By Dante' Maddox

I never thought it could be so easy, but this is comics, the cover of ASM 546 brought back all those memories of heading down to the local 7-11 and picking up Eric Larson and companies run on Spider-Man, right before Mark Bagely came on board back when Spider-man comics were so much fun.

Then Spider-Man started going down paths I wasn’t keen on following, and even when the book was good, it didn’t feel like my book anymore. Over the years I grew to accept that Spider-Man was a different character now than he was when I was fifteen, and that it was important for him to change and grow in order to appeal to new readers and to remain fresh in general. The last few months of reading has convinced me that I didn’t have to accept anything, and that with just a couple of issue’s they can just stop, and start pretty much all over again.

I realized that for Marvel to do such a thing meant that I wasn’t the only one who looked at his issue’s of Spider-man in the early 2000’s and sighed with nostalgia back to when the book was really really great. I never thought for a moment that I would ever get that back, that sensation that came along with reading Spidey in what I would call the last part of the books heyday. Now that it seems like Marvel did the unthinkable with its flagship character the question is begged, how do I feel about it. Wary. Maybe I’m jaded, or I’m too old to be mystified by the things I see and read, but the days of reading a comic in complete wonder of the entire process are gone, I just don’t ‘know’ that Marvel is on the up and up. I figure this will all work out in one of two ways.

What I feel is most likely is that Marvel is giving us a ‘be careful what you wish for’ type of deal where they give is a taste of what Spidey would be like had things worked out differently. I believe this because the entire first issue of the Brand New Day story arc felt like one huge ‘What If…?’ issue. Especially when you take a gander a certain red headed ‘new’ super hero who run’s around New York saying catchy things like, “I’m gonna get you Tiger. Count on it.” Oh and her name is Jackpot… seriously. Well, I for one smell a rat! All of a sudden this whole thing went from being a bold new direction for Peter Parker (solo adventurer) to a bold new direction for Peter and Mary Jane (technically not married but still f***in’ married). That only really bugs me (being pretty indifferent about the couple’s status in general) because I feel like I’ve been tricked. This is already starting to feel like a temporary deal for the most part, but there is hope.

The other option I think could possibly happen is a compromise of sorts. I’d wager that a lot of people like Pete and MJ together (as well they should) and aren’t exactly thrilled with the new status quo. The camp I belong to is the one that says, “Just figure something out and go with it, all we want is for artists and writers to stop bitching and moaning about it more than anything else.” So, it seems like both camps might get what they want. The best case scenario is that we get to keep Harry Osborne (unlikely, but I hope) and ‘lame Mockingbird knock off’ Mary Jane (complete with the ‘quick change super model’ action play set) and we get them back as a couple to one degree or another. The trouble is that how all this came about makes everything we read from now on completely suspect, and at any given time it can all get wiped away. What really set off alarms for me was the splash page in the middle of the book that reassured us that this was the new status quo, who are you trying to convince?

This year might be rough for Spider-Man, the start has definitively been rather rocky. As fans of the book, Marvel is asking a lot of us, their asking us to go out on a very long limb with them, and to trust them not to leave us hanging. Those words might seem a little dramatic but considering that the book is coming out three times a month I think they fit. Marvel assumes that every Spider-Man reader bought every title that hit shelves (my Amazing Spider-Man collection is extensive, can’t say the same for Web of and what not), this is literally putting all your eggs in one basket (Ultimate Spidey isn’t canon, get off my back) which is risky. Tossing in a new villain does give me some hope that this is all on the level, but a conversation that Harry Osborne has with his girlfriends father kills that for me when he makes a comment that I wasn’t sure if the reference was for me the reader, or a glimpse into Harry’s true character. In all fairness, issue 546 gave me reason enough to jump on issue 547. If this Brand New Day is legit, then I applaud it, but if this is just a quick fix that will take us through mid 09’ then shame on you for playing on the passions of your readers.

Writer: Dan Slott
Pencils: Steve McNiven
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99

CraveOnline Rating: 6 out of 10