Rarely has something so sweet left such a bitter taste. The joy at the fact that Dan Slott is so far proving to be an absolutely inspired choice of Spider-Man writer, and is already turning in the best material the main title has seen in years, is tempered by the fact that the success and acclaim of the run will surely allow Joe Quesada to crow that he was right all along – and that you can’t tell good stories with a married Spidey. Yeah, well, nice trick, Joe – but how different would it have been if you’d had Jeph Loeb up your sleeve for the relaunch instead?

Anyway, as it happens, the fact that the precise nature of the story is unimportant to the quality of the telling is demonstrated by the fact that, so far, Slott’s story has been neither groundbreaking nor particularly gripping. The villain is generic, “broke and misunderstood” is the quintessential Spidey scenario, and there are even elements of Ben Reilly’s brief and underappreciated tenure under the mask (that might just be because he’s skint and hanging out at a coffee house, but still). No, what makes this book so instantly unmissable is the way in which it’s told – finally we have a writer who just gets the core elements of good Spidey storytelling, balancing drama with genuine laughs. The whole thing feels effortless, and there’s a lightness of touch that even spreads as far as editor Steve Wacker (the editorial note on the last page is possibly the funniest bit of the whole thing). It may not be all that forward-thinking, but it’s exactly the kind of Spider-Man story for which we’ve been crying out for yonks. Watch out, too, for Slott’s deft grasp of structure – he’s now opened two successive issues with near-identical imagery used in completely different contexts. Who’ll Peter be smooching on the first page of issue #548, I wonder?

On art duties, Steve McNiven often gets criticism for his work having something of a staid, “action figure” quality, despite his undoubted technical brilliance. He definitely takes some time to settle in here, I think – his first full-costume shot is a bit awkward – but gets to grips with it later on, and in the final scene in particular he nails the Romita Jr-esque “lithe Spidey” look pretty well. The whole thing, though, is undeniably sharp and pretty, with a good grasp of character design – and a vast improvement on the artists Amazing has had to put up with in recent times. And if he can make it to the end of his allotted run without having to delay the book at all, well… job done, frankly.

It can’t be denied that it would be nice to see Slott flexing his muscles a bit more, and throwing Peter into a story with a bit more intrigue and interest to it. For the moment, though, he’s taking it one step at a time – restoring the character to his position at the pinnacle of purely entertaining superhero comics (and thereby ensuring that Spider-Man doesn’t get out-Spider-Manned by DC’s Blue Beetle, for once) and making great strides towards winning back the affections of longtime fans. Quesada’s story decisions may be abominable – but at least he can pick his writers.

Tags: Brand New Day, Dan Slott, Spider-Man, Steve McNiven
Publisher: Marvel