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AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Issue #546
COMIC BOOKS:
Review: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ISSUE #546 - BRAND NEW DAY - PART 1
A surprisingly great start to a new chapter in Spider-man history
Grade: A+
Writer(s): Dan Slott
Release Date: January 9th, 2008
SRP: $3.99
Rating: NR
Distributor: Marvel Comics
By SEAN ELLIOTT, Senior Editor
Published 1/17/2008
As much as I railed against ONE MORE DAY in my review/ rant a few weeks back, I have to admit that while I wasn’t thrilled with the way Joe Quesada got Spider-man back to a more simple formula, I do approve of the final product. When ONE MORE DAY was finished many Spidey fans (myself among them) were gnashing their teeth, pulling their hair and crying ‘why God why’ to the Heavens. This group of die hard fans is comprised, and I daresay led by men in the 30-50 age brackets. These are fans that many have been fans since Spider-man first appeared on the scene in Amazing Fantasy 15. They want a Spider-man more like they grew up with in the 1960’s and consider the Stan Lee stories of that era the best (if not only) fantastic Spider-man writing in the cannon. Hopefully, even though the tables have been turned on our favorite webhead once again, these fans will find it in themselves to actually enjoy the new books.
BRAND NEW DAY starts a new three times a month printing schedule for THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, which in case you are wondering is the only Spider-man book being published right now. This first three issue arc written by Dan Slott and drawn by Steve McNiven (CIVIL WAR) has got such a great feel to it, that you find yourself drawn in immediately. Peter is no longer married, and in fact never was. He is living in a spare room at Aunt May’s place in Queens and trying desperately to find some kind of job so that he can at least rent a hell hole apartment. This is the Peter Parker that I remember growing up with in the 1980’s, a guy who never seems to have money, almost always has girl troubles, and someone that you can identify with because he’s just an everyday average joe who happens to have super human abilities.
Harry Osborn is resurrected from the dead, and apparently he and Liz Allen were married, but divorced and he was married a couple of times past that as well. It’s going to take a wee bit of getting used to with a different continuity, but I think these changes are worth it. Jackpot is a new registered super hero who is obviously Mary Jane, so I’m not sure where that is going, but in the opening pages of this issue the screens behind the newscaster have images from the 2007 FREE COMIC BOOK DAY Spider-man issue, thus officially making that the first part of BRAND NEW DAY and tying it into normal continuity.
Peter has his webshooters back. YAY! No more organic webbing, no more spikes that come out of his arms. No one remembers his identity from CIVIL WAR; some people remember Spider-man unmasking but they can’t remember who he was. Honestly, even if some of them did remember, the Scarlet Spiders in AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE took care of that little problem by telling the press that Peter wasn’t the real Spider-man, and that he actually had one of their suits of armor that only gave him the powers of Spidey. (If you didn’t know that story Spider-fans time to head to your local comic store and pick up that issue just in case things revert and that is how they get Peter off the hook of unmasking.) For now though, it’s like the end of the new third series of DOCTOR WHO, where The Doctor, Martha, and Jack were wearing keys that enabled them to be seen and not seen, no one could look directly at them. (That’s kind of the way I’m thinking the unmasking of Spider-man feels to any that remember it.)
In any case, BRAND NEW DAY has freed us from a ton of baggage that has piled up over the last few years, and this is a nice refreshing start to a new era of Spider-man. Somewhere down the road, the series might revert, but until such time, I’m just going to enjoy the ride.
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