Spider-Man/Deadpool: Isn't It Bromantic (comics)

Writer: Joe Kelly
Artist: Ed McGuinness
Collects: Spider-Man/Deadpool #1-5, 8

So, generally, I have opinions about Deadpool. I like the character a fair bit and I'm open to trying any given run of the character. But the thing is, I'm not a mega-fan or anything. Not just any take on Deadpool hits just right, for me. I've read more than a few that trend too far into making the character obnoxious, or lean a bit too heavily on fourth wall breaking antics, and eventually get tired of it.

As such, I've told people in the past that I can only handle Deadpool in small doses. But that's not necessarily true. I suppose it should be clarified; I can only stand Deadpool in small doses if everything is not right.

Joe Kelly always hits the proper balance. Jokes fly free, but he knows when to pull back and get a little more serious with the character. He seems to know how to make the character just obnoxious enough to feel like himself without going so far overboard that he seems like a tiring caricature. The humor he brings is often genuinely chuckle-worthy while keeping away from overplayed Deadpool-isms like constant jokes about Mexican food. He knows not to over-play the fourth wall breaking wisecracks, or they'll get stale. More than that, he is great at keeping Deadpool endearing and interesting without completely losing the edge the character has, even as Deadpool attempts to become more heroic.

Throw in Spider-Man and you've got a hell of a book on your hands.

Boiled down to its essentials, it's really about Deadpool trying to convince Spider-Man to be his friend to help keep him out of the way when Deadpool goes to kill Spider-Mans "boss" Peter Parker, only to find he likes being friends with Spidey, which complicates things. The two prove to be great foils, especially since Spider-Man traditionally has little patience for Deadpool and his antics. The overall plot seems interesting, too, once the "kill Parker" stuff is out of the way and we get to the why of it all. Add in some great art by Ed McGuinness and we're set.

If I have any complaint, it's a callback to Mephisto and One More Day. It's one page of the book, but come on. Just. Let. It. Go. It's annoying every time someone brings it back or takes a passive aggressive shot, even if it happens very rarely.

All told, this was kind of a slam dunk. Witty, well drawn and fun from cover to cover. It might be the first Deadpool material I actually buy in a long time.

My Opinion: Buy It

Amazing Spider-Man: Worldwide Vol. 1 (comics)

Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man (2015) #1-5

With the man now closing in on a solid decade with Spider-Man, without much in the way of major stumbles, Dan Slott is probably going down as a definitive writer of the character when all is said and done. It hasn't been without its low periods, though - Ends of the Earth pissed me off so bad I stopped reading until Superior - and it's had the worrying trend of slowly but surely pushing the character away from the kind of situations and stories that make him compelling in the first place.

The trend reaches its its peak here - in the second Amazing Spider-Man relaunch in a year, because Marvel is run by insane people - where Peter Parker has essentially become a low rent Iron Man, a fact directly addressed in the story. Sure, the last series had a similar setup, which saw Peters life in a far better place after everything Doc Ock did with it in Superior, but in that book Peter was absolutely not ready to run a company, constantly fighting to keep its head above water, struggling with people screwing around behind his back, all on top of the personal problems caused by Ock living his life for a spell. Now, he's pretty much Tony Stark, right down to calling Spider-Man his bodyguard, without most of Starks obvious, compelling personal failings.

I was absolutely not interested in that. After all, if I want to read Iron Man, I'd pick that up; or not, I guess, given what's apparently happening there. So I put it off for a long time. Now that I've read it, I've turned around on the idea somewhat. This comic is good. Very good. In five issues, it's better than half the prior relaunch by far, with superior artwork, snappier dialogue and all the fun of international crime fighting. I don't know the Zodiac from Adam, but I'm interested enough in the book overall that I'm even interested in finding out whatever it is he's doing.

One good upside to this status quo is that Spider-Man is all over the place, now. Personally, there isn't much I love more than superheroes getting out of their comfort zone and visiting different countries. The rare occasions Batman does it are always a treat. Even if it's just aesthetic and nothing is done with the local culture, it always offers a different look for the typical heroics, spicing things up. I love Gotham and all, but geez, sometimes you just want to see the Bat family go somewhere else. Same for Spider-Man and New York City. Seeing the wall crawler in China, England and Africa offers a nice change of pace.

If I have a complaint, it's that we're already involving Norman Osborn again. When you think Spider-Man arch-enemies, he's definitely in the top three, maybe even at number one, but they use him as a crutch so much that it occasionally feels like the guy is behind everything that happens to Spider-Man. The character ended up being the overall villain of Superior Spider-Man, then continued his machinations in the prior volume, right into now. The book has let Ock cool longer than Osborn, and Ock is the more interesting character after Superior.

I do enjoy the structure of the series so far, though. While there's an overall story arc going on here with Zodiacs shenanigans and it plays a role in each issue, it doesn't feel like we're reading a typical "story arc". Each issue has a clear problem and conflict, which is generally resolved in one way or another by the end of the issue. If Spider-Man has to assault an aquatic base in an issue to try and retrieve something stolen from him, the plot will see itself out by the end of the issue. Goblin dudes wrecking a small town in Africa? Done three pages before the end. It's hard to explain, but it feels less like one continuous story that takes five to six issues to play out and more like chunks that build to a whole, but feel standalone enough that they are almost like their own adventure, if that makes sense. The "arc" is far less defined.

Also enjoyable, the artwork. I've liked a fair amount of Dan Slotts tenure, but most of it has been paired with art I find unappealing. That's not an issue here. Everything is clean, bright and dynamic. Even Alex Ross steps up his game, providing some of the best cover art I think I've seen from him, which is welcome, because the whole "I only do Silver Age heroes" thing got old quick.

I'm not sure how comfortable I am with this direction long term. I feel like it almost has to fall apart at some point, given how not-Spider-Man it feels. But as a change of pace, it's working amazingly well so far. And hell, low rent Iron Man is not so bad in an age when Iron Man isn't even having colorful playboy superhero adventures like this anymore. He's too busy being comatose, replaced by two different people, because replacing heroes with new versions is the only story Marvel knows how to tell anymore. I'd recommend this.

My Opinion: Read It

Superior Spider-Man: A Troubled Mind (comics)

Writer: Dan Slott
Artists: Humberto Ramos, Ryan Stegman
Collects: Superior Spider-Man #6-10

Round two, FIGHT.

After an opening volume that put the pieces on the board, volume two offers more of the same. Make no mistake, that is meant as a compliment. The first five issues only scratched the surface of this idea.

As expected, SpOck pretty much wrecks Peters old life, one piece at a time. He's on the outs with the Avengers, he barely seems to pay much attention to Horizon Labs and most of the friends Peter made have fallen by the wayside. In its place are some new, equally interesting scenarios that come about due to the connections Ock establishes in his return to college in pursuit of his doctorate.

Less expected is the fact that the "back door" I mentioned in the last review is dealt with a hell of a lot sooner than I expected. I didn't go into detail last time, but the gist is that some part of Peter Parker remains in his mind, taking a visual form as some sort of apparition for our benefit. This seemed like the obvious solution to bringing Peter back when the time came, but the situation comes to a head here, within the first third of the series. I doubt everything is as it seems - I'm sure it will be revisited down the line - but for now it appears to have wrapped.

Not a moment too soon, in my opinion. I get why the fragment of Peter was there. People were pissed when this storyline kicked off. Marvel and Slott needed something to take some of the immediate heat off, so patting readers on the head and almost immediately assuring them that Pete isn't completely gone seems like a fair enough price to pay to keep it for a while.

Trouble is, it wasn't doing Peter Parker any favors. It's kind of hard to miss someone when they won't go away in the first place and Ghost Peter was verging on the point of being an annoyance. Using him to highlight the differences between his and Ocks way of doing things is fine, but there came a point where they were beating us over the head when the story didn't need it. It also doesn't make him look all that great; he gives credit where its due at times, but more often than not he's worried more about what is happening to his life and second guessing Ock than he is with noting the clear improvements to his crime fighting formula.

SpOck needed room to breathe and that wasn't happening with Pete around. There's a scene late in the book where Mary Jane finds herself in trouble; Ock doesn't know that, of course - even if he did, I'm not convinced it would have changed his mind - so he reroutes the call to the fire department - people trained to handle such situations - and thwomps some of Hammerheads goons across town instead. Mary Jane expects Peter to rescue her at every point in the affair - and, if we're being honest, he absolutely would have dropped everything to save her - but he never comes.

See? We can spot the difference in approach with no problems and we didn't even need Peter the Whiny Ghost to beat it into us.

Also of note is the new supporting character in Anna Maria, one of Ocks classmates in college. She really bucks convention in a way most female characters in Spider-Mans supporting cast do not. Peter Parker has had relationships with a fair number of women, but most of them are cut from the same cloth; stunningly beautiful, perfect in appearance, well loved and, in the case of Mary Jane, occasionally a model or actress. Anna Maria is a far sight under five feet tall and, while she's drawn as a fairly pretty woman, she's not supermodel level attractive like most of the girls Peter has falling all over him. She also has to put up with some obvious challenges, including the expected bullying. Her personality and outlook add something new and, frankly, she's the best supporting cast member Slott has made so far. It's kind of a shame she's probably going to fall to the wayside when Peter regains his body.

Humberto Ramos is back. Past reviews will show that he is not one of my favorites, but I've kind of come to terms with the reality that he's clearly going to be in the rotation of artists until Dan Slott decides to move on. To be fair, aside from a few scenes that show his weaknesses, he's does good work here that is mostly devoid of the oddly sized limbs that I hate so much. Stegman also returns for the last two issues of the collection; his artwork is stylized as well, but for some reason it goes over better with me.

Two volumes in and Superior Spider-Man remains a clear winner. Maybe I'll feel differently once we near the end, but it's kind of sad that I'm already a third of the way through this series. This really feels like a status quo that deserved an extension, much like the Dick Grayson era of Batman recieved. I genuinely think this could have carried another twenty issues, especially given the fact that Marvel double-ships Spider-Man books.

My Opinion: Read It

Superior Spider-Man: My Own Worst Enemy (comics)

Writer: Dan Slott
Artists: Ryan Stegman, Giuseppe Camuncoli
Collects: Superior Spider-Man #1-5

Well, here we are. It took longer than expected to get to this point - largely due to Ends of the Earth robbing me of any desire to read Spider-Man for a solid year - but I've finally started on the Superior era of Spider-Man. Frankly, I should have tried it sooner.

I was interested in this right from the announcement and you can place that almost entirely on the high concept. One of Peter Parkers greatest enemies assumes his life and role as Spider-Man. How will he fare? This caused no small amount of bitching on the internet but I feel pretty safe in saying that it turned out for the best.

See, I'm generally a bit more receptive to this type of stunt. It's worked out a lot in the past, including Dick Graysons turn as Batman; well, when Grant Morrison was writing him anyway, as the era had maybe two or three stories worth reading outside of him in the two years he was in that identity. Much like that, it was clear the move was temporary; by the end of the first issue, we see there's a backdoor to be exploited in the future of Superior Spider-Man. They thought this one out ahead of time, which is the difference between this and, say, the Clone Saga.

I also find that having someone else under a mask - or, you know, in the body of a hero in this case - also provides a nice contrast with the usual and makes you either appreciate them more or look at them in a different light. One of my favorite Captain America comics is Patriot. That story had jack-all to do with Steve Rogers, aside from the necessary noting of his disappearance, what he meant to people and so forth. We saw the life and times of one of the men who took his place after his disappearance and it gave a wonderful story of a man trying to live up to the legacy. In this case, we have an egotistical villain taking the life of a hero and trying to make good. That just screams interesting reading.

So far, Doc Ock as Spider-Man has turned out to be an inspired move. Dan Slott had built Peter up way too much prior to this, but he isn't even tearing that life apart in a quick, dirty manner. It's all falling apart gradually, piece by piece, just by the way Ock does things. He cuts ties with Mary Jane in a moment of strength; he realizes he'd inherited Parkers feelings for her, but more than that he sees their back and forth for the destructive relationship it is. But in the midst of that, we start to see him slowly piece things together outside of Peter's circle. It's fascinating reading.

Superior Spider-Man also makes a solid case for its lead living up to that billing. Ock pulls a few obvious superhero no-nos - he actually kills a villain in the book, even though said villain killed upwards of thirty people for no good reason - but we also see a Spider-Man that is far, far more practical. Ock thinks of things Peter never would have - partly because Peter is stuck so far up his own ass in regards to his life and is not the best at budgeting his time - and generally makes for a more efficient superhero at the most basic level. Someone in a highly populated area? Ock calls the cops to surround the place and keep it contained until he gets there. Said murderous villain tends to hold hostages strapped to explosives at another place? Ock takes care of that first, whereas Peter would have jumped right in the fray and found himself in a bad position there is no easy way out of. Need to balance a social life? Better use the Ock-bots to patrol the city constantly and weed out the smaller hazards the trained professionals can handle from the big problems that require a superhero.

Frankly, Peter looks kind of incompetent for failing to think of even the most basic changes Ock makes.

It is immediately compelling. No lie, I'm super into this, because it's going to be interesting to see just how the book ends up justifying Parkers way of doing things and proving it's better than Ocks. That's the obvious endgame here, right? But it won't be easy. Even if you prove that Peter is a better hero morally and ethically - you know, the obvious stuff like believing anyone can change, not killing and such - Ock has his crap together more than Spidey Classic ever did. If nothing else, Ock is more efficient than Peter, who always had a habit of flying by the seat of his pants and figuring a way out of messes once he's already in them. This book has pulled a double whammy here, immediately selling me on Ocks time in the suit while also putting forward some fascinating questions for the inevitable return, which is no small feat given where the Peter Parker portion of Slotts run had gone.

Slott also has a good artistic partner in Ryan Stegman. His work is stylized, but not to the point of parody like prior artists for Slotts run. It's dynamic work while being far easier to take. I'm not familiar with the other artist, Camuncoli, but their work is just as good, just in a style that's a bit more traditional and befitting of a typical superhero book. Both artists in this volume are winners.

This volume sold me the rest of the way on this change-up to the Spider-Man world. I hesitate to tell you to go out and buy it right off - this is only the first volume and I don't know if the quality keeps up through the whole thing - but you definitely ought to read it. Doc Ocks turn as a superhero makes for some damn good reading, easily the best of Slotts run thus far. I'm in to the end.

My Opinion: Read It

Spider-Man: Ends of the Earth (comics)

Writers: Dan Slott, Ty Templeton
Artists: Humberto Ramos, Stefano Caselli
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #682-687, Amazing Spider-Man: Ends of the Earth #1 and Avenging Spider-Man #8

This volume may have busted Spider-Man again. I suppose it's been happening since Dan Slott went solo on the title, but it isn't until this volume that it became unbearable. The reality is that Spider-Man has been on a backslide to a place Marvel went to a lot of trouble pulling the character out of. Slott clearly loves and respects Spider-Man, but perhaps has lost sight of what makes him work.

Once again, things are way too perfect for Peter Parker. I guess it started back with Big Time. Suddenly, Parker's so smart he lands a job at a big time science lab where he makes ridiculous amounts of cash. He can come and go as he pleases, something that takes care of all the realities of vigilantism that kept him from holding down a regular job. He has access to anything he could ever need. He can devise weapons to use against his villains in his spare time, while the tech also has practical use as inventions for his job. His rich supporting cast has been scattered to the four winds yet again*. On top of all that, the series has fallen back into that annoying habit of treating Mary Jane like she's "The One" and that they're perfect for one another, whether they're together or not, and she's patient and never mad at him when he has to run off and did I mention she's a supermodel or an actress depending on what you're reading**?

The pressure has been building for some time and Ends of the Earth is where the dam burst.

Slott obviously meant it as the culmination of everything Doc Ock has been doing since he returned to the book in... #600, I think it was. The scope and scale is suitably epic. The odds are insurmountable. The world is against him and it seems hopeless. All that is precisely the problem.

Within the second issue, the Avengers - called upon by Spider-Man to give him a hand - get the hell beat out of them with ease. It's not even a clever out like in Spider-Island; they're actively jobbing to Doc Ock. From then on, it's Spider-Man, in a spiffy new suit designed to counteract the powers of the entire Sinister Six - because he can come up with shit like that in his spare time now - against, quite literally, the world. Silver Sable and Black Widow are along, but Sable's the only one of any use. In this story, Spider-Man by himself is more resourceful than an entire team of Avengers. He comes up with the big ideas that take down the Six, he has Ocks plan figured before anyone else, manages to defeat several mind controlled Avengers in combat (he comes up with the solution to the predicament too) and... need I go on?

To top it all off, he has this "no one dies" thing going on and literally sulks after saving the entire world because one person died.

I just... what in the actual hell did I just read? I realize it's his solo, but suddenly Peter Parker is the smartest, toughest, bestest superhero around. There isn't even a "his deeds will never be known" bit; everyone knows he just saved the entire planet more or less by himself. I'm not saying stories like that can't work, but this one sure as hell doesn't. There are few, if any, points in this story where it seems like Spidey is on the ropes or in a difficult situation. Also completely ignored is the fact that, if he can seriously come up with a counter for all his villains now, no one should pose much of a threat to him going forward.

It's too much. I'm not going to pretend I don't know where this is going, but I have a hard time believing the events a couple volumes from here can salvage this, in my opinion, misguided direction. At this point everything Brand New Day brought back is being slowly tossed out the window again and it's annoying the piss out of me.

Arts pretty great though, I'll give it that. Stefano Casseli is just as great as when he did Venom issues during Spider-Island. Humberto Ramos is around, but only does two issues of the storyline. And hey, credit where it's due; I liked his work in this one a little better than I usually do. The art is the only reason you're not seeing red right below this.

My Opinion: Skip It

This is a bridge too far. I'll be around long enough to try out Superior Spider-Man - I love the concept, so I'm going to give it a chance - but if it doesn't seriously impress me I think I'm done until there's a serious change in direction or creative team. This book just is not working for me anymore.

* Characters are going to come and go depending on what happens to them, but we're at a point where a bunch of the characters Brand New Day went out of its way to bring back are flat out gone now. Slott has tried to control the damage by giving Peter some new friends and colleagues at Horizon Labs, but most of them - except maybe Pete's boss and I suppose Grady's alright - aren't on par with the best.

** All the other love interests are, yet again, either gone or a non issue. This is exactly why I dreaded the day Mary Jane returned to Amazing Spider-Man. I was afraid the series would fall back into old habits. Sadly, I was right.Time will tell if it holds, but I'm not optimistic.

Spider-Man: Spider-Island (comic)

Writers: Dan Slott, Rick Remender
Artist: Humberto Ramos, Stefano Caselli and Tom Fowler
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #666-673, Amazing Spider-Man: Infested, Spider Island: Deadly Foes, Venom #6-9

You may have guessed by the lack of reviews over the past couple years, but I fell off the Spidey bandwagon a while back. It's not for utterly boring reasons like "oh my god I'm so mad Peter and MJ aren't together anymore", as you may recall that I was pleased with that development. It's not really an issue of quality either, though I have some issues I'll get to in a minute. No, there are a few reasons, but the biggest one is a pretty simple one; I just plain could not keep up with the Spider-Man release schedule.

It started with Brand New Day, where Amazing went thrice-monthly. I loved the first few volumes, warts and all. But the trade release schedule was just as hectic; seemed like a volume was releasing every other month thanks to the accelerated schedule of the floppy and Spider-Man was about mid-way on my list of purchase priorities. It was sort of inevitable that I was going to fall behind. It got to a point where I was so far behind I just gave up and figured I'd get back to it later. I didn't.

Spider-Island seemed enough of a self contained thing that I could pick it up and go from there. The premise is just ridiculous enough to scream "fun" at me in big bold letters. Basically, everyone in Manhattan suddenly has all of Spidey's powers, with none of his morals or - cliche as it is to say it - responsibility. Clearly, this is not going to end well.

Oh, also, Jackal's involved, which nearly caused me to drop the book on page one - to paraphrase Mary Jane in this story, "If we're doing the clone thing again I'm leaving" - but thankfully there's only a bit of his usual shenanigans.

If you want to look at the big picture, it's easy to see the reason for this story. By giving everyone his powers and thus making him one in a crowd, Slott can highlight what it is that actually makes Peter Parker stick out. A good trick to be sure. DC had a similar idea not that long ago; the entire New Krypton saga existed for many of the same reasons, though how much success they had with that one depends on who you ask*.

Spider-Island is far from the most cerebral read going, but there's something to be said for some dumb superhero fun mixed with your typical Spider-Man soap operatics. It also has the good sense not to overstay its welcome; think about how many past big Spider-Man stories seemed to never end. Overall, we get a decent portrait of what makes Peter Spidey, along with some choice developments to the ongoing narrative.

But then there's the other half of the coin. I actually read the first volume of Big Time a while ago in an attempt to get back on the Spider-Man bandwagon. Apparently, I didn't review it - a quick check of the Spider-Man tag seems to indicate as much - but there was one impression that stuck with me. I just flat out hated the artwork.

To my disappointment, the artist Marvel chose to accompany Slott on the Big Time venture was Humberto Ramos. He's still around for the main storyline of Spider-Island. I am not a fan of his work for numerous reasons, many of which can be seen in this book. The anatomy is always off, limbs are bigger than they should be, judicious use of impossible poses abound (at least one panel has Carlie swinging while she's bent so far back I'd expect to see a "snap" SFX somewhere near her midsection) and everything looks vaguely ugly.

Being harsh is not my intent. His style does have its fans. I simply do not see it. I have a similar problem with Kelley Jones; at some point, I just can't chalk things that bug me up to "it's just his style" anymore. I don't begrudge the man work and have nothing against him. His art is just a major turnoff for me. I try, but I can't look past the Popeye proportions. It's part of why I didn't stick with the book after reading the first Big Time trade.

Also included here are four issues of the Venom ongoing. A while back I actually wondered where the hell #6-9 ended up and this seems to answer that question. The first couple can stand apart from the main story well enough, initially making me wonder why they didn't have their own volume, but by the end I understood; the events of #8 are very important and lead right into the next issue of Spider-Island, making them inseperable. Clearly Marvel hates me.

All four issues are very good - and frankly, I'd rather Tom Fowler or Stefano Caselli had handled art duties for Spider-Island proper - with numerous developments building off the first volume of Venom. This is a joy and a curse; these issues are important to the ongoing events of the Venom series, yet are tied so strongly to Spider-Island they can't really stand alone. As such, this is likely to be the only place you're going to find these issues in trade. Dammit.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

I'd score this higher, but the art really hurts it for me. If you can deal with Humberto Ramos artwork - or are a fan of his - bump this up half a point higher. It's far from an instant classic, but it's fun and it's memorable.

* Some people think it was an interesting experiment, but most were sick of it and it seems largely forgotten now. It certainly didn't help that Geoff Johns run on Action Comics was cut short at the time for reasons I can't recall. He essentially set the whole thing up and had to bail, leaving New Krypton to others. The whole saga seems to be regarded as a failure and I'd say losing its architect before the plot gained momentum had a large part in that.

Spider-Man: Death of the Stacy's (comic)

Writer: Stan Lee, Gerry Conway
Artists: John Romita Sr., Gil Kane
Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #88-92, #121-122

Time for a rough truth; a lot of old comics, especially from Marvels Silver Age, do not age well. As influential and groundbreaking as the work may have been at the time, the sad fact is that those comics were done in a style that is so far outdated that it's almost painful to read. Stan Lee, great as he was for the time, is probably one of the worst offenders; and while Gerry Conway isn't nearly as bad, he's still a writer of that time period and that particular style.

I've always had a problem reading old Stan Lee comics. Stan Lee wrote in the most verbose way possible, constantly having characters describe things clearly depicted in the artwork and narrating the hell out of the slightest action. It's not like he had incompetent artists, either; hell, here he has John Romita Sr., an all time great. Such was the strength of Romitas art that if you ignored the narration or speech and just followed the art you could get a clear picture of the fight anyways.

The problem, for me, is that I find myself struggling with all that redundant prose. I'm easily bored, especially with things I already know, which is why I've always had a rough time with old timey comics. On the other side of the coin, I don't want to just skip it because what if I miss something important or cool in the dialogue? That constant struggle always irritates me. A lot of people complain about how quickly you can read through a comic these days, but they forget that there are several very good reasons no one writes like this anymore.

So for all the strength of the stories - and the emotional beats contained within - their age shows, making them difficult reads today. Marvel is not like DC - they're fairly uninterested in retelling stories - meaning this will probably always be the official version of the Stacy family's death. That's probably a good thing for these comics, because - and your mileage may vary, since you may well have more tolerance for material this old - in this day and age the importance of the stories are about all they have going for them.

One last note about this whole thing and it pertains to Gerry Conways forward. He admits outright that he killed off Gwen Stacy because he wanted Mary Jane with Peter Parker and saw his shiny new job writing Spider-Man as his chance. Considering how iconic the story is now, one can always make the argument that he made the right choice, reasons for it aside. But does his reasoning reek of bad fanfiction or is it just me? Male writer kills off female character because he doesn't like her and she is in the way of his preferred pairing? That's about three quarters of internet fanfiction right there.

The Score: 6 out of 10

I can't say I had a good time reading this. I hesitate to give it lower, because it's an important story and, well, despite how much trouble I had enjoying them, these comics come from a different time. Don't let me scare you off if you want to read the Death of the Stacy's. Sixties comics simply don't agree with me.

Spider-Man: Season One (comic)

Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artist: Neil Edwards
Original Graphic Novel
Also Included: Avenging Spider-Man #1
 
Clearly, the gears are a spinning over at Marvel headquarters, because I have to say this new graphic novel line is a good idea.

Unlike DC, Marvel never really changed their continuity around all that much. As such, they've had less need to retell or revise the origin stories of their heroes. They're the same as they were when they first debuted in the 60's. The flipside of that being that said origin stories are not likely to appeal to anyone who may wish to try a Marvel comic.

Lets face it; Stan Lee - along with Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko - may have built a universe from whole cloth, but the stories of their day are very, very dated and can be a bit of a chore to get through.

So, have a creative team produce an original graphic novel updating the origin stories of their most popular characters? A good move by Marvel. Including an issue of a modern day comic of said character - introduced as a "where are they now" after the main feature - to entice them into the monthly grind? That one's a shrewd move. Credit where it's due here; this is a slick, modern, well put together hardcover

The only iffy part is the branding*, but everything else more than makes up for it.

I probably don't need to recap much of the story; it's an iconic tale that everyone knows by heart now. Peter's a nerd who is bit by a radioactive spider, thus giving him amazing powers. At first he tries to take advantage of them for his own gain, but when his uncle dies in a manner that he could have prevented, he realized he has a responsibility to use those powers for good. The Amazing Spider-Man is born.

Cullen Bunn is a new face at Marvel who rose to prominence seemingly overnight. He tackles this in a manner reminiscent of an older comic; lots of thought balloons and a few too many instances of characters talking to themselves at length. I'm not sure if this was a conscious choice - perhaps Bunn was trying to update the storytelling styles of the day for this - but I'm not sure it worked as he may have hoped. There are several instances where it might have been appropriate for Bunn to pull back a bit and let the art do the talking.

The art, by the way, is pretty solid work. It's clean, expressive and does a fine job of telling the story. Neil Edwards doesn't reinvent the wheel or anything here, but at the same time, he doesn't really have to.

There's nothing offensively bad about this graphic novel; it's an alright retelling of Spider-Mans classic origin. It doesn't touch the best - I've long felt Ultimate Spider-Man is the cream of the crop in Spider-Man origins - but it's a step up from the original. If I had to choose one thing that struck me as an issue, it would be the odd pacing and structure.

The story itself feels like it's reached it's natural climax and endpoint when Peter discovers that his uncles murderer is the same man he let go earlier in the story. Instead, the book moves onward into Spider-Mans first real adventure against the Vulture. Trouble is, Vulture was barely mentioned in the first half and it's treated as a part of the same story. Since this part was not separate from the origin - as, say, another chapter in the book - it ends up feeling like a very long denouement instead of another adventure.

As for the extra - a copy of Avenging Spider-Man #1 to show what Spidey is up to in current continuity - it's a pretty fun opener to what seems to have been a multi-part storyline. Spidey teams up with Red Hulk to fight the Mole Men. It's some good fun. It's bolstered by art by Joe Maduriera, who hasn't done interior work on a comic in a good long while.

The Score: 7 out of 10

There are some issues here, but it's not a bad retelling of Spideys origin. I'd say it's worth a look for a newbie. Everyone else won't find much they haven't seen before. Regardless, the line is a good idea; I just hope the overall craft is on a higher level for the other installments.

* The "Season One" moniker is odd. It gets across the general idea; this is starting right from the beginning. It also accomplishes the goal of differentiating their line from DC's "Year One" tagline. But a "season"? That's television terminology that denotes a run of episodes from a serialized program. It's... odd, considering this is a single story, not to mention a comic book. It also breeds expectation; if there's a season one, shouldn't there logically be a second season? Time will tell  if there will be a Season Two, but as of this writing there's no word.

Carnage: Family Feud (comics)

Writer: Zeb Wells
Artist: Clayton Crain
Collects: Carnage #1-5

If there's one thing I didn't quite expect, it was to see another story I liked actually centered around Carnage, much less one tied to "Maximum Carnage". I enjoyed Maximum Carnage for what it was, but it took a fairly limited character - Carnage being not a whole lot more than a serial killer symbiote - to its limit, essentially exhausting any potential he had in his second appearance. It didn't help that the damn thing was fourteen issues. Middling appearance after middling appearance made it so I wasn't exactly broken up when Sentry tore Carnage in half in Earths orbit.

Color me surprised then, because Zeb Wells - who is becoming "the symbiote guy" at Marvel - not only brings him back, but manages to make an entertaining story with him. Maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. Venom recently saw a resurgence as well.

While attending a Medical Supply Expo, Tony Stark senses foul play when a computer manufacturer has made some sudden, miraculous advances in prosthetic tech. The kind of thing that's obviously a bit out of his field of expertise. Before he can investigate, the Doppleganger - not seen since Maximum Carnage - shows up, trying to take down an armored car, before it's sliced in half by a couple of Iron Man knockoffs employed by the earlier mentioned computer manufacturer. Turns out the armored car - again employed by said manufacturer - is carrying Shriek, the once-girlfriend of Carnage.

You can probably guess what's right around the corner.

This book is as much a Spider-Man and Iron Man teamup as it is about Carnage. They're our protagonists for this particular ride and Wells scripts a fine rapport for the two. Both feel well within character. Meanwhile, Carnage is somewhat retooled a bit as a "hilbilly hick", as Spidey calls him, which is fairly humorous in its own way.

Look... there's just something cool about the symbiotes. They often come with striking designs filled with color which often reflect well off one another. Comics were carried on the back of it and the old spandex set just wouldn't be the same without all those stark colors flashing about. The shape shifting, tendrils, colors and power of the symbiotes tend to give artists a lot of cool things to draw as well.

While that's muted somewhat by Crains art - his work, while feeling fairly realistic, tends to deal in darker, muddier colors - his art is strong enough to make up for it. I tend to be on the fence about his style to some extent - it sometimes feels a little too realistic - he tends to produce strong work. Symbiotes in particular seem to agree with him.

It won't win any awards, but this miniseries is a fine read and a fine opening salvo for Wells and Crain. Hell, it's also a better return than Carnage could have possibly asked for. I guess even a bland, straightforward serial killer can have a pretty decent story spun around him. Who knew?

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

Like symbiotes? Want a Spider-Man/Iron Man teamup? If so, this will be up your alley. It's not going to re-invent the wheel or anything, but you could do far worse. Hopefully the sequel is even better.

Spider-Man Noir (comics)

Writer: David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky
Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Collects: Spider-Man Noir #1-4

The last time I read a Marvel Noir title, I was struck with the feeling that the line might have been losing its way a bit. To Marvels credit, they haven't tried anything as ridiculous as "Thor Noir" or "Captain America Noir", but I'm still left believing that they didn't think this thing through enough. Most of the miniseries utilize Marvels most popular characters, whether they fit or not.

This one only adds wood to the fire.

Peter Parker, socialist extraordinaire, is taken under the wing of newsman Ben Urich. Peter wants to take down the Goblin, a man he's certain ordered the death of his uncle Ben. Not an easy goal, but he's helped along the way by a spider bite that gives him superhuman agility and silk webs he can fire from his wrists.

Look, I'm no noir expert, as I've said in the past. I have a passing interest in it, but well versed in the tropes I'm not. But I know enough to realize Spider-Man is not the best fit for it. Peter Parker is, in almost every continuity, a guy who rolls with whatever punch is thrown is way, which is a clash with a genre known for messy, ugly, dirty tales of betrayal and loss where everyone is bought and no one can be trusted. How do you make a guy like that work in a setting like this?

Turns out you kind of don't. Peter and his relatives are re-imagined as socialist crusaders in Depression era New York. Socialism being kind of a dirty word to most; some things never change, it seems. As pointed out in-story, it's a hell of an optimistic dream; everyone works together and things will get better. Even when faced with the ugliness, it's something Parker doesn't give up on. It's true to the character of Peter Parker in almost any universe, but it's kind of a clash with this genre.

An element of the supernatural also finds its way in. As always, Peter's bit by a spider. In this universe, it connects him to some spider god or a spider totem. Something like that. Regardless of what it is, the end result is Peter gaining superhuman agility, a Spider-Sense and webbing. I don't know enough about noir to truly say one way or the other whether it fits, but something about an element like this in a story striving to be noir seems off to me.

It's to David Hines credit that it doesn't just fall apart. It's readable and even fairly enjoyable. I'm just not sure it feels like noir, even with the betrayals, darkness and shadows. David Hine proves himself more a capable, dependable writer every time I read one of his comics. One of these days I hope to read a project of his unencumbered by flawed concepts or necessitated structural gaffes.

The Score: 7.5 out of 10

A fairly decent read, even if Spider-Man and noir isn't exactly a match made in heaven. I wouldn't recommend an outright purchase, but it might be worth a look. Depends on how much you like the idea of Spidey chillin' in the shadows and smacking around carnies. At least it's a better read than X-Men Noir.

Ultimate Spider-Man: The Death of Spider-Man (comics)

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Mark Bagley
Collects: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #155-160

The Ultimate line of books lost its way real early. Originally, it was supposed to be a continuity free, familiar, accessible take on Marvel favorites. Only Ultimate Spider-Man really stuck to that. Ultimate Fantastic Four made a go of it, but The Ultimates and Ultimate X-Men seemed to be in a race to see which team could become the bigger group of unlikable assholes. Most Ultimate Marvel books - even Spidey at times - then seemed to get their jollies on putting new, different spins on old classics. The line kind of floundered, which was obviously worrying; keep in mind that the Ultimate line generated a lot of positive critical buzz and sales in the early days.

At this point they made the idiotic decision to give the line to Jeph Loeb, who proceeded to infect the line with the comic book equivalent of gangrene; by this point they figured the only option was to "cut the rot", meaning kill off half the heroes in Ultimatum and hope a clean slate could save it.

The overall goal now seems to be to make the Ultimate line as different as possible, making it an interesting alternate universe. This is the volume where it catches up with Ultimate Spider-Man. I used to collect Ultimate Spider-Man regularly and - insistence on Mary Jane being his one true love aside - there wasn't a thing I didn't like about it. It was a great Spider-Man book at a time when the regular Spider-Man was knee deep in a twenty year rut that seemed like it would never end. Brand New Day changed all that and kicked regular Spideys quality level up to eleven, at which point Ultimate Spider-Man, while still good, started to feel redundant.

So I dropped it. Call me a sucker for hype if you want, but the only reason I really came back was for this. I guess I wanted to see how it ended for a version of Spidey that was, for a time, THE Spider-Man to me.

It's an effective story, but not in a bombastic "event" sort of way. It feels a bit more... subdued, I guess, for a story where things are exploding left and right. Norman Osborn is back and he's rounded up several of Spideys rogues; his ultimate goal is to kill Spidey. This is a bigger deal for this Spider-Man; he's only a teenager and, while very resourceful, we're talking about six super powered goons coming at him. He receives enough warning to get his Aunt and Gwen out of dodge, then ends up getting shot. From that point on, it's a fight for survival; you can guess how it goes.

For most of the book, it feels like it could have been a normal arc without leading to his death, which I think is a strength. Ultimate Spidey has faced tall odds before; even with a gunshot wound, you still feel like somehow he could pull it out. But this time, he doesn't survive the end of the fight and dies in the line of duty, having saved everyone he loves and the neighborhood in general. It feels like a "normal" ending to someone who picks a line of work that deadly; sort of like a police officer, there are times someone won't get to go home to his family.

Part of what leads to the death stems from a crossover to the final arc of Mark Millers Ultimate Avengers. I'm of two minds about it. On the one hand, it's a little pointless; it doesn't play any huge role in the story and is relegated to "stuff happening at the same time". So "why bother" is a fairly legitimate question to ask.

On the other, it adds background detail and desperation to Spideys last fight. Sometimes, you just expect big fights will overlap. In this case, Spideys biggest foe has escaped on the day the Ultimates are busy fighting Nick Furys black ops Avengers squad. When he goes to try and help, he's shot for his trouble. To make matters worse, it ensures just about anyone who could provide backup is a bit preoccupied with the gigantic brawl in the middle of New York; Spidey's left on his own, bleeding out from a gunshot wound and trying to fight off five guys. It's the definition of the desperate struggle.

Overall, I think it worked out pretty well, but it doesn't stick the landing entirely. Bendis has a few moments where he gets a little cutesy; I audibly groaned when he had a character actually say "come with me if you want to live". Also, some of Spideys logic is a little screwed up; he suspects that if he hits the hospital for some treatment for the gunshot, his secret identity is blown. So he figures, well, why the hell not just show up back at the house with his mask off and fight everybody that way. Everyone is going to know anyways.

Absolutely retarded; all he'd have to do if he wanted to hit up the hospital - and he could have, since his family evacuated ahead of time - was switch to civvies and say he was hit by a stray gunshot. I mean, there is a huge fight going on. Who's going to call shenanigans when two super teams are beating the crap out of each other in the middle of New York? Hell, he could even say he was the victim of a mugging gone bad. It's not like anyone was around when Spidey came to; the warring super teams were in another part of the city by then and there weren't exactly any news crews nearby to see that Spider-Man was shot. Oh, and while we're at it, why exactly did that truck explode at the end of the book? That was terribly unclear.

So yeah, it's not a complete slam dunk, but I'd say it's a good two point shot.

Mark Bagley returns to Marvel after a stint at DC that wasn't exactly the big hit everyone hoped it would be. Bagley's overall strength is that he's fast and reliable; he's a workhorse with fairly decent art. That said, he's far from the best; even here, there are a few odd panels that are hard to suss out and an occasion or two of patented Liefeldian knife-feet. Still, his presence helps the book feel as though it's come full circle. Bagley was there at the beginning and stuck around for over a hundred issues. It's only fitting he'd illustrate the ending of the story.

While this is the swan song for Ultimate Peter Parker, this isn't the end of Ultimate Spider-Man. The title is relaunching, with a new, ethnic teenager taking on the identity. It's been making some waves and I've heard some good things. I may stick around for it; the book might not feel so redundant if we're following a new kid carrying on in the name of the old.

The Score: 8 out of 10

The story works, but it's a bit flawed. Still, it's a fairly memorable death and clears the deck for Marvel to do something really different with the Ultimate Spider-Man property. Not an instant classic, but a good send-off for this version. If you've been reading all along, of course you'll pick this up. If you, say, dropped the book after Bagley left, I still think it's safe to nab the hardcover and roll with it. I haven't read Ultimate Spider-Man in years* and I didn't have any major problems. Recommended.

* I think the last one I read was that one with Black Cat and a bunch of other guys. Pretty sure Kingpin and Ultimate Elektra were involved. I recall Pete really wanted to bone the Black Cat - because duh, she's incredibly hot and he's a horny teen - and she puked on him when she realized he was a teenager. Fun stuff, but by the time I got around to reading it - a couple years after its publication - I was kind of falling off the train when it came to the book. Pretty sure it was an arc back when Bagley was still on the book full time.

Spider-Man: Web of Shadows (video game)

Platform: X-Box 360
Also On: PS3, Wii, PS2, Nintendo DS
Developers: Treyarch
Genre: Action, Adventure
ESRB Rating: T
Release Date: October 21, 2008

"This game needed more time in the oven."

That's what runs through your mind less than thirty minutes into playing this game. The ingredients for success are there. The good parts may outweigh the bad. But the details drag what could have been a great experience into mediocrity. It just doesn't feel done.

This isn't to say the game is a total wash.

The story is one of the positive elements. During a fight with Venom, a piece of the symbiote breaks off and bonds with Spider-Man, giving him back the symbiote suit he wore a long time ago. From there, things go to hell pretty quick, with symbiotes taking over the city one citizen at a time. Before the end, Spider-Man will do battle high above the broken metropolis aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier make a choice; save the city from the symbiotes or embrace them and take over.

While this game embraces the symbiote tropes of Spider-Mans past, it doesn't mean that's is all you're going to deal with. Through the course of the game, you'll meet - and fight - stalwart Spidey characters such as Black Cat, Vulture, Electro and of course Venom. Also on tap are some heroes such as fellow New Avengers Luke Cage and Wolverine, whom add some legitimacy to the games setting. Even Mary Jane plays a role in the game; to my dismay, as she's as annoying as ever.

This game plays rather fast and loose with actual comic continuity; it doesn't take place in any specific part, but references things such as Daredevil declining membership into the New Avengers and Spidey's team up with Wolverine to track Ned Leeds killer with seeming glee. It helps the game feel tied in some ways to Spidey's comic roots without ever confining the game within it.

The sound suffers. The script is perfectly fine - Spider-Man has his usual amusing remarks, banter is plentiful and no one feels out of character - but the voice acting absolutely ruins it. The side characters are fine in this regard - and more Steve Blum as Wolverine is always a good thing - but Mary Jane and Spider-Man are so annoyingly miscast that it all but slaps you in the face every time either speak. Mary Janes dialogue is made even worse by the way some lines are delivered. Then there's Spider-Man, who sounds like a pre-pubescent teen who hasn't even made it into high school yet, much less a grown man. When even the wittiest lines make you cringe because of the awful voice casting, you know there's a problem. The music is alright, though, if unremarkable.

Control is arguably the most improved. Spider-Man 2 pretty much invented the control style that the subsequent games have used. This game takes it further. You can now fight in three different ways; in the air, on the walls and on the ground, each with their own combo's. On top of that, the suit switching mechanic - used by pressing in an analog stick - changes the fighting styles of all three entirely. Swinging is also much simpler than it was in Spider-Man 2; a welcome addition.

But for all the game manages to get right, there are several problems that stick out. This is one of the glitchiest games that I've seen in recent years. Late in the game, enemies and optional mission objectives will outright disappear from the game and your minimap without warning, even if you're right in the middle of a fight with said enemies. By the time the Vulturelings show up, the game is prone to crashing outright. It's absolutely ridiculous to the point where you wonder if the game was ever even beta-tested, as these issues are right in plain sight.

On top of that, the graphical glitches are just sad. If you pan the camera up while swinging, you'll notice that a lot of the time the webs aren't even attached to the buildings; also returning is the lovely Pre-Spidey 2 "webs seem to connect with the clouds" annoyance, which I thought we were done with. Clipping can run rampant and you might even be hit by some slowdown. On top of that, the awful draw distance is inexcusable in this day and age; things will pop out of absolutely nowhere from a few hundred feet out and the textures will drop out if you go too fast, leaving the game to draw it in after a few seconds. If you're going too fast while swinging through the city? The game will hang - everything literally just stops in midair - while while it desperately attempts to catch up.

To add insult to injury, the camera is a mess. Trying to wrangle it once you start running up walls is an exercise in frustration. Sometimes it will even lock during or after you finish running on a wall, with the slightest twitch sending the camera flying to the extreme up or down. This can be remedied by pressing in the right stick to center the camera, but it's still an annoyance that can will get you killed at least once.

Even worse, one of the games key features - the "choose your path" feature allowing you to make good or bad choices - is rather limited. The story is short to the point where there are only around eight or nine times in the game where you can make a choice, with one of them being made for you depending on the ratio of good-to-bad choices made. On top of that, it's painfully obvious the developers meant for you to play as a good guy regardless of the illusion of choice; they didn't even bother to change all of the dialogue for the black suit path, leaving Spider-Mans voice constantly switching between the high "good guy" and low "bad guy" pitch. Then there's the endings. There are four of them - and you're technically supposed to be able to choose the love interest you want - but only one of them will see you with Black Cat. That's the evil one, by the way. The hero ending where you choose Cat has Spider-Man by himself with Cat nowhere in sight, much less even mentioned. Thanks Treyarch; if you're not truly devoted to allowing the player choices then why even bother?

I wanted to like this game a lot. Really, I did. There's plenty to like about the game. But the glitches and issues it has take a crap all over the parts of the game that make it worth it. It's still worth playing, but unless you get it at a discount or used it's probably not worth owning. This one's definitely rental territory.

My Opinion: Try It

Amazing Spider-Man: Brand New Day vol. 2 (comics)

Writers: Bob Gale, Zeb Wells
Artists: Phil Jimenez, Chris Bachalo, Barry Kitson
Trade Collects: Amazing Spider-Man #552-558

With the first volume of the opening of Spider-Man's new era, Brand New Day, behind us it's time to move on to volume two. After a very solid first volume - which collected the opening arcs of Dan Slott and Marc Guggenhiem - the final two writers of the initial Spider-Man "Brain Trust" step up to deliver their opening stories. Is this volume as solid as the first?

No, not really; in truth it feels a bit uneven. After reading this volume, I found it really brought attention to the rotating writers we have in the current era of Spider-Man in ways both good and bad. But we'll get into that soon enough.

The first arc collected this volume is the first of Bob Gale, whom was one of the original members of the Spider-Man "Brain Trust". It details Spider-Man through his troubles with the DB, now owned and operated by the sleazy Daxter Bennet, and the appearance of a new enemy named Freak, whom we met in the short backup centered around Aunt May last volume. The second arc is the first of Zeb Wells; a blizzard has hit New York City in the middle of April, caused by means we come to find out are quite unnatural. Spider-Man must weather the storm and try to figure out what is causing it. The last issue collected is written by Bob Gale and ties up the Freak storyline for the most part, as Gales arc left it open somewhat. Also returning in the issue is new villain Menace whom was introduced last volume.

Bob Gales arc centered around new villain "Freak" is something of a mixed bag. Unlike the first storylines of Brand New Day - which set Peter back to basics in a way that felt modern without being derivative - Bob Gale's style of writing feels way too old fashioned. Thought balloons are over abundant here, we have Peter over-talking or over-thinking what was happening all and then we have an over-reliance on old fashioned page transitions. Even the dialogue feels too old fashioned to be taken seriously in this day and age. One of the things people whined about in regards to the change of status quo was that Spider-Man was going back to the seventies and eighties; here comes an arc that feels like something right from that era and it's really the last thing the fledgling direction needed at this point.

On top of that, out of the three new villains introduced thus far Freak is by far the least interesting. Mister Negative worked well and Menace is alright for a character that looks far too gobliny for my taste. Freak, on the other hand, is the loser out of the crop so far. For the most part, he boils down to a drug addict who stabs himself with stem cells when he mistakes them for drugs; the end result is that he turns into a monster that, whenever killed in some fashion, cocoons itself and mutates into a form even stronger than before that is also resistant to the previous method of death. The concept is solid enough, but Gale never manages to sell it; Freak's dialogue is almost laughably bad sometimes and you find yourself unable to care about this new rogue.

The artist for this arc is Phil Jimenez. I have to say I don't think his work was quite as strong here as in the past. Sometimes the faces look a little off and the art feels a bit more rushed than what we normally get from him. Considering the weekly format and the grind it must put on the artists, it's not terribly surprising, but it is disappointing.

Zeb Wells arc is much, much better. We're thrust back into more modern storytelling. No more over-exposition; Wells seems to know when to let the artist carry the story. The arc starts out with a guest star appearance by Wolverine and Doctor Strange before Logan departs and Spidey is left to figure out the cause of the blizzard. The story feels a bit more claustrophobic than previous arcs, which works to it's advantage; with the story feeling more closed in, the blizzard really creates a feeling of isolation in the Big Apple and helps with the sense of urgency the overall threat later places on things.

The artist for this one is Chris Bachalo, whom is imminently capable in his own right. The artwork for this arc is simpler, with less lines and a bit less detail, but it really gels with the overall story. Aside from the heroes, the colors are less pronounced in this tale, with their backdrop being scads of white and some snowflakes in the foreground. It's beautiful in it's own way. The only nitpick I had with the art is that I though Bachalo drew Wolverine overly beefy; Wolverine's a muscular guy, for sure, but he was a bit too hulking in this one.

The last collected issue is again written by Gale, but thankfully the writing felt a bit more restrained in this one and less like a lost 1970's Spider-Man arc, though it still suffered from some of the same writing pitfalls of the earlier arc. For the most part, the Freak storyline is more or less wrapped up for the time being in a semi-conclusive way; in other words if no one wants to use him again it's really not necessary by the end. Menace also makes an appearance as the Mayoral election plot moves forward a little bit. All in all it's not a terrible issue and it feels like a better installment than the arc it wraps up.

Barry Kitson pulls art duties on said last issue. His work is much cleaner and feels more modern to me in this issue and I thought it was pretty good. It doesn't stand out much either way though; it feels like some dependably solid Spider-Man art that I don't have much in the way of complaints about.

As I mentioned earlier, these arcs really brought about the good and the bad in regards to the rotating creative teams. Thankfully, there's more good than bad; one bit that's much appreciated are the different artists, which gives each arc it's own look and helps each volume feel a bit like a showcase in different arts, even if the effect is unintended. The other good part is that when they remain relatively consistent, each arc will flow together well and still feel like the same Spider-Man. On top of that, we get a unique voice and addition with each arc that comes down the pipeline.

The bad, however, lurks right around the corner. All it takes is one writer to muck up the consistency and sadly that writer is Bob Gale. His wildly different style of writing things feels so overly retro that it becomes something of a stark contrast to the relatively consistent feel the other writers bring. In regards to the other writers, while each arc feels different, they still flow together and feel consistent. Gale doesn't write like that here and it really is to the detriment of the team.

Back to some positive. MJ is not missed, even in the lesser arc. Without the writers having to worry about forcing her in, we get scenes with the supporting cast. Really, the supporting cast helps make things so much better; losing it was really the stupidest mistake ever made in the history of the franchise. I'm glad this aspect of Spidey has returned; even in Gales opening arc they help quite a bit.

Also, I can't stress enough how great it is to have running subplots back. That's another thing that helps out even the lesser work in this new era. Things like checking up on Jonah Jameson, whom had a heart attack in the last volume and lost the Daily Bugle without his knowledge, or the slow burn of the mayoral election subplot are welcome insertions and help mix things up. They also help things feel consistent from arc to arc; the writers may change, but the suplots and issues carry over. The little touches that tease upcoming events or refer to past events in the book are great details as well; an odd, upcoming blizzard is telegraphed in the background of Gales arc almost throughout, which really helps lead into the aforementioned arc.

Things are still fun as well, even if this volume isn't quite as much so as the last. Despite the issues with Gale's writing, even his work feels a bit more "free" and loose. It's this feeling that really makes Spidey worth following again.

My Opinion: Try It

Amazing Spider-Man: Brand New Day vol. 1 (comics)

Writers: Dan Slott, Marc Guggenheim
Artists: Steve McNiven, Salvador Larocca, Phil Jiminez
Trade Collects: Amazing Spider-Man 546-551, Spider-Man: Swing Shift and material from Venom Super-Special

Like many heroes, Spidey's been around a while. Like most heroes, Spidey has a lot of history and continuity to sort through. Unlike a lot of heroes, the character took a serious downturn in quality that never quite seemed to let up, along with some questionable moves over the years that slowly ate away what made Spidey great to begin with. Like many heroes, it was about time for a soft reboot to put the house back in order. Many fans balked at the changes coming, but they went through anyways.

Thank goodness they did.

This volume is the first of a back-to-basics approach for the Spider-Man line. His marriage to Mary Jane Watson has been retconned out, many old supporting characters are alive and back in Spidey's life, the mechanical webshooters are back and Spidey's secret identity is safe once more. In essence, it's the classic Spidey setup reborn, allowing a fresh jumping on point for anyone new.

The character really benefits from it, without question. Before, Spider-Man had few problems outside the mask. His girl troubles had been eliminated thanks to the marriage, he had few money problems, his secret identity was out and his supporting cast either dissapeared or was killed off over the years, just to name a few problems. Some chalk it up to change, but there is good change and bad change; most of the things that brought about story fodder was gone and the title had become boring. Spidey became little more than another cape who quiped a bit more often; most comic superhero universes have plenty of that.

So now everything is back the way they should be after a frustrating twenty years; and boy oh boy is it a lot of fun.

We find Peter Parker in a bit of a low point at the start of the volume, but he's holding up. Living with his Aunt May while he gets himself back on his feet, Peter quickly starts shopping around for money to move out and move on with his life. Of course, it doesn't take long for things to go horribly wrong; there's a Spider-Mugger out and about, one of his web shooters is stolen and a new player in town - Mister Negative - is making a move against the crime families in a bid to take over. Then in the second arc of the trade, Peter teams up with registered hero Jackpot to investigate and stop someone who's a bit too gobliny for Peters taste.

This might not sound like anything worth note, but the writing is rather spot on. Both Dan Slott and Marc Guggenheim seem to have a handle on Spidey's voice in general; everything flows well, Spidey makes amusing quips and there's always trouble around the corner in some way for both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. The book feels plain fun in a way things haven't for the longest time, with many writers resorting to darker tones to try and inject some interest in stories.

Both arcs have a good dose of old fashioned Spidey humor as well. My personal favorite in this regard is Marc Guggenheims arc. Spidey makes quite a few funny jokes and quips here, not to mention finds himself in awkward situations left and right. This helps give a refreshing quality to the stories, which have been a bit too dark for far too long.

The art is quite good, for the most part. It's all clean, colorful and flows well. I must say that I preferred Steve McNiven - the artist of the opening arc - more than Salvador Larroca. While many of Larroca's normal faults aren't as pronounced as usual here, they can still be glaring. See one of the early swinging shots of Spider-Man at the start of the arc, for example. Usually, his art is a like it or hate it affair, but thankfully his work here is pretty good. The art in many of the shorts are too varied to give a blow by blow, but you won't see anything that offends your eyes in here. Also, the Swing Shift story that opens the volume is drawn by Phil Jimenez; which looks great as usual.

If there's something I didn't much care for, it was some of the wink-wonk-nod-nod stuff aimed at the readers and outcry over One More Day, the story that changed the status quo. Some points in Slott's arc seemed deliberate in poking fun at OMD and the fan reaction, with the first page of the first issue of Slott's arc seeing Peter liplocked with another girl in a club as well as some allusions to mysteries surrounding the new status quo. For Guggenheim's part, his arc guest star's a new hero called Jackpot, whom is basically a composite of several Mary Jane references and cliche's. She's even got the hair and says Mary Janes infamous "Tiger" line for goodness sakes. We know it's not Mary Jane - it seemed obvious it wouldn't be her after just getting off OMD - but the character seemed like it was fashioned in this way just to raise ire.

Anyone coming in fresh with Brand New Day won't really see the significance or care much, but for those of us who do it's a little annoying; for my part I'd much rather everything changed be laid out and OMD put behind us. Otherwise, these are genuinely fun Spider-Man tales that are actually a joy to read; with all the distinctly non Spider-Man gunk they were trying to shove down our throats gone now, we're back to Spidey the way he should be.

On one last note, there's a story in the back of the book culled from an old Venom Super-Special from back in the 90's. The significance is that it's Dan Slott's first story, never before reprinted, and it deals with the Alien Costume Saga and Jean DeWolffe before she died. It's alright, but not really something that needed to be included; aside from being written by Dan Slott it doesn't have any correlation to anything else in this volume. The same goes for the included manifesto that laid out what they wanted to do with Brand New Day, though it is interesting to read those thoughts.

The Score: Dramatic Thumbs Up

It's been a long time since I've enjoyed Spider-Man this much. Aside from early symbiote stories up to Maximum Carnage, I haven't really been a fan of the Spidey stuff put out over the past couple decades. With this reversion back to the way things should have been all along, it feels like life has been put into the character and his world again. It's not going to profoundly affect you or change the way you look at the character, but these stories are enjoyable and worth the time to read. I'm looking forward to reading future volumes, myself, and I'd reccomend that you give this trade a look, even if you're on the fence about BND. You might just find yourself enjoying it.