Comics / Comic Reviews / Marvel Comics

Amazing Spider-Man #649

By Colin Andersen
December 2, 2010 - 19:00

I was not a big fan on Brand New Day. It wasn’t even because of the whole One More Day fiasco (which I did hate) or because it went on way too long and introduced some very boring characters. While those things bothered me, what annoyed me the most was the tone and general feeling of the “saga.” Everything felt unnecessarily dreary and, for me at least, did the opposite of what it was supposed to: made everything feel less like a Spider-Man comic book. Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely some very good stories in there and I admit to not having read all of them. Regardless of that fact, the formula got old fast and the more negative feeling to everything took a major toll on my interest. Because of this, I was incredibly excited when it was announced that Brand New Day was finally going to end and be replaced with Big Time. From the first preview, I had high hopes that Big Time would be the return to more “fun” Spider-Man that I loved.
   

Well, I’m pleased to say that Dan Slott mostly lived up to my expectations so far. The first issue of Big Time was good, but felt too cluttered in trying to set up all the plots for the next few story arcs. Luckily, issue 649 narrows the focus a bit and is all the better for it. This issue brings the return of the original Hobgoblin and brings with it one of the most genuinely surprising twists that I have read in a comic book in quite some time. I have to give a huge amount of credit to Dan Slott for pulling it off so well. In fact the pages leading up to it are so good that I didn’t even realize that neither Peter Parker nor Spider-Man had so much as made an appearance. That being said, once Peter and his alter-ego make the scene it is just an entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the pages where he’s paired up with the Black Cat; there’s some really great back and forth between the two and Norah Winters. Like others online has noted, Peter’s new job almost seems to perfect for his life and that is somewhat distracting, but it doesn’t detract from the story at all for me; I’m just happy to see something positive chance in Peter’s life and I’m already starting to really enjoy some of his coworkers and the possibilities this job create. That being said, there is plenty of room for this new job to get very repetitive and I just hope Slott can keep it under control.    
    I am truly amazed at just how likeable Dan Slott is able to write nearly every character. Peter is acting just like I would expect him too and I particularly enjoyed his attempts to come up with something to create at work. I was also really amazed at how much I enjoyed Hobgoblin in this story. I’ve never been particularly fond of the character but he absolutely worked here and seemed like a professional. He also actually seems like a real threat for once with some of the new technology he comes into possession. Though brief, I particularly enjoyed the battle with Spider-Man at the end of the issue; it was way more brutal than I expected and it goes a long way toward making Hobgoblin even more menacing (no pun intended for BND fans?)
    I can’t think of many comic book authors who have as divided an opinion on them as Humberto Ramos. Some people love him and authors truly, truly despise his work; I’ve always found myself squarely in the former category. His extremely cartoony visuals just appeal to the child in me and he has a truly dynamic way of illustrating. Even the panels where people are just standing around somehow look exciting. I was also very impressed with how graphic Ramos can be when he really wants to as this issue had some pretty graphic panels. For me, it’s good stuff, though your mileage will definitely vary depending on your feelings for him. Even I have to admit that some of panels are just a little bit too exaggerated.
    So far, I am very satisfied with Big Time. These are more the kind of stories that I have been waiting to see since Brand New Day. Spider-Man/ Peter Parker finally seems like he’s moving somewhere in life again like he did back before Civil War ground him to a halt and kept him in place for over 100 issues. My only hope is that Dan Slott can keep the pace up and keep Spider-Man swinging forward like he is now.

Rating: 9 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12