For today’s comic book review, I read Amazing Spider-Man #7 and the tale contained within called The Return Of The Vulture. This classic By Stan Lee and Steve Ditko serves as a squeal to Amazing Spider-Man #2.

But can the Vulture who was so easily defeated by spider-man  issues ago, make a compelling return? or is he a bird-brained menace doomed to repeat his past mistakes?

To summarize the story, it begins with the vulture escaping from state prison,  he does this by developing a new flying device, and flying over the walls.  once free he wastes no time returning to his life of crime. 

Story

Much to my surprise this story was quite a compelling read, I was not expecting the vultures return appearance to be nearly as compelling or as interesting as it was.  the book accounted for measures taken to prevent him from being so easily defeated again by spider-man, and then gave their fight an appropriate backdrop, the offices of the daily bugle. 

The story also offered us substantial character development for our hero’ and some of the supporting characters,  But i will discuss that below. All and all, there is little I can say that I think was not done well by this story.

Artwork

The artwork on the other hand, felt a little rushed, and perhaps a bit extra “Cartoon” like for my taste this issue. A lot of this i suspect comes from the lack of detail, combined with the method of coloring, take a look at the included picture of Spider-Man’s or perhaps I should say Peter Parker’s home.  the house looks simplified, and the foreground plants and yard, almost blending together.  the whole panel almost looks and feels flat to me, lacking both depth in appearance and substance.

While the artwork overall was not of a style that I found appealing, it was still not horrible, and was quite effective at helping convey the story of the issue.

Originality & Continuity

Oh how wonderfully this fits in with the ongoing Continuity, putting emphasis on what has been building for a few issues now, Mainly with Betty Brant and Peter Parker,  but also with his school ‘friends’  and the building urge to act out,  It feels like any issue now Peter Parker is going to show Flash Thompson a thing or two. But will that building pressure be revealed? only time will tell.

What I can say is that I feel this issue fits right in with the ongoing drama of Peter Parker’s life, making it much  more than just a Super-Hero story about spider-man, but a human tale about a teenage boy as well. This aspect of the spider-man books is part of what I feel made them so great to begin with.

Characters & Development

In addition to spider-man suffering his first real injury, a development in its own right, although not as big as it is first suggested to be.  We have  an ending that just makes you smile, and feel that there are good things in Peters future.

After the Vulture attack, he sits alone, in a dark and abandoned office, ‘hiding’ beside the desk with Betty, as they sit there talking for most of the last page of the issue,  you see the sparks of romance flying, in the words they say. Could Betty become Peters first love?