Review by Ian Keogh

Gang War is a titled applied to a number of collections featuring superheroes based in the boroughs of New York, spinning out of events generated in Amazing Spider-Man. It’s where a conversation occurred between a frustrated Miles and an apologetic Peter Parker in case you wondered how you missed it in Bad Blood. The shooting of Tombstone has set off a land grab among other gang leaders, and their violence has spilled into the streets.

That’s not Cody Ziglar’s starting point, though, which concerns Miles feeling that the Peter Parker Spider-Man has been ghosting him. He doesn’t know it yet, but that’s the least of his problems.

Earlier volumes have shown Ziglar as definitely efficient in moving Miles and his life along in both identities, but relying too much on the past and not bringing enough to the table himself. To an extent Gang War follows that pattern, but the balance is shifting. The elements Ziglar has introduced, such as Miles being mentored by Misty Knight, and Agent Gao and her squad of super powered operatives, play a greater role. That’s complemented by the reintroduction of a persistent thorn in Miles’s side, and the Hobgoblin’s aims to carve himself a piece of territory.

Federico Vicentini’s art continues to frustrate. There’s all the talent in the world at his disposal, and some individual panels are phenomenally conceived and drawn, but they’re accompanied by others where figuring out what’s going on is challenging. Federica Mancin contributes to the art for half the final chapters, and the clarity is greater. Her work’s not as individual, but very good.

Ziglar keeps introducing more and more people to the cast, and while it’s initially nice to see old friends again, there are too many of them in the end to make the last chapter here anything other than one punch after another.

Rather than supplying the final chapter when all connected parties come together, for which we refer you again to Amazing Spider-Man: Gang War, Marvel instead pad out this collection with an unconnected battle with Venom. At least it’s written by Ziglar, but it’s going through the motions with little inspiration, other than the revelation of who’s been supplying villains with weapons, and that leads into Retribution.