I'll be honest. I liked this. A lot.

Maybe it's because of new writer who was doing something different? But damn, the writing here felt so much better.

Both Felicia and Shay were written well. I was actually invested and not just being tired of doing the same thing.

Ireland doesn't break new ground here. But she does something effective and has a great voice for Peter. Something that is more mature and not just sad miserable loser who shoots jokes from a machine gun like Kelly writes Peter.

Art was really nice too! A bit rough, but good enough.

Overall, I want Ireland to be new writer for ASM, not Kelly.
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What an issue. I like it a lot. But I also have multiple problems.

There is a lot to like here. Art is fantastic and how characters are written is great. I am more invested in MJ now, it feels like the criticism I had for her after #6 is finally being answered. The final pages are fantastic and family dynamic is great.

But what problems do I have with this then?

Titular character.

Normally I wouldn't mind if it was another issue of very little Peter. But it's like every other issue in this series. Hickman seems to like writing every other character besides Peter. Because he is sidelined again and it does hurt the experience.

What hurts it the most is the 12 month structure. Peter has been Spider-Man for almost a year now. And I have seen so little of it. I have no idea how much he has matured, how much experience he now has, because Hickman shows Spider-Man being Spider-Man so little. After reading Gabe's review (that many dislike for the lowscore), I get why he is disappointed. For a book called Spider-Man, it focuses very little on Spider-Man.

So as a standalone issue, this is fantastic and focus on MJ is amazing. You love to see it. But as issue 12 of an ongoing series that spans one issue per month in timeline of the comic as well, it does hurt the experience a lot. There is so little I know about this Peter and it does annoy me while I read it. more

It's... fine? Nothing special about it. The hook "who is the host" isn't that interesting, so don't know how long that will last.

The cast feels... odd? MJ, Paul, Rick Jones, Luke Cage, Robbie and Madame Masque all feel very random choices for a Venom cast.

It's not really a continuation to Venom War that I wished it would be. Granted, this is a first issue of a new series, but I wasn't that impressed by anything. more

I have to drop this. Nic Klein's phenomenal art is wasted on this. Nothing worthwhile happens. 19 issues in and there has been no plot development, or anything really. There is nothing worthwhile in this book besides the art. But this book tries too hard to be Immortal Hulk without understanding what made it so good.

19 issues of Hulk and Banner being at odds. And nothing has happened. There has been no character development either for the main character. Charlie is fine, but Hulk is in literal stasis and every month it's just another issue of Banner being scared, Hulk being angry and no development of this massive book. This tries way too hard to make Eldest threatening, but it's kinda laughable how little of substance Eldest or anything has.

Backups were okay I guess.
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I disliked the writing and art in this more than last time. This whole plot is incredibly contrived just to serve as a vessel to bridge the gap to the next big writer where this feels like a place holder. It doesn't feel like a good Spider-Man story. He just doesn't fit in this. It could have been a more seamless transition into this arc but there was no lead up, nothing building to his team-up with Strange and Doom until all of a sudden, BOOM! Spider-Man is throwing magic around. It's like the story of an annual extended over a series of issues.

Peter isn't terrible with women. He's usually pretty great with women DESPITE his idiosyncrasies and overall dorkiness. He can be oblivious but he's not that dumb to just have Felicia blatantly telling him she's single go right over his head. It makes it worse that there is near zero consistency to McGuiness' portrayal of Felicia. She changes in every panel she's in. It's very jarring.

While Norman saying he doesn't believe in magic completely stone faced is genuinely funny, it makes absolutely no sense. He's lived in a world where magic has existed for years. There is no denying it and those who were skeptics have been shown to have no way to quantify it. If Tony Stark believes in magic, Norman Osborn even in all his pride would have no reason to deny it's existence. I do enjoy this change for Norman though. I hold absolutely zero hope that it will be followed up on well at least not in this... run? Series? Not sure what to call this Kelly section of ASM. I think what would be a great way to get Spider-Man and Peter back to what people want is to focus back on his supporting cast. Have him do more with Norman, with Felicia and May. They're there but like the audience, they're just waiting for Peter to remember who they are and what they mean to him.

The ending is a masterclass in rushed pacing. The climax has no real resolution. Largely no buildup or anticipation during the new Scion conflict and as fast as you can blink, it's over. No reverence or weight to add to another death for Peter Parker. Hell there's barely an explanation as to HOW he died. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. There needs to be more impact shown to the reader for it to feel meaningful. I know death means nothing in comics but this is set up to convey how it can impact a character for those readers who might not have read anything off the most popular lines that have had to deal with death. It makes it feel so shallow.

I'm genuinely not trying to be a downer or a hater. I just want more than this book and this editor are giving me. There are good/interesting ideas here but they are not given enough time to shine or be meaningfully fleshed out. Like Kevin. Or Peter's thousand yard state after his "rebirth". He's just casually back to it like he was at the beginning of this issue completely eradicating all of the impact of the end of the last.

I'm rating this higher simply because it manages to continue the story that was established. A story I might not like but at least as opposed to the previous issue, flows into this newly established direction. Whiplash inducing as it may be. more

It's not as bad as the previous issue was for me. How Felicia was handled is awful, but not surprising. I have zero hopes for Spidey office to write her well now that Jed isn't there and so best I can wish is that they just skip her character entirely from now on. And how Peter speaks to her is just... bad. That's his ex, and he has acted way more mature in even previous volume, during Spencer run, Beyond and even WWL. Here he acts like flustered teenager who don't know how to respond when his crush speaks to him and it's so bad.

Otherwise it's ok I guess. Mediocre, but so wordy with so much mumbo jumbo that Kelly is known for. And it just doesn't work for me most of the time, but art does. The pacing is kinda awful how the second Scion is defeated. It's too sudden and having this happend 4-6 times more is not something I'm looking forward. Norman scenes were nice. And so was Shay at the end of comic.

But yeah, this just feels like Spidey office has zero idea what to do and are just spinning the wheels until something happens.

I wish it's not Kelly who is the next writer. more

I'm incredibly conflicted on this issue. It has great art, first and foremost. I think the writing is still strong for what it tries to do. But it's severely lacking in a lot of areas. And it's partly because this is an end of an era, but not a satisfying one.

We desperately need an epilogue between this and All-New Venom. It's really odd that Venom Volume 5 ends with #39 that has only one panel of the main characters of the run.

Meridius was the biggest disappointment. He was build up to be this big bad since #1 but I would say introducing Carnage just made everything worse. Meridius was beaten twice by Carnage, so that just made him as the big bad less threatening. His masterplan was also poorly showcased, I think it's stupid that we get his masterplan presented in a side book of an event first before in either of the main books. And his downfall is just as sudden, boring and disappointing. And it's mostly because Meridius was a much more interesting villain than just rehashing Carnage.

It feels like this arc wasn't meant to be an event from the getgo. And it's apparent in the main book here. Only in #4 do the main characters realize about Zombiotes and those are as quickly discarded as they were presented. I feel like Marvel only made it which is especially odd since we just had Blood Hunt. But hey, anything to have synergy with movies I guess.

I've recently read the whole Venom Vol 5 and all previous issues in preparation to this and I say that it's... not as good as it started. I feel like losing Ram V before midway made very big changes to this run and it suffered because of it. Torunn was brought as the new writer but she wastes her first 4 issues on literally pointless filler that doesn't advantage the plot at all or matter. It was only there to make Black Widow a new character and that was then quickly forgotten and then lost during this event.

I really like what Ewing did with Eddie and it felt like he had a clear plan what to do with Eddie. I would say first 25 issues are fantastic and have some of the best lore presentation and character work I've seen in a while. But the inclusion of Carnage and Torunn's bad writing and wasting issues just made this series lose. I like how Torunn handled Meridius, but the less we speak about him the better.

And the biggest problem was Dylan. Dylan isn't any different than what he was since this run started. And we have a lot plots left hanging (like Bedlam) and no idea if those are part of All-New Venom or not.

But even after all these negatives, I still say it was a great ride. And this event was enjoyable for me. It had the best writing for Peter in 616 in a while and I will miss Ewing writing Peter. Same as Ewing writing Eddie.

Old Man Dylan was also enjoyable character and how Torunn presented his journey was also interesting and clever. Old Man Dylan lost so much and even more during his journey to make Venom a weapon and it was nice to see him getting a happy ending. Or as happy as he could have
(and nice continuity that Dylan never call his younger self by his name, as he lost it). more

It feels like this book is finally becoming what I wanted it to be. Spider-Man being Spider-Man stopping bank robberies! Nice character moments between Peter and his supporting cast!

I like how Hickman writes Peter's inexperience and how he doesn't take things seriously yet. Peter has the power and the responsibility, but it still doesn't feel like it clicks for him. And that seems to be the whole point of this comic currently.

Covers are misleading, but otherwise great stuff. more

This would be better if ASM #60 didn't just ruin this ending completely. Good work Lowe!

I enjoy this so much more than the previous arc, because JMS writes all these three so well.

Interesting ending.

Wow, this really didn't work for me. Ed's art is great as always, but first half felt like a chore. This whole "Peter Parker is down on his luck, with little money and poor management of his relationships" is definitely not what I expected to read after Wells' run started the exact same way and ended with Peter moving on and having something stable in his life. It doesn't feel at all like a continuation to what Zeb did in his run. And Spider-Man dumping his problems on a 10-year old just feels so irresponsible and childish.

Peter's dialogue just feels off here. I don't know, maybe I was used to Zeb's dialogue, but here he is so wordy while also saying a lot of nothing with a lot of misses in humor

The second part was better. Peter handling the trauma of dying was interesting, but otherwise this whole gimmick feels random. And just screams of Spidey office having no idea what to do next.

And why is May scolding Peter for not getting his life together? Wasn't the whole point of last run just that? Like am I crazy, or did Kelly just ignore the entire point of last run?

I'm not even kidding when I say that this might be one of the worst first issues of any ASM run I've read in a while. more

Land's art is terrible. But otherwise, this book just works for me. I hate Paul, and I hate Land's art, but neither of did ruin this for me.

It has great writing, character moments and artwork. But what makes this whole event lacking is... the event it's supposed to be. Zombiotes feel like an afterthought here and so does Carnage and Meridius. It's not badly executed, but it's not something that was build upon.

This is perfection.

This issue bothers me.

I don't hate this run. I don't fundamentally dislike the plot points, either. I just wanted something more from this conclusion. The scene where Tombstone talks to Peter is great by itself. How quickly the entire plotline wrapped up is so odd to me. We just got two issues of a giant fight. Where is the editor?? I read Wells' letter in the back, and he claims that Nick Lowe was there for him constantly, and I just don't see it on the page. Editing mistakes are rampant in Lowe's tenure, and that's one thing. Fix it in the trade (As someone with the trades, they don't). I can abide by bad lettering and color mismatches. I can't abide by the fundamentals, as I see them, being thrown out or disregarded. Pacing is important, especially in this medium. You have to do a juggling act of making each issue satisfying on its own and as part of a larger arc. Lowe sometimes fails to do either. It's baffling. The plot line for an arc should justify its length. If you have to stretch it out with filler content, like a giant fight, maybe lower the issue count. If you are scrambling to exposit-vomit at the end of a book, maybe give it an extra issue. This arc and the final arc of Spencer's run are like complete opposites, it's insane. This arc is barely able to fill its pages, apparently, while hurrying through what plot it has, while that last Spencer arc spent every. single. page. trying to explain the cacophonous nightmare of retcons upon retcons. Where is the editor?? The same guy was ultimately in charge of producing both of these things and the only similarity is the rough, amateur pacing and structure. Nick Lowe is a senior editor. He should do better. I don't see this sort of roughness from editors until they're unceremoniously ripped from their books like Jordan White on X-Men, but Nick Lowe has sewn himself into the Spider-Man tapestry at this point, so what's the fucking deal?

I have other issues.

The Aunt May segment is almost good. The characterizations are there. Wells is competent. But for the love of god, would it have killed them to just have Peter tell her his identity? Every single moment felt as though it was leading there, only to have them pull back in the end. I just want to see real growth from these characters. Technically, Aunt May was worried and upset at Peter at the start of the run and now she's accepted him. Cool. That's technical growth. I'm real happy Pete gets to live in his lies more comfortably now. Whatever.

The Rek-Rap segment. I have nothing to say aside from this: Where is Gog? I don't recall Peter ever setting him free or giving him away. Gog is Peter's actual pet still? We haven't seen him since Spencer's run though. Where has he been all this time? Did Nick Lowe forget about Gog? That's much more interesting than keeping Rek-Rap in play.

The MJ segment was good. Again, Wells is a good writer. He's good with characters. As someone who is an adult, who has had relationships sour and change and morph, I found a lot of MJ and Peter's friendshipping here relatable. People grow and change, and it's really odd to say that here but it does work. Maybe now that MJ has explicitly told Peter thank you, those weirdos online will stop calling for people's heads. I doubt it though.

The Chasm story is meaningless to me. I don't really care that Ben was changed, or that he's a villain now. Maybe he'll show up and do something interesting next time.

The tease for Joe Kelly's run was mostly good. As noted in KittyNone's review, the coloring could use a lot of work. However, from the writing side of things, I actually really enjoyed Peter's monologue and how it showcased Peter's capability, something writers will often ignore or forget about. I like when Pete is treated like the science geek he is. I really didn't like his story in issue 50, but if Kelly is giving us something more like this with 8 Deaths, I'm glad for it. more

Certainly the best thing about Wells's finale is the same thing as what was best about his run: the small character moments, like Tombstone's chat with Peter outside the courthouse that emphasizes the weaknesses of being a good man in a bad world. But the worst thing is what was worst about his run: the general lack of direction. The scenes with May are touching and well-wrought and could be a great capstone to a run that focused heavily on Aunt May — except that this isn't that run, it's been over a year since she's shown up in the pages of this book at all and she was hardly a regular before that.

Ultimately, Wells & JRJR simply tried to do more than they could handle with this series, and Nick Lowe failed to exercise the editorial wisdom to force them to kill a few darlings and focus their attention on the best stuff — with the result being a tangle of characters, plots and subplots that appear and disappear at random, rarely getting any meaningful resolution. As everyone else has already mentioned, most of the plots end in no identifiable change to the characters or their place in the world, with the only real movement forward in this issue is for Aunt May, a character who's barely been in the book. [EDIT: Also I misunderstood the ending and it doesn't even really move May forward, so I'm not sure why we're doing this story for a finale at all now.]

I won't damn this run outright. I think hate-reading comics is a waste of your one wild and precious life, and that reading a favorite character out of addiction alone is no better, so if I thought this run was irredeemable I'd have walked away long ago. I read it to the end because it kept drawing me back in every time I gave up on it, it was full of promise in its best moments: the Judgment Day and Blood Hunt issues or the best parts of the Tombstone plot, for instance. I absolutely believe there was a great run in there somewhere, if only they could have focused on it.

(As regards the prelude to 8 Deaths, obviously I can't judge a run on a three-page teaser but my first impression is that I'm going to have the opposite problem with the art that I had with this run: while JRJR's unreliable pencils were beautifully propped up by Menyz's gorgeous color work, it looks like next Mark Buckingham's wonderful draftsmanship will be muddied by murky-yet-overlit coloring that looks like it rose from the grave of the early oughts.) more