Amazing Spider-Man vol. 4: Graveyard Shift

He’s back from “Spider-Verse” with three issues and an annual to kill.  However, Peter Parker is still trying to get a handle on the whole “running his own business” thing.  Though he’s still committed to having Parker Industries build a super-prison, our hero is constantly being distracted by his other responsibilities as Spider-Man.  His two worlds collide when rival Tiberius Stone hires the Ghost to break into Parker Industries and sabotage their prison plan.  Lots of action, and witty banter ensue.  Regular writer Dan Slott is joined by frequent collaborator Christos Gage for this arc, as well as the backup stories in each issue which detail the Black Cat’s ongoing descent into outright supervillainy.  This story isn’t the sharpest thing they’ve ever written, but still well within their established threshold of quality.  Having Humberto Ramos illustrate things does liven it all up quite well and gives the proceedings the energy they need to hold your attention.

Most annuals these days are pretty much filler.  This one is no exception, but it at least manages to be quality filler.  The lead story is from writer Sean Ryan and artist Brandon Petersen, and it involves Spidey trying to return a couple’s lost phone during a very busy night.  It might seem like a trivial act, but it fits naturally with the character’s do-gooder persona.  Ryan keeps the action fast-paced with a fun comedy-of-errors vibe as our protagonist keeps getting distracted with errant disasters and supervillains.  Peterson’s art serves the story mostly well, even if his work comes off a bit stiff at points.  It’s followed by an amusing two-page “silent” spread from Cale Atkinson which serves as an amusing showcase for Aunt May’s powers of persuasion.  Rounding out the issue is “The Quiet Room” from writer Jai Nitz and artist Ron Salas.  The story has several D-list villains (and Dr. Bong, clearly working with what he had) facing off against that rarest of sights:  A silent, all-business Spidey.  Before you start thinking that he’s become “Superior” again, you’ll see that it’s all clever setup for a joke.  Even though this annual was clearly included to beef up the page count, it still manages to represent a product of surprising and welcome quality.