This was solid. Not sure it'll actually matter in the end, but honestly that's probably for the best.

This was pretty good, but it all felt a little rushed, like too much is being juggled and there's not enough page space for it.

This suffers from trying to do too much without the page space necessary to do it. It brings down the entire book because Matt Rosenberg isn't able to really put voice into any of the characters. Their dialogue needs to move the plot along, so there's no time for that snappy wit that Matthew Rosenberg's comics usually have. We see shades of his voice coming out with the inclusion of ridiculous concepts like UltiM.O.D.O.K. But it's not enough to make this issue seem like anything but an average miniseries that didn't have the time it needed to tell a story that was largely unnecessary and only exists to be a cash grab tie-in.

A very unnecessary anthology that got progressively better as it went on. The first Machine Man story felt extremely dated, just like Tom DeFalco's work in 2020 Machine Man. It's not worth reading. The second story with Alkhema was actually my favorite. It was well written, in my opinion! I hope Christopher Cantwell continues making his mark on the Marvel universe. The Doctor Shapiro story was cute and had nice art, but it was incredibly unnecessary and not worth paying for.

This isn't too bad, but I don't like the art, and the story hits all the obvious beats. It exists.

DispatchDCU is wrong in his review saying that this mini had nothing to do with Iron Man 2020. The idea of AI and its rights are the entire point of Iron Man 2020. It's a tie-in to the theme of the event and how the characters in Ironheart deal with it. That being said, this was fine. Unnecessary, but fine.

A few weeks (months?) ago, when Ironheart 2020 #2 came out, there was a review by DispatchDCU from Weird Science Marvel Comics, in which he made the point that that miniseries had nothing to do with Iron Man 2020. In my review for that issue, I openly disagreed with that idea. The core of the event is about artificial intelligence and what rights should be afforded to them. I say all this because if you really, truly want a tie-in that has nothing to do with the main event, look no further than iWolverine 2020. There is simply no reason for this to exist besides Larry Hama, for some reason, wanting to write an Albert and Elsie-Dee story. I can't imagine Marvel coming to him with the idea. It had to have been Larry Hama. This is just so, so disconnected. There's only one reference to the event at all in this issue. Now, if you want to make the argument that Albert and Elsie-Dee are being treated as property with no rights, and this series is about liberating these characters-- fitting fully in theme with the event, that's... Fine. I'm just shocked that this exists. It's written like a 90s comic. The art isn't quite so 90s, but uneven which could mean the same thing. It's really not worth it to anyone to read this tie-in. Stay away! Avoid it! It's not good! I will continue reading it because I am a slave to the comics machine and... once I've already dipped, I'm just going to have to double dip. That's just the person I am.

Well, this is still trash, and it ends as it began: pointless.

Even playing to nostalgia doesn't really make this interesting for me. I can't imagine what someone going in blind would think. Thankfully, this is only two issues.

The second part of Christos Gage's story was better than the first, and Tom DeFalco's story was just as bad this time around. This was a really weak miniseries tie-in.

Not much happened here, and what did happen was rushed, but I didn't find it offensive. I just wish there was more space to breathe with this one.

This was a pretty good issue that was clearly being affected by the page limits of a two issue miniseries. The ending was just rolling by the end there. I don't know if I made it known in my last review, but I remember thinking that this wasn't going to matter, but I'm thinking it might matter now. That tag for Iron Man 2020 #5 gave me hope, I guess. This may be one of the better tie-in series to the Iron Man 2020 event.

This was fine. The best story was Red Hood's story. The worst story was the Grayson story.

These anthologies are always tiring to get through. For every good story, there are a bunch that aren't. Skin the Cat was fine. It didn't leave an impression. Now You See Me was also just fine. Helena had more of the awful dialogue between Batman and Catwoman that Tom King's run on Batman relished in. But the ending was nice. I don't understand where the dialogue pattern came from or why it developed the way that it did, but it's like a knife to the story's Achilles tendon. It takes something that could be great and ruins it. The Catwoman of Earth is just nonsensical and awful. A Cat of Nine Tales has an interesting concept but the execution was a bit off. Little Bird was just oddly weird and very specific. I don't know what the writer was going for, honestly. Is that her version of Year One Catwoman? Born to Kiln was just a fun, simple story. Conventional Wisdom was a fun meta story, and I liked it. Addicted to Trouble was pretty damn boring. I was thinking of jumping back on to the Catwoman series since a new writer was taking over, but this short story convinced me to stay away. The Art of Picking A Lock was nice. It was not a bad way to end this anthology.

Anthologies are hard and usually not worth it but everyone buys these so I guess they'll just keep happening. Scars was alright. Just a standard horror story but with Joker pasted on top of whatever random monster it would've been otherwise. What Comes After A Joke? proves that Punchline is as bland as she seemed in Batman #92. Her origin sucks. So much for all the speculation and hype. Yawn. Kill The Batman ironically had a better punchline than the last story. It was fine though. Introducing The Dove Corps was one of my favorites from this anthology. It was just a lot of fun, even if it was a bit predictable. The War Within was not very good, but I see what they were going for. The Last Smile was fine. Nothing to say about it. Birthday Bugs was my favorite of the entire anthology. Unironically loved that one. No Heroes was fine. Slightly better than the other "fine" stories here. Penance was just a waste. It just was not good at all. Two Fell Into The Hornet's Nest was okay. It works infinitely better if you've seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Otherwise it's almost unintelligible.

Not a fan of anthologies, but maybe this will be okay. "Dark Things Cannot Stand the Light" is a solid opener, and I don't mind if Alan Scott is gay now. I wonder if this is part of an initiative on DC's part or if Tynion just decided to do it. This is his best work in a while, honestly. "Last Will" was fun. I don't have much to say about it, but it worked. "The Meaning of Fear" was fine. I could've done without it. It's a step down from the first two stories. "Time Alone" was really good. I enjoyed it a lot. I've never read Hard Traveling Heroes, but I think I may give it a shot. "Legacy" was pretty good. I was less enthused with it, but it didn't overstay its welcome. "Heart of the Corps" was very similar to the previous story. It didn't overstay its welcome. "Reverse the Polarity" was fine. I didn't really enjoy it much. It existed. "Four" was alright. I thought it was a bit hackneyed, but I didn't hate it. "The Voice" was good. I didn't mind it. "Homegrown Hero" was... Not awful, but it falls into this trap of being tone deaf. This tends to happen when a bad writer tries to make a point. I'm glad they decided to end the anthology on that of all things.

This was one of the better anniversary anthologies from DC. Maybe it's because I haven't been reading a ton of comics lately, but this felt more engaging than DC's other recent outings. It wasn't amazing, but it was solidly okay. I can't say it made me a big fan of Aquaman, but I did selfishly come up with ideas for if I would write Aquaman. I will not share them here.

This had some ups and downs, but I really don't know why I still bother with these 80th anniversary anthologies. They're never so good that they're worth their insane prices, and they never really get me hyped on the character they're centered around. They must sell because DC's made like 80 of them.

This a great deconstruction of Tony Stark as a character. Gillen really thins the scope of this event down, in a way that doesn't feel off, which seems like it's harder to do than you'd think given some of the tie-ins.

This is essentially what the main Eternals title would have become if it weren't ended at twelve issues. The whole AXE event is much bigger than the Eternals title was, and I'm glad to see our main Eternals team still have a place, and play a major role. If you had been reading Eternals, if you have been enjoying AXE, this is going to be an very enjoyable tie-in.

While the main series is a triumph in itself, this miniseries is the major crux of the story being told. I said in the last issue's review that this series is a continuation of Gillen's Eternals run, and I'd say that holds true in this second issue, but in a more indirect way. Our Eternals aren't given all the focus, but it still remains within the realm of that cast, if that makes sense. There's not a ton to say without spoiling, but the humanistic writing really makes this series charming, much like the Eternals run that came before this.

The response to this issue was to be expected. It really is just another issue of Eternals, although the narrative tries to elevate it to be more. That's not a dig at the issue because Eternals was great. This issue does set up a lot of the moving pieces and motivations for the event that follows, and I can't help but feel that not nearly enough people picked this up. But that is a failure of Marvel's marketing, not Gillen's writing. He's killing it. The only issue I have with this book, genuinely, is the art. It feels a bit unpolished and unfinished, which is not how you want an event book - even a prelude - to look. Pasqual Ferry needs a good colorist to back his pencils, and I'm not sure that's what happened here. Still, it's narratively satisfying for someone following Eternals and someone interested in this event.

Really good wrap up, especially if you were reading Eternals.

This is more like it. Valerio Schiti matches Gillen's writing so well here, and paired with that Mark Brooks cover, this really does feel like an event. Although, with this artist, and the general feeling of Marvel not putting the work in to promote this event, I do get Empyre vibes. Not to say this is like Empyre or of the quality of Empyre. No, this is better. Gillen throws a ton at the readers in this issue, and it may seem a little daunting for some. After all, this did have a year's worth of build up in the Eternals title. But the character work and the scale of events should be enough to draw in new readers. That's the hope, at least.

This issue expertly builds towards a twist at the end that I really, really don't want to spoil. It's so well done and it really hyped me up for this event that I was already pretty hyped up for. It works as well as the final twist of Gillen's first Eternals arc did, but there is a distinction here. We should've all seen this twist coming, and the fact that we didn't is really impressive. The art is great, of course. Schiti kills it as always. The only downside to this issue is that there is a moment around the halfway point where I feel that the narration briefly loses the reader, because it is (I'm assuming) setting up tie-ins. I don't know, I haven't read any of the tie-ins yet, but that's what it felt like. The problem isn't the set up, but rather how it slightly jumbles the narrative to do that. But that's small potatoes compared to the overall achievement that this issue really is.

I could see how the twist at the end of this issue may leave some people feeling sour, but I think it worked really well in showing that there isn't an easy way out. The heroes of Earth are going to face judgment, and they've brought it on themselves. There are some great character moments. For instance, Cap's judgment is crushing, but he responds exactly how Cap would. The art is also incredible. This feels and looks like an event, and it lives up to the hype.

This issue is amazing. So many great moments. The ending carries its proper weight. I felt something, despite all the built-up cynicism I have for event comics in general. I really don't want to spoil anything. Everyone should be reading this one.

Everyone who liked this issue is right, and everyone who disliked this issue is wrong. I will not elaborate.

It sticks the landing.

Probably one of the biggest issues of the year. You can tell by how some people have reacted poorly to it. I even saw some people outright lying about the issue to hate it more. Wonderful. I liked it. I do have some bothersome worries about it. That epilogue was quite a sour note to end on, especially after what I thought was a really satisfying twist at the end of the issue proper. It makes me question things a bit. We know from All-In that this is a universe where Darkseid wins and everything is topsy-turvy. Heroes have been stripped of everything, and villains seemingly are doing pretty well for themselves. And that makes me think two things: 1, Isn't this just another attempt at the Dark Multiverse, but boiled down a bit better? And 2, is constraining your new universe to this dichotomy, as this issue presents it, ultimately going to limit this universe's potential to stand on its own?

This was so dope, man. My expectations for this were so high and I was still blown away. I probably looked insane whilst reading this book, as a large, toothy grin spread on my face 5 pages in and kept through till the very end. And I feel like that is only fitting for a book called Absolute Carnage.

Still really into it.

Man, that ending.

Still loving this.

This was a really good finale.

I really enjoyed this. Just really fun body horror, with homages to plenty of classic horror movies. Just so much fun.

This was pretty good, but also needless.

I really enjoyed this. Makes me excited for the new Ghost Rider book.

This is just explaining how Hulk got involved in Absolute Carnage. I hope we still get Immortal VenomHulk, despite the ending implying that Devil Hulk wants nothing to do with the symbiote. I mean, VenomHulk is still cool, but the Immortal variant is infinitely cooler.

I liked this, despite some clunky dialogue. Especially the Hawkeye parts.

I liked this. I thought it was a fun one-shot. I wonder what this Weapon Plus stuff will inevitably amount to, it's pretty odd. But I can't say I'm not excited for what's next.

This was a fine tie-in, but definitely not necessary.

I thought this was okay. Deadpool's hard to get right and I'm not sure that Frank Tieri does it. But I'm hoping that the next issue will be something better.

I liked this more than issue one, definitely.

This was fine.

Lol, fuckin' Demogoblin. I'm sorry, Demagoblin.

I was less impressed by Demagoblin this time.

The best thing about this issue is how Deathlok kinda looks like Deadshot from far away.

Pretty good issue, but not the most essential. That'll probably change with the next two issues.

This was neat.

Probably the ever-so-slight strongest of the bunch. Mostly because it just feels like an issue of Miles Morales, with Carnage undertones. The ending was pretty much what I expected it to be. I wonder how that ends up playing into the main event.

Eh, it's a Scream comic.

This is about the same as last issue for me. It's a Scream comic. I don't expect much of anything.

This was pretty good. But nothing special.

So far this event has been better than I expected it to be. That's the power of a great creative team given a whole lot of slop.

This event, as a whole, feels like a more competent version of the lackluster events DC has been plagued with since Infinite Frontier (Not that Death Metal was good, just that these newer events have a feel to them that Death Metal did not). It always seems like these events are an afterthought. DC doesn't really seem to have a plan, but the quarter is about over, and they needed some extra cash. Everything from the start of Infinite Frontier has led to this point and... when you look back at the journey, do you feel like it was worthwhile? I don't. And this finale kinda exemplifies why. We don't really get a conclusion here, not a real one. Sure, Amanda Waller is stopped and the day is momentarily saved, but did the characters really learn anything they didn't already know? Even Waller is just sorta brain damaged to end her reign. She never has to confront what she did, or learn a lesson. She goes down screaming into a camera, a maniacal super-villain that pales in comparison to what the character once was. Ultimately, nothing is really challenged. No characters have to confront an inner conflict. It's just smashing until the end where the one group has successfully smashed the other. It feels mindless. These events just come and go, and they're becoming so very tiring.

Shout out to Κυανό for the most unhinged review of the year. I mostly liked this. I just wish the ending had more teeth to it. I felt like maybe they were setting up Dreamer and Jon to be an item, but maybe they're just great friends. Either way, it would've been exciting for this clash between Jon and Jay to have more oomph and consequence. Maybe they should've broken up here. Jay as a character seems like a vestige of Taylor's Superman run, carried over but not really needed or wanted. We could give Jon some interesting pathos by doing it as well, as he often seems just as stagnant. But I guess a little hand-waving and "Oh, you"s is enough to get over your mother's assassination.

Desperate for real Waller characterization. Absolutely starved.

This mini lost me as it went on. Even with some sense of real characterization, the writer couldn't help but really turn Waller into a mustache twirler.

Absolute Wonder Woman does what I've been begging the main book to do. The problem with the main book is that Wonder Woman is treated as basically an alien. She doesn't really understand our world despite living in it for.... decades. She speaks weird and she's very, very incongruent in her actions. It's like Tom King has not yet threaded the needle on consistent characterization. He has these moments in his mind that may showcase aspects of her personality, but the connective tissue is lacking. So you get an overly stoic, frustrating character to read about. Kelly Thompson is much, much better at characterization and dialogue, even if you feel she leans into the comedic side too often. She's also a woman, which I don't usually like to make a point of, because I think the idea that you have to be of a certain group to write that group effectively is really lazy, pandering and plain wrong. However, in this specific instance, I believe that it's really helping because Kelly Thompson doesn't have a cookie cutter archetype "othering" of a strong woman, fresh out of the Supergirl oven. She writes her characters with a lot more empathy than that, so this issue, we get that badass, strong Wonder Woman that she needs to be, but not at the expense of well-rounded characterization. All in the span of a single issue! And I'm not saying Tom King hates women or characters, I am only saying that in the writing hierarchy of what's most important to him, characters come last. That's why theme and plot frequently and disjointedly stomp out the characters in favor of The Point. It's also why King is great on unknown, dead or indie characters. With Kelly Thompson, I can tell you from reading a ton of her work, characters come first. The plot might even suffer for the characters, if need be. That's what we need on Wonder Woman right now, because she's currently stuck in this archetypal hellscape crafted by the mediocre 2017 movie that couldn't even support itself in the 2020 sequel. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the art by Hayden Sherman. It's maybe not as clean as some other art, but it's bursting with personality, which is very important. So far, it seems like the main line might just be pigeon-holed by the iron grip of editorial, if what comes out of the far more creative-focused line excels so effortlessly.

I think this is horrible and completely antithetical to the previous run.

Slightly above meh. The Question returns and I hope Bendis realizes he's not Rorschach, but that's for later issues. We'll see. I'm not very interested in the Metropolis crime world so far. None of the characters are particularly original. Clark is very happy about staying separated from his wife and child for reasons... It doesn't fit the Rebirth Superman run, but who cares?? Bendis pokes fun at One More Day because he's never done anything like that. I mean, if you ignore his last five years at Marvel at least. Oh, and his first year at DC if you remember last issue. Of course Red Cloud is one of the OCs Bendis introduced for his Superman run. No one saw that coming. No one. And I guess the stuff with the firefighter is something. The only reason this isn't a straight 5 is because the art is really good. Action Comics is just a dull series.

This series is too busy trying to establish these new characters created for this run, so there's not a ton left for Superman to do. He lets the villain go because Red Mist truly deserves more than one arc. She's the golden child of Leviathan for no particularly good reason. Much like Superman, this arc didn't really end, it just stopped. I was excited to see more Question this time around, after his appearance last issue, but he's not here, making his appearance feel all the more like filler. Despite all this, there were a few good moments, like Superman using his X-Ray vision and when he consoles the fire chief. But overall, still a lackluster issue.

This sure was a thing that exists. I think Lois is being insanely irresponsible, and her character usually isn't that. The stuff with Jimmy was fine, although Perry White comes across like J. Jonah Jameson, if he didn't know how to properly berate someone. The hell is "Out of this multiverse"? I'm severly uninterested in the plot revolving around the blue bombs, assumedly set by Leviathan. This issue was like a clip show, of all sorts of plots, but none very interesting.

This was yet another installment in a comic series that sure does exist. I'm not feeling anything for any of this. I'm pathetically apathetic about this whole thing. The tease at the end of more Question pulled at my care strings just a little, but if it's like last time where he cameos and then disappears again, I'm going to upset. I'll be doubly upset if he does play a major role and is written horrendously. At which point, I will look back on his first appearance as a blessing and never call back to it again when discussing this series and its letdowns.

I don't know what it is. Maybe something just clicked. I've found Bendis' writing really annoying lately. Before I thought it was lame and tired, but now I'm legitimately distressed when I read these comics.

Could we get a move on here? I know this says part four, but I feel like it's been going on for at least a three years now. We have plenty of page space to dedicate to Lois musing about undercover work and a random Checkmate callback, but not enough for actual plot. I'm sure this won't be as annoying in trade, but when I'm waiting month to month and I just want to be done with this storyline (which haha, is not going anywhere anytime soon), I get frustrated by how slow everything is. This wouldn't be as much of an issue if the character work was stronger, but it's Bendis so it's not. We just get asides and Bendis speak.

There was one Huntress line here about Talia and I legitimately cannot tell whether it's a typo or not. That's how much the dialogue has worsened. The story itself sure does exist, but it's incredibly slow and I'm completely underwhelmed by all of this.

This was such a pain to read. Bendis' dialogue simply doesn't make any goddamn sense sometimes. The art isn't great. I'm usually not one to be bothered by lackluster art, but the faces here were troubling. This issue was a boring, wordy """tie-in""" and I regret reading it.

There's no real progress here. We already knew that Leviathan was teleporting people through Event Leviathan. This book is a terrible bore because the plot is moving along at a glacial pace and most likely won't even be resolved in this book.

God this is boring.

I don't care about Naomi.

How do I put this nicely? I don't care. I don't care about the Red Cloud. I don't care about Bendis' Court of Owls. I don't care about Naomi. I don't care about anything Bendis is doing here. He's just as tired as his writing, from the looks of it. Only way I can rationalize the constant repetition in his work. And I don't just mean the dialogue. Characters, plots, all recycled again and again and again. I don't care.

This is a goddamn mess.

This was such a mess. The writing and plot are all over the place. It's like Bendis forgot how structure works. Every new development falls flat and makes me dislike this book more. The art is atrocious. Henry Abrams meet JrJr, and let's have a conversation about nepotism.

This issue is poorly paced and if the moments Bendis wanted to land had any chance of doing so at the scripting stage, the ungodly art made certain that they would not.

This story feels like it's going nowhere. Every single Bendis book feels like a rehash of another Bendis book. I feel like we've seen Young Justice do this like twelve times now, and I know we haven't, but everything blends together into a godawful mess. And on top of that, John Romita Jr's art is abysmal. All those action pages may as well have been 60s Batman onomatopoeia. I couldn't really tell you how panels connected or what was happening. This is an atrocious issue. I hope this series sheds readers fast.

This comic makes me want to hang myself.

This is just such a mess. You can have comics with multiple stories running through them. Those stories can be very complicated and nuanced too. You can do it! I've seen it done! But by "you", I don't mean Bendis. I don't remember his other work being quite so convoluted and embarrassing. I think this is a new frontier for Bendis' decline. Sure, he's had runs where plot details are barely explained or referenced, and seemingly slapped together in a haze of smug. But this is just on a whole new level. It'd be impressive if I didn't have to read it. And you know what doesn't help a written mess? Adding messy art to it. John Romita Jr. did some great work back in... 2000. His run with J. Michael Straczynski on Amazing Spider-Man was honestly good. I compared that series with the last issue of this title, and the difference is palpable. It's unfortunate, but JRJr is past his prime, and giving him a book with multiple look alike characters makes it all the more evident that we're in for a convoluted saga that will progressively get worse. There's one page near the end of this issue that made me feel dizzy. It was the page with the Kents and a bunch of headshots of the various Supermen. It gave me a headache. This series makes me feel shitty.

This is a slog. I think the story is just... All over the place. I can't bring myself to care about what's happening. It seems like Bendis has so much that he wants to tell, that he can't figure out how to tell it. The art, as always, is mostly terrible aside from one or two bright spots... An inverse of JRJr in his prime. This is just a terrible comic and DC really needs to let Bendis go to a book that may be marginally more suited to him.

There is so much talking in this issue, and most of the time it's inane bullshit. But this issue actually managed to work for two or three pages. It was an amazing spectacle, you should've been there. When Superman had to deal with death, it honestly worked for me. I didn't think Bendis was capable of that anymore but, turns out, he is. Now, I'm not entirely sure why the Invisible Mafia did it? It seems like a self defeating plan. I also could not care less about what's happening with the Daily Planet. But like, those two or three pages gave this issue a boost. It's not going to be a good score, but it'll be better than what Action Comics usually gets.

I wish this comic wasn't such a mess.

This issue is worthless. The Superman family pages are spent mostly regurgitating a plot synopsis at us, or repeatedly telling us the current situation as though we'd forget between pages. And then the stuff at the Daily Planet is genuinely pointless. Nothing is revealed. Ms. Leone just continues saying the same things over and over again, as if she knew she had to cue up the cliffhanger, but couldn't time it correctly. The only reason to read this issue is to find out how Superman and the others defeat that monster, and it's not worth it. You can skip this issue and not miss a thing.

Oh, this is just so poorly written. I don't understand. But I also don't care. The resolution of the Daily Planet stuff has already been known for literal months. And I still hate the Multiverse concept from Lois Lane, which I guess must be resolved now even though we get barely any answers? Whose terrible idea was that? Bendis or Rucka? This is just the worst and there's another whole issue after this! Ugh.

I don't want to talk about this anymore.

This wasn't bad, but I'm having trouble being interested?

The main story has a lot of potential, but it's not quite there yet. I'm optimistic, however, since I do like the idea of Superman facing his mortality. The backup was fiiiine. I just didn't find it very interesting. I do like the tone of the Midnighter backups, however, and that remained consistent here.

Not a bad issue.

I don't have much to say about this one. It's fine. I think the part about abuse and the way that was handled was... relatively decent. However, I find myself apathetic. I was excited for the sea kaiju. Not because I care, but rather because action means the issue is going to move along faster and end quicker. That's not a great place to be. The Midnighter backup is also kind of nebulously okay. It feels like a necessary part of the story, but not an entirely rewarding part of the story.

I liked the politics at the beginning of the issue. I'm just like it way more than punching, for some reason. It's my hobby, I guess. The latter half of the issue isn't quite so interesting to me, hence the lower rating. I just find that part of it... The Warworld part... pretty boring.

This was a better issue. I really like the tenseness of the stuff with the super-family and Atlantis. I would read a comic like that every week. The stuff at the Fortress of Solitude is way less interesting. It just doesn't match that feeling I want from this title. The backup is... crazy, and I'm glad it's almost over.

Eh. This was pretty good, but I have kind of disinterest in this whole plot line. I wish we focused more on the political stuff that kept the superfamily busy this whole arc. It's just so much more interesting than Warworld. The backup was fine but I'm really sick of these backups altogether. It's just a waste of time and money.

You know, I went into this with a ton of cynicism after all the buildup, most of which I felt was either boring, bad or unnecessary. Buuut, this is actually really well done and I'm actually excited about this one now. I hope it lives up to this first issue.

This is a good issue, but it didn't hit as hard as the last one. Even though, by any measure, it had bigger moments in it. Also, petty drama, Merlyn is legitimately stupid. Like, sure that could be assessed through much of what he's said, but like... oh my god, his review here is... very telling. That one should go on the subreddit.

I really loved the main story. It was very well written and has sold me on this Warworld story. It truly feels hopeless, which in turn really sells Superman's heart. I can't wait to read the next one. On the other hand, the backup really feels unimportant. I don't connect with it. I think it is a waste of money. The sooner DC drops the backups, the better.

This is becoming such a great comic. It feels like PKJ was just gearing up for this one since the run started, and everything that came before this was necessary, yet not quite so exciting reading. I appreciate it in hindsight. I would rate this even higher but the Martian Manhunter backup is really not engaging with me.

I really enjoy the main story here. I think it captures Superman's character very well. It's all tonally consistent. The story is dark, but Superman isn't Zack Snydering his way across the page. It's just really well done, and I wish I had a more interesting way to say that. The backup is... out of place. It doesn't hit anywhere close to the height of the main story. It's a very basic feeling Martian Manhunter story. Yet another point towards DC dropping backups instead of charging a dollar more for their comics.

This is a good issue, but I can't help but think it's a slight downgrade from what's come before. It mostly has to do with this issue focusing mostly on Midnighter. The hopeful side of this story isn't really present, because Superman isn't. Part of what makes this story work is that despite how grimy and dark, and depressing everything is, that hopeful element is still there. Without that, the story just feels a little bit empty. It's still well-written, and the art is nice, however. The backup isn't worth your time. It's a very boiler-plate superhero story about Martian Manhunter. I'm not sure why DC is insistent on backups in these titles, when they're so often not worth it.

There are some great character moments here for Superman that make up for a story that doesn't move forward much. I really loved the art though. I think the backup was fine, but I really can't get behind backups as a concept still. Not to be a broken record, but after more than a year, I still feel like these backups are wasted time and money. The stories have to be small, or oddly structured, to work within the constraints of the format, and it leads to very safe, and rather boring stories. I'd rather just get a normal issue.

This is a solid issue of Action Comics. PKJ manages to tell an engaging story that I didn't expect. The art change is done well. There's not much to say. The backup is also much better than the last one. I'm fine with backups as long as they serve the story being told, such as here.

This issue feels like the plot is really beginning to coalesce. After months of build up, the steps taken in this issue feel earned. I was critical of the early parts of PKJ's run, and I stand by that because this current arc sort of cements my problems with those early issues. Those issues tried to tell a higher concept story but without the methodical pacing of this arc. We were thrown into the unknown, alien concepts without any sort of acclimation, and then we were gone before there was any chance at adjustment. I would really like to know if that initial crossover between the two Superman titles was originally intended, or if Bendis left earlier than expected.

A slight but noticeable downgrade from the last issue. While I am still enjoying the main story, it was a slight bit of jumbled this go around. I did really enjoy the ending though, and I hope it delivers next issue. The backup was really enjoyable. It had a nostalgic feeling to it for some reason, even though it's supplementary to the main story. It just hit the right notes for me, random as that is.

This issue manages to capture what makes Superman such an endearing hero.

This is, for the most part, just a celebration of Superman's unending optimism and I'm here for it. I just really like a an unabashedly positive Superman, that isn't bogged down by terrible side plots. Which is rarer than you'd think.

Not quite as great as the last issue, but still solid.

This was a really good issue. I really like where Superman seems to be heading. Also, all these people comparing this issue to the Daredevil story are outing themselves as fake comic book fans. Real fans remember when Spider-Man did it.

This first Dawn of DC title is a really good start. PKJ's run continues to be really engaging, even as the cast expands. The Jurgens story with young Jon manages to capture the spirit of the Rebirth era. The Leah Williams story with Powergirl was a bit too wordy, but the concept is actually pretty neat so far. Also, it's actually starting to get kind of obnoxious that people are still refusing to accept that Jon has been aged up and he will never be a ten year old again. I mean, never say never, but Jon being turned into a bisexual character basically secures his age up forever. DC simply won't revert his age, because of the questions and blowback it would get. At this point, the only people more obsessed with Jon's age after four years than these people are on sex offender registries.

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I enjoyed the way Constantine was written in this. I'm a big proponent for the idea that Constantine should not interact with capes, however if you are going to do that, this is the way you write him. Unimpressed and annoyed.

I usually find Bizarro stories annoying to read, as the Bizarro speak is almost never consistent. It was here, as far as I could tell, so points up for that. It's about what I'd expect from Aaron, lots of entrenched lore references that don't really require any real knowledge, and a sort of epic feeling. That makes me sound like I disliked this, but I didn't.

Look, Aaron has his tropes and they're very present in this set of issues. Some other brave comic fan could probably place pages upon pages of very different comics together for comparison and notice the very apparent repetitious use of tropes. For instance, in order to establish scale, Aaron will often point to disparate locations and people and show how they react to an incident. He did it in this story, and he did it Avengers, and he did it a lot in Thor. It worked better in Thor since Aaron's prose has a sort of mythic vibe to it, which is well complimented in Thor. In a Bizarro story, it doesn't quite work as well. This isn't a bad story, nor is it nearly as exciting as I'm guessing the editors at DC wanted. It's pretty good. It's fun enough. I don't have much to say about it.

This is the best issue in this arc. Aaron lets loose a bit and manages to give us a bit of a unique ending.

This brief stint by Simone and Rowell made for a very solid set of Superman stories. There's a nostalgic beat to Simone's story that I really enjoy and Rowell's story, while slightly dragging in the middle, does what Rowell does best: delivers on that juicy character drama.

I really like Waid's voice on this first issue. It feels very confident. The backup by Tamaki poses questions, which are somewhat interesting, although I'm not hooked.

I do not find the House of El future very interesting. It kind of reminds me of that alien race from the most recent Superman arc, also written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson. It's just a whole lot of information about these new(ish) characters and no reason to care. The best thing about this issue is Cyborg Superman's inclusion, and that should say something.

Pretty convoluted and not very satisfying as an ending.

This was a well done annual. With the benefit of hindsight, there is a question of what the overall point of this annual was. I understand it as a singular piece but as part of the Warworld Saga, I haven't felt its importance. On its own, I think that both stories are well written, with the slight edge being given to Mongul's story, actually. I just felt it was more interesting, even if it fell for the usual savagery tropes that you typically see. Not to say Clark's story is remarkably worse. I do have a question though: Is Martha having cancer a new wrinkle in the canon, or is that something brought back from a now-forgotten story? I felt like it was weird how much it was both the catalyst for the story, and also how much it felt glossed over, like the reader should already know. Like it isn't a new development. That's why I ask, I'm not incredibly familiar with Superman's history. The art is great, of course. Both sides manage to tell their stories deftly.

I guess I was the only slightly disappointed by how rushed this final issue for PKJ's run was? I liked it, it was good, but I don't think the ending was supposed to come this soon.

This was a really engaging, really smartly written comic filled with some incredibly stupid fun ideas.

A fitting end to the Warworld Saga. I really hope that wherever PKJ's run goes next, that it can maintain the quality of this story. It's been a long time since Superman has been this good. Let's keep it up.

A fine story, but nothing to praise really.

This was a lot better than I expected. The chemistry between Frank and JJJ is actually really great. And the ending managed to be a bit poignant, even.

Neither story here was particularly well written. This annual is less about Venom than it is about Lady Hellbender, a character whose tragic backstory doesn't really help her as she bounces from cliche to seductress cliche. And the whole "villain" angle goes out the window when you already know what she actually does, which you would if you've read Totally Awesome Hulk or Monsters Unleashed. The entire origin story feels like a pointless tack on to an already pointless story being told with Venom. I don't expect that much from these Acts of Evil annuals, but this one didn't even clear my low bar. The only thing interesting (notice: I didn't say good or bad) is Venom's weird design. It's so odd that you just have to see it.

I liked this surprisingly.

This was pretty good, or maybe I just really like Bullseye.

A surprisingly good Acts of Evil annual.

This was a solid issue. Although, I prefer a more unhinged Moon Knight. This feels like Moon Knight at his most straightforward.

Meh.

This is pretty good. I hope the story gets a bit more interesting from here, but this was a good introduction.

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This is pretty good. I don't have a bad time reading it. I just don't care about what's happening. Not even in a negative way. I feel indifferent. JOIN THE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/xJz6buvNFZ MY PHYSICAL COLLECTION (FOR SHOWING OFF): https://psycamorean.libib.com/

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This miniseries had potential, but was ultimately filled with ineffective, boring, bland storytelling. The art wasn't able to elevate it, which I feel has been a hallmark of Taylor's work lately (See Redondo on Nightwing). It just doesn't do anything to progress the narrative or the characters. And it isn't a fun read regardless of that. It's just bland. Who cares? JOIN THE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/xJz6buvNFZ MY PHYSICAL COLLECTION (FOR SHOWING OFF): https://psycamorean.libib.com/

I really wish this series would have a story worth caring about. This is the same problem that Supersons fell into. The characters' chemistry works but for some reason, Tomasi just can't figure out an intriguing story to go along with it. Plus, the pacing of this series is all over the place. We get a scene where Joker Jr. retells what we learned last time for no reason. And otherwise, there's almost no plot progression, but rather a diversion. You'd think a planned miniseries would have a tighter story, but I guess not.

I liked this issue a little more than the last. The largely mediocre main plot takes a back seat, save for a page or two, and we get an alright done in one story about Damian and Jon trapped in an alien version of the House of Mystery/Secrets... And it's fine? There's not much to say about it, to be honest.

I find this series a chore to get through each and every time it's out. It being the first issue alphabetically, and therefore the first issue I read, it actually makes me wary to read DC at all. It makes me re-evaluate my concept of what makes a good story. I always think that good characters are at the core of a good story. But then this series comes along, with its great protagonists and their great dynamic and a big ball of nothing for a plot and I'm dreading it like an impending doom. But on the other hand, it really only has the two great characters... Well, one and a half, Damian is very lucky someone tried to make him likeable... The villains suck and every character outside of the two sucks. So I can't really see this series as a definitive reason why I'm wrong in my idea of what makes a good story. I think maybe my praise in the past for the characters was a little misplaced even. This series needs a plot and villains worth caring about instead of the main two characters being dragged through what feels like last second decisions to twist and turn this three issue plot into twelve issues.

This issue was better. I wasn't completely bored by it. And at least the main arc is finally getting attention again.

Meh this is the usual Super Sons. Good protagonists but a lackluster plot that feels like it's going nowhere. I think art took a hit this issue, especially Superboy's hair. This is a frustrating read because this series has so much potential and it's continually squandered.

This was fine, but still way too bland for my tastes.

This issue was fine. I just wish this series wasn't spent on plotlines that did nothing but bring the comic down. While this main plot isn't the most exciting, either, it feels like it has some sort of weight at least.

Honestly, I'm just bored of this story. It's never really been anything that good or great. I feel like the story is throwaway. I really do enjoy the dynamic between Jon and Damian, but it's just not enough for this really disjointed and boring story.

This is a miniseries of wasted potential and boring storytelling.

Wasn't expecting much. In fact, I thought this was going to suck. But I thought it was pretty good and an easy read.

Not feeling this one.

I'm hoping these two Atlas series aren't really ongoings because they always drag me down when I know I have to read them.

This wasn't horribly written. I just have trouble finding a reason to care.

This is very mediocre.

Same as usual. The main story is quick, full of fluff and generic. The backup is poorly written, mostly due to the page count restraints, I believe. I'm glad it wasn't that pointless, I guess. Really depends on if Atlantis Attacks holds up its end.

Wow, what to say... This issue sucks. I don't know which writer to blame, but the dialogue and the narration are so stilted. It feels like they didn't know what else to write, so they wrote the most clichéd and obvious things they could. Like it was a challenge for them. Thankfully, like with Sword Master last week, there are no more backups, so this issue went by quickly. I'm excited for this race towards cancelation.

This blows. Who is reading this? Why is it still going?

This just isn't very good.

It's been five months and I still don't like this series. Why it wasn't a casualty of COVID really boggles my mind. Not even Iron Man could make it interesting. I read somewhere that this series was originally released in much larger volumes, and that may be why barely anything happens issue to issue in the American release.

This is just a bland, bland comic. It just feels lifeless. It's not even particularly bad, it just exists.

It was a pleasant surprise to see that this title (and Sword Master) is ending with issue 12. I don't understand the appeal here and I find this series to be incredibly bland. The issue ends on a tease that I honestly wouldn't mind never being fulfilled. It features a character I barely remember. The most satisfying thing about this issue is that it's the end.

This was okay. This could be become something better but in order for that to happen, the world needs to be better defined. So much happens in this issue but we're not given enough time or information to really care about any of it.

I really found this issue boring. The action doesn't really work and the characters are not that interesting. It seemed like the same character beats kept repeating over and over. Belit is not captain, but she thinks she is. Again and again.

This issue really fails to flow and that's its biggest problem. It is getting the basics of comics wrong and it's a shame.

This is just poorly written. Any attempt at an epic story is lost in a sea of bad pacing and inconsistency. At least the art isn't as bad this go around as there's not much action for the artist to sequence break. I'm just very disappointed with this title as a whole since I know the writer can do better.

This was probably the best issue of the miniseries? I don't know what happened for the majority of this series, but this issue mostly came together and told a nice story. Weird.

This was pretty good, if a bit predictable.

Pretty good issue, albeit there isn't much to it.

I generally like the writing here. But there's a few things that bring it down for me. Typically when it comes to the flashbacks. They are written from the perspective of a young Valeria, and therefore the betrayal she mentions is outright silly, yet it's treated seriously.

This is fine, it's just not all that interesting. It falls into the trap that the previous Age of Conan miniseries fell into. It's so by the numbers.

This was fine. There were only two ways this series could end, and I honestly never anticipated the second way. But I think that's more indicative of where I placed this series in my mind. I didn't expect this ending because I thought this was going to be strictly by-the-numbers and obvious. In the end, I don't regret reading this, but I just question the purpose behind this series. Did Meredith Finch really have a story she wanted to tell, or was Marvel really insistent that they have another Conan book on the shelves?

I thought this was good. I'm more intrigued about this event now. Before I was pretty uninterested, but this dystopia caught my interest. Props to the writers for making me care a bit.

Pretty good wrap up.

Like most everything Seeley writes, this was a tepid and boring comic with inconsistent tones and dialogue. We were all having a nice time with Age of X-Man, most of the miniseries were good. This one is definitely the dud that will drag everything else down.

Man, this was a bad issue. Very little cohesion, very little forward momentum in the plot and very little substance. Too much cliché, too much clunky dialogue and too much Seeley.

If you like Seeley's crappy dialogue and writing, you'll love it.

At least things are starting to happen.

This was probably the best issue simply because I'm a sucker for villains dressing down their opponents, and Apocalypse does a good job with that here. But it all kind of falls apart in the end when the X-Tracts forgive him. I'm glad this series is over. It was easily the worst of the Age of X-Man comics.

I enjoyed this first issue. It was pretty neat how it fits with Marvelous X-Men and X-Men Disassembled. I really like Glob so I was very okay with a slower issue focused on this poor, poor dude.

I liked this a lot. Glob is the best.

This book is really fun if you like the characters.

Pretty good issue. If you like seeing these characters interact, you'll like this issue.

While rushed, I do like the idea of this final issue. Unfortunately, it didn't exactly hit the mark. This series was fun though and probably the best of the Age of X-Man stuff.

Solid first issue. Nothing really made me excited, but I had a good time reading this and I have no real problems with it.

About as good as the first. I really thought the ending was neat.

I liked this issue well enough, even if there wasn't much plot moving forward. I think it comes down to liking these characters and seeing a few of the cracks in this universe.

I liked this issue. I think it had a really nice build up and things got insane in a fun way near the end.

This was a really solid finale. It felt like an actual ending. I'm hopeful for the Omega issue a little more now.

I wasn't really excited for this one in any conceivable way. It just seemed like an uninteresting concept. But I really enjoyed this. It was great. It was over before I knew it. I don't know, it just worked really well for me and kept me hooked.

This is good. I'm excited to see where this leads, although I'm pretty sure it'll only end badly.

I know some people find it boring, but I like this miniseries. The characters are fun to read about.

I like it. I find it interesting.

This was also rushed. There are parts of this miniseries that I really enjoyed, but in the end, it seems these stories are having trouble being satisfying while still fitting the oppressive narrative that they need to.

Man, I'm into this a lot more than I thought I'd be. Age of X-Man might be cool after all.

This was pretty good, but not as good as the previous issue. The first half, especially, really dragged. Maybe that had something to do with me reading Apocalypse and the X-Tracts before this, but I really wasn't feeling it. The second half, which was more introspective with the characters, was much more interesting. That's what I want from this title.

Overall, I enjoyed this issue. I think things are just moving way too slow here. Not enough is happening to hold my interest and the world itself is becoming less and less interesting the more we see it.

This seems like it isn't really going anywhere. The pacing is a big issue.

This was good. I don't think this idea was executed to its full potential but it did enough to keep me reading. Overall, this miniseries was just like the event itself. They didn't really know what to do with it and so we get a lot of great ideas but mediocre execution.

This has an interesting premise, but I wasn't very into the execution. The art was too rough for me and I feel like some of the characterizations were rushed, if that makes sense. Also, it's odd that Blob is much more reasonable here than he was in NextGen. That type of disparate characterization could be the downfall of this type of event. Let's hope this gets on track with issue 2.

While Blob is still much more sympathetic here than in other Age of X-Man miniseries, I was able to look past it for a really good issue. This was a big jump from issue one and I'm glad it got back on track.

I liked this issue. I found the characters interesting enough, even if some of the dialogue felt off. And I like that they're not just ignoring the Betsy body-swap from Hunt For Wolverine and that it's still having a lasting effect on the character's mental state.

Really shoddily written and drawn, honestly. I see what they were trying to do, but the pacing didn't work and neither did the mostly out of nowhere focus on Jean Paul.

This wasn't too bad. I feel like this series just became so disjointed after issue 3. I do think, despite that, this has the most solid ending as any of the miniseries ended yet.

There are good elements but ultimately, this is a tiring read.

Better than issue one for sure. Still not that into it, however.

Meh. Things happen.

This is so frustrating because there's what could be a good story, buried under way too many characters, self-indulgent dialogue and plenty of tired tropes.

This miniseries has no ending. It just leads into the next miniseries. I don't really want to read more, but I guess now I have no choice. This miniseries, like the War of the Realms tie-in before it, is bloated with too many characters, and not the best story.

SPOILERS I was put onto this book by a Bleeding Cool article. This should have been my first sign that what I was about to read would be twisted. To be even more specific, the article was about the prequel/sequel to this book, Providence. This book was just a means to get to "The Watchmen of Horror". Avatar Press did a recent reprinting of the trade paperback for Neonomicon (which by the way, has a terrible cover compared to literally any of the covers or gallery art inside), and I snatched it up with Providence as well. I went into this mostly blind, with the general idea that Moore was going to deconstruct and examine HP Lovecraft. As someone who enjoys Lovecraft, I was interested in this. And on the other side of this initial volume, I can say Moore did exactly that. I have a lot of genuine love for this book and the concepts therein, but I think that Moore intended to do something that I find a bit problematic. I don't think he made a mistake or stumbled here. I think it was deliberate. Moore is a great writer, who puts so much thought into every single thing he does that I can't reasonably say he failed to notice the larger implication of some of what he does in this book. Packaged with Neonomicon is something called The Courtyard. It is a comic book adaptation of a prose story that Alan Moore had written in the 90s. I'll get it out of the way now: The Courtyard is the best part of Neonomicon. The prose is so good, what we get of it. The story has just the right amount of intrigue in such a slim, succinct package. Moore had a fun story to tell with Lovecraftian elements, and it's executed near flawlessly. I'd be remiss if I didn't give credit to Antony Johnston, who no doubt did a fabulous job with the adaptation. Aldo Sax is an Nazi asshole, and the immediate comparisons and inspirations from Lovecraft himself are apparent. His brash, no nonsense (while obsessed with nonsense) narration works so well. I am telling you, Moore doesn't miss with this. The breach into insanity that comes with Aklo is an explosive affair followed by a spiral descent that takes the reader with it, and the consequences of it hit hard. It has Pulp in its veins. It just works. If this is all we ever got from this world Moore created, I'd be wholly satisfied. It's yet another example of Moore's incredible ability. However, Moore had some taxes to pay off, so he decided to continue the story with Neonomicon. This isn't to say that this book was a rush job, or that it's bad, or that it's corrupted by the motives behind its inception. I just think it's worth noting. This story takes place in the aftermath of the last, and focuses on two FBI agents picking up the pieces where our previous protagonist left off. Gordon Lamper and Merril Brears. Lamper is the lesser of the two characters. His role is meaty, sure, but he's there more to play off of Merril than to have his own arc. Merril is a sex addict who is finally back on the job to investigate a sex cult. Neonomicon is definitely more involved than Courtyard was. The deconstruction begins in earnest here. It really helps to understand Lovecraft as a person for this one. There are moments where characters will talk about him and his work, and Sax as a stand-in, at the end, basically spells it out. I just really think it helps to stomach the explicit nature of this story. Lovecraft was a fearful man. Not just of blacks and browns, or other minorities, but of sex and the unknown. And those last two frequently overlapped because Lovecraft was fairly asexual. So, the broader point of this story is that the Lovecraft mythos is not only real, and Lovecraft just wrote about it, but that it manifests through a sort of biblical way. Merril's womb is R'lyeh and she's going to birth Cthulhu into the world, to destroy everything. That's what this story sums up to be. How it gets to that point is the more frustrating element. Merril and Gordon are investigating Johnny Carcosa, who was introduced in The Courtyard, as the person selling Aklo. Of course, he's not actually a person, but an avatar for Nyarlathotep. An Outer God who sows chaos and madness, in an attempt to enact the will of the other Outer Gods. Which is exactly what he does here, as the investigation into him leads these FBI agents towards a sex cult in Innsmouth. They attempt to go undercover as patrons of Lovecraft and sex, only to be outted in the midst of an orgy they have no interest in taking part of. This leads to Gordon being shot dead, and Merril being raped by cultists. Eventually, this raises the orgone levels enough to summon one of the Deep Ones, a race of creatures that frequently develop relationships with human communities, in order to trade treasures for subservience. In this instance, the Deep One has sex with the cultists for pleasure. However, it takes a unique interest in their new captive, Merril. So, the cultists keep her locked away with it, where it then rapes her for several days. Eventually, she pisses in front of it, and it tastes the pee. This leads to it breaking her out of captivity and saving her from the cultists. She immediately sends in the FBI, who kill the monster and the cultists. At least the ones still left after the monster turned on them. So, if it's not clear what happened here, here's a summary: The sex addicted woman is raped by sex cultists and then by a fish monster, who impregnates her with Cthulhu. The piss tasting was like a pregnancy test. After this, Merril becomes a confident woman, no longer struggling, and she wants to take out the world. This is problematic to me. Again, for the third time, Merril is a sex addict. The story has a weird hangup about it too. Like, she's constantly reminded of it by others. It comes up a lot. And then she goes through this severely traumatic experience involving sex, only to come out stronger for it? Very odd. And yeah, Moore adds some dialogue in there that basically makes it sound like Merril is being controlled by the Cthulhu growing in her womb. But that's said at the end of the story, so for at least an issue and a half, she's slowly warming up to this creature and exudes a new confidence, inexplicably, through her rape and trauma. Big ol' yikes for that one. Now, there is something to counterbalance that. Moore isn't a hack, as much as he loves to use rape as a device in storytelling. Why is everything so explicit? Why is there a sex cult, whose orgy is so incredibly lascivious, to the point where they just burst with excitement at the size of a fish monster's penis, and how giant his load is? Well, there's a moment in the story while Merril is being raped where she has a vision, meeting with Johnny Carcosa. He basically tells her she's to be the bearer of Cthulhu, and that the Outer Gods respect her a ton. He also says that the sex cult is not with them, and that they are sorry for that whole ordeal. Lovecraft was asexual and afraid of an inherently feminine form of sexuality. That's why Merril's womb is R'lyeh. That's why later she has a dream, where Lovecraft is screaming as a tentacle begins to come out from inside her. The imagery is apparent. This is also why everything is so goddamn explicit. The story is taking cues from Lovecraft by inverting his style of leaving things ambiguous and undescribed. The cultists, self proclaimed super fans of Lovecraft, embody what he fears and hates. The rape, as hard as it is to see and read, is part of the larger deconstruction of Lovecraft. Make no mistake, Moore (and Burrows) knew exactly what they were doing, and put a lot of thought into what went onto the page. As easy as it'd be to disregard this story as smut or cruel nonsense, it really isn't. It's smart! It's just incredibly uncomfortable. I'm stuck with a book that I really enjoy. The ideas are so interesting. I want to see more. I'm going to read Providence as soon as I can. But... I cannot recommend this to anyone, really. It's just so gross, and the intentional nature of it doesn't change anything about that. I really think this is a great comic and I hope that enough people were able to see that when they read it. It's better than Watchmen.

Noting that Tim Sheridan is the writer behind the clusterfuck Red X reveals over in Titans Academy really shows how much better they are at breaking down reveals and twists now in this book. It's still a bit cliche and this story isn't anything you haven't seen as much as people whine about how it's ruining comics or whatever, but it's an enjoyable issue, I think.

A fairly effective issue. I would rate it a 10 to make the homophobes mad, but I realize it's what they live for and I think they should die.

This was a solid miniseries with some good representation. It was never a top series for me, but I didn't have a bad time reading it. Don't let the clearly hate-inspired reviews throw you off. Give it a shot.

Oh man, the art really isn't good. Everyone looks stiff and inhuman. The only thing that Salvador Larroca can draw well is the aliens.. For the most part. The story is a lot of build up and it mostly works. With a better artist, this would be a good first issue. But I cannot stress how much the art brings down what's actually a pretty good script.

The art takes so much away from this story. The writing is, on its own, not bad. With an effective artist this could be a fun series. Instead, we get duds like that last page. So unfortunate.

Man, if the art was good, this could be a very good Alien comic. Right now though, it's very mediocre. Do better, Marvel.

This would be a good book if much better artists were working on it. Salvador Larroca deserves a lot of the blame, but let's not be greedy with that blame because the colorist, GURU-eFX, should also take a good helping of it. Especially considering this artistic pairing has been turning in awful work together for years, almost as though they have a pact to keep propel themselves into work, despite their meager ability. But even then, let's not forget the editor, Jake Thomas. He made the awful choice of giving these artists their jobs. He's behind most of the Marvel comics you think are mediocre. He has a few good things under his belt, but he really is hit or miss. And this series right here is a miss. I can only guess that this title needed a quick turn around so they cut corners on one of the most important parts of comics, the art. It's maddening.

I really hate the art in this book, and it's a shame we aren't getting a reprieve for the next arc. I find myself regretfully interested in the story, which is probably not the feeling anyone working on this series wants its readers to feel.

The problem with this issue is the same as all of them. The writing isn't bad, but god damn, Salvador Larroca just does this book no favors at all. The art is terrible. You need a good artist on the horror comic, Marvel.

This is a genuinely cool idea, even if the setup was kind of a chore to get through. The art is really what kills this book. Larroca is terrible and Marvel should not hire him, especially for a book like Alien that *needs* great art. I was hoping a new arc would mean a different, better artist, but unfortunately, being a tracer means you can keep up with deadlines for an extended period of time. I just feel bad for PKJ, since his writing had to be paired with the lowest grade of comic book art out there.

This could be a really fun story, but the art is absolutely terrible. There are plenty of panels and pages here, where it's genuinely difficult to derive the motion and the actions intended. It's absurd that Salvador Larroca keeps his job. I feel bad because I think the story might be pretty good, and even elevated by a kickass art team. Unfortunately, Larroca drags literally everyone else down with him. Marvel, I think we're all begging you to kick this fucker to the curb. At least put him on a book where the art isn't what makes or breaks it... wait that's most comics, isn't it?

It's a shame because this is a fairly well-written, if heavy handed, issue. The problem is that the art cheapens everything. The art in this series in unacceptable, especially for a visceral horror series like Alien is. I just don't understand why we haven't gotten an artist change yet. This criticism isn't unique to me or new. Everyone seems to agree that the art sucks. Marvel should improve their product.

This has a lot of potential to be a really intriguing story. The idea of a cult-like religion surrounding the corporate commodification of the xenomorph sounds really rad. It sounds like something Ridley Scott wishes he could write. However, every moment is hampered by the art. I cannot stress this enough. This could be a great comic if not for Salvador Larroca's art. I don't mind being harsh about it, either. Larroca is known for tracing his way through issues, and has been serving up barely competent art for years now. He should stop tracing and actually draw his comics (which he used to do) or he shouldn't have a job in this industry.

I really don't know what to say here. Or at least, what new things I could say. The same problems persist, and it's almost solely on the art side of things. Larroca kills this book, in a terrible way. Horror is all about tone, and that means there needs to be strong artwork to grip the reader. Larroca may as well be a stock image search. It really takes me out of what is a pretty solid Alien story. And I know Alien as a horror concept is kind of objectionable, if only because the series continually tries to be more than that. But the pseudo-sexual, black bug monster is outright terrifying in concept, and you can't just sap out the horror inherent there... but you can try, and it's safe to say Larroca might be trying to. The twist is pretty obvious, but again, PKJ is doing a solid job.

...I don't even know what to say beyond the usual. The art is terrible, but the story is pretty good. I really hope the relaunch has better art. It is crucial.

Okay, art aside, this is a good story. This is something that was, frankly, missing from the first arc. It gave me legitimate feelings of dread, and even the abhorrent art couldn't stop it. PKJ nailed this one. That being said, the art is trash and I'm so glad Larroca is gone. I'm not familiar with the name of the artist taking over, but I pray to Weyland-Yutani that they're better than Larroca. It shouldn't be hard to top him, right?

It's great to see an Alien comic with quality art. It's a shame that the writing in this issue is... a bit slow. It's an interesting idea, and maybe it'll become a more rewarding read in the future. At least now there's a potential for some really cool storytelling and art! That's an upgrade.

Nothing much to say. PKJ's run on Alien ends on a whimper. That's a shame since this guy is fully capable of building worlds and epic stories, and that's not present in this run.

As much as I think PKJ's Alien run was shot in the foot the moment Salvador Larroca was put on art duties, and never really managed to hit its stride, I'm kind of glad it's over and we're getting a clean start with a brand new take. Shalvey has always been more of an artist in my mind, but he's a perfectly competent writer as well. The art isn't amazing, but it's still an improvement. I hope that Marvel quits relaunching this title. The Alien title has been at Marvel for over two years at this point, and I still feel like we've yet to really go anywhere with the property. JOIN THE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/xJz6buvNFZ MY PHYSICAL COLLECTION (FOR SHOWING OFF): https://psycamorean.libib.com/

JOIN THE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/xJz6buvNFZ MY PHYSICAL COLLECTION (FOR SHOWING OFF): https://psycamorean.libib.com/

JOIN THE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/xJz6buvNFZ MY PHYSICAL COLLECTION (FOR SHOWING OFF): https://psycamorean.libib.com/

This fell off. I don't think the storytelling works here. Like, in a mechanical sense. The art doesn't do a great job with it, unfortunately.

Love the cover of this one. I think the stakes were raised a bit too fast, ironic given the slow speed this story has been unfolding thus far. But the reveals here are neat, and I'm having a fun enough time. JOIN THE DISCORD: https://discord.gg/xJz6buvNFZ MY PHYSICAL COLLECTION (FOR SHOWING OFF): https://psycamorean.libib.com/

I mostly agree with AmericanHealthcare here, although I'd be less harsh to the Conan stuff from a few years back. I think Alien just isn't a good fit for the sensibilities that Marvel has at the moment. Alien needs good pacing, for one, and Marvel's constant breaking up volumes is not helping that. Maybe the key here is to give this title to someone who's extensively well-versed in horror comics? And please, for the love of everything that is holy, do not get Tynion on Alien. I mean anyone but Tynion. Please.

This issue is a mixed bag, as is the curse of all anthologies, but there's some promising stuff here. Really hoping that the multi-part story echoes Lenin's bolshevik revolution and what an anti-socialist mess that turned into. 🙏 The Hunt story was the weakest of the bunch. I've been listening to the No Sleep podcast recently as spooky stories tend to be my jam, and the process they have for picking stories must be pretty lax. This Hunt story reminds me of so many of those lesser stories, in that it feels like the writer had a punchy ending in mind, with some sort of moral conviction attached, and it didn't really mean much in the end. Yeah, I'm comparing this story to a Creepypasta, essentially. That's mad disrespect, I know. The Maternal Instincts story was cute though. A wholesome Alien romp. In an anthology named after blood.

The Utopia story continues to be the most engaging thing here, and it seems obvious why Marvel chose it as the ongoing story of this run. Otherwise, Paul Jenkins writes a surprisingly hacky story and Stephanie Williams simply isn't given enough space to create a satisfying story.

Utopia kind of loses itself in this installment. There was a lot of commentary on hierarchical structures that now seems gone. Gear in the Machine is an unfortunately tiring story we've seen play out multiple times in these comics. It's like the first idea any writer has when approaching this franchise, and I'll be happy to never see it again. Lucky is a very cute story. I liked it.

Utopia manages to mostly stick the landing by inverting the concept fully on its head in a pretty unexpected way. Hide & Seek and Mother are more examples of how limited writers seem to be when it comes to coming up with story ideas for this franchise. It all seems so rote.

This was better than I expected, but I'm not very into it. I don't like teenagers. They're annoying and woefully incomplete as people. And while Simon Spurrier's character work feels out of touch and has a sort of "Hello, fellow kids" vibe, he's certainly nailed the annoying part. It feels like it's set in three different, incongruous time periods. The current stuff with YouTube, that's relatively modern. But the way they dress feels more like the 90s. And the way they act, and how things function, feels more like the mid 2000s. It just feels like the writer wasn't sure what era he was writing.

There's still a huge "How do you do, fellow kids" vibe to this, but once you cut away the massive amount of excess, you get a neatish story.

It's probably been over a decade since I've seen Aliens, but I don't think my opinion of this comic would be better if I had seen it more recently. At least the art isn't abysmal like the main series.

Honestly, this reads like Forrest Gump in Aliens. It's not intentional, I think, but it sure is a bit baffling. Burke seems too goofy for my tastes. I don't know why I should care about this story yet.

This is better than the first issue. I think it's still written in too goofy a tone for the story it wants to tell. Hopefully it continues to get better from here.

This story continues its upswing, although this issue really stretches things out in a way that's lampshaded but still sorta grating.

When this mini started, I really did not like it. Obviously, that's changed as the series has gone on. The character voices are exceedingly strong, the script is funny, if a bit basic, and I really wouldn't mind a sequel.

Derek Landy is a writer that I'm very ambivalent on. He can churn out some quality comics, or rather boring ones. This one errs of the quality side of things. It's not amazing, and I wouldn't miss it, but it's good enough. The art doesn't help things. Greg Land is terrible.

This is an interesting idea, but the execution is lacking.

This series has a lot of issues on the conceptual level, and the art leaves a lot to be desired. But I really think Derek Landy managed to at least extract some great character moments from these issues, especially this one. Landy gets Spider-Man. He's quippy, light-hearted, but also not a total joke. He's able to hold his own with the Avengers, mostly due to his intellect.

This series remained a pretty good read throughout. Not my favorite of Fall of X, simply middle of the road. I am American though, so I may just be biased against our friends up north.

This was okay. Like Canada. Just okay.

I've only read the Spider-Man story in Amazing Fantasy #15, of course. What is there to say? It's a quintessential superhero origin, that almost everyone on the planet knows a version of, through the many movies, cartoons and comics that have gone over it again and again. It's very quick and while there's a sense of reverence in the editorial notes, I really am not sure that Stan Lee had any idea what he and Steve Ditko had created here. I also would like to point out just how angry Peter is in this story. I understand he hasn't yet gone through the trauma that would soon define him, but reading modern comics, I'm just so used to a grown up version of Peter that is genuinely nice and upstanding and not a resentful teen. Another thing I wonder; I've never considered this before; does Baxter Bigelow (the security guard Peter doesn't help) ever come out of the woodwork in a later story just to ruin Spider-Man's reputation a little more? I don't think he ever did. I mean, it's certainly not necessary in the early years, but that would be a cool story, wouldn't it? Anyway, there's not much here to really talk about besides the aforementioned. Quote of the issue: "With Great Power There Must Also Come-- Great Responsibility!"

I wish I liked this more, because it seems like a passion project, but I just don't. The little character inconsistencies really stuck out to me. Cap isn't necessarily inconsistent, but a lot of his character in the World War II era is just not quite as interesting as it is post-WWII. Black Widow is supposed to be super old, so idk why she's a teen in the 80s here. And maybe I'm reaching but I don't think the ASM supporting cast lines up there in his segment. This isn't a badly drawn or written issue; I just find myself less enthused than I thought I was going to be.

I liked this one more than the previous one. I think as we get further into this fantasy world, the writing will only get better.

This is just shy of being something I really enjoy. I like the world built up but it's missing something I can't place my finger on.

Not too bad. I don't know if I like the idea of Uncle Ben betraying Peter, even if it's undone by issue's end. I assume there is more to this that will be revealed next issue.

I've been super busy with work and life lately, so I've been very slow to read much of anything comics related. I don't think that busy will change, but I hope I can adjust enough to somehow claw my way back to being up to date on comics. I may drop some things but for miniseries like this, it really seems dumb to drop them at the finale. Plus, I already paid for it. This was a good finale. I don't know if the ending makes up for Ben's betrayal. I don't know if I like the idea of an afterlife such as this. It cheapens things, I think. But the story was fun and pulpy, and the ending with Peter is good, even if overall, the narrative kind of crumbled. Look, I went into this expecting a shitshow after last issue, but we got a good, solid comic, and I can't be mad about that, can I?

This was a pretty good time, although I don't know what it has to do with anything happening in Amazing Fantasy.

Anthologies are always a bit rough, so when a publisher manages to put together a mostly cohesive, quality one, it's nice. I'll quickly run through the stories: "Just Some Guy" is a fun, cute little story that I think captures some of why Spider-Man is who he is. "Sinister 60th" is actually my favorite story here. Call me a softy, but when all those people lined up to see Spider-Man on his deathbed, that made me a little emotional. "Spider-Man Vs. Conspirition" is probably my least favorite story here. It just doesn't really feel like it matters or says anything about Spider-Man as a character. "The Kid's Got a Good Eye" is a quiet story that is nicely subtle. I enjoyed it. "In The Flesh" is a wacky horror story that actually has a lot to say about Peter and how he deals with guilt and trauma. I wouldn't call it subtle, but it did take a second to click for me, which is unusual. And you get some wicked images too. I really enjoyed this one. "Slaves of the Witch-Queen" is really weird. There's a big, flashing question of "Why?" but it's by Busiek, so it's at least well-written. It's not something I would've put in this anthology, but it's not bad. "You Get It" is weirdly mean-spirited. I don't really like the message here, even if it isn't entirely wrong. The way it's presented is off to me. "With Great Power..." is Neil Gaiman's secret Spider-Fan origin, and it's well written. It's sweet. A little self-centered, I guess. "Along Came a Rhino..." isn't meant to be part of this anthology, and is taken from the middle of a story we probably won't ever see in full, but it does have a nice message about Spider-Man and his heroism. I liked it.

This was fun and well written. Not how I expected the story to go, but I like it nonetheless.

Not as big a fan of this issue as the first, but it was still fine.

I thought this was fun, overall. I especially liked the introduction of the new crew. I didn't expect to see Screwball in this as she's... lame. But I guess it would make sense that she's the new production manager. And Master Matrix, I wasn't entirely sure was a canonical character after Spider-Man/Deadpool's ending, but here he is, still trying so hard. This is a definite improvement over issue two. Oh also, Weird Science Marvel Comics is wrong in their review. Mary Jane does plenty, to the point where she's almost too heroic. Think Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #11, but maybe even more Mary Jane than that.

I thought this issue was a lot of fun, and any interaction between Pete and MJ is usually a highlight for me. Which is why, with the series getting extended, I'm excited for the next arc in New York. But this arc is cool too. I think the conversation between MJ and Master Matrix was a very necessary and good conversation, and I was extremely into that part. Oh also, Chase Magnett is still the worst critic in comics. "Let's give Amazing Mary Jane #4 a 2, but let me tell you, that Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child one-shot was a perfect 10."

Mary Jane does some implausible things here, but I think that's going to become more and more par for the course. I had fun with this. I'm excited to see what they do with this series now that it's been expanded.

Yeah, this is slowly turning into one of my favorite titles, annoyance at Mary Jane being out of New York again aside. I hope Peter actually does manage to figure out what's going on, so we can see theses two together, like we all want.

I've decided to very slowly do a read through of Spider-Man! I've done it before, but it's been years and years now. I'll do my best to read each and every issue across Spider-Man's many titles. I'll try to put a relevant quote from the issue at the end of my reviews, for fun! In this instance though, I'll do two since technically this review covers two issues. Something to note as well, as I go through these early issues: these are early 60s silver age comics. They are antiquated. That's just how it is. I will be rating these on a "Product of its Time" curve until I hit a sufficient point in Spidey history wherein I feel that the curve is no longer necessary. Therefore, I won't be as harsh on expository dialogue, wacky plot developments/contrivances, or outdated social content (For instance, the Red Scare and Commie hatred prevalent in early Marvel comics). We get two "Feature-Length" stories in this issue. I'll let you all onto a little secret. The first time I read this issue waaay back in the day (Through the *amazing* complete collection CDs Marvel put out. They'd never do something like that now, but those disks are still relatively available if you want some moderately rough PDF scans of the first 400 or 500 Amazing Spider-Man issues.) I was unimpressed with this first issue. I thought, the spoiled kid that I was, that this was an uneventful issue. Spider-Man fights gravity and then Chameleon, a villain I didn't really care about. But now that I'm old and more grateful for my nostalgia-drenched colorful picture books, I find myself appreciating this issue. It does a lot of things. It introduces everyone's favorite newsman, J. Jonah Jameson, firmly establishing the rivalry between Spider-Man and JJJ. It introduces John Jameson. It introduces Flash Thompson. It really hammers home the heft of the responsibility that Peter faces in the aftermath of his uncle's untimely death. Oh and I really appreciate the Fantastic Four appearance in the second story. If you've ever read the formative years of Marvel, you'll know that the best titles are ASM and Fantastic Four. For whatever reason, Stan Lee just really brought those characters to life in a way that he couldn't do for, say, Ant-Man or Iron Man. Not to say those other books were bad, or that they had no place, but FF and ASM were just on another level. So whenever the two interact, it's always great. Also, it's so nice to have a cohesive universe here. I cannot stress enough how important that is to Marvel comics, even today. The universe feels lived in by the time Spider-Man swings onto the scene, and I appreciate that as a comic book reader. It makes going back to these issues akin to visiting family you haven't seen in a while... Except you like them. So yeah, this issue does a lot right. It establishes many important things that will definitely develop more over the course of the next few issues. It doesn't take long for Spider-Man to get the classic feel... And no, I don't mean that faux classic feel invented by the Sam Raimi films. Quote of the issue: "A Tough Time Cashing It, Eh? Well, We'll See About That!"

Okay, now we're getting into the part where young me became more interested. I knew the Vulture! Not my favorite villain, not anyone's favorite villain, but a classic villain. And his debut is filled to the brim with 60s comics nonsense:
The Announcement of the Transfer: This would not happen. No company would announce and make a public spectacle of a transfer of highly sought after commodities like diamonds. Especially not with a crazy, unstoppable winged old man roaming the skies. Vulture's Outside of the Box Thinking: While this is admittedly clever in a "It's so stupid that it must work" sort of way, there is no way that the police wouldn't have a ground presence larger than a few guards. And how did the Vulture know they'd walk right over the manhole? There's a frightful lack of anything in the panels in this particular sequence to derive any idea of where these people are and where they're going, but I guess I'm not as smart as the Vulture. No Noise: Apparently, the Vulture makes no noise. He doesn't have to even flap those wings. It's more like falling with style. They're there to guide him rather than provide any sort of lift through the manipulation of air pressures. Harnessing Magnetic Power: Look, we get a single panel explanation of this. Stan Lee didn't understand how magnets really work. It got us cool characters like Magneto, at least. Same with transistors or... Chemicals. Really, anything scientific that you learn from these comics, just throw that knowledge out. They're all based in the most rudimentary knowledge. Stan Lee probably would've stuck his face in Tricho machine, let's be real. I don't understand what the thinking is here. Does he mean that Vulture is manipulating geomagnetism with his wings? Is it more localized than that? Does Stan Lee think the ground is so magnetically charged that one could repel themselves from it with the proper device? And what is an anti-magnetic inverter? How do you invert anti-magnets? What is an anti-magnet? It'd make more sense as a regular magnetic inverter right? What must repel, now must attract? And how does that work? Did Spider-Man's device send a surge of electricity through Vulture's wings somehow reversing the polarity of Vulture's wings?? And how does vulture maintain that polarity when he's battling in the skies of New York and doing "Fast Loop-The-Loops"?? This doesn't make any sense.
With that out of the way, we get some small continuity inconsistencies already. J. Jonah Jameson now works at Jameson Publications/J. Jonah Jameson Publishing, and publishes NOW Magazine. Also, I guess between issues, Aunt May warmed up to the idea of letting Peter shoulder the weight of their financial woes after secretly pawning jewelry last issue. But let's not only focus on the discontinuity! We get some big developments here! Peter finally has his job as a Newspaper (Magazine) photographer. Keep it up, Pete, you'll never retire! Spider-Man also adds extra web cartridges to his repertoire, and of course, his camera. All that's left is his Spider-Signal! (Spoilerz!) Also, while they aren't given much of a spotlight, Liz and Flash are still decidedly Peter's supporting cast now. I love how that posse of asshole kids all bully him and yet, they're the closest he has to friends. They even invite him to hang out with them and vow to protect him! Now that's friendship, at least as far as I've ever known it! This was a solid story for Spidey, despite everything. You know what wasn't though? The second story in this issue, introducing the Tinkerer. It seems as though Stan and Steve were unclear about where the ASM title was going to go. At the time, Marvel's lineup was still very caught up in the genre titles that preceded the superhero boom. Every issue had some sci-fi element, and that is decidedly not something associated Spider-Man. Now, to the chagrin of at least... five disgruntled Spidey fans, sci-fi definitely has a place. Spidey's whole origin is a sci-fi nightmare. And so are his rogues. But I feel like that becomes a harder pill to swallow when his rogues are an unnamed throwaway conquerer alien race, and the issue ends with Peter holding up a Scooby-Doo mask and vowing to never tell anyone about it. There's a lot of possibly more stupid wackiness here. I won't give it the time I gave the Vulture story because it... honestly, does not deserve it. I will say that airholes work both ways. And more Spoilerz, but I'm much happier that Tinkerer isn't actually an alien. That's so out of place and a product of early day uncertainty about the title. This story doesn't have the benefit of progressing the character forward like the Vulture story. It is a quintessential back-up. The story ends with a panel of Spider-Man just standing there awkwardly like, "I don't know what that was either, but please come back next month!" It's just too goofy for a book about magnetic old men hovering over a city gripped in fear. Quote of the issue: "Take a Bonus and Go Out and Buy Yourself Some Twist Records!"

Okay, Doctor Octopus is one of my favorite Spider-Man villains, possibly my favorite altogether, so I may be a little nicer to this issue than the last. Honestly, I fear that this review will be too short in comparison to my last two. This was bound to happen due to this issue only consisting of one story, but I find myself having less to say when I truly enjoy something. It's much harder to articulate positive thoughts over negative thoughts for me, but I'll try. This is my favorite issue of the run so far, and I know that doesn't mean much when I'm only 3 issues in, but when people tell you to read the Lee/Ditko Era of Spider-Man, it is issues like this one that truly bolster that recommendation. That, despite the antiquated feeling, the story shines through as something worth reading. This is the first full-length Spider-Man issue, and you can tell that the extra space has given Lee and Ditko more freedom. Things don't have to be quite so rushed. The villain gets his time to shine, and as a whole, things are fleshed out. Spider-Man can have more of an character arc as well. We finally get to see a villain that actually puts Spider-Man to the test. The Chameleon, the Vulture, the Tinkerer and gravity itself have nothing on Doc Ock. Spider-Man gets handily defeated, and it's not through some bullshit blindsided kick to the head like Vulture. Spidey is simply bested by Doc Ock, in a fair fight. The ego exuded from Doc Ock when he bitch slaps Spider-Man is character defining. And what happens next? Spider-Man adapts; he uses his smarts and he proves he's not reliant purely on his powers. Now, I'm aware that this issue kind of mirrors the Vulture story from last issue, but it's done better and we get a nice little character beat for Peter where he doubts himself. It's just a lot better. Continuity wise, we get a few more big events here. The introduction of the Spider-Signal. It does come out of nowhere, which is something I praised last issue for *not doing.* But I am pretty sure they eventually get into more of why Spider-Man has it. J. Jonah Jameson is back at the Daily Bugle, as it should be. There's not much focus on the Parker financial woes, but I'm sure that'll come back soon enough. We also get to see the first inkling of the friendship Spider-Man and the Human Torch will form. That's covered more in the Strange Tales second annual that would soon be hitting shelves. But I'm not covering that, because taking on all the Spider-Titles themselves is more than enough of a workload. But we see the friendship start to bud here and that's what's important. Overall, like I said, the longer story format works better and Doc Ock is one of the biggest Spider-Man foes for a reason. He's great. Quote of the issue: "Where Are Your Brave Words and Taunts Now, Spider-Man?"

I'll be honest and admit that I do not find Sandman to be a compelling villain. I've never really read a Sandman story that, off the top of my head, really stuck with me. And his introduction here is kind of the same way. He presents a unique challenge for Spider-Man to overcome, but he doesn't really have the enduring personality to match. He's defeated by a vacuum cleaner! I don't care how industrialized it is, that's not cool. The reason to read this issue is the Peter Parker soap opera stuff. Betty Brant was introduced in issue two, but she's finally named here. She and Peter actually interact on panel, it's quick but it's a big deal since she's going to become Peter's first love interest. On the flip side, we see that Liz Allen is willing to date Peter. She's another early love interest, and soon that sort of thing will be brought to the forefront. There's some fun here with Jameson. Seeing him standing behind his desk in his underwear is a very funny image. Otherwise, he sounds like any Conservative anyone's ever met, and Conservatives are unintentionally funny too. I said in my last review that I felt I wouldn't have enough to say about the issues I liked, but honestly this issue is proving to be more difficult. Not a ton happens in this issue, and the villain isn't as compelling as Doc Ock. So... Within the span of a single issue, we see how the longer format can help *and* hurt the storytelling. Sandman would've been a much better villain for an 11 page story. I think so, anyhow. Quote of the issue: "Ever Get Any Love Taps From a Guy's Rock-Hard Head?"

In this issue, Spider-Man faces off against an established FF villain that some of you may know. It's Doctor Doom. Real talk, I really like what Doctor Doom becomes as the universe goes on, but I find him a bit hokey in the early days. Just a few issues ago, I commented on how great Doc Ock's introduction was. How he exuded an ego in just the right way. Early Doctor Doom honestly comes across more like someone with an ego without the smarts to back it up. His plans are very juvenile and easily thwarted. I don't think he really comes into his own until they lay out his origin in FF Annual #2. His plot in this issue is so poorly thought out, strung together and executed... It just really makes me doubt God King Doom, you know? But let's not focus on that. I want to focus on something a bit more clinical for a second. The pacing in this issue is very good. It kind of follows the structure of issue 3, but better. I can feel Stan Lee and Ditko getting more used to the format and really getting the most they can out of an issue. For instance, last issue felt a bit barren in terms of plot. Sure, a story was told with a beginning, middle and end, but there wasn't a lot to pour over. This issue, however, doesn't really have a dull moment. Things just keep happening and the plotting is tighter. The narration in this issue is very sarcastic, at one point 12 pages in saying, "Let's face it! You've struggled through one of the longest introductions you've ever read!", showing that they're very aware of the deliberate pacing. It's been a while since I've reread these old issues, but I hope that future issues work as well. The one big thing I kind of struggle with here is the plotline with J. Jonah Jameson offering a thousand dollar reward for Spider-Man's identity. I know that's pretty much just a vehicle to get Doom interested in Spider-Man, but it's not necessary and I don't think it's brought up again after this. I could be mistaken, we'll see. Peter's frenemies playing attempting to play a prank on Peter with a fake Spider-Man costume is honestly the highlight of the issue for me. It doesn't work, it doesn't even happen, but the idea is just so much fun that I have to mention it. Continuity wise, big things happen here. Specifically with Betty Brant. Peter realizes he likes her after she stands up for Spider-Man, conveniently. And Betty seems to like Peter too. A romance, oft forgotten, is blossoming. And Spider-Man is and always has been a big ol' soap opera. This is the good shit. This is why you read every issue. Forget Doom, he's not impressive. But what is impressive is the fight between Doom and Spidey at the end. The second half of that sarcastic narration above promises fireworks, and it does deliver. The Doom fight is the biggest and deadliest to date. Doom isn't fucking around, and I'm sure it was even more impressive back in the day. This issue promises a lot and mostly delivers. It's just that Doom's plan is so preposterously dumb. That's the only thing holding this issue back. Quote of the issue: "Silence, You Cringing, Sniveling Coward!"

There was an ever tiny break between me reading this issue and the last. The reason for this is mostly because life gets in the way and I had other things to read as well. But I also have to admit that I have an involuntary negative reaction to this issue. It's actually one of the first issues of Spider-Man I ever read. I was introduced to Spider-Man comics through my dad's old collection and he had old Marvel Tales reprints of some classic Spider-Man issues, including this one. And I just never really liked it? Having just finished it for the first time in years, I have to say I'm not sure why I'm so involuntarily negative about this issue. This issue doesn't do a ton for the ongoing Spider-Man narrative. Betty and Peter get closer to dating, but not much and Liz Allen falls for Spider-Man, thus breaking it off with Flash and Peter. That's it. And I'm not even sure that last bit lasts beyond this issue. Most of the issue takes place down in Florida and that makes for a very straightforward issue. It has to be quick and to the point. This may work in the issue's favor, as it keeps the pace very brisk. You want exciting comics, not boring ones, and because of how Marvel comics were written back then, those were kind of your onky two options. The best thing about this issue is J. Jonah Jameson. I love how on the nose Spider-Man is about getting Jameson to hire a photographer to go down to the Everglades. It's just so blunt and you have to question how Jameson didn't connect the dots. And at the end, Jameson asks Peter where he got the photos of the Lizard. And Peter has apparently forgotten their deal that JJJ never asks him that because he instead tries to explain it away by saying he got them from an native guide near the everglades. Not only would Jameson be unable to use those pictures, but he also immediately assumes they're fake and tears them up, meaning Peter doesn't get paid. Good going, Peter. Great going, Jonah. Quote of the issue: "Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue... I'm Still At Large, So Phooey to You!"

This issue features the first time a villain returns to fight Spider-Man again, and I was very interested in seeing how that affected the pacing and the plotting. It didn't seem to do much. Although I feel Vulture's escape from prison went by extremely fast. You know, when I think of these older comics, I think of more complete single issues. And I think that may be a misconception. Sure, now most writers write for the trade and that leads to a lot of decompressed storytelling. But I gotta be honest, not a ton is happening in these issues. We get little bits of the ongoing narrative, with a big battle taking up the rest. These issues take longer to read, but in terms of what's happening, it's not that much more than what I usually get out of a modern issue. In my review for issue two, I went through how dumb the Vulture's plan and powers were, and they're still dumb. He has a new wing suit that can change magnetic poles instantly, which makes me wonder again how he could fly whatsoever in his first appearance. It still doesn't make sense, but at least they're trying. Also, I was dumbfounded by the solution to stopping the Vulture in this issue. Just webbing his wings. I thought for sure Spider-Man had tried that in issue two, but I went back and he did not. So, Spider-Man built a brand new device never before created just to stop the Vulture... When he never got the idea to web his wings? Crazy, just so crazy. I was baffled and amazed. On the Peter Parker side of things, we find out Aunt May also thinks Flash is better than Peter. Betty and Peter finally get together! It's kind of ham-fisted, but hey this is a big deal! Peter's first relationship! And Jonah continues to be such a delightful character. He's the best. Overall, this was a good issue. I enjoyed the added stakes of Spider-Man having a sprained arm. I enjoyed the interplay between the characters. And I thought the plot moved fast enough to keep my interest. This was an uptick over the last few issues, probably. Quote of the issue: "He's Such a Fragile Boy... Not a Roughneck Like That Flash Thompson!"

This is another one of those early Spider-Man comics that I read very, very young. And honestly, I'm sure it held up better then. Before I knew anything about how computers work. This issue is such a silver age issue. It's advertised as a special "tribute-to-teen-agers" issue, and I think that's code for a tribute to Daredevil readers because this is super, super silly. First, let's just get this out of the way. The Living Brain is a character created from a wellspring of... Inaccurate knowledge about how computers work. Of course, this is a comic book and so we have to suspend our disbelief somewhat, but I made fun of the Vulture so I'll make fun of this too. One, computers/AI are not smarter than humans. They may possess more information, but knowledge is not the same as intelligence. Now, the Living Brain here is obviously using some advanced machine learning. He's taking advantage of Bayesian deep learning well before it was a thing. But uh, it's Marvel time, it's different. Even then, rough-brained Peter should know better. Two, what exact inputs does the Living Brain accept? Early in the issue, Peter has to convert the information that his classmates give him into... Something, and he inputs it using a control panel. And then later, the Living Brain seems to hear sounds and have visual inputs as well. Kinda doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Also, I can't tell what the Living Brain outputs either. Is that hexadecimal or something? I wouldn't be surprised if it is, because the company that makes the Living Brain is ICM, which is clearly a parody of IBM, who had just introduced hexadecimal in 1963. Maybe that news blurb is what Stan Lee based this entire issue on. Three, is the Living Brain malfunctioning or not? Why would scientists make their supercomputer into a humanoid robot with the ability to fight people? For dramatics?? I mean, that's what they say in the issue, but I don't believe it! On one hand, they act like the Living Brain was damaged by the two idiots hitting its control panel. On the other, the Living Brain is clearly even more functional than it was. It's not acting random as it should be. So clearly, these scientists programmed it with these abilities for some reason. Why? Why would they do that? Four, Probability does not equate to knowing. The crux of the issue relies on this machine being able to accurately know... Everything. This is not how computers have ever worked. And the fact that Peter is sweating over it is soooo silly. These two random guys who apparently work with the scientist who is showing this around at schools only now decide that this machine is their meal ticket, after presumably sitting through this presentation many, many times. And it's like, man, these people are all idiots. With that out of the way, we can focus on the Peter Parker stuff. Flash and Peter finally fight! This whole part of the issue reads like an Archie comic, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, it's not exactly Spider-Man. It's just all so silly. This issue is so ridiculous. At least Peter gets to turn it around for himself at the end. At least he's happy. The back-up is awful. Peter acts like an asshole, and I was on board for it until he tried fighting the entire FF for no reason. I don't really mention the art much in these reviews, if at all, but I have to say, Jack Kirby's Spider-Man just isn't nearly as good as Ditko's. Maybe it's just because of how iconic Ditko's Spidey is, but I really had a problem with Kirby's version. This issue is really dumb and I think it was glorified filler. They had to get an issue out, but hadn't any good ideas. Way to go, Marvel. Way to pander to your prime demographic and then fuck it up. I really hope this sort of thing doesn't happen again, personally. Quote of the issue: "Drat This Knotted Shoelace!"

The worst issue of the run so far is followed up with by the best issue of the run so far. I was surprised because Electro isn't necessarily a villain I have a ton of respect for. Sure, he's part of the Sinister Six. He's an iconic villain. But I just don't have the love in my heart for him that I have for Doc Ock or Mysterio or Green Goblin, for instance. A few issues back, I pointed out that I didn't feel like there was a huge difference between these classic issues and modern issues in terms of how much happens per issue. But shame on me, because this issue is honestly the most complete, fulfilling issue of the run so far. As the opening narration says, "This Book-Length Thriller Features a Really Fascinating Super-Villain; It's Chock-Full of Human Interest and Drama; and It Shows Spider-Man, With All His Human Problems and Frailties, Greater Than You've Ever Seen Him Before!". They downplay it a little by the end of the spiel, but honestly they're right. I feel like each issue has teetered on Betty and Peter getting together, and I keep thinking "This is where it happens," but each time it feels like they don't. They're kinda together. In that, they basically act like really, really good friends instead, but I swear eventually, they'll be officially together. We see the money problems return! With an added dose of Aunt May's Health Issues. These will be very prevalent in future issues. I was starting to be afraid that I had misremembered just how big a role these things played in early Spider-Man, but luckily for me, here they are. Oh, also, JJJ! I loved this subplot, it's probably my favorite part of the issue. Peter scamming him to pay for Aunt May's operation was great. I loved every bit of him in this issue. He's *my* hero. Side-Note: I didn't mention this last review in favor of making fun of The Living Brain, but Flash accidentally broke Peter's glasses, with Peter thinking to himself that he didn't need them. This is an important step for Peter, honestly. He looks much better without them. I took the glasses for granted. As for Electro himself, he's fun. His powers should be much more deadly, but give it time. I know that's not a ton on Electro, but he's really not what makes this issue so great. Everything is paced well, a full story is told, and it all works. It's not abundantly silly either. This is truly a great issue. Quote of the issue: "Better Put on These Rubbers-- and the Rubber Gloves I got at the Store, to Help Insulate Myself Against Him!"

It's been over a day since I read this issue. Normally, I write these reviews right after reading the issue, and although that can lead to a scattershot review, my main objective with this is to record my thoughts, whether they be orderly or not. With this issue however... There is so much. Too much. I had just praised last issue for giving us a fulfilling and complete story, where a lot happened but it was also paced extraordinarily well. And then we have this issue. It's very unassuming with its cover. Four generic looking villains and Spider-Man against a pale green background. But this issue is filled to its very brim and it's genuinely hard to parse through everything. So, I waited. I thought, yeah, I may forget some of what I wanted to mention, but tackling it outright is just going to be a frustrating endeavor. I was already two issues deep because I wanted to catch up on my reading, in time for... Well, tonight/tomorrow morning's supposed two-parter, issues 11 and 12. These reviews take time, even if it doesn't seem like it, and I was burnt out. Onto the issue. I'm going to discuss things quickly and in broad strokes. The Big Man is a cool idea, the Enforcers are not. Dragging Spider-Man into a big mobster plot, only to soon resolve it, is too much for one issue. Everything is rushed, including the JJJ fakeout and the promise to find out why he hates Spider-Man. We get some more clues as to what Betty is hiding, which will come to the forefront next issue. Meanwhile, we're still dealing with the aftermath of Aunt May's surgery. And it's all just crammed into this issue. It's just too much. The highlight of the issue to me was when Flash showed that he does care for Peter in some strange way, warning him about claiming to know who the Big Man is. The final fight is... Too big. Part of me loves the idea of Spidey taking on a roomful of gangsters. It's a big spectacle and an actual challenge for Spider-Man. But it's so cluttered. It's endemic of the entire issue. I could praise this issue for trying to be big, but man, it is a struggle. Quote of the issue: "All My Life I've Been Interested in Only One Thing-- Making Money!"

I took another long break between last issue and this one. Work, holidays and other engagements kept me from reading this series for too long. I want to shorten my reviews until I catch up. These really do take a while to type out, so if I cut out these, I can catch up faster. I'll be very brief. The whole thing with Betty is interesting but also very contrived. Doc Ock is still a fun villain. Blackie isn't, so much. The pacing here was lightning fast, and I think that was due to this being a technical two-parter. I wish JJJ was in the issue, as he's always a treat. Quote of the issue: "I Agreed to Pick Up Blackie Gaxton... Not to Take Two Battling Furies Aboard!"

This issue was even better than the previous one. It has an admittedly silly hook, but I'm sure it was exciting to read when this was new. My first time around reading this, I too was enthralled by the idea that Peter was unmasked this early into his career. Some continuity things to note. In last issue's review, in the pursuit of brevity, I forgot to mention Peter created his first spider-tracer. An invaluable gadget that he will rely on quite a bit throughout his career. And then with this issue, we see Betty and Peter more solidified as a couple. We see Liz and Flash are definitely broken up, and Liz is very interested in Peter now. The original love triangle is formed. This issue thankfully had more JJJ, and he's delightful as usual. Doc Ock is still a great villain, and the pacing is still great. They've expanded from 21 pages to 22 pages, and that'll only help things. Quote of the issue: "Parker Would Never Have Had the Nerve to Soak Me That Way!"

I'll get this out of the way. Mysterio is a really cool, exciting villain. But when you explain all his tricks, it kind of lessens the appeal for me. Throughout so much of this issue, I kept thinking about the Far From Home movie. It had to be because of how much of the plot was lifted from these early Mysterio appearances. I don't have that same sort of problem with Vulture, Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Sandman, Electro or the Lizard. It could also be because it's the most recent Spider-Man movie, and therefore it's the freshest in my mind. I don't know, but there's a ton of parallels. And the idea that Mysterio is using drones actually causes much less ruination in my opinion than spring-loaded boots and nylon firing guns. I don't want this review to just be a refutation on all the people pretending Mysterio is so much cooler when he uses ridiculous contraptions and 1960s special effects to achieve his stunts. I have a feeling these people have never read this issue right here, and that's fine as long as they don't pretend to know. But let's not focus on that, let's focus on how ridiculously Mysterio gets beaten. Not the fight itself, but rather Spider-Man recording his evil monologue where he explains everything. That was so lame, but also the only quick way to clear Spider-Man's name... The money troubles briefly return here but they're probably done away with for now! But they'll be back, they always come back. JJJ was amazing as always. He's the best. Quote of the issue: "A Miniature Recorder!! Bah!"

Look, this issue is super silly. Green Goblin's plan doesn't make a ton of sense, B.J. Cosmos is a nutty character, and Green Goblin can't even count. It's ridiculous, and I'm not sure why it's *so* ridiculous. We're Stan and Steve trying to create Spider-Man's Joker and leaned into it too hard? I'm not sure. Whatever the reason, it doesn't really affect my opinion of the issue. I liked it. It's not as solid as the last few issues. It uses the Enforcers again, after all. But it's still of a higher quality than the earlier issues. JJJ is still great. And we never find out if Peter got those pix for him! Quote of the issue: "But One Thing He Didn't Count On is My Power of Chest Expansion!!"

This isn't as good as the last few issues have been. It never reaches the low points of something like issue 8 or 10, but we are seeing a downward trend that I wish weren't apparent. I hope things pick back up again, although I have little hopes for issue 16, which I remember not liking. The annual, which is next, may actually be good, at least. The one thing that I can say is that Chameleon works better here. And the stuff with Betty and Liz is actually entertaining! For a few issues now, I've been getting annoyed with Betty and Flash in particular. Betty was too sensitive to Peter having any contact with another girl, and Flash was constantly claiming Liz as his girl, when that didn't seem to be the case. In this issue, at least, Betty's jealousy is more funny than annoying, and we get confirmation that Flash isn't a total douche, in that Liz is still going on dates with him. But most important to me, we get our first hint of Mary Jane Watson. Peter's best love interest, don't @ me with your Gwen Stacies and your Debra Whitmans. They don't compare! Quote of the issue: "You'll Want a Girl Who'll Make a Good Houswife--Someone Like Mrs. Watson's Niece!"

This issue feels more like a Daredevil advertisement mixed with filler. I know the annual had just come out and a lot of work went into that, but this is such an inconsequential issue. Yeah, Spidey teams up with Daredevil for the first time, but nothing much is done with it. The Ringmaster is a really boring villain. The plot is very barebones and there's hardly anything to really parse through here. We get another MJ reference, which is nice. But nothing really is progressed here, in the overarching narrative. I'm not even sure if Betty being upset with Peter will factor in next issue. We'll see. I will say this issue did move fast, but again, that's because there's not much here. I really hope next issue picks up. I think it will, as I remember having fond memories of the first time Spider-Man decided to quit. Quote of the issue: "I'd Rather Have a Gent Like You With Me Than Agin' Me!!"

While this issue is a lot less silly than Green Goblin's first appearance, it's still kind of silly! At least it gives Green Goblin more of a menace to him. The love triangle is in full swing, and that's just in time for Aunt May Health Problems™. I would go more into this issue, but I desperately want to catch up! Quote of the issue: "Spider-Man Turns Chicken!!"

This was a very bold issue. Peter spends the entire issue afraid for his aunt, while his public image goes to ruin. It's very ambitious for the time, in my opinion. The only issue I have here is how easily things work out in time for the next issue. It's just a huge amount of contrivance. But I still really like what this issue is and tried to be. Quote of the issue: "For I Know At Last That a Man Can't Change His Destiny... And I Was Born to be... Spider-Man!!!"

Not as good as last issue unfortunately. I just really dislike The Enforcers. What we get is a fairly standard Spider-Man, which I guess makes up for such a different tale last time. Assuming things go to plan, this should be my last short review. I'm caught up for at o least a few hours. I'll be much more inclined to do full reviews. Ned Leeds is formally introduced after appearing last issue. He's a big time Spidey character, so that's exciting. Plus there's the love triangle between Ned, Peter and Betty to look forward to, even if Pete seems so cool here. Quote of the issue: "Not Again! I Can't Be Wrong Again!"

Hey, look at me, I'm reading this issue and writing this review within the original timeframe that I provided myself... Give or take a few hours! I'll try to maintain my speed. For reminders, it's supposed to be "a story arc per day," otherwise I'd be doing this for a thousand plus days, and a three year (or more!) commitment is just too much for me. Just ask any of my exes! Of course, during these early days, a lot of these issues tell a complete story on their own, so it's a bit slow so far. But with my lack of accountability, it's probably a blessing in disguise. Now, as for this issue in particular, I find myself both liking and disliking it. It's a finicky position I'm in, one called fence-riding. I'm noticing a pattern in my opinion, which is that my enjoyment of these early issues tends to depend on how much these issues involve Peter Parker's life drama. I know that is a very common opinion to have, but I've never said that I am a trailblazer. This issue has a little bit of that. Ned Leeds leaves for Europe, which makes Peter interested in Betty again. He seemed very okay with Ned and Betty in the last issue, but I guess time and opportunity make us all more desperate. However, that's about it for the Peter Parker side of things. I noticed that the page count of this issue is 20 pages. That's two pages short since.... I want to say issue 12 or so. And that page count remains consistent at least through the end of the Lee/Ditko era. I didn't investigate further than that because I'm too lazy to get the next few collections off the shelf. Why is this important? Well, because pacing is something that can make or break an issue. And losing two pages is a bit rough, especially during this time where two pages can cover a whole conclusion to an issue. This issue is super straightforward and it all happens at a breakneck speed, and I found myself wanting to slow down for a second, but I couldn't. That really hurts Mac Gargan, the Scorpion, as a villain. You never really get a reason to relate or at least care about the guy, aside from his incredible strength and inherent threat level to Spidey. Let's focus on Mac Gargan for a second. Now, I've kind of grown to really enjoy Mac Gargan, in a more modern context. Things like his time as Venom, as controversial as that was, really helped elevate his character, in my opinion. Here, he doesn't even have a cool costume yet. He's severely in need of a stinger, at least. Maybe they couldn't get away with a sharp, super strong stinger back then. Or perhaps they just didn't realize that a tail with a stinger is a defining feature of a scorpion, I don't know. Mac Gargan's sole motivation is money. And that's fine, I guess, just not very compelling. This man is willing to undergo unproven and extremely dangerous experimentation for $10k. And yes, adjusting for inflation, that's around $82k or $83k. It's not quite so preposterous. But I do really think less of him for it, you know? Maybe if it were a million dollars or something. This is life-altering, never change back experimentation. Mac Gargan is a dunce and deserved to be played by JJJ. The only victim here is Scientist Stillwell, may he rest in peace. I guess this marks as an interesting chapter for J. Jonah Jameson, now that I think about it. He creates something much worse to deal with Spider-Man. His morality is right out the window. I remember seeing this post somewhere about how decent a person JJJ is in the comics, and how much of a shame it is that he may become an Alex Jones type in the MCU. But issues like this really are going a long way in convincing me that he's truly a piece of shit. He's relentlessly shitty here and, yeah, he has some scruples at the end, but he turns it around to make himself right. JJJ, as a good person, is more of a modern convention. He was pedaling false narratives, using his platform to demonize regardless of the facts and reality, and unleashed more than a few dangers into the world. He's exactly like Alex Jones, he's just doing it through the Yellow Press instead of a crappy internet live show. That all being said, he's still a loveable monster. He's one of my favorite Spidey characters, and I stand by that completely. But let's not kid ourselves now that modern writers want to make him more sympathetic, JJJ was formerly a horribly dangerous and destructive rich man whose personal vendetta has led to several deaths, and more to come. Quote of the issue: "I'll Polish Him Off Later, When My Hand Stops Hurting!"

I feel like every time that an issue features a super hero guest star, that the issue itself is going to be very low on actual development for Spider-Man and his cast, while trying to drum up interest in the other hero. And I guess that's fine sometimes, but it really does curtail my interest a bit. I was finally caught back up on this re-read and very excited about that, but then this issue came along. I've never really enjoyed this issue (or the next one, but we'll get there... tonight, hopefully.), and I feel like it's an obstacle for me whenever I attempt a re-read like this. This isn't my first attempt at re-reading ASM. Every so often you get an issue of modern Spidey that hits on his expansive history in such a way that you just feel compelled to give it all another look over. In this specific case, it's the Last Remains arc that has gotten me to want to try, try again. The main obstacles for me all lie in the early days. It's either the very first few issues, or the issues in the early 20s. Issue 20, issue 21 and issue 22 specifically. I don't know why, but they just kind of grind things to a halt for me. Let's focus on this specific issue now. It doesn't start out too bad. I was afraid that we were going to get a sneak Strange Tales issue here (and we kind of do), but there's enough Spidey to keep me out of my depression. And it's fun, you know? Seeing Peter interact with Doris Evans was a genuinely nice change of pace than what I'm used to here. But of course, we get more of Betty doubting Peter. A few issues back, I said that the real shit is the interpersonal drama of Peter's life, including his many romances, and that's true. I stand by that, but I didn't necessarily remember just how often Betty decides that Peter either hates her or is cheating on her. It's a plot point in almost every single issue. It's maddening, and I know Stan Lee can write women better than this. The characterization is played out, and I'm starting to long for the Gwen and MJ days. But haha, we're still 10 issues out from meeting Gwen and technically 21 issues out from meeting MJ. I like what Betty Brant becomes as a character, but right now, she's starting to get frustrating. The villain here is the Beetle, who is a very... bland villain. I don't care for the Beetle. Not until Nick Spencer introduces a new female version in Superior Foes in 2014. That's a while from 1965. But I'm hopeful that we'll get there eventually! I'm really struggling to write this review because there's pretty much nothing here. This feels like a filler issue/an advertisement for Strange Tales. We don't even get enough JJJ. I'm the guy picking up ASM for Jameson, Stan! Quote of the issue: "Why Must I Be a Costumed, Super-Powered Sad Sack??"

There's a lot here that I just didn't remember, but that still doesn't make this a comic that I enjoyed. I'm almost demotivated to write anything about this one. It's just kind of here for our entertainment, while not being that entertaining. I'll get the juiciest bit out of the way first, because it's all I really want to talk about and by getting it out of the way, I can probably force a few more tidbits out of myself, for the sake of a more full review. Princess Python. What is this character? She seems like a failed attempt at a Femme Fatale archetype to me. When done right, this can be a fun sort of character. When done wrong however, it kinda starts to look more... sexist, to me. And sexism isn't nearly as fun as it seems, when you get down to it. I don't believe that was truly the intent of either Lee or Ditko, but enough talk about Princess Python being a two timing, no good female, and the lines begin to blur a bit. Just throw in one "femoid" and the whole house of cards comes tumbling down. I don't remember what becomes of any of these Circus of Crime characters, but I hope that if Princess Python is used again, it's in a more competent way that doesn't come across as like... a sexist, dramatic crutch for the story. I just think it's a bit silly that Spider-Man is temporarily defeated because a woman has glommed herself to him. You don't have to hit her, Spidey. You can get her off of you without being overtly violent. And what about your future female villains? How long does this abstinence stay in effect? That's something to look out for. With that out of the way, I'm at least glad that Ringmaster is treated like the garbage villain he is. He's overtaken by a guy who literally doesn't have a moniker. He's just Clown. And he's a clown, that's all. He sucks too. All these characters are just awful. I can't believe we spent a whole issue on these just... awful characters. The circus isn't a place for crime, unless there's a bird boy involved. It's just... rough. At least Betty, for once, is on good terms with Peter. It's good she was too, because otherwise Peter might've gentleman'd his way into a life of crime with Princess Python. Quote of the issue: "Sorry, Ma'am, I Happen to be Tone Deaf!"

I read this last night and unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to review it. It's extra unfortunate because this is genuinely a good issue, and that's a relief after a few mediocre ones. However, because it's been almost a full day since I've read this issue, I've lost most of my specific thoughts regarding it. I do like how Green Goblin has gotten more and more conniving, and is becoming a bigger threat. They keep building him up and soon enough, we'll see that reveal we all know is coming. And in fact, we even see Norman in this issue, looking unassuming as could be. Other things of note: I liked Peter calling Aunt May during the middle of an action scene. I was spending all this time shitting on Betty for being such a paranoid, annoying girlfriend, but here we see that Peter is just as bad as she is. Also, Frederick Foswell returns. He's an oft-forgotten supporting cast member from Spidey's early days, but I think he's neat. Quote of the issue: "I Hope He Gets Enough Exercise!"

I'm sick at the moment so I find it kind of difficult to really put in the effort with these reviews, but I committed to this re-read and nothing will stop me, save for impending death. I really enjoyed this issue. JJJ was the highlight as always. I liked how they changed up the pace with the villain, and it's really getting annoying how Peter and Betty's relationship amounts to one of them being jealous over the other. It's really a pain to read. Quote of the issue: "Why Don't You Go Play In Traffic?!"

An issue focused on JJJ? Sign me up. It is a bit silly at times, but I thought it was a good time. This review isn't really much, but I'm really not feeling well, but I'll make it up eventually. Quote of the issue: "I'll Allow Him to Call Me Jonah If He Wishes!"

Still sick so I'm going to have to skimp on the review for the sake of not wanting to do anything. This is actually a great issue. I can't recall how much I've complained about the pacing in this series. I kept going back and forth. Recently, it's been rushed, but not unbearable like issue 10 for instance. But this issue is perfect. It feels like a ton happens on both the Spidey and Peter fronts and I didn't feel gypped at all. A very complete issue, while still being one of two parts. And oh, that argument with Betty will surely cost Peter and us the dear readers later, but it wa so satisfying after so much build up. This is my favorite issue of the run so far, and a genuine 10/10. I hope next issue is at least good enough to not bring this one down. This was just super enjoyable. Quote of the issue: "It Looks Like They Put Too Much Stretch in These Stretch-Fabrics!"

This is another really good issue, or maybe my sickness has turned me uncritical. I just had a really good time with this. This two parter is truly worth the read, in my opinion. Quote of the issue: "That Joker's Too Much of a Dead-Eye Dick to Take Any Chances With!"

This issue wasn't going to get a good rating. It was hardly going to get a passable rating. But then those last four pages happened. I like how heavy the continuity has been the last few issues. That always makes reading these stories more rewarding. But aside from the costume stuff, the Molten Man stuff was pitifully dull. He's just not much of a character or a villain. The saving grace was Peter Parker's graduation, the much needed development of Liz Allan, and of course, ol' JJJ. I loved the last four pages of the issue, but the first 16 weren't quite so engaging. Quote of the issue: "Ahem...Unaccustomed As I Am to Public Speaking, I Shall Nevertheless Tell You About Myself, When I Was Young.. to Inspire You to Reach My Pinnacle of Greatness...!"

Scorpion's second outting proves to be much more entertaining than his first. It feels like Lee and Ditko have found a groove again, and each issue goes by fast, but in a satisfying manner. I really, really loved Jameson in this one, my god. Also, Ned Leeds is back and he couldn't come any sooner. With Liz out of the picture, there needs to be a third wheel to spur up some drama... I know it'll be very short lived drama, but drama nonetheless! It seems like Ditko really knew where he was going here. We get references to next issue's villain, we get the impending Doom with the Peter/Betty relationship and we get the first sign of Aunt May's illness. I'm sure this build will only help the epic three-parter that's about to happen. Quote of the issue: "¡dnppnɥS 'ʍ∀"

We finally see Betty and Peter officially break up, although Betty will not be MIA for a hundred issues like poor Liz, so while it's an end to era... Not really. This issue has a shit villain. But that is okay because this issue is all about the Peter Parker drama. That's what matters here, and it makes the issue for me. Totally worth it. Quote of the issue: "I Want Him to Remember I Was Holding Him When He Wakes Up!"

This issue really likes to take its time establishing the new supporting cast, while still giving time to the old one... Minus Liz. The drama between Betty and Peter continues briefly, although we know it isn't long for this world as this issue introduces Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn. This issue is almost entirely devoted to the overall narrative of the series rather than focusing on the villain of the month. Not to say there isn't a villain, Master Planner is an intriguing mystery... Or at least, he is if you've never read this story before. But it's still fun to have an issue that's using its cast to the fullest extent. Everyone had a role to play, with some being bigger than others, and that's legitimately great, in my opinion. Quote of the issue: "Peter Parker is the Only Boy I've Met Who Hasn't Given Me a Tumble!"

While last issue mostly focused on the setting up the new characters and status quo, this issue is an all out action issue. It's one of the first times we see just how powerful Spider-Man can be. He's desperate, and he needs that Iso-36 to save his aunt. As Peter, he's angry, lashing out at Betty and Ned. As Spider-Man, he's tearing the underground to shreds, and even manhandles Doc Ock with relative ease. He's reckless, and it culminates in him trapping himself in an inescapable position, having truly failed. It's a great issue, honest. Quote of the issue: "Just Now-- When it Counted Most-- I've Failed!"

This is a seminal issue of Spider-Man for the beginning, and it deserves to be! It's just such a great moment, and if you're truly invested in it, it'll give you chills. The rest of the issue continues the trend of last issue. Peter is desperate and fighting against all odds to save his Aunt. We see by the end that he's truly changed by the experience, to the chagrin of Betty, finally closing that chapter of their relationship. The art here is spectacular. The beginning of this issue deserves to be a large print on the wall of any nerd. This was great, and it felt like a finale in a way. I'm hopeful for next issue's Kraven centric story, but I'm not sure it can stand up against the shadow of an issue like this. Quote of the issue: "Anyone Can Win a Fight-- When the Odds-- Are Easy! It's When the Going's Tough-- When There Seems to be No Chance-- That's When-- It Counts!"

We get a new Kraven story and it's... Fine. Nothing as good as the last few issues, but nothing terrible. It just wasn't as engaging and I don't really have anything to say about it. Quote of the issue: "...But Spider-Man I've Been... And Shall Always be... For as Long as I Live."

This is another issue that really doesn't do much for me. Molten Man still isn't a great villain, and there's not much on the Peter Parker side. This issue tries to have a lot of fun, and that's commendable, sure. What I want, though, is the same comic I got a few issues back. I want to see storytelling on that level. I don't want issues that feel throwaway if not for one or two pages, like this did. What I can say is that Ditko is, art-wise, still killing it. This title has evolved a lot since it began. You can already feel the tugging toward modernity with some of the techniques being used. That's great. That makes my reading experience more enjoyable. But I want that in conjunction with meaningful stories that make these disposable magazines worth the time, you know? Quote of the issue: "So, Your Best Weapon is Totally Useless! It Can't Stick to my Slippery, Molten Body!"

This one does a little better than last issue. The Looter is an F-List villain if there ever was one, but his ego is entertaining enough. He's less of a nothing than Molten Man is. And while there wasn't a ton of a new developments on the Peter Parker front, there was something. The art is again really good. It's just a shame that more interesting villains seem to be out of consideration for the remainder of Ditko's run on the title. Quote of the issue: "Just Because I Flunked Science in School Doesn't Mean I Can't Discover the Secret of the Universe!"

The highlight here was the Peter Parker stuff as always. I want more of that. Mendel Stromm is another villain that doesn't really go anywhere or become a big mainstay, much like The Looter. In fact, I would say the only interesting thing about him is his connection to Norman Osborn and just how far Norman will go to keep him quiet. Norman is the star here, and I don't think that's just because we all know who he is. I think that would true regardless. So, really, Mendel Stromm is a jobber for the real villain. And he was recently killed in Nick Spencer's run by Kindred, so the trend continues. (And now I feel dumb for not putting together why Kindred would kill Mendel Stromm until right now, but that's got nothing to do with 60s Spidey.) The robots were a cool design at least. I can say that despite some of the lackluster plotting, Ditko is drawing the hell out of these issues. Peter does walk into a wall in the last panel, but aside from that, Ditko is on fire here. Quote of the issue: "Anyone Ever Tell You You're Gorrrrgeous When You're Angry?"

This is a very Ditko sort of comic. That could be seen as an insult, but I really don't mean it that way. It's just that it's a sad sack comic about a guy who tries to do the right thing and always fails, and in the process, becomes a villain. But not in a way that would upset Ditko's Objectivist viewpoints, as Joe never has any say in the matter himself. Of course, Joe does mirror Peter in a lot of ways; Spider-Man always tries to do what's right and ends up vilified by the Daily Bugle, the general public and even his classmates (none of which are his friends by this point). I think Ditko put a lot of himself into Peter Parker in general; Peter even looks like Ditko after all. But the timing of this issue, which ends on such a dour note for our protagonist, is just uncanny. Ditko quit somewhere in the process of making this issue, for feeling that he wasn't getting his due. The cover is literally just a patchwork of art from the issue, so I don't even think Ditko ever did an actual cover. If I remember right, he just showed up and quit one day out of the blue. Of course, it probably wasn't out of the blue for Stan Lee or Steve Ditko. This is just a very significant issue, I think, for reasons obvious and maybe not so obvious. As for the issue itself, there's a lot to like here and none of it really has to do with Joe himself. Ironically, the unfairly disliked Ne'er Do Well is not very appealing to read about, and a lot of focus is given to him to set him up. However, the interpersonal life of Peter Parker is still a highlight and a very fun time. And Norman Osborn's scheme to defeat Spider-Man is much more interesting. I feel like that's why the last few issues have produced such lackluster villains. They're being used in service of the overall plot more than being given the spotlight themselves. I don't really know how these villains would fare with an entire issue devoted solely to them. I don't think it'd work out honestly. So, that must mean that those characters are more meant to fill up the space than to be a draw all their own. Joe being an odd example of clearly having thought put into the character while also just being something for Spidey to tackle while Norman's goons try to defeat him for ransom. I really hope they explain why Norman didn't just put on his Goblin suit and go after Spider-Man, and instead send a bunch of random goons to do it. I don't really remember why he didn't do that. I mean, he has a history of using goons at his disposal, so maybe it fits. But it seems weird that Green Goblin wouldn't be the very next step if Spider-Man needed to be gotten rid of. Maybe they explain it in the next few issues, I just haven't read them in a long while. Quote of the issue: "It's a Good Thing I'm Not the Hyper-Emotional Type! I'd Probably Have Had a Breakdown Long Before This!"

This is a momentous issue in Spidey canon, and while I don't think it reaches the height of the Master Planner trilogy or even the Master Planner arc, it is just nice to see such a major moment unfold finally after such build up. I did a little reading on the Romita Sr. era of Spider-Man, and there was apparently a concerted effort to turn Spider-Man's supporting cast more positive towards Peter. That's almost immediately the case. Everyone treats Peter better here. I don't know whether the heart-to-heart Peter and Harry have was part of that effort or just a necessity for the sake of the story to hold more weight, but nonetheless, it is nice to see Harry and Pete finally click and soon the rest will too. The idea to make Peter have a stuffy nose for the first 2/3 of the issue is probably something I wouldn't have done. It's kind of annoying to read. The sequence where Green Goblin baits Spider-Man into a staged robbery probably went too long, but seeing Peter (in his civvies) actually fight Green Goblin was a treat. I really wish I could've ever had the mindset of a reader reading these issues as they came out. Because of pop culture, I've always known who the Green Goblin is, and by the time Peter starts recapping issue 37, I can't help but feel the identity of the Green Goblin had to be obvious. But I can't ever experience this issue from that perspective. This is a good issue but not a great one, which is kind of a shame because these moments are such a big deal. Quote of the issue: "The Green Goblin!! You--You've Found Me!"

The conclusion to this Green Goblin chapter is... Not as good as the first half. A lot of this issue is just Norman explaining his life and how he became Green Goblin. And that was actually pretty interesting, and I think the writing was handled well in showing how selfish Norman was as a father, unintentionally. But then we start recapping all the previous Goblin stories, excluding the most pertinent one that I felt needed a little more explanation, issues 37 and 38. It's going to bug me now that they never explained why Norman didn't resort to the Goblin immediately after issue 37, but I guess life has its mysteries. But yeah, the issue is very long winded, which isn't an issue until we start recapping old stories. We get a glimpse at what Betty is up to and that's a bit unappealing to me. I'm ready to move on to the Gwen and MJ years, alright? Gwen has been around for several issues now and MJ is right around the corner. Ned and Betty can get married and we can be done with it. I didn't mention the art in my last review because I'm not a good person, but it is exceptional. I think Romita Sr. is a better artist for Spider-Man than Ditko was. I'm not sure if that's controversial or not, because despite the love for Ditko, Romita's style dominated pop culture for decades, and is still probably the quintessential Spidey that we all think of. As the title becomes more and more entrenched in the soap opera aspect, I think the fact that Romita is so good at drawing pretty people will only bolster my opinion of his art. It's just so good. Even the grotesque Goblin looks his best here. It's like seeing pure nostalgia on the page, I love it. Also, something to mention, we've officially entered Spider-Man: Blue territory. Spider-Man: Blue is one of my favorite Spidey stories ever. It makes me weep like a baby. So, I'm thinking I'll catch up to whichever issue it finishes in, and then go and give that a re-read with the original issues fresh in my mind. If I do, I'll review those as well. I'm not sure if I haven't already done so.... If I have, I'll pull a Robert Ebert and do a re-review, and no one will be the wiser. But for now, I'm genuinely just stoked to get to more Spider-Man. Quote of the issue: "Who Cares Why You Became the Green Goblin? You Probably Lost an Election Bet or Something!"

I didn't realize this issue was part one of a three-issue arc. It's weird that this series has started having arcs, more frequently at least, but this arc isn't constructed like one. Each issue is self contained, but they're all very closely related. My goal when I started this re-read was to read "an arc per day," knowing that for a while that meant a single issue per day. I thought the arcs came a little bit later than this. It takes me about 30 minutes to read each issue, so a full arc like this one takes up a good chunk of time. Luckily, the writing and storytelling is getting more modern, but it's still going to be time consuming. For this specific issue, we get the reintroduction of John Jameson which is interesting, and we get Rhino's first appearance, who isn't very compelling. The rest of the issue is great. Quote of the issue: "I'm Just a Big Bundle of Good-Natured Jelly!"

While it is cool that we finally see MJ and the bank robbery subplot is fun, I don't think that John Jameson is a compelling villain. I don't have much to say about this one, unfortunately. Quote of the issue: "Face it, Tiger... You Just Hit the Jackpot!"

Mary Jane is such a fun character, and I'm happy to see the supporting cast finally get along with Peter. Everything with Peter is great but the Rhino stuff just isn't. It's just boring, in my opinion. But man, those character moments. Quote of the issue: "Dad--You're the End!"

I'm very much behind on my reading, and while I could blame the holidays, that wouldn't be honest. I just got lazy. But I'll catch back up. For this issue specifically, there's not a ton going on. I like how the stakes all culminate for Peter, but there's a sameness to this issue that I wish was averted. Mary Jane continues to be a delight with her insane dialogue, all of the stuff with Peter's social life is just by far the best this issue has to offer. Quote of the issue: "Going Out With Me Can be a Whole Education in Itself!"

Haha, I'm so behind. This issue was better than the last, but not by much. It takes a bit to get going. But when it does, I'm really enjoying it. I wish there was more Peter Parker stuff, but I can only assume we'll get more of that soon enough. Quote of the issue: "He's Just the Least Little Bit Square-- But, Outside of That, He Really Turns Me On!"

Okay so the fucked up thing is I read this literally months ago and just never wrote a review for it. So, uh, yeah, it's kinda hard to write about now. The way Peter misled Roswell was legendary. I'll never forget that. Shocker was a fine villain introduction. I can see why he's still around now. Quote of the issue: "Celebrations are my favorite people, dad!"

So... I read the bulk of this issue back in March. Then life happened, and I had to stop, 5 pages from the end. This puts me in a strange place in terms of reviewing this one. What I set out to do with these reviews is really delve into my fandom of Spider-Man, and give a more comprehensive form of my thoughts about each and every issue of the wall crawler. Unfortunately, writing these reviews out takes a lot of time for me, as I'm not a professional. This has led to me taking shortcuts in some of my later reviews. However, this one is a bit different because of the gap between reading. I know what happens in this issue, but I don't remember the exact specifics. And that's a shame because this issue did have some good character in it. I know, I know, I could just re-read the whole thing but... Finishing this issue and putting *something* out for a review has literally been in the back of my mind since March. March! All of this is me rambling to explain why I won't be going into so much detail here. But I do want to read more classic Spider-Man soon, and more regularly. I was looking at some 90s Spider-Man and I want to read that again really badly. But I have to get through... Plenty of other issues to get there. Quote of the issue: "Mmm Mmm! This Tempo Really Turns Me On!"

I'm hopefully going to make it through issue 50 soon, if everything works out. Picking up from last issue, Spider-Man is searching for Kraven, and all he gets is... the terrible second Vulture. Raniero "Blackie" Drago. A character that most people would forget existed if not for Spider-Man: Blue and Ultimate Spider-Man featuring him. I think he has two whole outings as Vulture before hanging it up? I remember as a kid seing, in passing, this weirdo hook-faced Vulture and being in some slight awe over the legacy and continuity of comic books. Once you're tuned into them, at least as a kid (The magic quickly dissipates as you grow into a teenager, and later an adult, and cynicism and insider Wizard magazine information about the comic book industry creeps in and you realize regular people write these things), comics seem like this huge albatross of interconnected storytelling that only becomes more impressive with age. To realize the reality of it - This is a failed attempt at creating a legacy character that hardly lasts over a year. We get a fakeout early on that Adrian Toomes is going to die, but luckily for everyone involved, they made sure not to go through with it entirely. I'll be honest, I can't recall when this plot point is resolved/retconned. It can't happen but so long after this. Maybe it's next issue. I can't say for sure that the intent was to kill Adrian off, in that case. We'll see. Spider-Man gets a cold in this issue, which is something Stan Lee seems to rely a ton on to raise the stakes in this series. I wonder if a writer has ever taken advantage of that in order to tell a story about Peter having an auto-immune disease as a result of the spider bite. I can't say it'd be a good story, but it is an idea. And Spider-Man will always need more of those. But you know, I wasn't around in the 60s, so maybe colds took more out of people back then. But to me, it seems like Spider-Man has something worse than a cold. Maybe even a flu. Now, I don't go swinging through the skies and fight costumed villains when I have a cold, but I have a feeling if I was a super-powered person, it'd be akin to the regular exertion that I do day-to-day when I have a cold. Unless maybe his super powers also turn his cold into a super cold. Another idea for the Spidey writers. There's not a ton of stuff in this issue. It's mostly just picking up where the last one left off. Something becoming more and more noticeable in this series is the continuity. We don't necessarily have arcs yet, but you can no longer just hop in anywhere. I'm waiting for the day where they start numbering issues as parts. It can't be too far away... err, aside from the "Destiny" arc from the Ditko era. I'm surprised that Kraven doesn't actually appear in this issue. We know he comes back next issue, but this is what I mean by there not quite being arcs yet. Things are connected, but loosely. Something that this issue has that I wish writers were a bit better about now is how it manages to have every person in Spider-Man's supporting cast show up. A lot of times, this is done through some fourth wall breaking narrator pointing out how flippant it is to the story. Regardless of intent, it keeps these characters on the mind, and you never tire of seeing MJ or J. Jonah Jameson, or even Gwen and Harry. It may be brief, but these moments are very nice. Spider-Man gets killed forever at the end, obviously. Quote of the issue: "I Just Had an Economy-Sized Brainstorm!"

In my last review, I forgot to mention one of the funniest parts about this new Vulture. He is so insistent that no one can beat a man with wings, but he only has them because the original Vulture was his cellmate in prison, after being defeated while using those same wings. The thing about this issue that I personally really enjoy is its pacing. You've got almost a straight half-and-half of Peter's personal life vs Spider-Man's antics. It creates what feels like a very well-rounded issue, partly because both villains' motivations are already, or quickly, established. The drama on the Peter side of things is a little silly. It's treated almost Archie-esque by the ending. But it is a fun issue, nonetheless. I don't have a ton to say about this one, despite how much I liked it. I feel like Kraven and NuVulture were dispatched with the respect they deserve, and things wrap up very neatly. I'm excited to get to issue 50 as that one I think I'll have more to say about. Quote of the issue: "Gwen Will Buy You a Movie Mag to Keep You Cultural Till Pete's on His Feet Again!"

This is the big one. Issue 50. It contains one of the quintessential, most well-known Spidey stories ever, "Spider-Man No More!". It is mostly known by the wider public for being adapted in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2, the best Spider-Man movie we had until Spider-Man: Homecoming (Change my mind). What's most interesting to me here is how quickly Peter decides to drop being Spider-Man, and how quickly he decides to be Spider-Man again. Nothing in this story is a new problem for Peter. He only drops the mantle for 11 pages before picking it back up in the final page. The reasons Peter drops the mantle are that the public is afraid of/hates him. J. Jonah Jameson continues to editorialize about him, and even offers a reward for his arrest and conviction. And he's never there for his family and his friends. But here's the interesting thing: Peter has had all of these problems before. The public has hated him since day one. JJJ has offered bounties on Spider-Man before. And Peter wasn't around for his loved ones before too. It actually keeps coming up. It's why he quit the first time way back in, I want to say, issue 17? Part of me sees this issue as a little cynical, you know? Big anniversary issue, you have to do something big for it. Have him quit-- again! Despite my cynicism taking hold here, I do think the issue is well done. For what it is, the pacing isn't even bad. I am so shocked that Sam Raimi didn't adapt the part where Peter saves an Uncle Ben lookalike and that convinces him to become Spider-Man again. That seems like the Sam Raimi thing to do. Oh, and another point to my cynical assessment, we spend a page's worth of material reiterating Spider-Man's origin. You know, in case you forgot it. A classic anniversary issue move. The art is on point, the story is quintessential Spidey, the cover-- man, that cover, everything works here. This is a great issue, all around. It's very fun and the drama seems real. I can see why it was adapted for a movie. I don't see why they added the power loss thing to it, but Spider-Man 2 is not what I'm reviewing... Quote of the issue: "He Really Turns You On, Doesn't He, Gwen?"

Man, issue 50 was such a momentous occasion, I needed to ruminate on it for over two years! Now that that's over with, I can finally get back to it! Amazing Spider-Man #51 is a strange issue to return to. It's seemingly written with very little in the way of story in mind. Spider-Man spends the majority of the issue punching goons, while Foswell sweats and Kingpin slowly make moves. It all seems to be build up rather than pay off after the events of issue 50. Even the cover, what should be the thing that sells the issue to readers, is simply the ending of the issue repackaged. This is an issue stuck in flux. It's not that nothing happens, though. We do get some development. JJJ gets kidnapped. This is an era of comics where *so* much can happen in the pages of a single issue, so it's strange get something like this especially after how rushed Spider-Man's retirement and subsequent return to heroism was in the last issue. When I was really in the swing of things with these reviews, I would always try to break down each issue into the Spidey side of things and the Peter side of things. Something I think is somewhat essential to a good Spider-Man comic is a nice balance of these things. We care about Spider-Man because of his relatable interpersonal struggles, not because of his power set. This issue doesn't really have that. Sure, Peter has to get his old job back at the Daily Bugle, but that's given a single page, and it's barely a problem for him. Aside from that, we get two panels of Peter's friends in this issue. MJ happens to see Peter riding by on his motorcycle and then teases Gwen about how badly she wants to be with Peter. Gwen is Harry's girl, MJ. I'm sure that holds up to the test of time. Aside from this establishing the firm legacy of cuckoldry within the confines of the ASM title (See: Paul, et al.), it does little more than remind readers that these characters still exist. I give a lot of these older comics a little bit of a pass when it comes to political matters, and that includes how representation is handled. Stan Lee has a particular way of writing women, and it leaves a lot to be desired. His female characters are often totally consumed with their romantic feelings and the men those feelings are afforded to. While I prefer the playful party girl aesthetic MJ has going on to the doting lifelessness that, say, The Wasp or Jane Foster tended to inhabit, it's just switching out one patriarchal stereotype for the other. I usually use these sort of quirks to make jokes, and obviously I made one about Harry above, but this moment is just so abrupt and so in your face that it's hard to gloss over. I can't wait for other writers to come along and give these women some depth. Cattiness and late 60s aphorisms won't work forever. I wish there was more to say about Kingpin here. We do get our first shock that he's not actually fat, but aside from that (personally I prefer my crime bosses with a little meat on their bones), I don't think he really does anything too exciting here that we haven't seen done with other crime bosses in this same title. He's a brute, that's the big difference. Every crime boss before this was also the smartest crime boss to ever boss crime before. Kingpin can get his hands dirty, and competently so. That's... not enough for me. That's not what drives to read about Kingpin nowadays. Maybe the concluding chapter of this story arc will give us what was lacking in this issue: A story with real direction, more interpersonal life for Peter, a reason to single out Kingpin, and so on. Quote of the issue: "With Spider-Man gone, this city is mine!"

After a less-than-stellar middle chapter to this brief saga, I think this finale holds more water, pun fully intended. It doesn't really answer my concerns brought up in last issue's review however. There's no fortification of Kingpin's character; Peter's supporting cast still mostly takes a back seat. However, I think a forceful thrust towards resolution really helps minimize those concerns. It's not all perfect though. I find some of the plot contrivances here a bit egregious. I mean, I've been fiddling with early Batman a little bit and that has really opened my eyes to how garish early comics writing can be, but Stan Lee was definitely a traditionalist of some sort if this comic is something to go by. It's not that it doesn't work. It works the way an obscene amount of duct tape holding a radiator together works (I've been having car trouble). Things had to happen, and I'm sure Romita Sr. had it all flow well with his art, but Lee had to throw words in front of his own feet to trip himself. It reeks of simplification, if I'm being harsh about it. We can't have a major upset to the status quo. JJJ must hate Spidey after this is done, after all. The death of Fred Foswell is something that I feel like is largely overlooked by creators and fans, and it's gotta be because the character was too separated from Peter's day-to-day to leave a real, defining impact. Sure, he was the proto-Kingpin and it was fitting that he die here, but now he's not even remembered for that. Peter's supporting cast gets a bit more play here, but nothing terribly interesting happens. Flash returns from military duty and has some pretty standard Lee Dialogue with MJ, Gwen and Harry, and that's it. The interesting stuff will come later. The most interesting part about this segment of the story is that the general tone regarding the Vietnam War is still largely positive. This was early 1967 so I'm genuinely wondering when the shift in sentiment will change in the comics because a year from this comic's publication, the majority of Americans would be against the war. I don't want to make it seem like I dislike Stan Lee, by the way. I've been quick to criticize him these last two reviews, but I think that his legacy sort of deserves that treatment. He will always be Stan Lee, the good and the bad. An incredibly charming personality that did some awful things. Quote of the issue: "We don't need a blasted Huntley-Brinkley Report!!"

This is a big, beefy comic and I have almost no time to write a review for it, as I'm comically behind once again. I think the story here is big and fun, but it feels like the most obvious choice. Another thing, I'm so used to being able to follow villain appearances in these early comics because they always explained where the villains were and how they came back. None of that is here. We go from Kraven going to the Congo (in South America, somehow) to him being right back in New York. It's less congruent than I'm used to. I don't usually bring up the art much, because I usually don't have much to say, but this annual is filled with huge one page splashes and pin-ups, and they're fucking great. And not just because they eat up the page count that I'm so desperately watching with each turn of the page! They're really well done and I love that they did those. Something that kind of got on my nerves was the cameos. I understand why they were done, but it really became trite after the second one. They just felt so out of place and shoehorned in. Honestly, the best part of this annual is only technically Spidey-related. The backup of how Stan Lee and Steve Ditko create Spider-Man is very funny, and very self aware. Especially as the controversies of who deserves what credit for which things continue to rage on. I liked this annual. It wasn't the best story, but it was a lot of fun. Quote of the issue: "Don't Just Hang There...Give Me The Message!"

I've fallen very far behind on ASM, but I definitely will get back on track... At the expense of these reviews. This is a pretty boring issue. There are some great visuals, but the story is overall very trite and expected. There are some ASM issues like that as well, but those are usually saved by the Peter Parker stuff. No such thing can save this annual because Marvel was trying to get ASM readers to read Doctor Strange, and therefore the issue focused a lot on him. It is not great. I don't really find silver age Doctor Strange very interesting. Too many stories end with DS out magicking someone with yet another new spell. Quote of the issue: "We Said We Could Lick Any Man in the Place... And We Meant It!"

Man, these annuals can't catch a break. I don't read Spider-Man to actually read about the Avengers. Amazing Spider-Man is one of the best books of the era, whereas Avengers really wasn't, and it shows even here. This issue was funny, at least. Wasp's one character trait of hating Spider-Man because she's a wasp. Hawkeye's ridiculous Avengers pride. It wasn't all bad, but I want to get back to the regular issues already. Quote of the issue: "But No Web-Head is Gonna Try to Put the Avengers Down--Not When Hawkeye's Around!"

This comic continues to fire on all cylinders.

This was a set up issue but it was still really good. It cements this series in the current continuity and makes the universe feel more lived in and that's something not every Marvel series does, so it's a treat when things are acknowledged, especially so many different things.

Very strong issue. We finally get some more MJ, with an interesting subplot that delves into Peter and MJ's relationship. It's probably the highlight of the issue, even over a Spider-Man and Black Cat team up.

Man, this is just like issue one! Making me feel things! This issue makes it clear why MJ and Peter work, why fans care about this relationship, and that this relationship isn't going anywhere. Peter and Felicia's relationship is finally reconciled after years of her attempting to be Queenpin for reasons that aren't exactly well defined... (Spidey treated her like a common criminal when he was Doc Ock) until now! The reasoning given in this issue is miles better than Dan Slott's reason. So much better. And this reconciliation is so much more satisfying than the Venom Inc. one! Nick Spencer is definitely doing right by these characters and Spider-Man fans definitely deserve it. And all this great character work is wrapped around what feels like a quintessential Spidey story. This issue is amazing.

This issue was really great. The dynamic between Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson has always been a source of entertainment and a cornerstone of Spider-Man comics and this issue finally brings Jameson back into the cast after he was really underused in the later years of Slott's ASM. It also makes great use of the new status quo set up in Spectacular, which was basically ignored by Slott until the very end. This issue also dives deep into continuity, which is one of the best things about basically anything Spencer writes. We've seen plenty of Jonah trying to make up for his years and years of slandering Spider-Man but now he's gotta make up for all the times he actually put Spider-Man in harm's way, with Scorpion and the Spider-Slayers being his most overt attempts.

This is the first issue where you could feel the effects of a bi-weekly story. The pacing was off here. It felt like too little happened. But despite that, I still really enjoyed this issue. I enjoyed the character interactions between J. Jonah Jameson and Spider-Man. We got to see a rundown of their storied history which is important to remind readers of in an arc centered around their relationship. And the ending with the Big Man got me excited. No one remembers the Big Man, but he was one of Spider-Man's earliest rogues, a crime-lord before Kingpin, or even The Crime Master. I wonder if The Big Man, if he's really the Big Man, has any plans for Kingpin after he deals with Jonah.

A very good conclusion to this mini-arc about Jonah. He finally gets past his ego and makes right at least some of the pain he's caused Spider-Man and others throughout the years. We get yet another heartfelt conversation between Spider-Man and another character that reaffirm their relationship and status quo for this series. First Boomerang, then Black Cat, now Jonah. We also get a cliffhanger that presumably has to do with Kraven, who's been a background player this entire time, so that's exciting.

This was more of a filler issue, but the overall plot does progress. This issue was all about the characters, so if you like the characters, you'll like this issue. The art is heavily stylized and I know some people may dislike it. For me, it can be hit or miss, but it worked fine here.

This issue felt less like filler than the last one. I'm super into everything Nick Spencer is doing with May. It seems like it's building up to an inevitably sad ending. There's some more status quo readjustment here too. The clone of Ned Leeds is dealt with, as Spencer seems to pay more regard to Clone Conspiracy than Dan Slott did. And F.E.A.S.T. is re-established, finally giving Robbie Robertson larger role... It really feels like they're taking their time to move everything into place while still delivering good stories. I'm super excited for Hunted.

Really good set up issue. I would've been less happy with it if Spider-Man wasn't in it at all. The Kraven stuff was interesting and necessary, but I'm here for Spider-Man most of all. Luckily, he does get a story and a very good one at that. This is all looking to be something crazy and I'm actually really excited for it.

I really loved this issue. It was really fun and it had plenty of heart. It's a tie-in that's actually worth reading. Nick Spencer really knows how to play to the Spidey fanatic in me.

Super into this. Loved the opening homages to Kraven's Last Hunt. Directly calling back to it sets a tall order for this story, but I'm hopeful that the creative team can deliver. So far so good!

Another stellar issue from Nick Spencer. Those last few pages were incredibly creepy in the best way.

This was real sad.

I really enjoyed this, as always. Sandoval's art looked great, especially his Black Suit Spidey.

A really good Lizard story. I think Bachalo's art may have been misplaced, but I don't mind it so I'm not going to complain too much.

Really enjoyed this issue. It had a lot of big moments and twists. Really excited to see how this all ends.

This was pretty different from the rest of the .HU tie-ins. The others really delved deep into the character they were centered around. This one kind of does that with Vulture, but not to the same level. The fact that there's a quick Vermin story to make up the page count makes me think that this issue just didn't have as much to say as the rest, while at the same time being one of the most crucial tie-ins. It's pretty weird. But I did enjoy this. I had a really good time reading it. It was just an odd fitting issue is all!

Really good issue. I feel like Spencer is really hammering home the Peter/MJ relationship and all that *should* have been. I don't know, maybe I was just reading too much into the part about responsibility and children. But Peter's last thoughts being about MJ were a nice touch.

This was a great ending. A fitting one too. Can't wait to see what comes next issue.

This issue is great. I liked it a lot. By the end, I kept flipping through the pages, hoping I'd somehow missed something just so I'd have more of this to read. It's going to be a tough two week wait. I'm just so glad this book is bi-weekly. I'm glad there's actual fallout from Hunted and it isn't just going to get swept under the rug. And I was perfectly okay with the MJ stuff. They didn't do the obvious and it makes more sense for the characters involved, in hindsight. Plus, it would've been so easy. The set up here for the future excites me. I'm just super ready for Nick Spencer's second year of ASM and I'm on board for whatever comes next.

This was fucking dope.

A lot of things here. First, the Kindred stuff. I liked it a lot. I've been calling for a while that Kindred is some form of Peter Parker, perhaps the pre-OMD Peter. The clues are mostly in his design. He's been getting redder and bluer with each appearance. His golden centipedes remind me of the Iron Spider costume. Civil War did lead into OMD... Also, he has a lot of extensive knowledge. Although, he could've somehow gotten that through other means than being Peter Parker. Who knows? He's going by Kindred, after all. I'm excited to see how it all turns out as he seemingly takes a back seat to the oncoming *carnage*. But bringing the other spider-people into this story would actually be really fun. I think they would honestly add a lot. Especially Ghost Spider and Superior Spider-Man. I'm also mostly glad that Mysterio is alive, especially with CB Cebulski's claim to stop killing characters so flippantly. But mostly because it leads to some interesting stories. Like MJ’s story. MJ is one character in the supporing cast that had yet to find her place. Aunt May and Robbie have F.E.A.S.T., Boomerang is trying to reform, Jonah is an avid Spider-Man supporter with his own radio broadcast, Black Cat has her hands full dealing with the Thieves Guild, so on and so forth. So it's nice that she's found her place now and it's a very nostalgic one, at least for me. And I can't wait to see how Mysterio and Kindred get to her through her newly refreshed acting career. Electro makes a return after being fairly underutilized since her inception back in Clone Conspiracy. I'm glad that Nick Spencer is actually doing something with her and picking up Dan Slott's pieces. He had a knack for introducing new ideas and characters and never doing anything with them. And I'm actually totally down for the Syndicate, for Beetle, if anything. I don't think they've done a completely female villain team for Spider-Man before, so it's something new. Peter's story is spent wrapping up one last major loose end from Hunted and it felt very rewarding after dedicating so much time to the Lizard and his family. It does a great job reiterating why Spider-Man is such a good hero. He won't give up on people. The epilogue, which sees Peter finally return to ESU, was really interesting. I honestly never would have guessed that Spencer was going to bring Spider-Man 2099 back to the 616 universe, but I'm hoping that it leads to a story that exemplifies the speech Curt Conners gave about the future. It could be really cool. The Jameson story was fun, but I feel like it went a bit off the rails towards the end and I honestly can't tell if this was a one-off or if this story will actually be picked up again, considering the ending. The final story is completely throwaway, it's a neat idea, to have a bot make a Spider-Man story (although, I don't think they actually did that. I think it was an attempt at what they call humor), but it was not exactly fun to read. I think it was just a way to pad out the issue by a few more pages to meet a nice even number. All in all, this excites me for the future of ASM. I hope this run lasts a good long time. Spencer knows what he's doing and if you don't realize that, you're not a Spider-Man fan. Those last two stories bring down the score a little, but the bulk of this issue was Amazing.

A really fun issue that reads a lot like a Superior Foes issue.

I just find all of these characters so fun.

While I wish we had found out what's going on with Kingpin and Boomerang (which we probably will next issue), I thoroughly enjoyed this issue. This arc was really just a Superior Foes follow-up, and I understand that some may dislike how much that takes Peter out of the spotlight, but I love the Superior Foes series and so I'm definitely okay with this.

This is probably one of my favorite issues in the entire run. Peter Parker is best when he's most relatable and there's a lot relatable in being a letdown. On the more meta side of things, this is a huge leap forward in undoing One More Day, which is what most every Spidey fan wants. So I'm super excited about that. The next two issues being Absolute Carnage tie-ins isn't necessarily a letdown, but I just hope they aren't just two issues of a tie-in. I hope that the ongoing narrative continues in those issues as well.

The only thing wrong with this comic is the cover. It feels cobbled together and really uninspired. But everything else, from the art to the writing, is absolutely great. Read ASM #105 if you need more context. But you really don't. As long as you have a basic understanding on the tragedies in Spider-Man's history, you should be able to understand why this issue is great. This is so much more than just a tie-in. Any Spidey fan should love this.

Nick Spencer really knows how to make a tie-in worth reading. Not much is developed on the Absolute Carnage front, but that's fine because that's not what is important to this series. What is important is how these events relate to Peter and his ongoing problems. We just got an issue where he's upset that he keeps failing people, followed by these two issues where he struggles so, so hard not to have a repeat of some of the worst times in his life, that he always blames himself for. That's powerful, I think. Oh, and by the end of this issue, the dialogue is practically screaming who Kindred is but why would they keep up the mystery if it's so clearly who it is? Unless... It's not who they try to make it out to be. That dialogue screams X, when it could very well fit Y. I guess we'll see! I'm excited for that and, embarrassingly, I'm excited for 2099.

A good, but slow start to the next arc.

I just really love this run. I like the retconning of Silver Sable, because that was kind of bullshit. The plot is intriguing. Plus Doom. I'm so into this.

Yep, still really into this.

Great plan, Spidey.

This really didn't explain anything from 2099 Omega, besides where old Miguel came from... I think it's implied that what transpired during this arc leads to the 2099 future we saw with the one-shots. I understand the pickle that Spencer was in here. Keeping Spidey 2099 in the present means that he has plans for him, but in order for that to make sense, the previous incarnation of 2099 had to be scrapped given how Peter David's last run ended. So, now, I'm just wondering if there will be follow up to this "event." Clearly, everything here will have follow up in Spencer's run, I just don't see how that's going to continue to the point of the 2099 one-shots. Is that just the canon now? Will the original version be brought back? Will this new version be continued in any way? This issue was good, I actually liked it a lot, but there's just a ton of questions here that don't have any immediate answers at the moment, and that frustrates me. The current day stuff is interesting to me and is probably sowing the seeds for something bigger than just Amazing Spider-Man... My biggest concern is that I don't want Spidey getting lost in the crowd here.

This is a ground setting issue, but a really great one. I'm excited for JJJ's podcast (which is what the next arc will be about) and Norah Winters possibly becoming part of the cast (I mean, she was in issue 13, but that was so long ago). I'm also excited to see what Spider-Man can do with the clairvoyant. He is basically the only hero that can be trusted with that, and I love how Nick Spencer immediately addresses Civil War II and its bullshit dichotomy, thus solving that problem before it can really fester. Another thing I love is Peter's insecurities and his attempt at fixing them. Spidey has got to be relatable, that's how he works. I found the video date with MJ adorable. And lastly, man, Kindred is back and he's bringing back the Sin-Eater! That's a nice callback. And if you don't know, Sin-Eater was a cop whose partner was murdered by a bunch of criminals, so he started killing "sinners". He killed Jean DeWolf and intended to kill Betty Brant, but Spider-Man almost beat him to death instead. That crippled him physically and emotionally. After he was incarcerated and then, later, released, he tried readjusting to society, but couldn't. So, he took an empty shotgun and goaded police into shooting and killing him. He is very much a Spidey Sin™.

Look, I could go on and on about how great this issue is, and I will: First, let's tackle the stuff with Jonah. It's smartly written. Not only is Nick Spencer's analysis of the media spot-on, the way Jonah reacts to it is *perfect*. The concept of Jonah being clickbait before clickbait is interesting. And Bucky standing up for his buddy Cap is a highlight. As for Spider-Man's story, this is just continuing where the last arc left off essentially, which I'm fine with. I was worried that the Silver Sable stuff would be forgotten for several arcs, so I'm glad it's being stuck with. I know the big finale of year two will be Kindred related, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was still the main thrust of the plot. I'm on board for all of it. Also, I don't usually mention art unless it's egregiously bad, as my usual opinions of "it good" or "it bad" leave something to be desired. But I really enjoy Iban Coello's art here. After some not so great (okay, bad) art with issues 35 and 36, and a return to the familiar with issue 37, something different yet great is such a refresh for me. This run is killing it right now, and people need to learn patience. Kindred will come. Just enjoy the ride there because this is some great Spidey.

This issue was great. I loved the whole back and forth with Spidey and JJJ. And the back up was appreciated since no one is going to write Overdrive besides Nick Spencer, and keeping Sin Eater (Yes, that's who it was) around will help out all the people who keep complaining that there's not enough Kindred related material.

It's cool to see year two of Spencer's run really start to come together. I'm wondering if this year will have a finale like Hunted. I'm not sure. Year one consisted of Kraven teases and character refinement. So, it was easy to give it a big finale. There was really only one storyline going. This year we have Chameleon/The Clairvoyant, Kindred, and whatever's going on with Boomerang and Kingpin. I know Kindred is getting his big arc this summer, but does that mean all this other stuff will continue building up in year three? I'm interested in seeing where it all goes. Chameleon, especially, as he's been all over the place. And I include the Symkaria/Latveria conflict with Chameleon. I'm assuming the Clairvoyant gets wrapped into that, too. There's a lot of spinning plates, and while the big picture is forming, it's kind of shocking how big it is getting.

This issue is really, really funny. The reveal is unexpected, but it makes sense. I wonder how this lines up with Zdarsky's Daredevil. I also wonder what the long term is with this story arc. We've got so much going on already. I'm also curious to see how the Lethal Legion subplot will play out, and how it pertains to ALL the Chameleon related stuff. I know from solicitations that this and the previous "Sins of..." back up is teasing what's coming next in the Sins Rising arc. Nick Spencer is piling more and more on, and if it pays off, it'll be great. But if it's fumbled, that'll be too bad.

I feel sorry for Gog. The art and writing here were really good, but the entire issue is about how Gog got where he is, and his role regarding the lifeline tablet. And that's nice and all, but this issue went by so fast and therefore this feels like one of those issues that suffer from the bi-weekly schedule. It's a pacing problem. That being said, this issue reminds me a lot of the Gibbon issue from Hunted. It really manages to hit those emotional beats. I'm hoping next issue, which may not be released for a while given the Coronavirus pandemic, makes up for the pacing problem this arc has.

I'm so excited that this title is back. This has been one of my favorites since it began. And while I'm sure next issue will be this run in its top form (as all Kindred issues have been), this issue is kind of unfortunate due to the context in which it's been released. How could Nick Spencer and co. know that comics would stop for almost two months? This issue, kinda like last issue, would have done more for me in the timeline where the US didn't have such incompetent leaders. But the hype that I built up for myself because of the delays and my somewhat childish attachment to comics just couldn't be beaten by this more emotional, small wrap up. Of course, it didn't help that the solicitation made the issue sound like it was essential. It is... if you want to know what happens next in the sequential continuity of Nick Spencer's run, but it's not like what I'm just going to assume next issue is like. Or issue 24, or issue 29. This is like... an issue 15. The next big thing is coming and we need to wrap up the cloned Ned Leeds of it all. I say all this despite not disliking the issue. I really enjoyed it, for what it was. But the slight disappointment is not something I can ignore, much like last issue. And it's unfair so I'm not going to let it tank the score. So, the issue itself... I have two points of contention. One, the Lifeline tablet is around but we never really get a wrap up to that. It's not even really mentioned after a certain point. I assume Spidey and Boomerang ended up with all the pieces and Kingpin lost his groove, but it's not explained. Maybe it'll play a role in the next story... But this title likes to take its time and keep its focus sharp, so I can't count on that. Two, what happened to the art in those last few pages? I thought for a second that Ryan Ottley just ran out of time, but I checked this comic's trusty credits page, and it turns out Ottley inked some of this issue. I'm willing to bet those last few pages were Ottley inking his own work. The linework is too sharp and scribbly. It really does his art no favors, and that's a shame because I usually like his art. It was distracting, and I hope Cliff Rathburn, Ottley's normal inker, is back on with whatever Ottley's next issue is. This isn't a bad issue, not at all, it just suffers from a bit of loose plotting and loose inking, and it couldn't have picked a worse context in which to come out.

Out of all the series that the comics shutdown has affected, I feel like Amazing Spider-Man got it the worst. The timing couldn't have been worse. It happened in the middle of an arc that was very light. Yeah, Gog's backstory was rough, but ultimately it worked out. And that's very nice and good, but it's not very gripping. And then the wait between that last issue and this issue finally coming out was even worse because we knew this big Kindred related event was coming and we were told Spidey and Kindred were finally going to meet. And then we get this issue and they don't meet. They kinda meet. Sorta. If this issue had come back in April, when it was supposed to, it would've been another spooky, hype issue but with follow through imminent. Instead, there was so much hype for this issue that anything beyond a big Spidey/Kindred confrontation is going to be a letdown. So on that front... I'm a little letdown, obviously. But I'm really hyped for Sins Rising. How could I not be? The Sin Eater is really cool, and the Sins monster is terrifying in a really fun way. Bringing the other Spider-People in is something that was teased so long ago, Doc Ock was still Superior Spider-Man (side note: Is he still part of Kindred's plans or does editorial reign supreme?). I'm excited for that. This issue, for all its horror elements and the Kindred teases that I'm a sucker for, is at its best with the few pages where Peter calls MJ. The best parts of Spencer's run is when Peter is allowed to be his insecure self, genuinely. That's why some of the best issues are tie-ins to Absolute Carnage. That's what makes Peter Parker so relatable. If this prelude issue gives us a good idea of the tone this next arc is going to have, we're really in for a treat. I hope this isn't overshadowed by the mass of people who just want to know who Kindred is, rather than read a good comic.

This was a very good start to Sins Rising. I really liked the art. Mark Bagley is just an amazing Spider-Man artist. I really like the feel of the story. I don't know what else to say about the issue. I'm in a bit of a mood so I've had to, more than once, stop myself from typing out some vitriolic things about some of what I deem the Kindred-neers (Yes it's a pun). The subset of readers who only care about Kindred as though that's the only thing in the series that matters? And why am I bringing this up in a review for an issue where Kindred appears in one panel? Because every time Spider-Man gets introspective in this series, I think, "Is this the time they'll get it?" and the answer is always no. While we're on Kindred, since this title is called the Amazing Kindred, I'm going to throw out a little theory, so to speak. There's that one page near the end where Spider-Man is standing on a rooftop, and it's the page where the Kindred panel appears. The Kindred panel has him floating, but generally in the same pose, and he's looking over his shoulder at the reader. And then the next thing Spider-Man says is, "Stop looking over your shoulder, Spidey". So let's be a little bit crazy here for a moment... What if Kindred is OMD Spider-Man? I know absolutely no one else has thought of it yet, but what if that was a clue?

This was another extremely dark issue of Spider-Man, and also very good. It tops the last issue for me, and possibly even the Prelude issue. I just love the concept behind the Sin-Eater in this arc. I love the art here too. I was skeptical about it since Mark Bagley, as we all should know and understand, is a quintessential Spider-Man artist, and the idea of switching artists mid arc is always weird. But this works very well for the context of the issue. This issue houses a genuinely brutal attack on Empire State University that ends in what I feel is an unsettling way, especially given how the art conveys it. And then Nick Spencer tops that with a second reveal that makes it more disturbing to me, but in a good way. Also, hey we're seeing elements from the pointless filler issues that make up the majority of the series come into play. Who would've thought?

Still very into this. I'm like 99% sure this issue was written before the George Floyd protests, so it's remarkable how prescient this issue is (To be clear, the circumstances are very different, but ultimately the themes at play align very well. And the part where police officers almost murder a black man is just the cherry on top). I really like what Nick Spencer is doing, gotta say.

I really like what this arc is doing. I mean, there's a reason why Spider-Man is my favorite character. It's that he's intensely relatable in how he struggles, but is also ultimately a hero. And not just any hero, one of the best. Whenever his morality is questioned, like in this issue, it's always very interesting (if executed properly). And there's something to be said about how often Osborn has been used lately, but this is going in a very different direction than the Red Goblin arc or the Absolute Carnage tie-in. That tie-in, btw, is one of the best stories in this run. Spencer knows very well how to tell that story. And similarly to that arc, this issue, this entire arc, plays into one of the core themes of this run, which is that Peter has immense guilt for not being enough. Not only that, but also that he's constantly haunted by his mistakes. Kindred truly is pushing Peter to the edge, and I'm sure when Last Remains kicks off, it'll be very tense.

I cannot wait for next week.

As for the reveal, that is the character that makes the most sense given all the information we have, but I was so certain it was a fake out, and maybe it still is. We'll see. As for the rest of the issue, I could not be more hyped. It's very dark, which is fitting, and Gleason's art is phenomenal. We get to see Stan Carter go, which honestly made me feel for the guy. And there is sooo much One More Day over everything in this issue. It's ridiculous and I just hope that Nick Spencer and Marvel editorial are actually going to pull the trigger and undo One More Day (which does not undo the secret identity so no worries there.). The events of this issue are definitely a major step in that direction. I'm very excited for this arc. It'll take me through the end of this horrible year, and I'm ready.

Man, I'm very much here for Sad Dad Norman. I'm still not totally convinced that Kindred is Harry, but regardless of whether he is or not, Norman's pathos regarding Harry is very fun to read for me. I can't wait to see what Norman attempts to do to save Harry, and how MJ will get involved in this. It'll probably go very poorly, but that's what makes it exciting to me. Also, I'm so glad Mary Jane is back. I guess we're all going to collectively ignore that last issue of her solo series, since COVID took it out. But that's fine, I like her more as a supporting cast member in ASM. I'm also very interested in seeing what Kindred is going to do with the Spider-Friends. Could we see him go after Kingpin, maybe? I know I'm just listing off every plot point and saying, "Oh, I'm excited for this," but genuinely I am so hyped about this story and the week long waits between issues are going to be painful. Also, I guess I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Matthew Rosenberg coming on board as co-writer didn't ruin or change things. It reads just as good as the main series does. Even with writers I like, like Matthew Rosenberg (check out Hawkeye: Freefall), that's always a fear when they are brought on as co-writer.

The next main issue is going to be crazy. I didn't expect things to happen so fast. And man, I really, really hope that Marvel actually has a plan to undo One More Day, because it's all over this arc. I'll be a little snide for a moment. Check out the AIPT reviews for this series if you get a chance.

This was a really enjoyable issue that piles more and more onto the story. I'm getting slightly concerned about just how much is here.

Everything's coming up Kindred! Honestly, there's been a tooon of naysayers that have been saying there's no way that One More Day could be fixed; that Marvel editorial wouldn't allow it. And to be fair, that could still be the case. But the snappy way this issue ended definitely caught me off guard and at least shows me that editorial is probably not as vivacious as assumed. We'll see. I haven't read the other issue yet, but I doubt we'll be getting answers there.

I really wonder how the stuff with Morlun is going to play out. Otherwise, the trend of great issues continues. The week long wait for issue 53 will be a painful one.

I feel like this is either an issue people will love or hate depending on whether they've read their Spider-Man or not! Peter's trip to Hell is literally the back half of ASM #545, with some slight Kindred enhancements. If you don't know, 545 is the final issue in the One More Day arc, and its back half is the introduction to the big Spider-Man history retcon, Brand New Day. It's when Harry Osborn is brought back to life, now having been in Europe the whole time instead. It's a big deal that this is featured so heavily. Harry even directly alludes to Mephisto (just like Peter did). At this point, if Nick Spencer doesn't fix One More Day, I'd be shocked. This issue is very effective in putting the reader in Peter's position. That final "Gotcha!" is so effective. We knew Harry was Kindred, but we didn't know exactly how. And with the ending of this issue, it's implied that he's been this way since he returned, which again is a huge deal. So yeah, for an issue with not much happening, it's still an incredibly important one.

While not as crazy as some of the more recent issues, this does have plenty of things to note. Specifically, Peter's Astral Plane being littered with Back in Black/One More Day callbacks. You've got Jake Martino, the sniper that shot Aunt May, you've got Kingpin, who hired him, you've got Aunt May herself as a zombie and you've got a Mary Jane demon. If they don't fix One More Day during this run, I'll be very shocked. They just keep referencing things, more and more explicitly. It's part of the plot now, no more innuendo. And that's exciting.

This was another great issue. There are some concerns about where exactly this is going beyond the immediate, but we'll see. This was a very powerful issue, in my opinion.

I'm super hyped for the next issue, but this was good too. Can't wait to see how it all unfolds, and I just really hope it sticks the landing, because this arc has been so good.

The only problem with this issue is that it doesn't really conclude the story like they say it does. The same as Sins Rising, where it just ends on a significant cliffhanger, to be continued in the next arc. Cue a ton of angry readers mad that they don't have all the answers to Kindred yet. It is funny that all this time there were a subset of readers who just didn't care for anything that wasn't about Kindred and his identity... And then we got his identity and it looks like now that Kindred is revealed, we're going to get more than one arc out of it, and now people are mad about that. It looks like the Kindred era will officially wrap up in issue 58, with the next few issues being fallout issues to Last Remains, or more likely, just the next few issues of the story. But you know... The arcs after that revolve around Mr. Negative, who was in Sins Rising, and Kingpin, who just caused our significant end-of-arc cliffhanger. So idk, maybe this Kindred saga will never end lol. And how do I feel about that? I'm completely okay with it. Could the pacing be better? Yes. But I'm pouring over these issues, just wanting more and more every time I read one. I'm having a great time reading this series. I love the writing, the art and the tone. I'm having so much fun. So regardless of the pacing, and how Marvel decides to label these issues, I'm going to keep reading this series and I'm going to keep enjoying it... Assuming Nick Spencer doesn't fuck it up. You know, I was worried about how everything was going to be wrapped up with this issue, and it turns out... It's just not going to be wrapped up yet. We got at least a few more issues, if the solicitations are accurate. Classic out. If you can't end something, never end it. (That was a joke, I hope this story does have a conclusive wrap up.)

Man, people remain mad about this. Part of me wishes I could join them in their righteous anger, but I... just don't mind what's happening here. For one, on a very emotional, how-do-I-feel level, I'm still enjoying these issues. I like the characters. Kindred's last words (for now) were just so sad and carried so much baggage. We get pay off to what happened in Last Remains, we really do. Kindred will be back and it's so fucking obvious that OMD is at play here. I think some of the frustration is that Marvel has cockteased this sort of thing before, so a lot of abused readers and fans just need someone to say it. Hints aren't enough. An entire issue dedicated to recreating it isn't enough. Kindred needs to be clear. Peter made a deal with the devil. But for me, I don't have that problem. I'm fine with the storyline, that is obviously going to keep going, to not give all the answers exactly right this second. This is where the filler comes home to roost. Then there's the felicific calculus. Nick Spencer's run was never going to end with Last Remains. Do you realize how bad it would be if this arc ended with OMD being explained to Peter, and then we had 30 issues of Peter fighting Kingpin over the lifeline tablet, or stopping whatever Chameleon is up to? The people who called every issue that wasn't about Kindred filler would unironically have brain aneurysms. Plus, this means Nick Spencer isn't wrapping his run up for a while, which means I get more issues of a run I'm a huge fan of. I get slightly frustrated with my scores for this series. I hate that I'm giving out 10s like they're nothing, because it looks like I'm completely blind to any and all problems this run may have. That's not true. I just really fucking enjoy this run. So fuck it, I guess.

This issue is like Schrödinger's Cat. Either the cat is dead or alive, and until we observe it.. It's actually still dead or alive. This week, I'm seeing more and more people who are liking these individual issues, while still complaining about the lack of answers, and are letting the lack of answers determine the issue's worth as a whole. I don't know if this is something that always existed in the comic book community, as I've certainly contributed to it myself, but I find it weird how often we as comic book fans tend to decide a story's worth by how much information it contains (ie how "important" it is), without giving enough credence to how it's written or drawn. This arc clearly had a real effect on the characters in it, that will almost certainly be felt for the foreseeable future. Peter beats Norman relentlessly, as he keeps reliving his multiple deaths at the hands of Kindred in his head. That's not something that's going to be forgotten. This arc promised to put Peter Parker through the ringer and it did exactly that. There were answers in this arc, they just led to more questions. Is that okay? In a long form serialized comic? Yeah, it is. To come away from this issue thinking that Last Remains was just hype, that it didn't actually do anything... That's an extremely reductionist take, and I think it highlights a problem with the fan community and this rabid need it has for something to be obviously epic and earth-shattering, and for the almighty plot to be advanced in such a way. That's a problem because we're seeing the effects of this story playing out on the characters involved and yet so many people discount the entire issue because it's not an exposition dump about how Harry changed, and therefore it's not "important". I think this run as a whole has this problem where too many people think anything that's not Kindred answers is filler. And it's not just ASM, I see this happen with most series. Some of my favorite issues have been lambasted as filler because instead of being plot focused, they've made it character focused. Maybe the solution is to clearly define what is filler and what isn't. Maybe Marvel and DC should put a "FILLER" sticker on the covers of issues that are filler, so this unnecessary use of brain power in the comic book community is snuffed out before it can do more harm.

It seems like the past few years on ASM were all set up arcs, and that this next phase of Nick Spencer's run is going to be pulling all those threads together. The Kindred stuff instead of being mentioned here and there, is going to be an ongoing narrative within other arcs, and it's all tied together. That's extremely rewarding for someone who's been reading this run since its first issue. Again, I hate to look like a blind fanboy with all these 10s lately, but I just really, really enjoy this comic in a way that most other comics can't compete with.

Nick Spencer manages to nail these characters really well. Even the sins-removed Norman Osborn, which is probably really difficult to write. I'm glad Mister Negative isn't just a plot device to get to Kingpin having one of the tablets, I hope he continues to play a role in the story. It looks like the next major arc will be the culmination of all the Boomerang arcs in this run, which should be a lot of fun. But I'm actually more excited for next issue. The cover and the solicitation are promising a very Peter/MJ focused issue, and we really need one of those.

This was a great emotional issue. I really hope the Mephisto tease means we're on our way to undoing OMD.

A really big shift in tone. I think people who were bored, or annoyed, by Kindred will enjoy this more.

This arc is a lot of fun so far. I liked it a lot. Big shock. I just want to point out that whoever is writing these solicitations should be replaced. I understand their goal is to sell the issue, but so many times, they lie.

I don't think it needs to be said anymore, I still really enjoy this title each and every week. There's a lot of humor in this issue, which is a lot of fun. There's a ton of nostalgia here for me for 80s Spider-Man stories, and while that may be a cheap way to earn my goodwill, it works for now.

I can't really say much that I haven't been saying for pretty much every issue. I'm really enjoying this story. And I'm excited for Sinister War, obviously, as I would be.

The story here is a lot of fun, no complaints there. The art is not so good. Some of it looks unfinished. I assume that's Federico Sabbatini. But even Federico Vicentini's art, which I usually like, doesn't work very well with the big action scene. It's hard to tell what's going on in some of these panels.

Huh, I didn't expect so much in this issue. I don't necessarily remember the Rose being something to fear, but I guess you could describe his lack of skill and reasoning to be pure chaos. The two big things here is Kindred maaaay not be Harry Osborn and Betty Brant is back, and pregnant. The first one, I'm unsure about because the Harry at the end could just be Brand New Day Harry onwards, with Pre-OMD Harry being Kindred. Or Kindred isn't Harry Osborn at all, and is just using his face. Either possibility has its own ups and downs. I'm not sure which I'd prefer, but the latter would be crazy. The Betty Brant thing is pretty much out of left field. Who knows where that's going? But Spider-Man did promise Clone Ned Leeds to keep Betty safe waaay back in issue 15, so whatever trouble that is, Peter will definitely have to deal with. All in all, this is a set up issue but like all good set up issues, it gets me excited.

Lots of set up, but I'm into it.

Knowing that Nick Spencer's run is ending in a few months, it kind of morphed my opinion of this issue, in hindsight after reading it. I give this series a lot of praise. It is continually my favorite comic on the shelves, I truly do enjoy this run. However, part of the enjoyment of this run is built on the promise that the conclusion will be satisfying. This is the penultimate arc. I really don't understand why we're reintroducing Ned Leeds and Betty's pregnancy so, so late into this run. This arc feels like two separate ideas forced together. For a story arc named after him, Chameleon seems very unimportant to this story. Now, maybe it all comes together at the end, and maybe my worry is for nothing but as of now, I worry that what we get here will be an arbiter of what's to come in Sinister War and the finale of Spencer's run. It gives me a bad feeling. I like this run a whole lot. I even like this story arc. But I'm just trying to understand the 4D chess being played here, and I worry that, like Trump, it's a fiction. We'll see.

This is such a weird arc. The pacing feels so off. This feels like two arcs smashed together into one slightly truncated arc. I don't know if Nick Spencer's run got cut short or what, but I really can't believe this was the original intention when Spencer planned all this out. The Giant-Size issue coming next has so much heavy lifting to do to make this arc click for me. It's frustrating because I don't hate what I'm reading, not at all, I just don't understand why. Whereas before, I could just say, "Well, it's probably for a future arc," I know there's only Sinister War left, so I just... don't get it. I hope it wraps up in a satisfying way. I remember King's Ransom was kind of similar in that the pacing seemed off at points, but that one ended up working out. I hope Sinister War and the finale to Nick Spencer's run doesn't suffer from this pacing issue.

After the super disappointing Giant-Size issue, this brought me right back in. We immediately started converging major plot lines together, and answers were aplenty. The pace was quick, but not overwhelming, and I am so in. Please let this run end on a high note.

As far as I'm concerned this is a ton of payoff to so many of the mysteries set up in this run, so I don't really care about the artist switch up.

In this issue, we finally get the whole (more or less) of Norman Osborn's sins. The retcon here is... good, I'd say. I was initially mixed about it, but the more I think about it, the less I dislike it. Norman sold off Harry to Mephisto to gain success in his business ventures. That part of it makes perfect sense to me. Norman has always been terrible and this is just yet another thing to add to the list of awful things he's done. So, that part I buy completely. I even really like the idea that the Green Goblin costume is based on Mephisto. That's a cool retcon. The part I'm iffy on is how this affects Harry. By selling his son's soul, Harry's life became nothing but sorrow and failure. It becomes a question of agency. This is no doubt tragic, and in my opinion, it actually strengthens Harry's death in Spectacular #200. He's able to be a hero despite literally having hell against him. But then you have to question how much of his struggle was his own? I think of it as Harry struggling to be a good person despite an insurmountable fate and dread. That interpretation is the one where I don't have a problem with the retcon. The other interpretation is that all of Harry's downfall is because the devil made him do it. That's not quite so nice. But I choose my first interpretation. And with that in mind, I'd say this is a good retcon. It makes Kindred's hatred even more warranted, as now we know why the betrayal of Peter making a deal with Mephisto hits so hard, beyond a general disdain for the devil and a vague insinuation of what that meant for Harry before. And speaking of, now we know why Harry ended up in Hell, and why there are two Harries. Mephisto had a reason to keep the original in Hell instead of changing that along with everything else. The other thing about this issue is that Kindred may not be Harry after all? I'm thinking he might be a Chameleon or something, and this had all started out back before Harry had died originally. I mean, we still don't know exactly what Chameleon's role here is, and they've referenced Pursuit so many times in this run, including this issue. I'm not sure how I'd feel about *that* one. I guess I'll just have to see, but I'm on board for this so far.

At its core, this issue is retconning away the worst of Sins Past and all the related storylines. That's great. I'm very glad about that. I really don't know what to expect from the final issue of this run. The two week wait will be hard, assuming the spoilers don't come out ahead of time. I'm kind of dreading explaining this issue to my friends when they read it and only get like half of it. So... Kindred's body is the result of an evolution of cloning tech, a campaign led by an AI Harry Osborn, to fuck with Peter and Norman, spinning out of his original Pursuit plan with Chameleon. Kindred is the original Harry Osborn's soul, that has escaped Hell, which he was sent to due to Norman's deal with Mephisto, who has possessed the body of Sarah Stacy, and has used Chameleon serum to keep up his appearance as Harry Osborn. The question is, what does that make Brand New Day Harry Osborn if Harry was never revived? I guess we'll find out next issue. We have to. I kind of love comic books being comic books, so I don't mind how convoluted it is. I just worry about the accessibility of this issue to people who aren't clued into the last few decades of Spider-Man.

I honestly expected the reaction to this issue to actually be worse than it is. I didn't think OMD was getting undone, but now it's canon enough that MJ and Peter will stay together, which is all I wanted. Get rid of the half-assed romance subplots. Let Peter grow. I think this issue is a good example of reader assumption, and writer implication. So first, reader assumption. Obviously, everyone thought this run was going to undo, or effectively undo, One More Day. We didn't get that. I see a lot of angry comments about Kindred's plan changing, or their reasoning changing, and that's not the case. We just assumed, as readers, that when Kindred was talking about Peter's and Norman's sins, they were talking about Peter making a deal with Mephisto and Norman being a terrible father. In actually, it was Gabriel and Sarah hating Norman for rejecting them and killing their mother, and Peter for not taking what they deemed his responsibility in Gwen's death. This explains why Kindred was mad about Peter reconciling with his other love interests like Black Cat, or why they said they'd protect MJ from him, and why it would be his fault when she did die. Look, I know Kindred's narration gets a lot of shit, but if you actually read it in light of these current issues' revelations, it actually makes perfect sense. The reader assumption was this was all about One More Day, and that was pulled out from under us last minute by editorial. The reality is it was just as much about Sins Past as it was about One More Day, if not more so. Next, writer implication. This is the part where I give Nick Spencer (and the editors) some shit too. Clearly, they failed in some part to firmly establish a twist that is satisfying instead of annoying. I personally don't mind the Sins Past twist, or really, any of the retcons this run has facilitated, but plenty of people do. And I can't blame the readers solely for what they assumed, because the writer (and editors) certainly implied things. Nick Spencer knew he was opening pandora's box here, and the editors did too. You don't do that without a plan that is followed through on entirely. You play with fire, you are almost certainly getting burned. And that's why the fan response is so mixed. I don't know if Nick Spencer planned on leaving at this point, if editorial forced him off, or if he suddenly left. From the backup letter by Nick Lowe, the next run had its big summit in December 2020, and presumably didn't just manifest then, so obviously, it was planned to end here for a while. The whole point of this is if you imply certain things in your work, you need to address it in a satisfactory way, and a sudden mad dash for the end does not make that happen. I don't know what or why the run just suddenly kicked into overdrive so fast that Nick Spencer had to get co-writers on board just to get it done. That's not normal and wouldn't normally be planned, but again, it must have been because Beyond has been in the works for what's probably over a year now. I'm sure we'll hear all about it in 10 or 20 years. So, is this issue a satisfying conclusion to the run as a whole? Yes, I believe so. The first issue of the run said this was about Peter and MJ, and despite many attempts at making it not about that, in the end, that's what the entire thing has been about. They're able to beat back the literal devil with their love, save their friend from torment, and Peter overcame the overbearing guilt that sort of haunts this run, if you go back and re-read it. And their child is going to literally defeat the devil in the future. I know there's a lot of doubt about that tease, and the future of MJ and Peter, but we've seen from the Beyond era that they're sticking together. I don't see Marvel going back on that, because they've made such a big deal about it, he's with (a version of) MJ in the movies, and like this run or not, it sold much better than Dan Slott's run. It always hovered at the edge or just inside the top 10. I get that people wanted more closure on the other subplots this run had, but... to be honest, we got that with the other arcs. We don't need to see Randy and Beetle living together, we don't need to see JJJ angry about Spider-Man still, Teresa doesn't need a page where she looks at herself in the mirror and is confident about it. We got the ending to those things back in other arcs. This issue was about Mephisto, Peter, Harry, Norman and MJ, with Kindred as pawns. I said it in one of my other reviews, but this run seemed damned if it did and damned if it didn't with a lot of things. Fans were complaining about the filler stories, and then they were complaining about the Kindred stuff, and then we don't get absolute closure on the once deemed filler stories, and people are still mad. I don't know what to do here, honestly. The pandora's box was opened, and it won't be closed. I don't think this is a bad run, not at all, and I'm sure it reads much better in trade. In fact, I actually bought the entire thing in trade, and I wanted to do an in-depth review of the entire run where I really delve into it. I wanted to do that much earlier on, and thank god I didn't. Especially when I just couldn't figure out what Life Theft/Pursuit being referenced could possibly mean. I'll get to that eventually though. Oh and speaking of, I guess a subtle retcon that may not fully be realized by people is that Harry technically didn't do the whole Life Theft thing. That was a Mephisto-Harry now. Which btw, makes plenty of sense, Harry was not such a schemer in life. Would I recommend this run to people? Yeah. I think it's good. I might actually get them to sit out the Kindred centric arcs though. It requires a lot of pre-reading, but you know what, one of my friends is reading this run so I guess I'll see how someone who hasn't read any of the stories... elaborated on here feels. She's desperately behind though, so... it'll be a while. I'm excited for the Beyond era, if only for those covers. There's such a nostalgic feeling to them. But maybe that's just because the first Spider-Man comic I ever bought was Sensational Spider-Man #1. It wasn't the first one I had read, but it certainly holds a special place in my heart. I'm taking a half a point off for that Uncle Ben story, it just wasn't very good. I appreciate the attempt. The history two-page spread was fun, and the Beyond story is probably confusing to a bunch of people. I will say, I would've rather had the entire issue just be Nick Spencer's finale. 20 or so more pages could've been used to monologue about sins.

This was a mostly great issue. The emotional beats were all there; the writing was on point. I'm kind of worried that when Peter decides not to deal with his feelings about Harry, that's the writer saying that he's not going to deal with his feelings about Harry until the next run. I guess we'll just have to see. The art is great for the most part, although some of the backup art (for some reason, not done by any of the main artists on this book) was rough. A big selling point for me on this run was nostalgia, pure and simple. The Art Adams covers give such a nostalgic vibe to me, plus the return of so much 90s Spidey just cinched it. This issue didn't have that classical (for lack of a better word) feel I was expecting. It's not bad, by any means, I just expected something different and I need to adjust my expectations. We do know exactly how long this run will last though, which is crazy that they'd tell us (Maybe in case sales plummet). 19 issues in total. I assume that they aren't counting the .BEY issues to that. But it's weird. I assumed this was going to be the run that got us to issue 900. Marvel usually likes to start and end things around nice, big round numbers. It could be nothing. Maybe the next big run wants to have something special happen in issue 900 instead of having the run start with that issue. We'll see. But as for *this* run, we're on a time limit and that is probably better that we know it.

Alright, this issue lured me in, despite my hesitance with #75. I mean, if you give me a whole bunch of drama and good character work, for characters I truly do enjoy and care about, it's really hard for me to be objective. I will say, I hope the artist switch next issue (I have no fear about Kelly Thompson coming in to write) doesn't mess with the story too much. I kind of expected, with this rotation team, we'd at least conclude small portions of the run before switching things up, even if it's one big 19(+) issue story. So, there's a little disappointment there, but I'm used to artist switching in Big Two comics, so as long as it is good art and competently done, I don't care all too much. All-in-all, I'm excited for issue 77. Also, seeing May be May was a joy.

This is a bit of a slower issue. I gotta say, I'm not a huge fan of Sara Pichelli. Her art is serviceable, in my opinion. Kelly Thompson does a pretty nice job on the writers' side of things but there's a little too much going on in some of the dialogue, especially with Maxine Danger. She doesn't really work for me. I hope we trend away from the obvious business villain trope. Maybe it's a red herring, or maybe the character will be developed more later on. Overall, the issue is good but I was on such a high with the last issue that this one pales in comparison.

This was weird. I think Kelly Thompson did a good job with the writing, but the way Morbius was dealt with, with the security system, was very odd. I don't know what Ben thought would happen if he lured a crazed monster man towards his apartment, with its security. I guess he thought since the Beyond Corporation are such good guys, there would be some containment thing for Morbius, or something. I think that's the implication, but it's kind of confusing. The scene with MJ, Felicia and Peter is great. Best part of the book, by far. I hope this isn't the case, but it might soon become apparent that Ben Reilly's adventures just aren't nearly as interesting to the readers as anything going on with Peter. Maybe I'm in the minority on that one, though. The actual problem with this comic is the art. Sara Pichelli, for whatever reason, has been lacking the last few years. I don't know why. Maybe it's because Justin Ponsor used to color all her work and he unfortunately passed away from cancer back in 2019, and the colorists now just can't seem to figure out how to compliment her artwork. It's never bad, it's just disappointing. I really don't know what to expect from next issue. I'm not familiar with the creative team, but I hope it's good.

This is not really a Spider-Man issue, so beware, although I'm sure the ending will probably come into play elsewhere. But this is Jed MacKay and he's a competent writer who writes a pretty fun version of the Daughters of the Dragon, so if you're into that, you'll like this.

This was a good issue. I feel like the frequent creative changes might end up hurting this Beyond run. It just seems like not enough page space is being given to really further the main plot. Maybe that's coming soon and this is just to introduce the different teams and really set everything in motion here. But for now, I'm wary of whether this run will keep its momentum or not.

This was good. I wish I was more excited for what's happening, but these are simple, fairly standard Spider-Man stories with the added Beyond twist, and that's fun, but it's not the most engaging thing. At least we get some insight into Ben here that I hope is explored further.

This is a fun issue, but it definitely goes on too long. It is rather important, based on the ending and future issues though, so I'm not too put off by its length.

This was fine. I really want more overarching plot here. The done and one issues are fine, I guess, but I want something more to latch onto that makes me excited. Say what you will about Nick Spencer's run, but I was always reading ASM as soon as I could. Now, I'm slowing down a bit. Which is a shame.

Maybe it's because it is a Peter-centric issue, maybe it's because MJ gets to be a badass, something I always prefer instead of damsels in distress. But I really liked this one. It was short and simple, but it wasn't... draining the way past done-in-ones with Ben have been. I doubt this stuff will come back into play later, aside from the Lizard stuff, but I had a good time reading this one. Maybe it should've been a .BEY issue, however. Or not, it's really hard to know what is essential with this run and not.

I liked this. It's another done in one issue with Peter, and it looks great. I enjoyed it for what it was. I'm not sure how much it'll matter in the end though.

This is pretty good, I guess, but I'm really not feeling the excitement.

I've become more and more critical of this run as it's gone on, but I have to admit, this issue worked. The promise of a deeper story, and a real shift in the narrative is exciting. I just hope next issue follows through on that.

This is impactful! This is something I've been wanting from Beyond since the start. I hope what comes in the next seven chapters lives up to the promise this issue has.

This is a really good issue, although I saw some criticism elsewhere that we might be leading up to something very similar to what Nick Spencer did in his run. A Spider-Man without responsibility vs a Peter Parker without great power. And yeah... maybe, that is. But I'm enjoying the ride there, which I couldn't really say about the earlier parts of the run beyond a tepid acknowledgement as I quietly bemoaned Spencer's run being rushed to conclusion.

There are a lot of cool ideas presented in this issue. As the single Spencer fan, I'll give extra points for continuity between this run and that. I think the biggest failing here is the art. It's just not suited for the action in this issue. Luckily, Mark Bagley is coming in for next issue to hopefully deliver on the action goods. This issue is solid, but I'm hoping more excitement is to come as the Beyond era reaches its conclusion.

This is just sort of boring. Everything here is competent. The characters are fine. I just don't care about this in and of itself. Its contribution to the larger Beyond narrative seems to be negligible as well. I don't need every issue I read to feed into a larger tapestry. If something is fun and enjoyable on its own, that's enough. This is... borderline not fun. I'll say it, a lot of these reviews are definitely the result of lowered expectations because this is a Slingers comic. And you can't convince me otherwise.

This is a really good issue. I really like how this era of Spidey has thrust Felicia into this heroic role, and I hope that this continues into the next run. I did not miss Ben here. I'm happy to see Peter return, and his inner monologue is peak Peter, in my opinion. It's just a really enjoyable read, which makes up for that lacking Slingers tie-in last week.

This issue is amazing. I think Gleason nailed Peter's character here. I've got no complaints there. He really nailed threading that needle of comedy that Spider-Man has to thread. He has to make quips, they have to be pretty good, but they can't be great. And we got that in spades here. While I have some larger issues with Beyond's pacing, I will say this issue does satisfyingly start to wrap up the character arcs present in this era. I believe the front half of the run could've set things up better, but the back half is succeeding nonetheless. Oh, and Bagley's art is top tier. So many pages here I could nerd out about. It's really spectacular. I'm super interested in how this run wraps. Four more issues to go!

This issue is solid. Which is kind of a disappointment after the heights of the previous issue. I think Kelly Thompson might be the weakest writer of this Beyond era, and that pains me to say because I love her work, but something just seems off. Maybe she was rushed. Sara Pichelli is similarly disappointing. Her art is serviceable, but noticeably less good. Nothing here is bad by any means, it's just not what you'd expect coming up on the finale to this run.

This issue is better than last week's. I think Kelly Thompson was seriously just too busy to give this run her full attention. It would explain why, inexplicably, Jed MacKay scripted this issue based on her story. I think the issue may have turned out better for it, as MacKay is very talented, but it makes me wonder if given more room to breathe, if Thompson would've fit better on this title. The pacing and character work here is better, but I can't say the same for the art. I really don't understand why this run needs multiple fill-in artists, when the whole idea was rotating creative teams. At this point, it must be on Marvel's editorial, rather than any of the creators. Petition to get Devin Lewis to replace Nick Lowe? Seriously, he'd be a better fit.

I didn't dislike this issue the way it seems like a lot of people here did. I just don't care enough, I guess. Not even in a negative way. I see this issue as wrapping things up, while providing some pretense for future stories. Either you care or you don't. I am a Nextwave fan, so the Nextwave reunion was neat. The Doug scene I found powerfully unfunny. The villain epilogues do actually intrigue me, especially Queen Goblin's, so I hope those are followed up on. The Slingers section looks like it'll bring the Slingers into issue 93 in a minor role, which is something, I guess. I saw this issue as a wrap up issue, and I can't say I'm surprised by its contents. Maybe I pay way too much attention to what's coming out, and that's why I find myself kind of shrugging my shoulders over this. If I had gone into it blind, maybe I'd be more upset about it? But as far as I'm concerned, it's basically the comics equivalent of standing across the room from a slow moving steam roller, and then being surprised when it finally crushes you.

So this is it. The big finale to this undeniable filler story, meant to fill the gap left by Nick Spencer's run being cut short. To say this run was an editorially mandated construct would not be wrong. With that in mind, this run was a moderate success. I know that this ending will wash away the good that came from this run in the minds of many readers, but I'm not quite so shallow. And this issue wasn't bad at all. I feel like a lot of people forget how much of an asshole that Peter Parker can be. He's extremely impulsive. Maybe go back and read... any era of Spider-Man. He's especially impulsive when being threatened. Most people are, but him especially. The reason to like Peter is for his lesser elements, and his ability to overcome them. So... all that is to say that Peter's actions here, and his regrets after it, are totally in-keeping with Spider-Man. And so are Ben's actions, as he is Peter as well. So nothing about this climax and the tragedy of it is out of left field. As long as I can reasonably understand why these characters are acting the way they are, then I have no issue with where their actions lead them. I think that covers the general backlash this issue is getting. And why I disagree. There is one review in particular that I found disagreeable, and I'm only mentioning it specifically because I've seen it multiple times now in my feed, and I think it takes a slightly different tact than the rest of the criticism I've seen. Julhin's review has some points in it that I disagree with. I will start with the least important part, which is the weird claim that Wells doesn't like MJ. I'm mostly just curious where this comes from. I assume this is because of the solicitations for the upcoming run, in which case... as Julhin themself implies at the beginning of their review, you can never trust solicitations. The only other thing I can think of is his previous work on Spider-Man. Nothing from this run implied to me that he didn't care for the character. And I can't think of anything much from his past work on the title beyond one time slightly white-washing the Kraven's Last Hunt grave scene to be more about Uncle Ben than MJ, which is arguable at best. Unless he's said something in interviews or on twitter, I'm not sure where this claim comes from, but I'd genuinely like to know. This is less a contention and more just me being curious. More importantly, the main problem Julhin seems to have is with Nick Lowe's reasoning in his letter about this run, and I've got no love for Nick Lowe, but I take issue with Julhin's criticisms here. Nick Lowe claims that Ben Reilly doesn't really have a place in the spider-landscape anymore. Julhin takes issue with this and points out that Ben Reilly was super popular and had plenty of great stories from the 90s, with loads of potential. I feel like they're forgetting the ending to the clone saga here. Ben was never meant to go beyond, no pun intended, that era of Spider-Man. That's why they killed him. And then Julhin lists so many other spider-characters. They say we all know Peter, Miles and Jessica Drew won't go anywhere, which is funny considering Spider-Woman was just cancelled. Also, Jessica is not even a real spider-character. Then Julhin lists other spider-characters that also don't really have a place in the spider-landscape. Spider-Gwen's titles never last, even as they try to force her into the 616. Spider-Punk is getting a miniseries but that's all it'll be. Silk has just gotten two miniseries back to back after essentially disappearing, because she can't hold a title either. Noir got a miniseries way too late after the movie, and that was that. Spider-Man 2099 can't even hold a title regularly past his 90s roots. So, Julhin points to all these characters saying, "Well, look at them, they're allowed to exist" When all of them, minus Silk, are usually kept to their own universes, and none of them sell enough to consistently be published. And there's the hard truth about all of this. Ben Reilly, even with a great creative team behind him, wouldn't last. He'd just disappear like he did after his last series, only to be picked up by a writer that likes him on occasion. So, Nick Lowe decided to give him an ending, which he should've never needed as he should've stayed dead. Julhin continues but what I most want to harp on is this bit: "I hope that Ben Reilly fans get something better in the future, he's not one my favorites, but he's important to so many fans out there and i can't even imagine how most of them are feeling right now, seeing a character that is so important to them going in such a tragic direction because of such a ridiculous excuse from Marvel." I think this is ridiculous. Your favorite characters are never immune from getting hurt and beaten, and shifted from what they once were. What does a more valid excuse look like anyway? The only excuse you truly need to tell a story is having the idea for it. As far as I'm concerned, Nick Lowe could've said that they did the story because he personally has it out for Ben Reilly fans. The reaction to this issue would've probably been the same. I don't think stories need to play it safe just because the feelings of the fans of this or that character may be hurt. That's absolutely ridiculous. Marvel doesn't need an excuse to do what they do with their characters, and as far as I'm concerned, Nick Lowe's excuse wasn't actually that bad when you consider the spider-line as it has been for the past... 10 years. My biggest criticism of it is that they didn't just kill Ben off. If Nick Lowe wanted to have a hero befall a tragedy in a way that popular heroes can't, due to the status quo enabling cycle they're all in, he shouldn't have given Ben an out. But I guess he doesn't have it out for Ben Reilly fans actually. I'm not a fan of Nick Lowe's time as editor on the Amazing Spider-Man title, but I feel like if we're going to criticize him, criticize him for the bad things he does, not for the things you don't like on a subjective level. Criticize him for that Abrams' Spider-Man miniseries. Criticize him for his poor management skills leading to multiple creator fill-ins throughout the last few years. Criticize him for his inability to follow through the way he should, leading to things like Nick Spencer's run being cut short. Don't criticize him for an honest look at the state of the comics landscape, and one mostly forgotten character's place in it, and trying to do something interesting with it.

The first story was not great, and even kind of annoying. But the second story was really good. I wonder why they're keeping Nighthawk in shadow. Is it to pull a twist later and make it classic Nighthawk? And assuming that's not the case, is Nighthawk talking about the Heroes Reborn world or the world he was originally from?

This was really well done. Which isn't surprising given the creators on this book. But what really blew me away was how they were able to stick the landing the way they did to create a pretty poignant message about Spider-Man as a character. As you can see in the back-up section with everyone's messages about the final chapter, Nick Spencer, Gerry Duggan and Al Ewing were the real stars of that. I think you can see their strengths come out here. Gerry Duggan got everyone on the right track, he's good with ideas. Just look at his work. Full of good ideas, even if sometimes the execution is lacking. Al Ewing is a problem solver and knows how to take disparate elements and create a cohesive whole with them, as he does here. He knows how to solve these storytelling puzzles. That's why he's so great with continuity and elevating weaker stories. And then you have Nick Spencer, who brings the character and the heart. He understands Spider-Man so well. His strongsuit has always been character. Whether it's Sam Wilson as he struggles to deal with his new identity of Captain America. Or Hydra Steve, who is a perfect inversion of the Steve we all know. Or Boomerang, as he manipulates everyone for his own gain. Or Peter, someone who's always trying to do their best and yet makes mistakes, as we all do. Marvel tends to showcase their talent through anthologies, but I feel like they should do these types of stories instead. This was a very successful experiment and it's one of the few times 80 pages felt like a breeze for me.

This is a really dark comic and I'm completely here for it. There are two things I like most in my media, and those two things are horror and Spider-Man. We get mostly horror here, but Spider-Man does show up, albeit as a cracked, fucked up version of himself (And I don't mean because the writer wrote him poorly). This book calls back to the whole Sin-Eater saga, although as far as I'm aware, the whole snake handling pentecostal part of Sin-Eater's origin is new. I didn't mind that addition to his origin. I'm happy that the creative team is going for it. They're not trying to make this comic (and probably the entire arc) fun, and that ironically makes it very fun for me. If they hadn't leaned into the horror elements, this would've flopped hard. The art team should be commended, by the way. They honestly take the book to a whole new level. I'm really, really excited about Sins Rising. Let's hope it lives up to issue 44 and this one-shot.

This is just Amazing Spider-Man #48.5. Nick Spencer needed another issue or so to tell his story, but that would've ruined the anniversary issue timing. But hey, more Spider-Man? I'm down for that. We finally see why The Order of the Web is working to stop Spider-Man and we get a lot of revelations regarding Norman, and a major development regarding Kindred (in my opinion). I loved this issue. I read it quicker than I read some normal sized issues. It just went so fast. I cannot wait for 850, or really, all of Last Remains or whatever comes next! I'm just very excited about all of this.

I liked this a lot. I don't think Boomerang's story is actually over, but I liked that he was able to pull another Superior Foes, this time on the readers. They just happen to not take it as well when it's happened to them. I'm not sure if the Rose is a villain that excites... anyone, but I think it will go somewhere cool.

This is probably the worst issue of this entire run for me. And maybe that's unfair, but is that really so harsh an assessment when I'm still giving it a seven? I just really think this arc needed to be split into two different arcs. And this is the issue that was going to make or break the entire thing, for me. I really don't think it landed. I didn't necessarily have a bad time reading this one, but like, it's hard to ignore that it didn't seem to matter in the end. The Clairvoyant is disposed of. Teresa's whole arc that's been building through this run for the past 2 years really ended up just putting her back in a more nebulous space after Zdarsky confirmed she was actually Peter's sister. I don't think that's worth it. I don't think the Foreigner and Ned Leeds rivalry is very interesting. And why is Ned Leeds back with a pregnant Betty Brant? That's just so much to lay at the reader's feet so close to the end of this run. I'm just really disappointed with this one. I really hope some of this stuff gets more payoff in Sinister War because otherwise, I just don't understand the point. We'll see. At least Taskmaster and Black Ant will be back for Sinister War. That's always a plus when Spencer is writing them.

I went into this issue with optimism, and a chip on my shoulder. Not for the creators on this book, or even the editor. Rather, I had a chip on my shoulder for the fans. That chip is still there, after reading this book. All that screaming and whining about how this would be the worst run ever, and what have we gotten with this issue? A solidly written piece of a story that sets things up. It is no different than literally any other Spider-Man #1 I've ever read, in terms of its function. And yet, people got so fucking mad about literally two pages in it. I love the pairing of Peter and MJ. I want them to be together. I am too old to get bent out of shape over a pair of pages purposefully designed to cause outrage and thus, bring in money. If you have been reading comics for any serious length of time, you should understand what those pages are and you should be able to get past your reactionary, boring outrage. The other complaint, which has more validity in my mind, is that we've seen this before. And we have, kind of. This story is like a remix of so many classic stories that'd it be difficult to go through them all. But it feels comfortable to me. I saw a review on here that says that Peter is acting like Doc Ock took over his body again. I disagree. Peter has always had an edge to him, that's what makes him relatable. He's imperfect. I'm wasting my time with explaining this though, because it seems like whenever Peter does anything or says anything contrary to being a perfect hero, people forget the 60 years where he wasn't that. I have had my issues with Peter's characterization in the past, especially in the latter half of Slott's run, but this does not read nearly as immature as the outrage mob would have you believe. This reads like a Peter Parker who has been beaten down and made guilty. It does not read like a man-child fighting other heroes because he's jealous over girl trouble. Or like someone invading a sovereign country on a bloodlust mission. This reminds me, in a lot of ways, of mid-to-late 80s Peter Parker. The same Peter that got married. Peter at his most mature, I'd argue. Perhaps only beaten out by early JMS Peter. I like it. The actual content of this issue is actually interesting to me. I like when Spider-Man is street level and his villains have a good old fashioned crime war. Also, I find it ironic that so many people were acting as though this story throws everything that came before away, only to have this issue tie Spidey more into the Marvel universe than he has been in a while, on top of the main thrust of the story being plotlines that originated from Spencer's run. I guess the biggest issue here for me is the art. John Romita Jr. isn't killing it these days. This is, believe it or not, an improvement over JRJR's DC work. I honestly didn't look at the credits too heavily, but whoever is doing the inking and coloring have really made JRJR shine here. His art isn't amazing but it isn't... a trash fire, like say, his Action Comics stint. I don't feel shame for paying for this artwork. That seems like a backhanded compliment, but it really is an improvement. All in all, I'm excited to see where this new era of ASM goes, and I hope people can get over their reactionary disdain they've been told is good to have for some reason, and at least give this book half a chance before deeming it the worst thing ever (for this month).

Misleading cover and synopsis aside, this was a good issue. I'll comment on them real quick. Marvel (and every other comic company out there) has made a habit of lying about these things to drum up sales. It's a fairly recent invention, they only really started doing it in 1938. Is it annoying? Only because of the rampant speculation and hate from the readership. Pretty much anyone picking this issue up has to understand, by proxy of reading comics for as long as they most certainly have, that comic companies do these things. Simple as that. The actual issue does a good job balancing the Peter and Spidey side of things, something that Spencer's run frequently failed to do. There are complaints that nothing happened in this issue, but that's foolish. This issue is built to give some grounding for what's to come, and that was clear even before the rest of the arc came out. The art is surprisingly good for John Romita Jr, but that still doesn't make it great. There are iffy panels but compared to his work at DC, this is the Mona Lisa.

This issue is all about breaking Spider-Man down. Quite literally. The art is the standout here, and it is absurd that I'm saying it, but it's true. John Romita Jr. is not my favorite artist, not even close, but I'd be a hack not to admit that this issue lives and dies on his work. And thankfully, it lives. To be fair to Wells, he does create a sense of desperation for Spidey that I haven't felt in a while, not even when Kindred was beating him to death. It really does all work here. This is the least substantive issue so far, but the storytelling is on point, and the creators clearly knew what they were going for and hit it square on the head. For that, this issue surpasses the previous two. I'm not surprised that its scoring is higher for users this time around.

Much like last issue, this one relies heavily on its art to make an engaging read, however this time the narrative is strongly wrapped up in the spectacle. When this run started, you had a lot of naysayers talking about Peter's recklessness and his newfound attitude, which I posited then and now, is an integral part of the character dating back to his roots. But with that attitude comes consequences, and in this issue, we get that. Spider-Man is played so well by Tombstone, and you can't help but get excited. Everything is so tense here and the pages fly by, but in a good, fulfilling way. As a climax to this first arc, this is golden. To the people still upset about MJ, you are missing out. Plain and simple.

I feel like it's penance for me praising John Romita Jr. lately, but this issue shows some of his weaknesses. Peter's lumpy fucking face is hideous, and not in the intentional way. It just looks really bad. Thankfully, the writing manages to make up for the lackluster art. After the bombast of the last couple issues, this finale is all character work. Reflecting on this new world Spidey inhabits. A perfect bookend to the shock and awe route of storytelling this arc played with. And it all works. I could go through the best moments, but they're all great. Wells nails it. And that Black Cat tease at the end? I'm all for it. If we aren't going to do Peter and MJ, Spider-Man and Black Cat are a really fun pairing All in all, this arc was great and I feel like it won't get its due from a lot of people until well after the title moves past the split of Peter and MJ.

The problem with this issue is... the backups. I don't know what possessed Marvel to put a Jimmy Kimmel guest starring story in this anniversary issue, but I don't like it and I don't want it. The other backups are fine, yet completely unnecessary. I don't like paying for mediocre fluff. Give me excellent fluff like Nightwing does every month. With that out of the way, the main story has its ups and downs. The overall premise of this story is great. The idea of *who* Spider-Man is beyond his identity is great fodder for an anniversary story. I really enjoyed that. The idea of Peter ruining his own party by doing the exactly right thing of showing up on time is peak Spider-Man. I love it. His team up with the Sinister Six was fun and I wish it wasn't confusingly spoiled on the cover. I saw some hate for the characterization of the Six and their lack of development, but from how I read it, Wells seems perfectly aware of their development, as am I, and I didn't see anything to egregious, characterization-wise. The Sinister Adaptoid is a ton of fun. Using quotes from the Lee/Ditko era was so effective. Those early issues are burned into my brain, so it made my mind bring me back to reading those old issues again and again. That is great for an anniversary issue. It gives the reader a sense of nostalgia and growth. Making Ock's arms into a dog-like creature is really, really funny, and I have no doubt someone's upset about it. The use of The Living Brain was actually pretty neat. I'm not what you'd call a fan of his. Check out my review of ASM #8 if you want to know more, but I do applaud Wells for attempting to do something with that super wacky story. Ed McGuinness kills it dead on art. Everything looks so pretty. As for the downsides, the interaction with Flash at the party comes across as a legitimate case of characterization being ignored. It's written more as Flash being unaware than purposefully rude, but it stands out. Luckily, later in the story, his character is redeemed a bit. The other big issue for me is Felicia and Bobby being catty assholes to each other for no good reason. As someone else pointed out, that's really just a sexist trope. It doesn't work and it's unnecessary. It's not even fun. I can handle fun sexism. Oh and Anna Maria should not be okay with Ock coming around. The second Superior run softened their relationship a bit (no one read that so they think it's probably much worse than it is), but it still wasn't approaching cordial like it does here. Those are my issues. They aren't giant problems, but they did hinder my experience. Oh, and the ending? I'm totally fine with it. I support it even. Felicia is great.

This was a very strong issue. There's a lot of ground being laid here. We finally get MJ and Peter truly interacting for the first time in this run, and it manages to keep the mystery afloat without being annoying more than intriguing. This is something that Spencer's run had plenty of trouble with. Add another little mark on the chart of differentiation between this run and Spencer's. Zeb Wells continues to play with continuity. I don't say that as in he's colorfully retconning things in a fun way, but rather that he's simply using the continuity as it is. Vulture's granddaughter learning about his villainy was not something I ever thought would matter, least of which in the Amazing title, but it actually serves as a really engaging catalyst for this mini arc. A lot of modern writers will choose to break away from the overarching narrative when they take over a character, usually choosing bits and pieces of the previous work to latch onto. Which is perfectly fine, and can be used to great effect. A good example of this would be the Hulk title. When Ewing came in, he completely changed what Hulk had been for years at that point. A lighter, more teenage driven run by Greg Pak in Totally Awesome Hulk became the existential nightmare that was Immortal Hulk. We got bits and pieces of bleed through here and there, but Ewing took it in its own direction. And similarly, when Cates took over, the title became a brutal, high action 90s comic with Smashtronaut. All of these runs have their strengths, but the delineation between them is apparent. Amazing Spider-Man is kind of an oddball because each run since Brand New Day has somewhat built on the other, while also performing large switches between writers. Peter Parker, as a character, has been insulated from the rest of the Marvel Universe, for whatever (possibly movie related) reason. So while Spencer did capitalize on what Slott did, he did negate a lot of it, and all the while convoluted the only sandbox he could really play in. It's interesting to see Wells break that mold. He keeps incorporating the larger universe into the series in a way that makes the run feel fresh. The constant backdrop of Krakoa being a prime example. Also, instead of minimal connections to previous runs, used as a platform to launch into his own singular run, Wells is really living in the status quos that Spencer built, in spite of the time jump. The first arc was about Tombstone and the Rose, both plot points set up by Spencer. This second arc features Norman Osborn heavily, who is still cleansed of his sins from the previous run. And by the way, Marvel insists on using Norman way too much. He should've stayed very, very dead. This is an interesting dynamic. It isn't just Norman mean-mugging Spidey for years, like in Slott's run. I will take this over that, if we just can't get rid of him altogether. I genuinely think Wells is doing a great job making this title feel revitalized. I can't stress enough how much of a good job he's doing. I think a lot of the initial hesitancy with this run was simply Marvel's marketing strategy of making the reader mad enough to buy the issue, which is not a great strategy. Now you've got a bunch of... well, idiots, who refuse to read the run based on misconceptions, and they'll continue to loudly act as though this run is the worst thing to ever happen. It's actually the most engaged the title and the character have been with the Marvel universe since Straczynski, and I think that's something to support. Quick note, the art is passable here. There is a noticeable roughness to some of it that wasn't present in the first arc. I don't know if Romita is losing steam, or if a lot of talking heads just kind of plays to weaknesses, but I hope he bounces back with the inevitable action next issue. I'm really not a fan of his, so I'm constantly weary we're going to get Action Comics level art. Fortunately, that has yet to happen.

Amazing Spider-Man continues to be a really fun title. Not a ton happens storywise until the tail end of the issue, and that isn't so bad, because the bulk of this issue is a really engaging fight/chase between Spider-Man and the Vulture. The art team and the letterer really make a tense scene even more impactful with an expertly crafted moment. The implications of Norman's actions and words in this issue set up what could be a very interesting arc for the character, which is where this run could very possibly shine most. The new suit looks a bit janky to me, but I'm not fretting over it too much. I want to see Gleason's version of it, as he is the one who designed it. I'm sure it'll last until Dark Web, anyways. Also, I guess I have to catch up on Mutant comics in the next two weeks.

This was a well-written and well-drawn downgrade. After what's felt like a lot of forward momentum into this new status quo, this issue puts on the breaks. When it comes to ASM, I try to really give each issue its due when I go to review the book. Spider-Man is my favorite character after all, and I feel like it's worth the time put forth, especially when the title is, uh, "controversial." I have almost nothing to say about this issue, though. I am currently reading all the X-titles, but I'm a bit behind on most of them, and that means I've yet to read the Hellfire Gala one-shot that this story ties into. Thankfully, the first couple pages catch any readers like me up on what happened in that one-shot, as it pertains to Spider-Man. There's never a moment where I was confused about what was happening. I do think this issue reads like it was written during the 90s. I don't necessarily mean in terms of tone or style, I mean that there's a ton of continuity wrapped up in this issue, and there's not a ton of explanations given. You won't be confused, but there is so much happening in regards to Moira and the X-Men that is simply taken for granted that the reader would understand it. It's madness. I don't know if any of this will matter past this issue. I know Dark Web also will involve the X-Men, but I really can't see Moira playing a large role in that. This issue doesn't suggest that at all, with a caption saying to watch for her in AXE of all things. The only "important" part of this issue is the brief few pages at the end where Peter and MJ attempt to talk, or rather Peter does. MJ blows him off. Revealing that the reason they can't talk is because of the vague notion of responsibility. I've been pretty defensive about the time-jump and the mystery regarding MJ. I've said that it ultimately shouldn't bother the readers that it exists, and that it's not hindering my enjoyment of the book. That is still mostly true. However, with an issue that seems as empty as this one was, they should've given us a real hint at what's happening at the end. Presumably, the responsibility MJ mentions is her kids. But who's to say that's actually what she means? Side note: I do really like Peter's attitude towards MJ in this issue. People were acting like the romance was dead when Black Cat kissed him in 900. This issue makes it very clear that he's still interested in her. Which is refreshing, because usually, they'd shy away from that. It makes me think that the relationship is actually pretty far from dead. While this issue is a bit lackluster in story, I will say that the art is great. Gleason renders everything perfectly. It looks so damn pretty. It's just a shame that he wasn't allowed to draw something more memorable. Next issue is also a tie-in, but I have a feeling this next one will have more emotional weight to it, which will hopefully lead to a more satisfying reading experience. This issue isn't bad, it just feels wholly unnecessary.

I wanted to like this more than I did. The ideas are there. Peter constantly trying to ignore his greatest trauma is very in keeping with the character. In fact, everything here is in character. And there are some really beautiful moments here. But I do not like Dragotta's art. I don't know if he has a go-to inker that wasn't present for this issue, or what, but the linework really left a lot to be desired. I'm slightly baffled, because I usually *do* like Dragotta's art. It takes away from a story that I think is actually great. I wish I could rate it on the story alone. Wells gets these characters and understands why we, as fans, care. But... the art bothers me too much.

Ugh, Spider-Man fans are so goddamn obnoxious. Some of the reactions read like a tradcon learning to accept their kink. No one can ever just enjoy what they're reading.

Not sure how they'll wrap this one up in an issue, but I've been enjoying it. I hope the ending is meaningful.

I thought this issue was very energetic. Romita's art can be hit or miss, but the energy and motion of it is undeniable and one of its best qualities. This issue sets up some interesting things going forward, that I do hope deliver.

Big fight go boom.

Okay so instead of reviewing this comic, because this comic is essentially just a well-rendered fight scene, I will instead use my review as a way to express how media criticism and analysis works. So many reviews for this issue are just people complaining about the characterization of Ben Reilly and simply not paying attention to what they're reading. What makes a piece of media bad is not whether it conforms to what you think it ought to be. Sure, you can develop your own ideas and stories based on what you see as a failing in this idea/story. But the failing should be considered on the media's terms. What does this comic set out to do, and does it achieve that? Complaining about Ben Reilly's characterization would be valid if this characterization came out of nowhere, and was inconsistent with what has been established. However, we had a whole run of comics that explain where this characterization came from, and Ben's new characterization is in line with that. Therefore, it's not a valid criticism just because he's a different Ben than the one that melted back in the 90s. There is some argument to be had here, but I don't want to get into the minutiae of it right now.