Sunday, March 22, 2009

The Amazing Spider-Man #588

With this issue of Amazing Spider-Man, the "Character Assassination" story wraps up, the long-running "Spider Tracer Killer" story wraps up, the mayoral election race ends, Harry Osborn swings into action, and Spider-Man barely manages to survive.

There's no denying the art is outstanding - John Romita, Jr., Klaus Janson and Tom Palmer are three of the best in the business, and they turn in great work here. It's just a shame they can't draw all of Spidey's adventures.

The story, though, continues to leave me cold. None of the storylines mentioned have any real emotional impact - they're just a series of events with a twist, and none really affect Peter (aside from the brutal beatings, of course).

For more than a year now Spider-Man has been rolling along in near-weekly adventures, and the character who was once my favorite Marvel hero now seems hardly recognizable. The constantly shifting army of artists and writer who have handled his adventures leaves Spidey without a distinct voice or purpose.

It's really a shame, but I don't know how much longer I'll be collecting this comic - it's on the edge of being cut. I keep hoping it'll turn around, but so far, there's no sign of that happening. Bummer.

Grade: B

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