Overall, while I'm not reading Goblin Nation at the moment, I certainly missed a lot of context, but the story here is a great side-story that still works as a sort of one-shot. And the art is great too. Read Full Review

Superior Spider-Man has been some of my favorite Spidey business in ages. I can't wait to see how it all comes to a head. Read Full Review

Superior Spider-Man Annual #2 harkens back to a time when Spider-Man books were character centric and in-doing-so delivers a great chapter in the "Goblin Nation" storyline. Read Full Review

The backup feature, unfortunately, is far less memorable. Gage's brief look at Sajani, Carlie, and Yuri Wantabe inside Parker Industries lacks the introspective character drama of the main feature. It reads mainly like a necessary means to an end as far as continuing a couple plot threads from the main storyline. Read Full Review

Goblin Nation may take up 6 issues of the main Superior Spider-Man title, but this annual deserves to be read alongside it. Even if it doesn't deal with anything too important bar the fate of Carlie Cooper, it's still a solid read that won't go amiss if you're reading the rest of the excellent Spidey books on the stands at the moment. I've said it before, but I'll say it again, if Marvel ever need a replacement for Dan Slott on Spider-Man (which I hope they don't for a long time), then Christos Gage is easily the man for the job. Read Full Review

While I've been greatly enjoying 'Superior Spider-Man' for some time now, I appreciated the break to focus on some of the ancillary characters. Plus, I'm sure that Slott appreciated the break as well since he has a lot going on with his new 'Silver Surfer' book coming out soon in addition to his work in the Spidey office. Next week, we get another issue of 'Superior Spider-Man' and after that there's only one more issue of one of the most controversial comics in recent history. It's an exciting time to be a Marvel fan, True Believers! Read Full Review

If you find yourself especially invested in Ben Urich or the Goblin Nation's plot with Monster and Wraith, then yes, this is a comic you'll likely want to check out and will probably enjoy a little more than I did. But for everyone else, $4.99 is asking a little too much for what occurs in this comic. Sure, there's a development with Monster and Wraith's plot, but odds are this will be swiftly detailed in the next issue of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN's intro page or maybe even reduced to a line or two of exposition within the issue itself. It's an enjoyable annual and both halves certainly thrive for their own reasons, but nothing truly makes this feel like a mandatory read for fans of Goblin Nation, either. Read Full Review

Overall, this was an issue that took place in the same world, during the same timeframe as the story, but did nothing to advance the plot in the goblin war. It is interesting when comics take a step back and view their world from different eyes, but with this issue these were eyes that I really didn't care to look out of. Read Full Review