Since James has spontaneously declared it Spider-Man Week here on Comics Daily, we may as well take a look at the latest issue of a title that, thankfully, gives us all a timely reminder that there are actually still Spidey comics worth reading out there. Amid all the Quesada-fuelled drama in the main titles, Brian Michael Bendis’ Ultimate Spider-Man has continued to give old-school Spidey fans a reason to live on a monthly basis.

There’s been the odd blip here and there in the title’s history, but they’re usually followed by some cracking returns to form – and, certainly, since Stuart Immonen took over on art duties, there’s been something of a shot in the arm on the story level recently too. Bendis has used the new artist as an excuse to have the characters age a little bit, and has continued to develop relationships between the supporting cast (kudos, too, for the way he’s made Kitty Pryde an integral part of that cast despite her and Peter having broken up so quickly).

As it happens, though, this month’s issue isn’t quite up to the standard of the rest of the Death of a Goblin storyline, mainly because it’s the action-packed finale to it – and Bendis has never been particularly good at those. And so one big fight scene takes up most of the page space, without the climactic and significant event (which is also, ironically enough, something of a mirror image of one of One More Day’s revelations) really feeling as massive as it should. This has also been a storyline that has had to deal with the problem of the Ultimate version of Norman Osborn – who, in his human form, is as intriguing a character as his 616 counterpart, but whose monstrous Goblin form has never really worked to any extent – and, sadly, it still doesn’t feel like he’s been handled in any way satisfactorily.

Even the two-page coda feels a little flat, despite demonstrating the manner in which Bendis has always emphasised character above all else in this run, and all in all it doesn’t feel like the best conclusion to an arc that had previously looked like building towards something special. Nevertheless, with various new pieces of background setup slotting into place (particularly regarding Peter’s relationship with SHIELD and new head Carol Danvers – and since we’re on a “no drama” rule, I’ll refrain from complaining that there have been big developments on that score in a crossover with Supreme Power that I’d previously hoped I could ignore but which is turning out to be the most significant event in the entire Ultimate universe. Oh, wait, whoops, I already did), Ultimate Spidey continues to feel like a book that is once again on the rise, and the last remaining bastion of pure Spider-Man stories featuring the characters we know and love – even if they aren’t quite the right versions.

Continuing the unofficial attempt to mention Spider-Man every day for a week, allow me to present a special Comics Daily update, which I’m going to call:

Things that should’ve been made 100% clear in One More Day

A Comics Daily Event in 1 Part.

Read the quote below, and judge for yourselves. It doesn’t clear up the whole “deal with Satan,” Mephisto Ex Machina crap, but by god it does sugar coat that pill substantially by explaining exactly why this isn’t the continuity carpet bombing that it first appeared to be. I can’t say that all is forgiven, but now that I’ve seen this, the outrage is actually beginning to subside. It’s still bad, but it’s now closer to Avengers Disassembled Bad, rather than Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions Bad.. Joe, a word of advice – please, in your editorial capacity, remember to include the full story in the actual comics next time:

CBR: So, to get this straight, OMD doesn’t actually negate the previous 20 years of Spider-Man stories?

Joe Quesada: Exactly, that’s precisely what we wanted to avoid. What didn’t occur was the marriage. Peter and MJ were together, they loved each other — they just didn’t pull the trigger on the wedding day. All the books count, all the stories count — except in the minds of the people within the Marvel U, Peter and MJ were a couple, not a married couple. (extract taken from CBR)

Long-awaited clarification or editorial backpedal? I’ll let you decide…

(You know, this is exactly the kind of reason the Comics Daily No Drama rule exists. Since I have resolutely failed to stick to it after mere weeks of existence, I wonder – should I just abolish it entirely, or redouble my attempts to follow it even in the face of the potential psychological damage it might cause me?)