Writer: Zeb Wells
Artist: Patrick Gleason
Colorist: Marcio Menyz
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz; Giada Perissinotto; Joey Vasquez
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 6, 2023
Kraven The Hunter cornered Norman Osborn in his laboratory. But when he thrust a cursed spear at the Golden Goblin, Spider-Man got in the way. Will the injury turn Peter Parker into an unfriendly neighborhood Goblin? Let’s fwip into Amazing Spider-Man #33 and find out!
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Story
After the Sin-Eater removed Norman Osborn’s sins, the Beyond Corporation used them to transform therapist Ashley Kafka into the Queen Goblin. Her occult rituals transferred the Green Goblin’s sins into Kraven’s cursed spear. Thanks to Spidey’s insistence upon saving the endangered, Kraven stripped Peter of pity and compassion.
In Amazing Spider-Man #33, Peter doesn’t visit the Emergency Room to get his chest sewn up. We don’t learn how Ashley Kafka fares after freeing herself from Norman’s sins or glimpse Rek-Rap’s latest exploits. Nothing breaks the tension as Peter contemplates Kraven’s actions and decides the world is better without him. In injuring Peter, Vladimir roused the beast. Now, he is the prey. Zeb Wells draws inspiration from fan-favorite stories “Kraven’s Last Hunt” and “Grim Hunt” to forge a new direction for our favorite wall-crawler in Amazing Spider-Man #33. This time, Peter Parker vows, things will be different!
Art
Whether it’s Norman arriving at Peter’s apartment building, Vladimir Kravinoff studying a portrait of his father Sergei, or water spilling from a pipe into dark sewers, Patrick Gleason peers into Peter’s world from above. He’s no stranger to ground-and-floor views either, whether looking up at cobwebs binding Peter to his chair, Kraven clutching a rifle as his nemesis crawls across the ceiling, or black-clad Spidey raining webs upon his fleeing prey. Gleason scatters panels across scenes to showcase running feet, a knife falling through fingers, and eyes bulging from a squeezing hand. It’s the flight of Kraven’s life, conveyed in all its grandeur by penciler Patrick Gleason.
Shorn of compassion, the color leaches from Peter’s world in Amazing Spider-Man #33. Even before he abandons his familiar red-and-blue, moonlight chills the blue-tinged darkness of Peter’s apartment. Norman’s flesh turns to ice as he leaves the lit stairwell to survey his friend’s unlit rooms. Kraven’s mansion glows with yellow and orange as all his hopes and dreams burn away. As he trades illuminated neighborhoods for the sewers, depth, and perspective fade in and out. Darkness encroaches and threatens to envelop him completely.
Joe Caramagna delivers Zeb Wells’ narrative-driven story as a series of narrative boxes. Peter’s are alternately white or red and feature dialogue-sized letters. Norman’s thoughts appear in greenish-white and green boxes with similar-sized words. Kraven’s thoughts switch between orange and black with smaller lowercase letters. Shouted words swell to epic proportions, and the laughter that rumbles through the chasm of Peter’s soul threatens to shake the Earth. Ambition and fear create one terrible nightmare that severs each character in two.
Final Thoughts
A lack of confidence provokes desperate measures, and a hero’s failure returns to haunt him in Amazing Spider-Man #33.