Ultimate Spider-man #13, #14 and #15 - Marvel

I know . . I always go on and on about how good this series is . . and really, the entire Ultimate Universe line. But . . I really, really like these books. Spider-man is one of my favorite characters anyways. And the opportunity to see him in his teens, I think, creates some of the best Spider-man stories I've ever read. Add to that the fantastic writing of Brian Bendis, and David LaFuente's incredible interpretation of this character . . I've been hooked since the very beginning. Now . . there's even more good news on the horizon. The issue after #15, with normal numbering, would've been #150. So they're switching back. One, because of the milestone with this title. But also because it's the 10th anniversary of the Ultimate Universe. There's a variant J Scott Campbell cover. And also . . in future issues . . we're going to be seeing the Ultimate Universe version of . . the Black Cat. I can't wait. Anyways, with the current issues, we get parts 5 & 6 of Tainted Love. In issue #13 we see this Chameleon type character trying to slip into Peter's life. He'd already gone to live with Aunt May. And has things entirely f'd up with the whole love triangle of Peter / Gwen and MJ. But at the end of issue #12 he discovered that Peter was actually Spider-man. So with the help of some MGH (mutant growth hormone), he's out trying out Spider-man's powers . . and costume. It would actually be pretty funny, if Peter wasn't stuck in such dire circumstances, and . . the guy has decided to use Spider-man's powers to make him and his sister rich. Oh yeah . . there's 2 of these guys. Apparently brother and sister. While the brother is out mucking about with his new found abilities, the sister is holding Peter and JJ hostage. Their original plan was to make some money off of JJ's identity. You know, being rich, and a publisher and everything. But then they stumbled across Peter. Anyways, in the process of all this . . without to much of a leap of logic, JJ figures out that Peter is actually Spider-man. Not to mention that both of these creeps also know his identity. And once they decide that Spider-man can do so much more for them than JJ ever could . . they shoot him. But the problem with their plan is . . once the news hits of Spider-man's apparent crime-spree around town . . May gets upset, so she asks Bobby and Johnny to go out and find him. Which doesn't take them to long. Spider-man as a bank-robber isn't to hard to find. And even though this guy is getting more used to Peter's powers . . and he seems to have some kind of power of his own, he's still no match for these kids who have seen more action than him, and have actually been trained in the use of their powers. After Bobby and Johnny follow him back to where they've got Peter stashed . . they make pretty short work of him. But then the problem becomes . . what do they do with them? Not only do they know Peter's identity, but also Bobby and Johnny's. So it probably wouldn't be to much of a stretch for them to piece other things together. So they end up turning them over to Carol Danvers at SHIELD. What else could they do? Oh yeah . . JJ isn't dead. Apparently the bullet just grazed his head. He's in bad condition, but they save him when Johnny rushes him to the hospital. Anyways, both of these issues were brought to us by Brian and David. However, Sara Pichelli does the art for issue #15. This issue is kind of the aftermath of the previous storyline. Peter is trying to put his life back together, but he finds out that some people just aren't willing to forgive him . . Gwen. MJ is trying to be understanding . . she knows this wasn't really Peter's fault. But Gwen isn't so forgiving. By the end of the issue she ends up leaving. He also gets a lecture from Aunt May and Carol Danvers. Although May's was probably more upsetting to him . . Carol's is the one that's on his mind, and that he has to worry about. It isn't really so much about what she said, as how she ended the conversation. 'I can't order you to stop . . civil liberties and all that. But the next time something like this happens, you're going to force me to have to make a decision on your behalf. And I really don't think you'll like it. Go home, Peter Parker.' It sounded more like an ultimatum, than necessarily a threat. But the one shining point . . as Peter's trying to sort out this whole mess, is that JJ puts out a story telling the world exactly what has happened to them. But in it . . he does not reveal Peter's identity. It turns out, after everything he's been through . . JJ has become one of Peter's, and Spider-man's staunchest supporters. 'God gave me the power to help Spider-man. I know this now. I will fight this entire world for him.' Whodathunkit? Oh yeah . . and that girl . . the one from the mother and daughter crime team, the Bombshells . . she started going to Peter's school. That can't be good. So now that everything has been tossed into the hamper, and stirred about like a salad . . now that Peter's life is in complete shambles . . Brian can start putting together the pieces and figure out where this character goes from here in the 104 page 150th issue extravaganza. Of course, 52 of those pages are reprints, but . . it's still an oversized issue. And with Skottie Young and David doing the art . . it should be fantastic. I really can't overstate how good this book is . . and has been . . continually. If you're a Spider-man fan at all . . and the least bit interested in this book . . you should definitely pick it up. You won't be disappointed.

the Amazing Spider-man #639, #640 and #641 - Marvel

I enjoyed this story-arc, but . . really the whole thing could've been told in one issue . . issue #641. Basically, we're finally getting the whole story on what actually happened the day that Peter and Mj thought that they were going to lose Aunt May. And how those events precipitated MJ walking out on Peter and leaving him . . for good. However, since we saw before how all of this was due to the machinations of Mephisto, I'm guessing that this is Joe Quesada's way of rewriting those events. We saw in issue #638 MJ's encounter with power from down under . . and I don't mean Australia. However, with this story-arc, it seems that have been unfolded in a different way. We start out with their wedding . . a wedding which never happened, and eventually led to MJ deciding that Peter's secret is just to much of a responsibility for her. We also find out that the Kingpin not only sent someone after Peter, but because of Peter humiliating him in front of the entire prison, Wilson's hitter now had a list of Peter's and MJ's entire family. MJ, and Peter, stop the guy from taking out Anna. But during the course of the interlude, MJ finds out that after these 2 he's moving on to her entire family . . immediate and extended. That's when she realizes that it's not Peter putting her family in danger, but rather herself . . because, she's 'Spider-man's girlfriend'. But they both come to a conclusion because of this. Peter decides that it's to risky for the entire world to know his secret. Somehow he has to stop it. So he enlists the aid of Doctor Strange. And with the help of Reed and Tony, Stephen erases the memory of Peter's association with Spider-man from the entire world. However, at the time, Peter decides that the memory of everything that's happened is to much for him to live with alone. At the last second he pulls MJ into his protective circle, enabling her to share those memories with him. But the conclusion that she had reached was that all of this was just to much to bear. It was bad enough that she was always worried about Peter when he was out crusading. But she was also, really, his second choice. In her heart, as well as his, she knew that his first choice would always be to save the world. Then on top of that, because of his secret, there would always be the chance that something would happen that would put her, as well as her entire family in jeopardy because of their relationship and association. For that . . she would be solely responsible. If she chose to be with him. Which is why she didn't. But that's not really what this story is all about. Well it is . . to an extent. To the extent that this is the first time we had heard it. But to Peter and MJ, this was all history. Tragic and heartbreaking, but . . history. No the point of this whole story . . the point of MJ coming back and begging Peter to talk about everything that they've been through, was first of all to make sure that Peter understood all of her actions and choices. Because of his love he accepted them, but . . she knew that he didn't really understand. And with that understanding, she chose to set him free. 'I wish I was strong enough to be with you, but I'm not. And I don't know if I ever will be. And you . . you need to fin that someone who is. And you need to move on. You've been sitting here, wondering . . waiting for something that isn't going to happen. You need to get on with your life. There's someone wonderful out there for you. But, if you don't let go of 'this', you may never find her . . even if she's standing right in front of you.' Which leads Peter to a realization. 'Today, my best friend, the best person I've ever known . . set me free. Today, for the first time in a long time, I feel like my destiny's my own. Like I can take on anything life has to throw at me. Today? Today feels like a brand new day!'. Hmmm. Where have we heard that before. Anyways, I thought it was a good story. And very moving in parts. It just seems to me that this whole thing with Mephisto was just kind of swept under the rug. It happened. But it didn't'. You know what I mean? This story, to me, seems like the natural occurrence of events. But that's not the way it happened. At least not the first time. So now . . it's different? I guess that's all I'm going to say about that. I don't want to get stuck up on some soapbox. Let's just say that I think Joe Quesada, and Paolo Rivera are extremely talented. If I could do it I would. But I can't, so . . I just have to read it . . and accept what's published. I enjoyed the story and look forward to the next story-arc. And I'm trying really hard not to say something snide to end all of this. I'm just going to say that I think Peter is one of the best characters out there.

the Amazing Spider-man #638 - Marvel

This series really is a roller-coaster for me. I ended up loving the last story-arc, but . . this one doesn't seem to be starting out to well for me. I think my biggest complaint was that this issue really boiled down to the 8 new pages of story and art by Joe Quesada, Danny Miki and Richard Isanove. The rest of the issue reprinted the story from Amazing Spider-man Annual #21 . . from 1987. I understand that it was trying to drive the point home of what this story was about, but . . I just didn't like it. I didn't really like the way the whole thing was set up. Supposedly . . although I don't remember it . . it must of happened so fast that we didn't see it, but . . supposedly when Mephisto was doing the whole whammy thing on Peter and MJ, Mj whispered something in his ear. This issue we find out what that was. Before Mephisto changed everything, MJ told him . .'You're going to put his life back just as it was. You're going to give him a chance at happiness. Because of what I can offer you. I know Peter. He will never make this deal with you. Never, ever . . unless . . I ask him to. But if I do, this is the end of it . . you will leave him alone for the rest of his days.' So . . the problem I have with all this is that it's never really been explained . . at least to my satisfaction, just how much Peter or MJ remember of their whole 'history'. Now, at least to me, it seems that Peter's memory of their relationship went back to before they got married. While MJ seems to remember more than she's letting on. But it's hard to tell because not much can be explained in 8 pages. And while I appreciate the way the Annual integrated into the story, compared to the stories of today . . the one from 1987 seemed kind of cheesy. To me . . the best part of the whole issue was Paolo Rivera's cover. The rest of it . . I could take or leave. Hopefully the story in the next issue will be a little better and explain a little more. We'll see.

Ultimate Spider-man #12 - Marvel

I'm not sure who this guy is, who's taken over for Peter, but . . he's really starting to make a mess of his life. Last issue MJ and Peter went to the Bugle to tell them about the story of Kitty . . you know, about the Feds showing up in school to kick her out. MJ had gotten video of it. Anyways, while there Peter sees JJ, but . . something's wrong. So he excuses himself and follows him . . to the basement. There, whomever was taking JJ's place knocks Peter out and takes his place instead. He doesn't know that he's Spider-man, but . . he does know that he's very powerful. So now, this issue, he's trying to backtrack and figure out just who Peter is, and what is his secret. He screws up the first time by kissing MJ. Then, when Gwen practically attacks him in the attic, he tells her about the encounter. Sending her off into a rage. He also almost beats up Flash. And then, the next day in school, kisses MJ again right in front of Gwen. This is when Gwen decides it's time for her to leave . . both school, and Aunt May's. That's when, while yelling at Peter, she makes a mention of the 'costumes'. The guy immediately runs to the attic and finds Spider-man's costume. 'Never doubt me again. Face it tiger . . we just hit the jackpot.' Peter's already run into Mysterio, so . . I don't think it's him. Maybe it's this reality's version of Chameleon. We don't really know yet. Anyways, this was another great issue. Brian Bendis has once again done a tremendous job with the story. I absolutely love all the interaction between these characters. Also, it was funny seeing this guy, who's taking Peter's place, have to deal with all the angst and trauma of High School life. He probably felt like he was walking into a nightmare. I also enjoyed David LaFuente's art. I think he's getting more and more comfortable with this series with every issue. I look forward to this book every month.

the Amazing Spider-man #637 - Marvel

This issue was a great way to end this story-arc. Peter found Kaine's body last issue, with a black costume laying on top of it, and a note . . 'Hunt Me!' So he does. And he's pissed. He goes after the Kravinoff's with a vengeance. Long story short . . he severely hurts most of the other 'family' members. But he's ready to kill Sergei. Which is what I think Sergei also wants. But Arana talks Peter down. Peter backs away, and when he does . . the Kravinoff's disappear. Later we find out that they've transported themselves to the Savage Land. Sergei has decided that he needs to rebuild his family . . his 'tribe'. So he issues an edict, 'If you can survive . . then you're strong enough to help me begin anew.' But really that just comes down to his son, Alyosha, and daughter, Ana. Because he kills Sasha and Vladimir. Anyways, the important part of all of this is the changes in the Spider-family. Sasha had slit Cassandra, Madame Web's, throat. But in her final moments she transfers her powers over to Julia Carpenter. So, since Julia is the new 'Madame Web', she no longer has need of her black costume. So she gives it to Anya. But she doesn't want to be called Spider-girl. She wants to stick with Arana. At least for now. And on the final page we see that Kaine has had a metamorphosis once again. He's rising from the grave, in response to Sergei's return . . 'One hunter cheats death and now walks the Earth . . so another must rise to meet him'. And he's returning as . . Tarantula. I thought Joe Kelly did a fantastic job with this story. I especially liked the intensity that he gave Peter . . the focus. Also the art by Michael Lark, Marco Checchetto, Stefano Gaudiano and Matt Southworth was really solid. There were some great visual moments in this issue. I think this will definitely go down as a classic. I even liked the conclusion to Kaine's story by JM DeMatteis and Max Fiumara. But I thought the Spidey Sundays by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin were a little corny. Anyways, overall it was a great issue. And next issue . . Mary Jane is back.

the Amazing Spider-man # 636 - Marvel

I have to admit, this story is getting better and better as it goes along. We saw at the end of the last issue that Sasha had killed Spider-man. And in so doing, has returned her husband Sergei to life. She practiced earlier on her dead son, Vladimir. She killed Mattie Franklin, the former Spider-woman, to bring him back, but . . since she wasn't as connected to the web . . the bond of all the 'spiders' blood, he wasn't complete when he came back. He was more bestial than man. Anyways, now that Kraven is back, and he's found out what has happened to his son . . I don't think he feels that Sasha did the right thing. Plus, as brought up by the Chameleon . .'Has anyone stopped to consider the fact that the man shot himself in the head? How do you know he wanted to come back?' Anyways, the big 'reveal' this issue is that Spider-man isn't really . . well, Spider-man. In a flashback we see that Kaine, in an act of heroism, buried Peter under some dirt and took his costume. He did try to warn Peter to stay away from all of this. But now Peter is free, and he's found Kaine's coffin. There's a black Spider-man outfit there, and a note that says . . 'Hunt Me!' Next issue, the wrap up for this story, should be incredible. I think Joe Kelly, with Zeb Wells, is doing a great job with this story. And while I wasn't thrilled with the artwork of Marco Checchetto, Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano at first . . it's been growing on me over the last couple of issues. I'm also enjoying the back-up story by JM DeMatteis, with Emma Ross and Max Fiumara. It chronicles Kraven and Kaine's first encounter. Overall, this book is definitely a classic in the making. I can't wait for the next issue.

the Amazing Spider-man #635 - Marvel

Ok, last issue, with the capture of Mattie Franklin, and her subsequent sacrifice, the Kravinoff's have resurrected Sergei's other son, Vladimir. Sasha wanted to test the process before trying to use it on her beloved husband. However, Mattie's connection to the spider-force . . I don't know what else to call it . . wasn't strong enough to bring him back fully, so . . what they've brought back is a bestial kind of animal. Which is what Sasha suspected. They need more pure blood to perform the ritual . . Spider-man's. Peter's gotten the help of Arachne, Julia Carpenter, and at the end of last issue the resurrected Ezekiel. Apparently he's been sent back to give Spider-man some information. But it's really all just a trap. When Peter and Julia go to try to help Arana, Anya Corazon, the Kravinoff's next target . . Peter finds that Ezekiel is actually the Chameleon, who's also working with Mysterio and few other of Spider-man's rogues gallery. Kaine is also involved with everything this issue. Anyways, the Rogues wear him down, and Sasha ends up shooting him with Sergei's gun. And by the time they put him on the alter for the sacrifice, they shoot him and stab him some more. Apparently . . they're going to get their wish. In the last panel of the story we see Sergei rising from the grave. Joe Kelly gave us a whole lot of information this issue, but there's still a whole lot of questions out there. I can't wait to see how Spider-man pulls himself out of this one next issue. It's drawn by Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano. In the back-up story we get some more information on how Kaine first crossed paths with Sergei. It's by JM DeMatteis and Max Fiumara. And finally we get the 2 page story by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin where the Brain and the Bull have crossed-over into the Marvel Universe from the real world. It's . . interesting. Anyways, I'm enjoying this Grim Hunt storyline. I'm glad we're finally seeing what the Kravinoff's have been up to, and get all of this behind us. There's a lot of cool things lined up for Spider-man's future, but . . not until we get through this story-line. By the way . . fantastic cover by Mike Fyles.

the Amazing Spider-man #634 - Marvel

Joe Kelly is bringing us a pretty cool story here. But first, check out that amazing cover by Mike Fyles. I've never seen the guys work before, but apparently he'll be doing the covers on this story-arc. To me, the cover looks more like that of a novel, or paperback . . or something. Anyways, this issue marks the beginning of the Grim Hunt story-line. In it the Kravens, Ana and her mother Sasha . . as well as Vladimir's brother Alyosha . . have been brought together to finally avenge Vladimir's death. At least, we assume that's why they've set out on this endeavor. Ana is actually the organizer of this little family reunion, and she's not really talking about her motivations. Anyways, they've already captured Madame Web, as well as Mattie Franklin . . a former Spider-woman. They've also started out with the lesser-known Spider-affiliates in Julia Carpenter, Arachne, and Kaine. Which is actually how Peter is alerted to what's going on . . a bloodied Kaine comes pounding on his door to warn him. Anyways, the rest of the issue spent with Spider-man and Arachne fighting the Kravens across Manhattan. Also, during all of this Ezekiel shows up. But he looks like death warmed over. And in the end, the Kraven's perform a sacrifice with Mattie as their victim. It appears that somehow the sacrifice of the spider is meant to bring Ana's father back. Maddie's blood resurrects him, but . . he's not really completely himself yet. 'We confirmed what I suspected . . it must be him. To bring my beloved back from the dead . . we will need the blood of the Spyder . . the one true Spyder.' I thought it was a great beginning to the story-line, and I can't wait to see where we go from here. Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano provide the interior art. In the back-up, we get an untold tale of Kraven. It's by JM DeMatteis and Max Fiumara. It shows Kraven on a hunt, but still sticking to his principles. It's also shows how he crossed paths with Mr Denton. And also how Kaine was first put on his trail. And finally in the back we get a 2-page story. It's chapter 1 of 12 chapters. In it we have 2 villains named Brain and Bull. To escape their pursuers the Brain has invented something . . 'A digitized algorithmic nano-collider that'll allow us to escape into the dimension of comics.' Yes, at the end of the story, to get away from some men that are after them . . they jump into a Spider-man comic. It's by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin. All in all, I thought it was a decent book. It's hard to judge, since it's just the first chapter . . of all 3 stories. But it looks to be a very entertaining ride. Plus we'll finally put together all the pieces that have been building from Gauntlet and Shed, as well as other story-arcs. And maybe in the near future Peter will finally get a chance to move on with MJ. Maybe?

the Amazing Spider-man #633 - Marvel

This issue finally wraps up the SHED story-line, but . . I don't know if you could say that things are wrapped up, or not. Peter had gone to Curt's lab last issue and picked up some of the chemical that Curt was using to help keep himself in check. I assumed that Peter would be giving it to Curt, to try to change him back. But really . . he takes it himself. Which makes sense, because . . he had to find some way to stop Curt from affecting his brain. Anyways, when Curt captures him, we find out that he didn't swallow it all, and he spits the rest of it into Curt's mouth. I'm not sure if it's that chemical, or the 2 syringes he sticks in his back, but Peter seems to be getting through to him. Or . . it could be the picture that he keeps showing him of his son, Billy. Anyways, it seems that Curt is too far gone this time to switch back into his human form. But, between the chemicals and the memories that Billy's picture seems to be stirring up, he decides to let go of the humans 'monkey-brain'. He doesn't become human, but . . he calms down enough to make an epiphany. 'I have pictures in my head. Why the pictures make me feel weak? Is this . . is this what it is to be a mammal? You . . you mammals . . you made all this. Didn't you? All of this . . I could not see this before I took Connor's brain . . only knew what was danger . . or what was prey. Only knew to run or to bite. But there is more, yes? Much, much more. I do not belong here.' And with that . . he takes off. He's gone . . but not forgotten. He appears to be living in the sewers. And some of the humans that he'd affected, even though he took back his control, have come looking for him. 'They are curious creatures, these lizards in monkey suits. They should make good pets.' So it appears that the 2 brains have merged, but this time with the Lizard's in control. That's kind of scary. Also, Peter makes an attempt to contact May this issue. She kind of been pushing him away, since Mr Negative is controlling her. But she has enough strength this issue to push through the cloud and be there to comfort Peter. But who knows how long it'll last. I thought this was a great story-arc by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo. Emma Rios does a few pages of the art also, but really . . it's all Chris' story. And in the next issue, also out this week, we finally move on to the Grim Hunt story-line. Where the Kraven's finally make their move on Peter . . or, er . . Spider-man. It's by Joe Kelly, Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano. It should be a classic in the making.

Ultimate Spider-man #11 - Marvel

After what happened in Peter's school, Aunt May has asked that he, and the rest of his amazing friends, cool it on the 'super-hero' role playing for a little while. They don't like having their hands tied. They're probably kind of adrenaline junkies by now. But . . May just doesn't want the same thing to happen in their home as has happened in school. So Bobby gets a job at the food-court with Peter. It's hilarious. And MJ finally shows Peter and Gwen the footage that she took at the school, by accident, when this whole thing went down. They're not sure what to do with it, but . . Peter does know the perfect person to talk to . . Ben Urich. But while at the Bugle . . er, I'm sorry . . it's actually Dailybugle.com now . . anyways, Peter falls into another mess. When he sees JJ his spider-sense goes off. So he ends up following him to the basement. I'm not sure who this is, but . . it's somebody like the Chameleon, or Mysterio who can assume the look and identity of somebody else. Whomever it is, he was posing as JJ. Now that he's knocked Peter out, he decided to assume his identity. He's got some kind of electrical thing, or pulse that he uses to knock him out. And then he goes back up with MJ to sit in on her discussion with Ben about Kitty. I'm not really sure what this guy is up to. But, I still maintain that this is my favorite Spider-man book out there, right now. For the last 10 years or so I think Brian Bendis has done a terrific job with this title. He really captures Peter's character, as well as his friends and family. I actually caught myself laughing out load a couple of times during this issue. I loved it. And I think David Lafuente has done a great job of making this book his own. I don't always like his style, but . . for the overall book, I think he pulls it together quite nicely. I think his strongest point is his framing sequences and panel flow. The story moves along very nicely. Anyways, to be honest with you . . I'm thrilled with all of the Ultimate titles right now. I think they all have fantastic stories going. I don't know that it's necessarily because of the relaunch, but . . it feels like everybody involved is putting in a little extra effort right now. They're really putting some great stuff on the shelves.

the Amazing Spider-man Annual #37 - Marvel

This issue gives us the first time meeting, ever . . of Spider-man and Captain America. The story takes place after Avengers, Vol 1 #11. In it Spider-man helped save Cap, and the Avengers from a robot Spider-man . . in Mexico. So this issue when Spidey comes across Sandman robbing a bank . . Cap ends up coming to his rescue. And just like that . . things are wrapped up. But nothing ever goes that easy for Spidey. Shortly after he's hand-cuffed, and fitted with an inhibitor collar, some wacky scientists show up claiming that Marko is going to be responsible for wiping out 27% of the world's population. They call it some kind of convergence of chronal strands, and liken it to what happened before Hitler came in to power. So basically . . they want to kill him before he can do the deed. Of course, Cap and Spidey aren't going to let that happen . . under any circumstances. And . . the usual intent vs method fight breaks out. Sandman does threaten to wipe out a portion of the civilization, but . . it happens after one of the scientists does something to him that accelerates his mutation. But then Spidey and one of the other scientists figure out how to fix it. Thereby ending the threat. And it turns out the leader of this group, Darwin, had this all figured out. 'There were 17 easier ways, off the top of my head. But they were so pedestrian and this was much more . . rewarding.' Anyways, the point of all this is, after talking to Spidey, Cap realizes there are heroes out there that are misunderstood. With no way of doing anything that would actually change the public's perception of them. He wants to help them, but . . he doesn't have the time. Unless . . they to were also Avengers. Which leads into Avengers #16 where Cap decides to recruit other people into the Avengers. People like Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye. So, even though this was essentially a forgotten tale . . it was actually a turning point in Marvel history. And a pretty cool story by Karl Kesel and Paulo Siqueira. And, by the way, Paulo's art was fantastic. In the back-up, we get a new Untold Tales of Spider-man, by Kurt Busiek and Pat Olliffe. It was pretty cool also. All in all, I thought it was a good Annual. Better than some I've read.

the Amazing Spider-man #632 - Marvel

This story takes an interesting turn this issue, and one that I definitely wasn't expecting. Last issue we saw that Curt Connors had once again turned into the Lizard. But this time he's being pushed to do things that he normally wouldn't. Such as . . kill his son. This seems to have been orchestrated to completely send him over the edge, and immerse his persona completely into that of the Lizard. But . . we find out this issue that it also seems to have triggered a transformation. He's morphed into something different. When Spidey finds him this issue, he thinks he's dead. But actually he's in a cocoon of sorts. When he comes out, it seems that his lizard brain has taken over. Making him both dangerous and intelligent. He now calls himself Shed. And he seems to have the ability to reach into the 'monkey-brain' of humans, and trigger the lizard part of their being. Making them much more aggressive, territorial and afraid . . I think. Afraid of Shed, it appears. Because once he activates that portion of their brains, they become his prey. So they seem much more animalistic in nature, and basically become intent on fighting to survive. He does this to Peter, but . . he runs, and seems to get far enough away to break his influence. But he's still shaken. He goes back to Curt's lab to gather up all of the antidote he can find. But it may be to late. It appears that he's begun to spread his influence and chaos across the city. With this issue Zeb Wells has definitely taken this story in a direction I wasn't expecting. Which, to me, makes it all that much more interesting. I thought it was a great story, and once again that was enhanced by the terrific artwork of Chris Bachalo. Emma Rios does the art on the final pages of the book . . the pages not about the Lizard/Shed, but rather about the people of NYC. Unfortunately, I didn't like her art nearly as much as Chris'. Like I've said before, there's just something about Chris' art that makes a book that much more fun to read. I really liked this issue, and unfortunately the story wraps up in the next one.

the Amazing Spider-man #631 - Marvel

Maybe I'm just thinking about this Gauntlet thing all wrong. I assumed that the Kravens would be putting Spider-man through a Gauntlet comprised of his various foes. It seems that the Kravens have been pulling different ones under their umbrella . . I assumed for protection. I thought it was for a coordinated effort, but . . now I'm starting to think that they're trying to make them into better villains . . or better with their powers. So the Gauntlet may be what the Kravens are putting all of them through. I guess the end result would be that they make Spider-man's life harder because of the escalation of the threats. So, this issue is the second half of Curt Connor's story. Basically what happens is . . the Kraven's push Curt to become the Lizard. Since that transformation is based largely on his emotions, and lately Curt has been obsessed with trying to work through custody agreements to get his son back . . it stood to reason that once changed he would make a bee-line towards the object of his most extreme emotions . . his son. I don't know if it was Spider-man's fault . . he did slow him down some on the way there. But by the time they reach the house, the Kravens have already taken him. Spider-man can't follow him, because there's injured people at the house, but the Lizard picks up Billy's scent. Which is exactly what Ana intended. The other problem with the Lizard is that he's constantly fighting, internally, with Curt's id. It's almost like there's 2 brains controlling this beast. So the Lizard wants Curt to suffer. And since they're essentially the same person . . Curt has to watch, and feel, and taste whatever the Lizard does. When he finds Billy . . he attacks him . . and eats him. The purpose of this exercise was that Ana wanted to kill Curt's persona. She wanted him to essentially die, so that only the Lizard remains. It looks like she may have accomplished that. Anyways, in the beginning of the story, she also goes after Kaine. But Kaine's been hunted before. And he knows how to fight back. She may have made a mistake by trying to go after him. If Kaine thinks that he has no other recourse, he may go to Spider-man for help. I thought that Zeb Wells did a decent job with the story. Once again we don't see any of Spidey's supporting cast. Well . . except for Carlie. And that was pretty much in a professional capacity. So I didn't like that part. But . . Zeb did keep it interesting and exciting. Another unfortunate occurrence this issue is that Chris Bachalo only does the art on about 1/2 the issue. Emma Rios does the art for the first 8 pages . . the part about Kaine. To me . . Chris really saved the book. It was ok, overall. But . . it would've just been another issue without Chris' amazing art. Next issue is part 3 of this story, but . . I don't know what else can happen. The Lizard has already been transformed. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Ultimate Spider-man #10 - Marvel

I love this book. My only complaint about this issue is that David Lafuente's art seemed a little rushed in spots. There were a few panels that weren't exactly up to snuff. But other than that . . this was a great issue. We ended last issue with some government agents coming into Peter's classroom and trying to arrest Kitty. Out of all the people in that same class . . Peter, Johnny, Bobby, Gwen . . it's Kenny that ends up jumping up to Kitty's aid. Of course she goes intangible and gets away. And the boys all go in search of her. They feel terrible about what's happened. But when they finally catch up to her . . well, they go to her house looking for her, they find that mysterious character that's shown up a few times in the past. You know . . the one in the red cloak? The one that helped MJ when those guys were going to attack her. Well it turns out . . that's actually Kitty. She's now able to make herself super-strong, and super-dense. 'It's called training. I trained myself. I can make myself intangible. So I thought, what if I can focus it the other way? And I can.' And something else she can do is get really pissed at the boys for not jumping in to help her out. I think she knows that there was nothing that they could really do, but right now she's really pissed that she's been singled out. And I'm sure she's feeling betrayed. Even after she fights the, they still go looking for her. But right now . . she just wants to be left alone. The world has changed an awful lot for her in the last year. But there's even more bad news. MJ goes home and finds out that she accidentally taped the entire incident in the classroom. Now she just has to figure out what to do with the tape. If she goes public . . with it help Kitty, or hurt her? Like I said . . I thought it was a great issue. I think Brian Bendis does an incredible job with this series. And I actually do like David's art. It just seemed rushed in spots. But I still thought it was a great issue.

the Amazing Spider-man #630 - Marvel

There's just something about Chris Bachalo's art that makes a book fun to read. Especially in the beginning of this issue when Spider-man is out fighting some crime with Black Cat, and . . flirting at the same time. I think Peter really likes her, but . . she's made it known in no uncertain terms . . 'You're cute, Spider. But this is big boy talk, we're not a couple. If something better comes along, don't let us get in the way. Believe me . . I don't.' But . . Peter has to remember, if he really wants a girl . . he has to fight for her a bit . . show her that he cares . . show her some of his passion. Anyways, while this story revolves around the state of mind of Curt Connors, we actually see a lot of the Spidey supporting cast this issue. Peter has a heart to heart with Harry. He gets dissed by Aunt May. 'That's a whole other thing . . which might involve hormones.' But remember . . she's still under the influence of Mr Negative. And he kind of has a date with Carlie . . finally. Meanwhile, we see that Madame Web is still keeping an eye on things. Even though she still a hostage of the Kravens. And they are still trying to 'manipulate the players on the board'. But what really sets Curt over the edge is the overtures his boss, Mr King, makes towards his lab assistant Marissa. Curt doesn't necessarily feel attracted to Marissa, but . . the result of Mr King making a move is that it's left Curt feeling like his 'territory' is being invaded. He's starts having reptilian kinds of thoughts and reactions. And when he tries to get the serum to abate the process . . Mr King thinks he's going for his formula and stops him. Much to his regret . . later . . after the Lizard has torn him apart. I thought Zeb Wells did a great job with this issue. We got the story about Curt, but . . we finally get some more info on the rest of the characters of this little soap-opera. It's about time. And like I said . . Chris' art just made it a fun read. This was the best issue of this series in a while . . for me. I can't wait to read part 2.

the Amazing Spider-man #629 - Marvel

This issue was . . ok. I wasn't thrilled with the previous few issues, but . . I thought this one had a more compelling story. Captain Universe is still trying to kill Marko Cain, but . . he stops and listens long enough to realize that he's not the only one out there who's had a hard luck story. In the end his obsession with killing Juggy ends up costing him his powers. Whomever out there decides who gets this power decides that they're 'disappointed'. I guess they figured out that this guy wasn't doing anything with his power to actually make the universe a better place. I mean, I assume that's what these people are given this power for . . right? Anyways, it seems that the real problem is in the bedrock below Manhattan. It's become very unstable, and if not fixed soon could lead to a catastrophic earthquake. So the power decides to switch to the person who could not only fix it, but essentially was the cause of all of this in the first place . . Juggernaut. The Cosmic Juggernaut? Can you imagine? Anyways, he fixes things, and when he returns he shows some compassion for the guy who was trying to kill him. Who ends up going on to write a book . . 'I Survived the Juggernaut'. Anyways, I thought Roger Stern put a little more character development and interaction into this issue. But essentially it was still just a slug-fest. We don't really see anyone else in Peter's supporting cast. So I was a little disappointed in that regard. And, I'm sorry, but I'm still not thrilled with Lee Week's pencils. I'll be glad when we move on to the next story-arc which includes Curt Connors, and will be brought to us by Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo. We get a little preview at the end of this issue, and . . it looks pretty neat. Sorry I couldn't be more positive about his issue.

Ultimate Spider-man #9 - Marvel

This title is moving back into my favorite books list. I just love the way that Brian Bendis writes these characters. He's got great interaction, and continual character and story development. To me the funniest part of the book was when Johnny tells Peter that he was making out with Jessica, Spider-girl. Johnny had a little impromptu team-up with Spider-girl, and then afterwards he just hounds her until she gives him some personal information and agrees to go out on a date with him. Apparently, he was making out with her after that, but . . we didn't see that part. Anyways, so he's telling Peter all about this and . . of course Peter knows that Jessica is actually a clone of him. But . . nobody else knows that. So while Peter is listening to Johnny, he's thinking that basically Johnny is making out with a version of him. He's pretty weirded out and has to take out. Anyways, the issue ends with some government types coming into Peter's classroom wanting to take Kitty away. They won't really say why they're taking her, or what she did. The Principal just says, 'You knew this was going to happen! The mutant situation is very bad. The laws are very . .', but then Peter interrupts him. He's amazed that they're doing this in the middle of the school day. He and the rest of their classmates are about to make a scene and cause a distraction so that Kitty can run away. But . . I don't know that this situation is going to end well for anyone. Like I said . . I love this book. Especially after reading that last issue of ASM. David Lafuente is back on the pencils this issue. I think he's really turning this book into his own style of story-telling. I wasn't' sure about his style at first, but . . it really fits this title well. I really do look forward to this book every month.

the Amazing Spider-man #628 - Marvel

I'm sorry but I just haven't been overly thrilled with this book of late. This issue Spidey goes up against a new Captain Universe. Ok, granted the guy has been newly chosen for his position . . he doesn't have a lot of experience with his powers, but . . this guys got a whole different level of power that 'ol Petey. Plus, we've already seen that he's knocked out the Juggernaut. So what does our angst ridden hero do? He starts batting around with this guy like a horse-fly on a mare's ass. He knows he doesn't stand a chance against him in a 'one-on-one' fight, but . . I guess he's just hoping to keep him busy long enough that 'ol Juggy will come to and take care of him himself. Well that, and he's trying not to get his head taken off. Well . . Juggy does eventually show up, but . . Captain Universe has headed underground because he and Spidey felt some tremors and I guess he can fix the tectonic plates with his powers. But . . he does come back. The story end with Juggy palming both of their heads like over-ripe melons, but Captain Universe still insists that he has him right where he wants him. I don't know. The whole story seemed kind of contrived to me. I just had a hard time buying it. And yes I realize these are comic book stories so there is some artistic license due. But this seemed even more inconceivable than normal. I guess we'll have to wait until next issue to see how it all wraps up, and hopefully find out what it's all about. I struggled with this one. It's by Roger Stern and Lee Weeks. The back-up story seemed like a more normal Peter Parker story. He's broke, he has no job, and he's just about out of web-fluid. A typical Spider-man story. The only difference here is that now he's black-listed. But that's what Spidey always does. He always hits bottom before bouncing back. Mark Waid and Tom Peyer wrote it, with some fantastic art by Todd Nauck. I love Todd's stuff. So anyways, this story ended for me much better than it started. But . . that's the way it goes, sometimes.

the Amazing Spider-man #627 - Marvel

Yes someone knocks out the Juggernaut this issue. Someone who obviously has enough power to do so. And since Cain hasn't really caused to much trouble lately, you have to ask yourself . . someone this powerful, are they on the side of 'right', or 'wrong'? But, other than that . . there's not really to much that happens this issue. Peter is trying to desperately salvage his friendship with Carlie. But everytime they try to get started, something comes up in his Spidey-life. But she does seem more understanding. Anyways, the rest of the issue is pretty much spent on Peter trying to figure out what happened to 'ol Juggy. He's pretty worried about who might be running around loose out there. But it isn't until he breaks in to where they're holding him that he's gets a glimpse of the attacker. It turns out, Mr Marko was beat down by . . well . . he shows up, glowing, in the room where Spidey is standing over Cain. And he tells him, 'Spider-man? Stand aside. I am here to finish the job I started . . to slay the Juggernaut . . and fulfill my destiny as Captain Universe.' Now I might be wrong, but . . wasn't there some guy that was taking up the mantle of Captain Universe some months ago in the Fantastic Four? It seems to me I remember Reed and Ben coming across this guy, or was it a kid? I don't remember for sure, but . . I'm just wondering if it's the same guy? If so . . Peter needs to get ahold of Reed an Ben real quick. Roger Stern wrote this issue, with Lee Weeks doing the art. It was an ok issue. Not to thrilling. It seems to me like it would've been a good story for the old Marvel Team-Up book. Anyways, it is what is is. And we'll have to wait until next issue to find out what's going on.

the Amazing Spider-man #626 - Marvel

A couple of things happen in this issue that serve to progress the story along. Peter comes to a peace, sort of, with his room-mate, Michelle. Ever since he's moved in . . well, actually, since Michelle moved in . . remember, he was there first . . ever since he's moved in it's been a tenuous relationship at best between these two. It's mostly been Peter's fault, but . . he really didn't do anything on purpose. It's almost as if these two were fated to be at odds with each other. Anyways, Peter comes home and finds Michelle talking to, whom he assumes is her boyfriend. But just being near him sets off his spider-sense. So . . in typical 'jumping in the deep end of the pool' fashion . . Peter follows him. Long story short, he finds out that this friend of Michelle's is in league with the Hood. And . . Michelle followed him also. At one time, she was his lawyer. So since he just got out of jail, she's trying to make sure he stays out of trouble. Anyways, they both get caught in the middle of everything and together they help each other get out of it. And when the guy turns on her, Peter cracks him over the head. Allowing their escape. So now . . they're in a better place. Also, while this was going on, the girl that's the new Scorpion has come to steal the original Scorpion costume from the Hood. That's why he's gathered all these criminals together. He got the costume from Norman Osborne and he's offering it to the most resilient of the group. But this new Scorpion has other plans. It turns out she's stealing the costume for the Kraven's. But during all of this, the Hood and his minions are about to take the Scorpion out until Spider-man comes along and saves her. So now she says she owes him one. I have a feeling that'll be something that'll help Peter out before this whole thing is over. Anyways, I thought this issue was a little more enjoyable, but . . I'm still kind of disappointed with this title overall. I can't really put my finger on it. It just . . hasn't been doing it for me lately. Michael Gaydos does the art this issue. But . . I'm still not thrilled with it. Fred Van Lente wrote this issue. Michael Del Mundo put out a nice cover though.