Spider-Man

• Title: The Amazing Spider-Man #657
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer:Dan Slott
• Artists: Marcos Martin, Ty Templeton, Nuno Plati, Stefano Caselli

Another strong issue dealing with the effects of Johnny Storm‘s death. Spider-Man shows up at the Baxter Building offereing his condolences and reminicing with Reed, Sue, and Ben about their fallen friend.

I’ve only got minor complaints with this issue such as it being set before the events of FF #1 (which came out last week) and the awkwardness of the first couple of pages. Other than that I really enjoyed this issue (which is something I’ve only been able to say occasionally about this title in the past few months).

What we do get is multiple stories from different artists including Spidey, Reed, and Johnny in space, Spider-Man going camping with the Fantastic Four, and the Invisible Woman pulling down the pants of criminals in the middle of Central Park. Yes, it’s as fun as it sounds.

There’s also a nice moment at the end where the family sits down to watch the message Johnny left for Peter. It may not be as good as the one from FF #1, but it’s still a nice moment. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $3.99]

• Title: Amazing Spider-Man #651
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Dan Slott
• Artist: Stefano Caselli

You know what? It’s nice for Spider-Man to be fun again. The latest issue finds Spidey and the Black Cat breaking into the Kingpin‘s tower after the stolen Reverbium.

Spidey’s sporting his new stealth suit (something I’m still on the fence about) and the Black Cat is sporting her trademark teammate skills as the two find their secret mission discovered before it even starts when the Kingpin and the new Hobgoblin give the heroes a rather chilly reception.

I’ve really only got minor complaints here such as the length of time Fisk toys with the Black Cat without doing her any real harm (something which could have been fixed by reorganizing the panels a bit). I do like Phil Urich as the new Hobgoblin and the dark mirrored take with him selling footage of his other persona for his job at the Daily Bugle. There’s also a nice moment with Carlie when Parker realizes how naked he feels with all his Spidey stuff stored at his new job instead of his apartment.

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• Title: The Amazing Spider-Man #634
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer:Dan Slott
• Artists: Stefano Caselli

War between tribes? *Sigh* The “Grim Hunt” conclusion of The Gauntlet begins here, and for the life of me I can’t get Knightfall out of my head. And not in a good way. Here we have villains I couldn’t give two shits about (Ana, Alyosha, and Sasha Kravinoff) sending waves of former big name baddies after our hero to weaken him until they step in for the kill. Sound familiar? Throw in some fuzzy mysticism and human sacrifice and I’m groaning my way through a comic best forgotten.

Although I’ve liked individual stories in The Gauntlet, the story behind the scenes, which comes to the forefront here, has done more to weary me than our hero. Why am I supposed to care about forgotten Spider-Women, Madame Web (a character I’ve never liked), Ezekiel, Kaine, or Kraven’s wacky family? Hopefully Marvel can get through the “Grim Hunt” and on to better things for the wallcrawler as fast as possible. Pass.

[Marvel $3.99]