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: May 8, 2024
Amazing Spider-Man #49 begins Spidey’s entrance into the Blood Hunt event when he receives a call for help to save a rascally rabbit from eternal damnation.
Is Amazing Spider-Man #49 Good?
Thus begins Spider-Man’s place among the staggering number of tie-ins, one-shots, and miniseries tied to the Blood Hunt event. On the plus side, Spider-Man is the central character in his title (a departure from the last few arcs), but on the negative side, this tie-in contributes nothing to the main Blood Hunt story.
Zeb Wells’s story begins with Spider-Man enjoying the opportunity to cut loose against monsters without fear of consequence – namely the vampire apocalypse sweeping over NYC and the rest of the world. In the melee, Peter receives a text from an unrecognized number asking Peter to pass along a request for help to Spider-Man. Curious, Spider-Man heads to the location and finds White Rabbit’s henchman, Kareem, waiting.
Kareem explains White Rabbit is now a vampire, but he’s trapped her in an apartment, and the vampire who turned her is in the same building. If Spidey can kill White Rabbit’s sire, she’ll become human again, or so the theory goes. Grudgingly, Spidey agrees to the quest. What follows is jump scares from rats, jump scares from vampires, and a sad chat with a vampire who begs for death to be free from his curse.
In the end, Spidey learns that vampires are (were) people, too, and that cutting loose against “monsters” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Then, the Lizard shows up.
What’s great about Amazing Spider-Man #49? Spidey learns a valuable lesson about not dehumanizing vampires (sarcasm is neither confirmed nor denied in that observation). You get plenty of action as Spider-Man punches, kicks, and webs his way through the vampire swarms over NYC. Plus, Spidey’s chat with the nameless man who turned into a vampire that infected White Rabbit is surprisingly emotional. Even Zeb Wells has his moments.
What’s not so great about Amazing Spider-Man #49? Within the bigger picture, this tie-in is little more than a side story that contributes nothing to the Blood Hunt plot. If you’re not a regular reader of ASM and are wondering if you need to get this issue to understand what’s happening, don’t bother.
Further, Spidey appears to be surprised that vampires have thoughts and feelings when he should know this already. How many times has Spider-Man encountered vampires in the past? Too many for this story to be a revelation for Ol’ Web Head.
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 #49 ties into the Blood Hunt event with a mildly entertaining side adventure. The art is decent enough, and Spidey learns a valuable lesson about treating vampires like people, too. However, the story contributes nothing to the Blood Hunt plot, so non-ASM regulars can skip it.
7/10