19:49
Unknown
It was the comic that first got me hooked on buying Marvel Comics (that was the original Amazing Spider-Man #15), and I bought every issue for decades (like, almost five decades).
Finally, I had to give it up - between the retro-erasure of Peter Parker and Mary Jane's marriage, and then the whole "Doc-Ock-is-Spider-Man" mess, it broke my heart to read - so I dropped the title.
But I keep trying to give the character another chance, so I bought this "return" issue of Spidey.
There are some good things about it. The dialogue is crisp and actually funny. The art is very good. Pete seems to be back in heroic mode, helping people, being kind to his friends, and doing the right thing.
But despite that, this new Spider-Man just doesn't work for me at all.
The idea behind the new series is that Peter Parker is now Tony Stark - a wealthy inventor who uses his inventions to benefit mankind, while continuing to fight crime as Spider-Man.
So the supporting cast is gone (at least I didn't see a familiar face in there anywhere). Spidey drives a Spider-Mobile, for crying out loud. Oh, and Spidey is Pete's "bodyguard" - so for much of the issue, we have a faux Spidey in the costume.
As I've written before, I don't like it when Peter is portrayed as a loser. The secret to the character working is that he's "real" - dealing with everyday problems, fighting against the odds, using his intelligence and his abilities to overcome and always fighting to do the right thing.
We can't sympathize or empathize with this Peter - in fact, he's virtually unrecognizable.
So I won't be following this title. Bummer.
(Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the backup features in this issue, all teasing oner Spider-related comics - which reminds me of the Silver Age Superman stories, with Super-animals, relatives, cities and assorted silly stuff. It's what we used to call "beating a dead horse.")
Grade: C
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