Amazing Spider-Man #555-557 Review

Danger

Writer: Zeb Wells
Artist: Chris Bachalo

What has happened to Spider-Man since the end of Civil War? After revealing his true identity, the life of Peter Parker and the life of those who he loves most are in danger. When one of his loved ones becomes critically injured, does he have what it takes to save them? The 'One More Day' storyline answers that question and leads us up to where we currently are in the Spider-man Universe. After making a deal with the devil (BOOOOOOOO!!!), Peter Parker's long-time relationship with Mary Jane has been seemingy ret-conned from continuity and has left us with a web-slinger who some of us know and love. Pete is back to where he was before the relationship with MJ; Struggling for a paycheque, trying to hide his secret identity from Aunt May, and basically being the big dork we all remember.

The current Amazing Spider-Man storyline helmed by both Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo is just a continuation of Parker's daily tribulations. Sometime in the later half of 2007, Marvel announced that the Amazing Spider-Man title would be released 3 issues a month, with 4 different creative teams and each team getting a month to tell their story. Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo are the final group to show us their take on a post-"one more day" Spider-man.

Zeb Wells has been doing a majority of his comic book related work with Marvel Comics. Quite possibly his most notable work with the company to date is his Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways tie-in. Marvel may be breeding him to be one of their new writers, and have decided to test his chops with his turn on an A-list character book. I for one, believe that he did a great job and look forward to seeing more from him.

Chris Bachalo however, is no stranger to the Marvel Universe. After getting his start in comics with a collaboration with Neil Gaiman at DC, Chris then moved onto work with Marvel Comics. While over at Marvel, Chris was partly responsible for the creation of Generation X along with Scott Lobdell. He then went onto work on Uncanny X-men, later returning back to the X-Family in 2007.

Amazing Spider-Man #555 sets the pace for the three issue arc and really does a great job in starting the story off strong. Spider-Man isn't like most heroes, and sometimes uses his mouth while fighting opponents even if they aren't listening. Wells remembers this, and has really has captured a Spider-Man that I enjoy reading. There are also humorous situations in the book like the incident with JJJ or the hobo on the street who stole Peter's clothes. The art is also a good fit for the book as well. It is hard for some artists out there to really 'get' Spider-Man, and some of them just don't 'get' Spidey. In my opinion, Chris Bachalo 'gets' Spider-Man and that adds to the overall enjoyment of the book.

Spider-Man has gone through some tough times over the year. Losing beloved family members, and girlfriends, flip-flopping through two sides of a war, and losing the love of his life are all things he has struggled through. Thanks to the controversial 'One More Day' story arc, he has a chance to start things fresh. But is this a good or a bad thing for Spider-Man? So far I'm enjoying most of what has come out of it, but I do hope that things do get better for both Peter and the readers.