Thursday, 24 April 2008

REVIEW: The Amazing Spider-Man - 557




As I write this blog, after a (very) hard day's work - I find myself slumped in my chair, reflecting on the finer things in life.

Finer things such as the smile on my girlfriend's face in the morning, or the smell of freshly cut grass.

And this evening, one of those finer things - is this comic.

Readers of my Blogger posts will have already seen my opinions on issue 555 and 556 of The Amazing Spider-Man - but to summarise them quickly - I liked 'em a lot. Which surprised me greatly, as I hate the idea of Brand New Day (it just doesn't cut the mustard for me, especially as it left so many unanswered questions).

But - having had a quick rant about the overall story-arc - what of this particular book?

***SPOILER ALERT***

When last we left Spidey, he'd realised that Dr. Rabin had pulled the old 'bait and switch' on him - not in fact sending him to rescue the 'kidnapped' researchers - but rather lead a Mayan God of mischief directly to them...

Oh - and let's not forget that Carlie was in a pretty pickle, having just watched Rabin sacrifice one of three good Mayans - trying to avert catastrophe. 

Issue 557 nicely ties up this particular storyline with Spidey bouncing around a snow covered New York, desperately in search of help to defeat a God who can bend space and time to his advantage (there are a couple of particularly well drawn moments where a fist or a staff carry from one moment in time [or panel] to another).

Suffice to say - Spidey gets help and (kind of) saves the day - but it doesn't come from anyone you'd expect...

So - thoughts about the comic. Damn good - no - excellent artwork from Chris Bachalo, with a spotless script to match by Zeb Wells. Reading the book was a joy from start to finish, and has certainly been the best thing to come from Brand New Day so far.

Get shot of Brand New Day, bring in Same Old Day and get Zeb and Chris on it. It'd be brilliant.

Pete's Score: 4 out of 5
(fantastic book - the best Brand New Day work so far by a mile)

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