Marvel Pick Of The Week: Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #5
By Matt Conner
Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows continues to charm with a genuinely sweet story about a young family on a night out – just what we needed!
Pick Of The Week: Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #5, by Gerry Conway and Nathan Stockman
Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows has charmed since its first issue as a Secret Wars tie-in. Staff writer Alex Wilden has praised the tonal links to the popular Spider-Girl series. And this week, the Parker Family Fun Night makes this issue the best time a reader’s going to have.
Despite wasting all their energy dropkicking criminals, young married couple Peter and Mary Jane have to uphold their promise to honor Tuesday nights out with their daughter, Annie. They drag themselves out to a Chuck E. Cheese knockoff. And it’s wonderfully miserable for adults who miss live music and R-rated movies. Thank the Parker Luck, the Sandman has designs on the bank vault next door, and Annie’s enhanced Spider Sense lets the family have a more traditional super-hero night out with him.
The version of Sandman Gerry Conway writes for this world has a poor grasp on language (“You picked the wrong party to crash, Wall-crawler! Nobody gets in without a reservation!” “Parties have invitations, not reservations.”), but it’s played more for laughs than as a slight on the man’s intelligence. Some people just don’t do figurative language. There’s a sweet innocence to it, very much in line with the all-ages appeal of this book. And Stockman’s pencils keep the foe impressive without getting too scary.
Also, Conway loves the Parker family. Loves them. And he’s not afraid to show that sometimes, as parents, you kind of hope the kid will grow out of the work of the baby or toddler stage, and you get disappointed because maybe the kid is always going to want more of your time. Mary Jane and Peter aren’t bad parents; they’re parents. Ask anyone. So the family-positive ending still honors the human selfish thoughts of these characters, the push-pull of parenting a gifted child. We don’t have to be perfect, we just have to be honest. And this week, I think we could all use that message.
Honorable Mentions:
Words by Spencer, Art by Saiz
This new Madame Hydra is no one to mess with. Who doesn’t love this great Lovecraft dialogue?
Words by Lemire, Art by Ibanez
If the book’s team played more softball, maybe this wouldn’t be the last issue, just saying.
Words by Aaron, Art by Coipel
Words by Aaron, Art by Coipel
Thori the Murder Puppy is maybe my favorite character in any Thor comic ever. Please, Jason Aaron, keep him around.
Words by Bendis, Art by Caselli
Riri’s response to the “SHIELD might be the devil,” “Oh, you love Hydra!” bullcrap argument? Spot on. Maybe we should all memorize this bit.
Words by Rosenberg, Art by Coelho
There may come a day when the panels of a mean raccoon in tighty-whiteys pulling a gun on a burly man in animal-print tights fail to tickle me. But not today, y’all.