Does this journey from Spider-Man‘s past warrant a purchase?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Marvel:

Celebrating 50 Amazing years! Celebrating 50 Years of the Great Responsibility of his Great powers, The Spider-Man 50th Anniversary Series collects the Webbed Wonder’s greatest heretofore secret history! Spanning from his earliest days as a hero to the heyday of the heralded Big Time era and everything in between, a collection of Marvel Legends, venerated comic creators and awe-inspiring artists shine the spotlight on everything that makes Spider-Man the World’s Greatest Superhero!

Picking up where Sensational Spider-Man #33.1 left off, our heroes are trying their best to get some form of resolution in a world where injustice just runs rampant.  Once again, this story is told from the perspective of Carlie Cooper but thankfully there are still plenty of fun scenes that involve Spider-Man.

The script by Tom DeFalco reads and comes off as a bland adventure with little or no depth.  It’s not that it’s bad, but you can’t help but feel like it could have offered up some interesting thoughts or even compelling situations that would address the rhetoric around the issue of human trafficking or even illegal immigration.  To his credit, the writer keeps the level of corn and surface level diagnosis to a minimum as he steps aside and lets the artist handle the action in the comic.

Carlo Barberi once again takes control of the narrative with his skillful work, as his deformed but lavishly detailed characters pop-off the proverbial page.  Sturdy lines inform a truly dynamic set of panels that almost make this comic a worthwhile treat.  From the simplicity of Spider-Man watching from a far or our hero interrogating a criminal, the art just works exceptionally well.

What we have here is a quick romp into the darker corners of the Marvel universe, dressed up as a secret story from Spider-Man‘s past.  It’s by no means perfect but it’s good enough to warrant a light recommendation.

3/5