Customer Reviews

Spider-Man: 24/7

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This collects issues #589-594 (and "Extra" #2) of Marvel Comics' "Amazing Spider-Man" series originally published in Spring 2009. The fun #589 is the one-shot "Return of the Spot" written by Fred Van Lente. Dan Slott wrote the next two-issue story featuring a trip to the Macroverse with the Fantastic Four. The main plot is a less than essential sidebar, but Peter considers revealing his identity to the FF, and #591 ends with a surprise. Mark Waid wrote the "24/7" arc that spans #592-594: Peter's nemesis is mayor, Aunt May has a new boyfriend and a new Vulture besets the city. Pencils for these issues are provided by Barry Kitson, Mike McKone, Dale Eaglesham and Paulo Siqueria. This hardcover also includes "Extra" #2, a pair of supplemental stories written by Joe Slott and Zeb Wells, respectively. Though enjoyable reading, this seems like filler between the previous "Character Assassination" and subsequent "American Son" story arcs. Despite the recent troublesome retcons of Peter's secret identity and marriage to Mary Jane, this remains my favorite Marvel title.

This book starts off with a story about the Spot. Kind of bland, and not the best story, but Spot is interesting.

For the second story, Spider-Man briefly joins the FF on a mission to the macroverse and decides where time flies by many hours to each hour spent in the macroverse. Pretty good story, but the dynamic between Torch and Spidey was not as great as it could have been and usually is.

In the third story, Spider-Man decides it will be fun to mess with JJJ and his spider assassin squad by putting himself all over the city, all hours of the day, with the intent of being on the cover of all newspapers in the city. What ensues is a fairly action packed story arc that is fun and entertaining.

I think the best story in the book is the "Birthday" story written by Wells that features Wolverine and Spidey out for a night on Wolverine's birthday. Very well written and both characters are captured perfectly.

A good trade altogether and would definitely recommend picking it up.

Spider-Man is out on another his adventures, including one with the Fantastic Four. In the first part in #589, the Spot returns and he is after a Russian mob. Next, he sets out on an adventure with the Fantastic Four as they are headed for the Macroverse. Johnny Storm alias the Human Torch seems suspicious of Spidey and he attempts to unmask him. But this is only the beginning as Spidey and the FF must now defend the Macroverse where the inhabitants take the FF as their saviors.

When Spidey returns to the real world, he hears that J.Jonah Jameson who was once the header if the Daily Bugle is now the new mayor of New York City and a brand new deadlier Vulture is out seeking revenge on the people who mutated him.

Spider-Man and Wolverine are also celebrating Wolverine's birthday.

Collects Amazing Spider-Man #589-594 and Amazing Spider-Man:Extra #2 and Amazing Spider-Man:Extra #3.

Still adapting to the post-One More Day regime, still sorta resenting it and that git Joe Quesada. But I need my Peter Parker fix, and to be honest the Spidey brain trust has been putting out good stories. Case in point: the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: 24/7 trade, which collects issues #589-594 of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and also stories from issues #2 & 3 of the anthology comic book AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: EXTRA!

As things stand in this post-OMD reality: The police conspiracy to frame Spidey as a serial killer has been uncovered, with Peter's roommate with a badge now in the Witness Protection Program as he sets to testify against his fellow crooked cops. Harry Osborn's girlfriend is revealed to be the villain known as Menace, and Harry is not taking this well. Meanwhile, J. Jonah Jameson's distinguished-looking, even-keeled dad has entered the picture.

Phil Jimenez kicks off this trade with "Loose Ends," the short story he wrote and drew in ASM: EXTRA! #3. We catch up with Kraven's ambitious 12-year-old daughter and her feverish quest to follow in her father's footsteps. But first, she's plotting to revenge her pops on the Spider. Next up is issue #589 as we note the return of the Spot, an old-school 1980s Spidey villain whose black spots on his body are portals to another dimension. This is a nice one-shot story and it lends added depth to Dr. Jonathan Ohnn, with penciller Paulo Siqueira providing some interesting visuals. The best thing about this story, though, is Spidey doing his best scary Dark Knight impression, complete with classic McFarlane pose.

"Birthday Boy" (from ASM: EXTRA! #2) is a treat. In it, Wolverine invites Spidey to go pub-crawling, and what you'd expect to happen happens. But then comes a really terrific moment when Logan discloses why, on this day of days, he picked the wallcrawler specifically to hang out with, and once more we're reminded of what makes Peter Parker such a special character. I really liked this one. Artist Paolo Rivera's style - stark, stripped-down, deceptively simple - captures the mood perfectly.

Issues #590-591 is Dan Slott's turn on the rotation, and he's got Spidey teaming up with the Fantastic Four. Spidey and the FF receive a desperate plea for help from the Macroverse, a place these five had apparently explored some years ago. It's always fun whenever these guys hook up. There's long history there, with Spidey counting as one of the FF's closest and staunchest friends. However, in the Macroverse, when Johnny glimpses statues of the FF and of an unmasked Spidey, it dawns on him that he and his team once upon a time must've known Spidey's true identity and, ergo, somehow Spidey must've pulled some sort of sinister hoodoo mind wipe on them... because why don't they know it now? Oh, and I guess this is a good place to mention that this story also illustrates how infantile Spidey and the Torch's friendship sometimes gets. Best part is Peter and Reed indulging in nerd discourse while everyone else stands around getting really bored. Fantastic art by Barry Kitson, with an assist from Dale Eaglesham. To be honest, the neat character moments are what make this story. The plot itself is whatever.

The FF and Spidey get back to their world, with Mark Waid picking up the storytelling reins, as our superheroes realize just how much the space-time continuum has mucked up their jaunt. It turns out that the hours they've spent in the Macroverse have translated to two months, real time. And big things have happened in Peter's absence, and I guess I'll insert a ***SPOILERS*** alert here, in effect for the rest of this paragraph. Things that Peter have missed out on: 1) Aunt May's picking up a honey; 2) a certain someone (possibly a redhead?) leaving a tentative message on Peter's answering machine (but then, because the machine is full, the message is erased); 3) Peter having inadvertently landed a new roomie; and 4) there's a new Mayor of NYC, and it's gonna give Peter apoplexy when he finds out who it is. In fact, the mayor immediately establishes a police unit dubbed the Anti-Spider Squad, dedicated solely to capturing the webhead. This incenses Spidey enough that he decides to retaliate by staying in costume and launching a non-stop, 24/7 crime-fighting spree, in hopes of really tweaking the mayor's nose. Besides, Spidey reflects: "It's not like Peter Parker hasn't been off the grid for weeks already and doesn't seem to be missed..." Supervillain-wise, the webslinger tangles with the acid-spewing, absolutely more terrifying, all-new and not as bald version of the Vulture. And I did mention "acid-spewing," right? Because that's freaky.

The most interesting thing to emerge from Waid's storyline may well be Peter's coming to a sudden realization that what's truly been bugging him isn't the new mayor. No, what's been bothering Peter deep down is that Norman Osborn, Peter's most bitter rival, is now the most powerful man in the country... all because Spider-Man has never definitively beaten him. Spider-Man then vows to take Osborn down, thus paving the way for Joe Kelly's terrific arc Spider-Man: American Son. As the Dark Reign thing unfolds, it's always been in the back of my mind that no one but Spider-Man should end up taking down the Green Goblin. My distaste for One More Day and for Joe Quesada is unabated, but, okay, it's undeniable that the Spidey brain trust is chugging along merrily, submitting very solid work. Recommended stuff!

This book comes out so frequently that it is taking up all the space on my book shelf. Must say that this series is improving after the disastorous Brand New Day story arc. Loving the work they are doing now.

There is one or two good stories here but whenever fantastic four was involved, it seemed like the writers just went through the motions. Human Torch was basically a douche throughout the whole story, whining about not knowing Spider-man's identity anymore to the point of willing to actually burn his mask off and put a battle that they're in on hold.