Art was superb.

I know many haven’t been a fun of Zdarsky’s run, but I’ve enjoyed it. I do wish it was better. This one felt like it could’ve been better if there was a tad bit more exposition.

I still think the start of this run was horrendous. I still think anytime he touches MJ it’s garbage. But, the little things that he’s planted along the way, are they actually going to pay off?

Great job on the art.

Filler/transition issues are hard to rate. For what it was, it was great. But since it really just felt like a placeholder until a possible blood hunt tie in, it couldn’t be much more.

Great world building

If you thought the first issue of Jackpot and Black Cat was mid, you haven’t read bad yet.

Bronfman continues on her merry march of character assassination. Last issue she turned Mary Jane Watson into a melodramatic parody of Batman. This issue she annihilates Felicia Hardy, turning her into a callous liar who doesn’t care that her and her girlfriend’s larcenous blackmail scheme is causing pain and suffering to everyday Marvel citizens, doesn’t care that their scheme turned innocent bystanders into would be assassins who shot at Jackpot and a tech bro with intent to kill, doesn’t care that their heists are putting other people like the candy store employee and the customers in harm’s way. It was bad enough when Dan Slott turned Felicia into Queenpin but at least she was supposed to be a villain. Here she’s a “hero,” but in reality she’s just unlikeable.

This issue also makes a mockery of issue one and destroys the reading experience. In issue one, Felicia is introduced pulling a heist. She tells us - as we are in her head - that she has to follow the blackmailer’s instructions exactly, indicating she is being blackmailed. But…it turns out the blackmailer is Felicia’s girlfriend and Felicia is in on the scheme so the narration is all a lie.

This is the author not playing fair with the reader. It’s a sign of weak writing craft and highly amateurish, and it’s shameful this wasn’t caught before this series was printed and sold. It’s dishonest writing and doesn’t deserve the reader’s time and certainly not the reader’s money.

The rest of the issue is just as poor. There are two artists but the art appears rushed with the scene in the candy store especially static and confusing. The colors are as flat as Mary Jane’s hairstyle. MJ is forced to play nursemaid to Paul’s feelings instead of centering her own emotions in her own book, the banal planet murderer who is super sorry he got tricked but who still refuses to show remorse for all the deaths he caused and who hasn’t done a single proactive thing to atone, the closest being making MJ’s power device which, y’know, can kill her. But then, this Jackpot version of MJ bears little to no resemblance to the Mary Jane Watson created in 1966. They can’t even be bothered to remember she has dimples and a cleft chin, that’s how little thought and care when into this book.

“Mary Jane and Black Cat: Beyond” was a delight to read. It’s no wonder Marvel wants to continue to pair up the two characters, but the Zeb Wells status quo, MJ’s nonsense super powers as she plays house with a planet killer, and now the destruction of Felicia Hardy has turned the concept into nuclear waste. And Bronfman’s hackneyed, amateurish writing nails the coffin closed. more

I don’t agree with the low scores. Good book, good starting point. Interesting in the ways they’re relating to old Gwen.

Fun but kind of meh.

Setup for the rest of the arc, excited to see where this goes.

I have NOT enjoyed a lot of this run. This book? This book was really good. It does lose half a point because it was $10. The book prices are high enough, I don’t need the extra back stories. That being said, the back stories were fine.

Glad JRJR is nowhere to be seen, inside or on the cover.

The art looks so phoned in if Spider-Man or anything without any action isn't on panel. It's so disappointing. The only thing saving the art is the amazing coloring that really doesn't seem to hit until page 6. As for the story, for someone who isn't diving into Blood Hunt yet this was an engaging and pretty harmless tie-in. Its nice to see Peter getting upset about the world around him constantly turning to crap instead of being so conditioned by it that he's lost his empathy for the city. more

Plot
This comic supports the Blood Hunt event, Spider-man tries to stop the Vampire massacre in New York, when Katreem contacts him to help him save his friend Rabbit, who works for Tombstone but is now a vampire.

In the Marvel Universe the rule applies that if you kill the vampire who turned you, you are cured, so Peter helps stop the person who turned Rabbit into a vampire, but he is a victim of the situation who even chained himself up so as not to harm others. Nobody, however Kareem stakes him and kills him.

Spider-man doesn't know how to deal with this situation, but he doesn't want to kill vampires who can be cured and who are ultimately innocent.

Dark episode full of action and terror.

Art
John Romita Jr achieves that gloomy, gloomy tone of this situation and incorporates it into the unique body language he gives to Spider-man with his art. It is a privilege to read comics illustrated by this legend who always evolves in using you.

Summary
Spider-man must deal with the war against the vampires and try to stop them and save those people who were infected.This comic highlights the drama of this vampire attack. more

Random fill in issue for a big event. It was fine for what it was.

I dislike JRJRs art, but I will give credit when it’s due. There were actually some nice panels in this one. The cover is mediocre though.

Retcon or reveal, not sure. As a stand-alone book it was good, but a “this character has been there the whole time” angle is almost never good. I appreciate Taylor trying to redeem the good parts of the Ric era, but I’d be even happier if Ric is never mentioned again.

Another great book. Awesome art in the book and an awesome cover by Alex Ross.

That last page is nasty, gross nasty. I feel like the church of blood is a little over used but I’m glad he’s doing something which, right now, appears to be different. Stills interested to see where this is going.

Love the art.

It was fine. Start of a new arc, I’d be more excited if I knew anything about the Ric era since we’re surprisingly going back there, but I dropped the book during it.

Here we are again with a bunch of people over-hating on Tini Howard for whatever reason. That's all I'll say about that. As for the issue itself, I must say that I felt as though it was the weakest issue of the Gotham War crossover so far. I might have given this a 6.5 initially, but I really enjoyed how Howard wrote Nightwing and I also liked the twist at the end of the issue. Hopefully this is just a minor bump in the road for Gotham War, as I've enjoyed it as a whole thus far. more

Solid issue, the art was done very well and fit the vibe.

Biggest downside is Paul’s stupid face is in it.

Sets up status quo for the arc with a new zone and interesting twist at the end.

If you’ve been on the fence on staying on, back off the book says issue 36 will be the end.

Fun/goofy Silk run.

Still curious to see how this plays out. Feels a little rushed overall, makes the train if thought of everyone less believable.