I’m just going to throw this out there: Amazing Spider-Man sucks right now. Bad. Last night I visited my fabulous local comic shop (plug: Night-Flight Comics!) to pick up some comics from my hold. Now I’ll be the first to admit, I’m a few issues behind in AS-M, but when I read my most recent issue I was, for the upteenth time in several weeks, disappointed. I keep hanging in there and reading hoping that it get better, but it doesn’t, in fact I think it’s actually getting worse (bear in mind, I am a few issues behind right now). Here are the top 3 things that have bugged me the most:

3. Jackpot. I don’t think I really need to expand on this. If you’ve read AS-M recently, you know.

2. The irrelevence of everything. Marvel has screwed themselves and have removed Spider-Man from all other continuity, not literally of course, but the comic seems to stand alone, seperate from the rest of the Marvel U. They try to connect it by having him mention current “goings-ons” around the Marvel U, but it just sounds forced and brings me to my #1…

1. Spidey talks to himself. This was customary back in the ’60’s and ’70’s to have the character narrate out loud his thoughts and concerns, but in todays day and age with the amazing artists that work on these comics, I fail to see the need for this. Artists can depict thoughts and emotions without writers having to spell it out to the readers. I can even handle the occasional thought bubbles to add a little narration, but having Spidey say outloud every thought that crosses his mind, in my opinion, pollutes the experience, it doesn’t allow you to imerse yourself in that world for half and hour as you read, instead, it reminds you every page that you are reading a comic book. I have read a lot of classic Spidey over the years, and I think there was a time when this is necessary and it adds some nostalgia when reading these classic stories, but now it is just outdated, uneccessary, and far too corny. If a sign breaks and falls to the croud below, I don’t need to see Spidey say “Oh no! That sign is falling and there are people down there! I better use my webbing to stop it!” It’s annoying.

I hope that it improves. I don’t recall a big push for Marvel to sling Spider-Man back 40 years and erase a shit load of continuity, so hopefully Mephisto will appear in the coming months and use his “magic” (that Quesada feels needs no explaination) to bring a little normalcy back to Amazing Spider-Man.