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 17, 2024
Amazing Spider-Man #42 puts a surprising twist on the battle between the Rose and the Beetle, a twist that sets up a Gang showdown in Central Park.
Is Amazing Spider-Man #42 Good?
Amazing Spider-Man #42 is fine. It won’t blow you away, but to Zeb Wells’s credit, he injects a few surprises to keep readers on their toes and builds momentum for one of the better issues in the Gang War event.
When last we left Spider-Man and his befuddled friends, Battle and her Sister Six fought against the Rose and Digger to claim the Harlem territory. Meanwhile, Spidey, She-Hulk, and Tombstone fought Kingpin, Typhoid Mary, and their Hellfire goons to stop Tombstone from interfering in their offspring’s fight. The issue ended with a gunfight that presumably killed Beetle and her Sister Six.
Now (plot twist), Kingpin’s men defeated the Rose and Digger to take them out of the war. Kingpin chose to remove his son from the equation, ceding Harlem in the process, rather than risk his son’s life. Emboldened by the acquisition of Harlem, Beetle is ready to consolidate the troops and win the war, but Madame Masque shows up with a challenge and an ultimatum that ensures Beetle’s power play isn’t won just yet.
Yes, that’s right. If you’ve been keeping track of the Gang War event and have been waiting for a massive battlefield action sequence between two opposing forces, your wish has been granted for an epic showdown between Madame Masque(?) and Beetle(?).
What’s great about Amazing Spider-Man #42? To Wells’s credit, he pulls back on the excessive humor that killed the dramatic tension in the last issue and moves the plot forward by shaking out the losing Gangs. If you view the Gang War as a leaderboard-style competition, we’re moving into the semi-finals.
![](https://weirdsciencemarvelcomics.files.wordpress.com/2024/01/asm-42-p2.jpg?w=675)
What’s not so great about Amazing Spider-Man #42? Nobody cares about Madame Masque, and even fewer people care about Beetle. Why go through all the trouble of setting up an epic battle between two C-tier villains? That critique is the core criticism of this event. A bunch of villains who you don’t know or care much about are killing each other, and Wells has yet to put in the work to give you a reason to care other than through mild curiosity over who will win.
How’s the art? Thankfully, we don’t get a repeat of Romita Jr’s weirdly awkward Tombstone/Kingpin head butt fight. In fact, there’s no action at all in this issue, but the dialog scenes between assorted players look interesting enough to hold your attention, a testament to Romita Jr’s composition strength.
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 #42 delivers an action-less setup issue that clears out the lesser gangs to move into the Gang War semi-finals, culminating in a showdown in Central Park. The dialog-only issue is interesting enough, and the story is finally picking up steam, but the big battle ahead is led by two C-tier villains that nobody cares about, making it difficult to care about the outcome either way.
7.5/10