Amazing Spider-Man #561

By the good luck of Marvel Subscriptions I got this issue today in the mail. It made my day. The art by Marcos Martin is amazing.  It feels retro and new all at once. This man should be chained to a desk and be forced to draw every issue.  Just so so good. 

Story wise Slott delivers big time. In this issue a huge twist is added to Brand New Day that makes whats happening and the big changes from OMD even more important.  The whole cast really shines in the issue and the story really shows off how much the supporting cast has grown in the few short months of BND.  Where Peter was last year at this time it was him, his wife, and aunt in a run down hotel. By the end of this issue you can see the scope of Peter's circle and how great it is for the character to have so much more to play off. 

I really want to spoil it but its just such a great issue I want everyone to experience it on their own.  I wish this team was continuing and we werent going for another two weeks of Gale. But he has seemed to be improving. Can't wait to hear everyone elses thought on what I think is one of the best Spider-Man arcs I've read in years.

This was supposed to be a review but it wouldnt post it as such. sorry.

@PhoenixFactor - Give it a try tomorrow.

Even though I continue to buy this book and enjoy it, I still cannot help but wonder when Marvel is going to (and they will) reverse their One More Day storyline.....Like I said I am enjoying the new direction, but I still treat it like it is a what if or elseworlds story. Does anyone else feel this way or do I just need to get over it!!!

who's working on it next?

@boostergold4 - Get over it.  According to Marvel, they have at least the next two years planned out.

Love this cover.  Never thought I would ever miss a spiderman book especially if it comes out 3 times monthly.  But I miss this book on the off weeks.

i can't figure out how to write a review either, but here goes, i will try to avoid spoilers.  this was a great book, and a great 3 issue arc.  Dan Slott does a great job writing a spidey story with humor, new villian, supporting cast and MJ plot twists.  Marcos Martin's art is amazing - hopefully he will be back on the book soon.  Can't wait for next week! 

Man was this good!

Wow. that was an absolutley PERFECT issue of Spiderman. Honestly, if you could get Zeb Wells to commit as the sole writer (slotts good, but i think wells may have wrote the best spidey in years) and marcos martin to commit as the sole artist and i think you would end up with a potentially legendary run

This was indeed the shizzle. I really enjoyed this but i couldnt believe Peter didnt see MJ such a shame.

I really dig the new Spiderman format.  Say what you will about how they got here, but I started reading with Brand New Day (after a long hiatus) and I must say that I'm hooked.  Kudos to the Spidey editorial staff on this one for pulling this off so far.  While they're not all gems, this one certainly was.  And by the end, I felt like it hit all of the good notes.  Although, the MJ hiding in the danger room and the playing with the whole Jackpot stuff was a little forced.  I mean, I could feel the creative teams tweaking all the people on the internet, and I could hardly read the book for all the knowing winks it was giving me.

This arc was great and I enjoyed Martin's art immensely.  It was a great blend of modern sensisbilities with an old-school simplicity, and the action sequences were fun to look at.  But I have one major complaint - the use of MJ in the story.  If Quesada and gang had to subject us to One More Day in order to "fix" the status quo, fine.  But PLEASE just move on to the new status quo and quick picking at the scabs from the terrible way that you did it.  To imply that MJ remembers what just happened means that to her she was just in love with and married to Peter scant weeks ago.  To already be in a new relationship seems to indicate that she was a truly shallow person after all.  And if the Peter/MJ dynamic was so terrible (geek with super model) then why mess with it - except perhaps to taunt the fans that liked the marriage?  Really guys, please either let it go or bring it back, but teasing it just irritates me.

Did no one notice the moving box at the end marked "MJ's Stuff"? There's GOT to be something else planned to go along with that catastrophe OMD, and if not, these references are just annoyingly wink-wink.