Weekly Comic Book Review

By Brian Reed (Writer), Chris Bachalo w/ Rob Disalvo (Pencils), Tim Townsend, Mendoza, Sibal, and Disalvo (Inks), and Bachalo w/ Mossa and Fabela (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I liked the first issue of Sinister Spider-Man a whole hell of a lot. Mean, hilarious, and absolutely awesome to look at, Sinister Spider-Man #1 might actually be one of my favorite single issues of the year. I wonder if Sinister Spider-Man #2 can live up to the high standard set by the first chapter of the Dark Reign mini?

The Story: Mac Gargan (Spider-Man) starts off a huge gang war in order to keep Mayor J. Jonah Jameson’s life as difficult as possible. Meanwhile, The Redeemer holds a group therapy session for villains that have been wronged by Spider-Man.

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: The second Sinister Spider-Man issue is a lot like the first. The visuals by Chris Bachalo look fantastic (each page feels loaded with energy, even when nothing significant is happening), the dark humor by Brian Reed is spot on (who knew squirrels taste like “squirmy popcorn?!”), and the storyline is a perfect fit for a mini-series like Sinister Spider-Man. Sounds like another “A” right? Well, not quite… Two things keep Sinister Spider-Man #2 from reaching the heights of the previous Sinister Spidey issue: the visuals by Rob Disalvo and the nagging feeling that absolutely nothing of consequence is going to have happened when all is said and done.

Simply put, the change from Chris Bachalo to Rob Disalvo is downright jarring. It’s not because their styles are different, but because they are so similar. There’s one big problem though: Disalvo’s work looks incredibly weak compared to Chris Bachalo’s. While I’m sure a full book by Disalvo would look pretty cool, his few pages do not stand up well in comparison to the rest of Sinister Spider-Man #2.

The problem I have with Brian Reed’s storyline pops up at the very end of Sinister Spider-Man #2. It looks as though a major character may be as good as dead far sooner than later, but it’s EXTREMELY unlikely that the character would die in what is, ultimately, just another Marvel tie-in mini-series. The fact that the character is unlikely to die in a mini-series like Sinister Spidey definitely takes away from the overall effect the storyline being developed has.

Conclusion: While it’s got a few flaws, Sinister Spider-Man #2 is still one hell of a fun comic book. Most of the visuals are incredibly stylish and edgy, the dark humor works extremely well, and the overall personality the book has makes it easy to overlook some of the problems I mention in the review.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny