. After Annie has had much of the spotlight lately, the focus gets paired down to Marvel’s best couple and the one time they tried to get away from it all, only to have “it” (no, not Pennywise) follow them to the open seas. Houser perfectly captures the struggle most people face in just trying to go on vacation in a single page-the work struggles, daily home routine with its responsibilities, and trying to sock just a little bit of money away so you can just leave. Once again, the Parkers feel like relateable everyday people, they just happen to do some extraordinary things from time to time.

Unfortunately, where this issue falls short for me is the art. I’m just not feeling Koblish’s style. I had hoped it would grow on me, but it hasn’t yet. I don’t necessarily mind cartoony, but for my tastes it doesn’t feel like a good fit for this book, but something more along an all-ages title, aimed for a younger audience. I’m not a big fan of his faces when our heroes are in costume, but when they’re out of disguise I think they look fine. A lot of backgrounds are pretty simple, leaving work for the colorist to fill in and establish some sort of backdrop to the scene.

However, that doesn’t detract from this being a great story, focusing on a relationship we don’t get near enough of, though that is starting to come around. Mary Jane and Peter’s interactions are written so well here, showing their love for and understanding of each other. Each knows the other’s strengths and weaknesses and how to balance each other out. They’ve been together so long, it’s second nature to know what the other is thinking and act accordingly.

The snobs they encountered on the cruise are pretty stereotypical, their arrogance fuel for Peter feeling inadequate. Again, I love how MJ balances him out, offering her reassurance. She’s far more comfortable dealing with them than Peter, but even that has its limit when she eventually goes off on them at the end. I love the pride she takes in what she and Peter do in costume. I wouldn’t have thought I needed MJ as a super-hero (she’s already a hero in her own right), but it’s fun seeing her grow into the role and take a lot of pride in it.

The last scene proves once again why Mary Jane and Peter are perfect for one another. Mary Jane may seem totally at ease in social situations compared to Peter, but underneath, she feels the unease and awkwardness, too, giving each other insight into their deeper selves. Party Girl MJ is just as much a mask as Spider-Man and I enjoyed seeing that Houser gets the dynamic.

So while I may not have been keen on the art, especially when it gets awkward looking, the story more than made up for any deficits for me this time out. More of this please, Marvel!

MY GRADE: A-

JAVI’S HUH?: Where’d the red spider on the back of Spinneret’s costume go? Is this her vacation variant suit?