The Amazing Spider-Man #1

• Title: The Amazing Spider-Man #1
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Nick Spencer
• Artist: Ryan Ottley

Although I like the character, the are a couple of reasons I haven’t been a regular reader on one of his titles for quite some time. The character’s convoluted, and often retconned, history (which has been patched so often you can’t see what it was originally supposed to look like) and writers who focus on making Peter Parker‘s life a struggle without capturing the joy of being Spider-Man, have too often made Spidey comics a chore to read.

The first issue of the newly relaunched The Amazing Spider-Man, to no surprise, throws Peter under the bus once more. Not only is he accused of plagiarism, loses his job at The Daily Planet, living with a super-villain, and earns the disapproval of Aunt May (a character who should never have been brought back), but he also has to deal with the distrust of other heroes once New York City’s Mayor starts fucking with him in the press.

The only bright spot for Pete is a bit of super-heroing and getting back together with Mary Jane, which offers a fan-friendly moment but is undrecut by the uncertainty of not knowing how much of their history is still canon (or, to be honest, what ages either character is supposed to be at this point). For fans.

[Marvel, $3.99]