PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #34
"If Thine Eyes Offend The..."
Mildly Recommended (5/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Paul Jenkins
Pencils: Mark Buckingham
Inks: Wayne Faucher
Colors: Transparency Digital
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Axel Alonso
Price: $2.25 US/$3.50 CAN |
Given the saga J. Michael Straczynski is developing in Amazing Spider-Man, it was nice to find a self-contained Spidey story in Peter Parker this week. The problem is that I've seen stronger stories from Jenkins in the past, and stronger art from Buckingham too. This is pretty much in keeping with a pattern that's formed since this creative team took over the title a while back: several strong issues separated by one that's simply okay.
Peter is forced into a date with Caryn at a Central Park fun fair, where he not only runs into close friends but a lost young man named William who happens to possess remarkable energy powers he can't control. Advised by a pair of monks as to William's ordeal, Spider-Man is forced to balance William's innocence and simple wishes with the danger he poses.
Well, I suppose one can't go wrong with monk humor. "To the Monkmobile, Brother Ian!" Jenkins supplies quite a few chuckles in this script, though I must admit the gags at the title character's expense are more uncomfortable than funny. It's too bad that the shift from silliness to a more serious tone is kind of jarring. William is presented as a weird little guy at first, and then potentially deadly but sympathetic all at once.
Buckingham's art isn't as clean as what I'm used to. Spider-Man doesn't look as dynamic, and much of the art seems rushed and sketchy. Perhaps it's a problem with the inking, but in any case, we've seen better stuff from this penciller and inker before.
In the end, the problem with the story seems to be that William's plight is rather contrived. His powers do no pose a problem when he's lying down? Furthermore, his ultimate goal here isn't illustrated clearly. The dialogue describes the object of William's quest, but we never get a clear picture of it.
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