written by Dan Slott (plot) and Christos Gage (script)
illustrated by Stuart Immonen (pencils) and Wade Von Grawbadger (inks)
colored by Marte Gracia
Dan Slott, this time joined by his longtime collaborator Christos Gage, continues his first post-Parker Industries story line by having Peter Parker apologize to and settle accounts with his former employees at the company he founded...and then destroyed. Still, there are a lot of reparations to be made, and even with the help of Pete's best friend Harry Lyman (formerly Osborn) Peter is going to have a really, really hard time compensating the people who invested time, effort and money in his company. Harry has a radical solution that could help defray costs: sell the Baxter Building, the one-time home of the Fantastic Four. This does not go down well with Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, who has a few choice words for Peter. Also, another of Peter's disgruntled employees, Clayton Cole, having resumed his costumed identity as Clash, is intent on taking his own tech back from Parker Industries before it, too, is sold off. Unfortunately for Peter, Cole's henchmen have other ideas.
Interestingly, though, it seems as though not all may be lost for Peter, as an unexpected but familiar figure from his past comes calling.
This is the third done-in-one comic book in a row that Slott has delivered, and even though this issue and its immediate predecessor serve a larger storyline, each one is a full, enjoyable read on its own. This storytelling style hearkens back to the comic books I read as a kid, specifically David Michelinie's and Todd McFarlane's run, which consisted largely of single-issue stories, with only occasional multiple-issue arcs. I am glad to see this kind of writing in Spider-Man books, as it feels like a welcome return to Spidey's roots. I liked how the writing here showed Peter as downtrodden and utterly despondent without having him completely regress to the Sad Sack he used to be. I also liked how Slott wrote the Torch; his reaction is entirely understandable and expected. I also had some appreciation for how Slott handled Clayton Cole; even after everything that's happened he still hasn't crossed the threshold into full-blown supervillain territory, at least not yet.
On the art side, team Spidey knock yet another issue out of the park as Immonen, Von Grawbadger and Gracia continue to fire on all cylinders. This team, anchored by Immonen, is really the best thing to happen to this book in quite a long time and I'm definitely keeping this book on my monthly pull list for as long as they're on it. I am really excited for the landmark 800th issue now!
8.5/10
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