I have to confess I enjoyed this issue, as while Spider-Man isn't a character who lends himself to magic-based adventures, J. Michael Straczynski manages to deliver a highly enjoyable reading experience in which the character is wading in way over in head in "magical whackos". Now part of this could simply be my responding like Pavlov's Dog to the idea that Spider-Man's involved in a battle where he doesn't stand a chance of winning, but since he doesn't last all that long in his solo battle with Morwen, there has to be more to it than my enjoyment of battles where the character is the clear-cut underdog. The issue does manage to offer up some cute moments of interaction between Spider-Man and Loki, and while I found some of the gags to be trying a little to hard to be cute, or amusing, I will confess that I did find myself smiling a couple times, as the two characters' personalities ran up against each others. It also doesn't hurt that John Romita Jr. was born to draw magic-based acti Read Full Review

A justifiably brief yet enjoyable story arc ends here in a definite improvement over last issue. Although readers who are unfamiliar with the current run may be baffled by the heavy backstory and unfamiliar characters and tone, as part of a larger whole the book does a lot of good work integrating Peter's recent adventures more fully into the Spider-Man mythos. In addition, the stage is set for a significant arc to begin in forthcoming issues - hopefully bringing together the stronger elements of JMS' work on the title so far. Read Full Review