written by Dan Slott
drawn by Stuart Immonen (p) Wade von Grawbadger (i)
colored by Rain Beredo
This issue marks the conclusion of the first story arc since Marvel restored the original numbering of the series. It's the third part of an arc that contained three self-contained stories, and while it's not exactly the status-quo-shattering saga it was hyped up to be, it's still a good read.
As hinted last issue, Joe Robertson offers Peter Parker, who has just run his own company into the ground, a job at the Daily Bugle as the paper's science section editor. It's a decision that clearly rankles some of the Bugle staff, but Peter is grateful for the opportunity, and hits the ground running, thanks to an exclusive provided to him by his current girlfriend Bobbi Morse, aka Mockingbird, who works at a tech startup that manufactures personalized robots. As Peter and his reporters visit the company, he notices something amiss with the robots, something that Spider-Man will have to investigate.
Even though Slott telegraphed the conclusion to the arc from the word "go," it's still nice to see Peter settle into arguably the most suitable status quo he's had since he taught at his old high school. While Peter's first adventure in his new status quo comes across as a tad contrived, and nowhere near as emotionally affecting as J. Michael Straczynski's school shooter story, which marked the beginning of his career as a teacher, Slott tells a straightforward, reasonably entertaining tale that offers Peter a moment of success following months of disgrace, and lays before him the challenges that will face him in his new career. Slott surrounds Pete with a nice new supporting cast of characters, the most prominent of whom being ace tech reporter Rubylyn Bato, a woman who, judging by her name and the way she's drawn is, I suspect, of Filipino descent. Slott's actually created some fairly eclectic and memorable supporting characters in his nearly decade-long tenure, and I hope Bato turns out to be one of them.
Of course, I'd be remiss if I failed to mention Stuart Immonen and Wade von Grawbadger, who continue their winning streak with this issue. The pair of them came back strong after taking an issue off, but this time they aren't joined by their frequent collaborator colorist Marte Gracia, but rather by Rain Beredo. The difference isn't too glaring, but I confess I miss Gracia's brighter palette a bit. In any case, Immonen and von Grawbadger still turn in another keeper of an issue, for which I'm particularly glad given that the whole team will be taking a sabbatical as the title switches to a crossover to be drawn by the ever-capable Ryan Stegman, followed by an arc with a different artist. I'm sure they'll be back in time for the landmark 800th issue. I'll certainly miss them all until then.
8.5/10
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