First, lemme start with how good this week is for Spider-Man. ASM, FNSM and Life Story are all excellent...like, really good. Been a long time since I've sat down to read multiple issues and came away with such a sincere amount of satisfaction.
I thought ASM #22 was Spencer nailing the landing and I was partly right. Until I read issue #23 this week. Damn. What an emotional, solid, epic conclusion to the Hunted arc. 23 is essentially the epilogue and my goodness Spencer really has a knack for how to close out a story and at the same time set up some tantalizing bits for things to come. Oh and Ottley...man how I've missed you. Welcome back sir.
***SPOILERS***
The reunion of MJ and Peter was awesome. So touching. And the inner monologue from the Centidemon was good. Creepy good.
What a follow up for Kraven. Man, Spencer just gets the core of who these characters are. A new Sergei has taken up the mantle and I'm expecting cool stuff here. Can't wait.
Did not see the Chameleon coming at the end. That was a neat twist.
It's great to see how the whole central park debacle has come to a close. There's actual consequences. And I'm digging the set up for the Savage Six, led by none other than the Vulture.
The Taskmaster Black Ant moment was epic. It brought a chuckle and a smile.
Wow, a year?
I'd say I'm for sure happy with him. I like his work -- I think he's good. Not sure if I think he's GREAT, but he does always tend to eventually get to a good place with his arcs even after some lull. The payoff is usually rewarding in a thoughtful way. I also haven't bought consistently like this since 2012.
I know right! A year goes by so fast.
I'm happy to say that my initial feelings about Spencer were wrong. When he was announced as the new writer for ASM, I think everyone was a bit hesitant. He was coming off the controversial Secret Empire and Hydra Cap. But after this year and looking back you can see how talented Spencer is as a writer and the SE was a bold, stupid move by a thankfully removed editorial staff.
This year hasn't been incredible but at the same time it's been extremely satisfying. Spencer gets Spider-Man. He writes characters first and the plot revolves around them, not the other way around. And I think part of the reason we haven't seen ASM really take off yet and I sincerely believe it will, is because Spencer had to spend the first year on damage control. Marvel and Spider-Man specifically was in the dump. Anyone put in the position of coming into a disaster area there's a lot of work to be done. And I'm happy that Spencer ended up being the guy. Look at how much he's corrected and fixed to help bring Spider-Man back to a level where fans are once again excited to get the next issue. He's done such a good job of it, it almost makes you happy those problems were there in the first place for him to fix.
Now that the Hunted arc is over. A bit long but the ending was so worth it. We can get back to some missed characters...MJ, Randy, May, JJJ...etc. I'm really excited for what's to come.
Agreed. The pacing seems off in some of his arcs, for sure, but he hasn't lost track of where Spidey and Peter should be. The HEART is there, and that's worth a couple of over-extended arcs here or there. Also, Ottley, man...more of him would be great!
For what it's worth, though, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has been my MVP for the past year.
Wait til you read ASM 23. So good man. I'm interested to see your guy's thoughts.
And FNSM kicked butt too.
