by Randy Lander

PETER PARKER: SPIDER-MAN #34 "If Thine Eyes Offend Thee..." Recommended (7/10) 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 Well, that was... odd. This issue is a mixture of comedy and tragedy, and the cognitive dissonance that results delivers a less impressive story than I'm used to from this creative team. There are some real laugh-out-loud moments, but the antagonist's powers are truly bizarre and far-fetched even in a comic about a man bitten by a radioactive spider, and the ending seems forced and melodramatic rather than poignant. However, while the antagonist was someone I enjoyed about as much as Jenkins's other strange creation Typeface, the rest of the story was a lot of fun, with further developments between Peter and his neighbor Caryn and some really nice stuff with Aunt May. There are a lot of great scenes in this issue. Peter's interaction with Aunt May and Caryn in his apartment is pure gold, with a lovely visual gag relating to ugly salt and pepper shakers and a portrayal of Aunt May and Caryn that makes them goofy and perhaps a little naive, but not unbelievably so. The phrase "To the monkmobile, Brother Ian!" in conjunction with Buckingham's visual engendered much laughter as well, and Spidey has some great quips when he first meets William. Jenkins and Buckingham are always at their best on this book when they're doing the funny moments. It's the more serious moments that give them a little trouble sometimes. William is meant as a tragic character, but the selection of powers given to him seems truly strange, and the end result was that rather than reflecting on his sad life, I found myself thinking that Jenkins was really going a long way to try and make his point about what a sad life it was. I never believed it, and so I never connected to William or his struggle, so the ending fell flat for me. However, while I might have found the writing a little uneven this issue, the artwork is top-notch throughout. Buckingham and Faucher work well together, with very clean and simple panel arrangements that are easy for new and old readers to follow and terrific anatomy to go with their storytelling skills. In addition, since so much of the book relies on interaction between characters, their ability to convey emotions through facial expressions and body language is put to good use, and Buckingham's art has a comedic sense of timing to rival the best moments in Jenkins's script. Email Randy Lander comments about this review.