Written by: Zeb Wells
Art by: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna
Colors by: Marcio Menyz
Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover art by: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, Marcio Menyz
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: January 3, 2024
Amazing Spider-Man #41 introduces Wilson Fisk and Typhoid Mary to the raging war when Fisk decides his son’s interests must be protected.
Is Amazing Spider-Man #41 Good?
Amazing Spider-Man #41 could be best summarized as “my dad can beat up your dad” when Wilson Fisk confronts Tombstone to ensure Fisk’s son, The Rose, wins the territory battle against Tombstone’s daughter, The Beetle. And that’s all you need to know about this issue because not much else happens.
Let’s get specific. Within the course of the raging Gang War, rival gangs across NYC suddenly decided to go to war with each other and claim more real estate to rule. Tombstone’s daughter, Beetle, leads the charge to claim Harlem and all points North, but the Rose, Wilson Fisk’s son, is out to put the Beetle down to claim Tombstone’s territory and for revenge against past defeats.
Watch our Amazing Spider-Man #41 Video Review
Wilson Fisk shows up with Typhoid Mary and a squad of Hellfire goons to confront Tombstone, Spider-Man, and She-Hulk to ensure they don’t interfere with his son’s fight. Fisticuffs ensue on two fronts. The Rose and his muscle, Digger, fight Beetle and her female version of the Sinister Six. Meanwhile, Tombstone goes mano-a-mano against Fisk while Spidey and She-Hulk fight Typhoid Mary and the Hellfire goons.
Who wins? TBD.
What’s great about Amazing Spider-Man #41? If you want an action-centric issue focused on brawling, punching, fire, swords, and general mayhem, this is a decent issue. You could argue Fisk should not be able to inflict as much punishment on Tombstone as he does, but the limits of Fisk’s strength are always up for debate, so you could go with it.
What’s not so great about Amazing Spider-Man #41? The moments before each fight should feel like a tinderbox ready to ignite, but Wells robs those moments of tension with weirdly-placed humor that takes the tension completely out of the moment. Typhoid Mary makes odd, flirty gestures towards Spidey and She-Hulk that even cause Fisk to get annoyed. Meanwhile, the female Sinister Six doesn’t seem to take Digger seriously when he launches into an attack. Humor has its place, especially with Spidey’s quippy personality, but the placement is all wrong in this issue.
How’s the art? Amazing Spider-Man #41 is one of the better examples of art from John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna in this series. Romita Jr.’s oddly distorted faces are still present, but there’s plenty of energy and action to hold your attention. I wish the art team would have cut back on the number of close-ups because it makes the fight feel oddly compressed, but the book looks good.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces
Amazing Spider-Man #41 commences a new gang battle on two fronts when Tombstone fights Wilson Fisk while Beetle (Tombstone’s daughter) fights the Rose (Fisk’s son). There’s plenty of brawling action to get your blood pumping, and the fight appears to be heading towards some consequences, but Wells’s bad habit of injecting humor at the wrong time puts a damper on the dramatic tension.
7.5/10