Four Spider-Man comics came out this week, not sure if that’s awesome or says something about Marvel (or both).

This and Miles 300 were pretty close for top dog, but I’d give the slight edge to this. An expected interaction occurs, I didn’t know how it was going to go, but I didn’t expect each of the little twists. I say again, this is the best Spider-Man book out right now. If you’re a fan, pick it up. more

Landmark mega sized issues are usually hit and miss, some of the main story and then some background stuff. This is the main story, cover to cover. There were some inconsistencies with the art since they had a couple people on to help. However, some of those full page jobs were awesome.

Lots of story and action, very well put together. My only complaint is we have to wait until the next issue to see the end of the big battle. more

It’s kind of hilarious to see the meh Electro on the cover and as soon as you open the comic there’s an almost full page of him that looks outstanding. I don’t like JRJRs art but they did him dirty with that.

Honestly had a moment of wanting to tear the book apart during the first interaction of Peter and MJ. In later scenes it feels like either Wells is teasing a reunion or just flaming the people who are unhappy with the run.

If something is being setup with this crazy Michelle woman, I’m not feeling it. more

Fun overall, but landing on JUST the right spot… come on…

better than gang war but also nothing happened lmao (why is this a $4.99 issue?)

Wait, did we just get a good ASM issue after all this time? Good dialogue and meaningful character interactions? Crazy.

This was the best issue of the series since the Spider-Man's First Hunt storyline. I acknowledge that I may be overrating this a bit, but this is the most I've enjoyed this title in six months. Despite the dip in quality and the amount of people trashing Wells online for this run, I know he's a good writer and I've been waiting for this run to get better. This just felt a lot more personal and intimate than what we've been getting with something like Gang War, and I think that worked towards the book's benefit greatly. Plus, Carnero's art fits really well with the story. I was hoping she'd be on the series more regularly, but that doesn't seem to be the case with her being announced for Eve L. Ewing's Exception X-Men run. I'll take one more issue with her over nothing, though, as she was announced for Issue 46. more

Refreshing to see good art again on a premier book.

Nightwing #112 picks up right where the previous issue left off, with Batman & Nightwing hot on the trails of a missing boy. Batman also learns about Dick’s mysterious inability to perform his signature aerial feats. The issue comes w/ a surprising narrative choice: Batman/Bruce as the primary narrator.

While it is definitely a choice to have someone other than Dick narrate his own book, Tom Taylor does leverage this in smart and unique ways. We see a surprising amount of emotional depth from Bruce, albeit within the confines of his own head. Bruce wouldn’t be Bruce if he ever let his emotions show on his sleeves! Beyond that, there is also an acknowledgement of Bruce’s own shortcomings as a hero & father figure, which he very rarely ever says out loud, going so far as to adapt his own approach to act more like his protégé. Throughout all these little moments, Taylor showcases just how much Dick Grayson has matured to become one of DC's most respected & beloved heroes — by comic book readers & members of the DC Universe alike.

The emotional core of this issue is undeniably strong. Seeing Bruce acknowledge Dick's growth is a touching moment in the decades long father-son relationship. That being said, this mini arc did feel a bit like we were in a holding pattern. While Taylor's script remains accessible & engaging, & the artwork by the creative team of Sami Basri, Vicente Cifuentes, & Adriano Lucas is nothing short of outstanding, the plot didn’t quite push the narrative forward in a meaningful way. With the news that Taylor’s time on Nightwing is coming to end w/ one last run with his previous partner in crime Bruno Redondo, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was just filling space until that arc kicks off. more

Great issue, cool seeing the external perspective from Batman.

I love how Ewing tells the stories within the stories, very well done.

Chip zdarsky's batman run has honestly been a rollercoaster. We had a great Failsafe arc, a good Multiversal arc, then a bad Shadow War event, then a great Mindbomb arc, but then a boring Joker Year one arc.

Is this issue good? Yes. It's good, it's a return to form, we see Bruce Wayne grappling with the idea that he has gone too far in realizing he's taking Batman too seriously. But I am being very cautious, and I hope that Zdarsky's can at least be more consistent as time goes on. more

Dark Prisons is to Joker Year One what Mind Bomb was to Gotham War. I had a feeling of being back on track, but it’s not good that Zdarsky’s story keeps getting derailed. I didn’t hate Joker Year One, but this issue made that arc feel especially pointless by revealing it wasn’t even true! Zdarsky had left some ambiguity, but at no point were we led to believe that the narrative itself was supposed to be unreliable. Why would we think that, when there were events told from outside the Joker’s perspective? This issue was good but it weakened the previous three. more

It feels like things are getting back on track following the Joker: Year One storyline. I didn't dislike that story, but it also wasn't my favorite. The placement of it seemed really strange at the time, and it still is mostly, but I'm glad it's at least being addressed here. Either way, I was interested by Zur/Failsafe replacing Bruce and the way he went about it and I'm really interested by this storyline. Hopefully Zdarsky can bring this title back to the quality it was at when he first started on it twenty issues ago. more

Wow. First arc complete, very well done. Thought I would pick this up just to see how it’s handled in new hands, I’m going to have to keep getting it.

I love Black Cat and MJ, but Jackpot shouldn’t be a thing. MJ is powerful in her own right and never needed a power gimmick.

The book is fine, but doesn’t make me care enough about something I never wanted in the first place.

This is a very weird anthology. It honestly shows me a Spider-Office that doesn't really know what it wants. The entire thing is an exercise in synergy, with Madame Web haphazardly being the impetus for the anthology. It gives me the same vibes as when Black Adam got a full page splash in Dark Crisis along with an extended sequence showing just how great and heroic he was, because he and his movie were definitely going to be a smash hit. Luckily, Marvel didn't commit quite so hard to Madame Web, at least. We also get some weird synergy with Loki. I really just want Spider-Gwen to be in her own universe. Half the fun of the original run was exploring Earth-65 and seeing how different it was from 616. You take that away and Spider-Gwen gets lost in the sea of ancillary Spider-Characters with nothing to truly define her besides the memory of her counterpart's death 50 years ago. Now tying her to the off-brand comics-catching-up versions of the MCU's Ouroboros and Mobius, it seems like Marvel simply wants her brand to continue to diminish. The synergy might run even deeper with Spider-Man 2099 taking the lead role in whatever the next Spider-Verse event is, but who knows if he will be by the time issue 1 of End of the Spider-Verse, For Real This Time, comes out. My point with the synergy is that it feels like so much of the creative side of editorial, specifically Spider-Editorial, is being driven by whatever the latest creative flaunt is. That tells me that the editors don't really have a direction or directive, or drive, for how they want to shape Spider-Man and his extended cast's books for the foreseeable future. They're just latching onto whatever might work.

I'm behind on every Spidey book that isn't Amazing, so I know I'm missing context for certain things, but never so much that I felt lost. However, this anthology does not make me want to rush and catch up. The standout story for me was literally the first one. It's Wells and Romita, and it's about Tombstone. As much as Gang War bummed me out, I still really enjoyed the first arc of Wells' ASM run and this brief story has the vibes of that rather than what Gang War was like. The tone feels more consistent, Spidey is turning the tables on Tombstone somewhat... As an incredibly stupid man once said, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." I am extremely hesitant here, but I'm looking for something in this anthology. Miles' story was fine, but too caught up in its lore for me to latch onto anything. I haven't read that arc yet, why do I care about whether this vampire guy gets out? Spider-Woman had me interested, until Nick Lowe spoiled it for me in the back matter, and now I'm kinda dreading that one. The second Wells story did *look* fantastic, but it did nothing for me. Green Goblin is coming back, we know. The Chasm/Kaine stories are ones I want to enjoy, but the absurdly awful Greg Land art really took me out of it. Whenever I see artists that *I know* are hired for their speed rather than their ability, it tells me that Marvel doesn't actually care about this story and selling it. So why should I care? The Spectacular Spider-Men story was cute but I wasn't super invested in it either.

It's weird that there are two major elements of the Spider-Comics at the moment that weren't represented here: Ultimate and Slott. Ultimate is edited by a separate group (which is why it's better), I know, but this is supposed to be the grand opening statement of all things Spidey come 2024, so why not include an incredibly brief story by Hickman to grab the 2 and a half people who aren't yet reading that book? Hell, maybe its inclusion would boost sales for this anthology. The Slott stuff being absent is much more perplexing. He's writing two separate titles right now, that's a big chunk. And I assume those stories are building to something in the near-ish future. And Slott participated in the last big anthology issue, so why not here? I don't know about you, but this web feels pretty incomplete!

I wish I could say this book is exciting, or serves a purpose, or feels important. It's not any of these things. You can skip it, in fact, *do* skip it. It's a waste of your money and your time. I only rated it a 5 because nothing is really bad, it's just bland as hell. This book is a statement on editorial's failures. Eight dollars of non-excitement. more

Level setting issue a bit, liking the slow burn with Rabble. Great job writing the interactions between Miles and Kamala

to be honest, as a whole I got to say this event was bland, mediocre, and forgettable. I dont know what it is, but from what I'm reading, it feels like its devoid of passion and doesnt have that much effort at all.

Spidey literally gets his butt kicked multiple times in this event, then he talks about his feelings to Madame Masque, then wins the day by shooting out webs into her gauntlets. Very anti-climatic as well.

The art here is also bland and not interesting. John Romita Jr art doesnt stand out anymore, its too clean for my taste. This event was basically people talking, then rushing into an ending.

Overall, a lot of people are going to take issues and be pissed off about my reviews and think I'm "toxic" and "uneducated". And its totally fine if people like this event more than me. I'm glad people are enjoying this event.

It's just for me, I didnt enjoy this event. I'm glad I took a break from Zeb Wells Spider-Man, and I'm not going to be reading Zeb Wells Spidey run anymore. This run is not for me, I'm not going to be reading this event if it somehow devolves into me hate-reading this event, and I dont want to be toxic. Overall, this event had bland art, action, dialogue, a wonky pacing, and Spider-Man really doesnt get much to do here, and when it comes to the climax of the story, it fell flat. more

Basically nothing came out of this entire event except, minor spoiler, Tombstone is back on top.

JRJR’s art quality was all over the place in this issue. Some panels were ok and others were just, bad/low effort. Jackpot (aka the superhero we never needed or wanted because MJ is great as herself and doesn’t need powers) made a brief cheesy appearance. If you’re tired of this mediocrity, Ultimate Spider-Man is a great read. The only reason I’m still getting Amazing is because I’m collecting the series as a whole. more

Hickman and Checcetto are as near a perfect match as Zdarsky was. All three master storytellers in their fields. Checcetto really understands Hickman's pace. Fluid and graceful in dynamic or humorous scenes, rigid and dark when it needs to be in tense or sincere moments. I couldn't be happier with how these first two issues have been. I remember talking to some friends about what projects people would like to see Hickman on and a lot of them said ASM. I was pretty against that. Not because I dislike Hickman, I think he's one of the greatest writers of our generation. I didn't think he would fit because ASM has a much different voice and direction that I am not sure Hickman would slot into or conform to that structure. Which is a good thing. He does what HE wants and makes the stories pop against the other titles. USM has been exactly what was needed to put him on Spider-Man because the few times we've seen him dip into the well of Peter Parker it was always amazing. Now, ultimate. more

Another phenomenal read, better than amazing. Pun intended. I love the Ben and Jonah relationship, really well done.

If you’re not getting this book and you’re a Spider-Man fan, you should be.

this arc seems to be a response to people saying Tom Taylor's Nightwing run has been like cotton candy. Which to be fair, it has. But Imma miss this run. I love Tom Taylor's writing for Nightwing and Batman.

Great read. Twist at the end was unexpected, very well done.

One of the best issues of this arc, still not phenomenal by any means. Thought this was some of JRJRs better work, and I’m not a fan of his work at all.

Overall still just hard to get behind. Looking forward to reading Ultimate Spider-Man 2 more than seeing the end of this event.

I definitely liked this a lot more than I thought I would. But don't mistake this isn't a ringing endorsement of this event or even the issue.
Somehow I think Wells tapped into what I praised about his abilities and comparisons to JMS in the first Tombstone arc. Peter's voice is commanding, he feels real and thoughtful, action oriented and willing to take care of what he has must to protect those he cares about and the city. Sounds great. Why then is it only happening in the penultimate issue of an event where he was practically sidelined until now? Even Romita's art popped at least when Spider-Man was the focus. Every other character looked so phoned in it was upsetting.
Not that the "twist" at the end wasn't easily predictable but I really don't like this bait and switch of villains turning over a new leaf and then because, "We have to return to the status quo or everyone will freak out, the bad guy has to revert to their old ways. What a rascal they are. Shucks." It's so frustrating. Much like this event. There are some really uplifting, energetic moments with SOME dynamic action supplied by an artist way past his prime. If you still care about ongoing ASM and feel obligated to finish this event out you might not hate your time. more