• Written by: Zeb Wells
• Art by: John Romita Jr., Emilio Laiso, Zé Carlos, Scott Hanna
• Colors by: Marcio Menyz, Bryan Valenza
• Letters by: VC’s Joe Caramagna
• Cover art by: John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, Marcio Menyz
• Cover price: $9.99
• Release date: August 9, 2023

Amazing Spider-Man #31 cordially invites you to the wedding event of today, when Randy and Janice tie the big knot… or do they?

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Is It Good?

Let’s cut to the chase. No, they don’t get married. In Amazing-ly consistent fashion, Zeb Wells, Nick Lowe, and the rest of Marvel hype up the supposed “Wedding of the Year” but don’t deliver on the promise of the premise. What you DO get is a break-up, lots of bachelorette party shenanigans, and a $9.99 comic with only half a story (more on that in a minute).

When last we left the Amazing Spider-Man, he tangled with Doc Ock and the ocktoids to save the now-reformed Norman Osborn. Now, Peter takes Randy out for the saddest bachelor party celebration in Marvel history while Janice parties with her super-villain besties before the big day. When the nuptial moment arrives, a part-crasher ruins the day and possibly ends a life.

“That all sounds like fun. Why don’t you like fun, Mr. Better-Looking-Than Expected-But-Grumpy Review Guy?” you’d rightly wonder.

Fair. We’ll start by covering the laundry list of annoyances. First, you’re paying $9.99 for only half an oversized comic. That’s right. The story ends on page 44, and the rest of the over-expensive, oversized issue is filled with a series of backups and prologues teasing other storylines happening down the road, either in ASM or other titles. You’re not getting $9.99 worth of story. You’re getting $4.98 worth of story (and even that’s debatable) and $5.01 worth of backups and prologues that may or may not have anything to do with the future of ASM.

Second, the lion’s share of the story is taken up with bachelorette and bachelor party shenanigans. Peter is the only one who attends Randy’s affair because none of Randy’s friends support him marrying a supervillain. Janice has the time of her life drinking and dancing with a small crowd of female supervillains, accompanied by Janice’s defense attorney, just in case. This presents a problem because the story makes it abundantly clear that Randy willingly marrying a supervillain, who’s the daughter of a dangerous crime lord, makes no sense. If Janice is “reformed,”
as some may claim, she doesn’t act like it in this comic.

Last but certainly not least, the wedding never comes off. Shotgun (remember that guy? Me neither) rides in to disrupt the wedding and pump Tombstone full of Tombstone-piercing bullets. And then it ends.

That’s right. There’s no follow-up or cliffhanger to grab your attention. The wedding ends on a down note with everyone going their separate ways. Could you say the mastermind behind the attack sets up a mystery? Sure, but it’s a lame one because nobody thinks the wedding is a good idea and NYC’s crime lords are trying to kill each other all the time. In short, it’s just another Wednesday.

How’s the art? Romita Jr. returns after Ed McGuinness’s brief stint, so if you like Romita Jur’s art, enhanced by a small team of inkers this time, you’ll be happy with the result.

As for the backups, they’re fine for what they are, but they have nothing to do with the present story.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

Follow @ComicalOpinions on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Bits and Pieces

Amazing Spider-Man #31 delivers bachelor/bachelorette party shenanigans and a disrupted wedding for a comic that’s too expensive, has too many pointless backups, and barely manages to setup a new arc. Marvel is asking for too much and giving too little in return on this one.

5/10