Finally! One of the biggest mysteries of BRAND NEW DAY is revealed! Who is the mysterious Jackpot? For months, merry Marvelites have pondered this question? Who is she? What is her dark and mysterious secret? And how does Walter Declun (Wolverine: Civil War) play a part in it?
If we're nit-picking, the book does have the annoying little "BND" ticks that have nested themselves in the title. The Silver Age narration boxes that break the fourth wall show up a ton in the beginning. The Annual also creates a throwaway villain for the express purpose of a single-use beating from the hero(es). But this book is largely enjoyable and certainly worth a look compared to the normal output of the Spider franchise these days. A pleasant surprise, to say the least. Read Full Review
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In the end, "Amazing Spider-Man Annual" #1 is just a little too rushed and too plain to intrigue. (And before you ask, I have no idea why this annual was renumbered #1 when the regular series itself isn't renumbered. The fact that there's also a #35 on the cover just makes me all the more confused, to be honest.) Read Full Review
So, who is Jackpot? Apparently, she's a Nancy Reagan PSA lost in time for a couple of decades. Like I said up top, either she was Mary Jane or she wasn't, and either way there's negatives to her identity. Jackpot's costume, her demeanor, and her overall sauciness led me to really like her, even given the few interactions that I've had with her, and I'm saddened to think that she's probably going to be nothing more than a footnote in Spider-Man's history, a living example that drugs're bad, mmmkay? Still, it's not a terrible issue, with a nice turn by Marc Guggenheim in terms of Betty's characterization, Spider-Man is suitably irreverant and fun, Reed's cameo is well-handled and the art is absolutely amazing throughout the issue. Walter DeClun falls absolutely flat for me, though, a poor man's Kingpin, and Alana's death was weirdly anticlimactic. Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 earns a better than average 3 out of 5 stars, giving me a new appreciation for Guggenheim's work (I f Read Full Review
This book plays out more like a double-sized issue than an annual. There's no back-up stories, no pin-ups, no specials. It's a story that finally gives us some answers, yes, but the manner in which the answers are delivered leaves a lot to be desired (and feels cheap). Read Full Review
Well, not bad at all! It even made this Jackpot character a bit more interesting for me.
Jackpot is easily the most unnecessary character of the BND
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