written by Zeb Wells
penciled by John Romita, Jr.
inked by Scott Hanna
colored by Marcio Menyz
Following Ben Reilly's fall from grace at the end of the "Beyond" Saga, Peter Parker has resumed the mantle of Spider-Man, though as early as the first page of this newly-launched series, it's clear he's not doing so great himself. The issue opens with a mysterious cataclysm having just occurred, with Peter kneeling in the middle of what appears to be the aftermath of a huge explosion. Months later, Peter is extremely distant from his loved ones, including Aunt May and Mary Jane.
Meanwhile, things are shaking up among the criminals of New York as the newly-resurrected, one-time crime boss the Rose, looks to reestablish himself in the underworld, and he's brought an old enemy of Spider-Man's with him: the reanimated, gamma-radiation powered jigsaw puzzle of dead mobsters known as Digger. Spidey steps in, and may have just found himself in the middle of a brand new gang war, as if he didn't have enough problems already.
This issue marks the return of legendary Spider-Man artist John Romita Jr., who re-teams with his Straczynski-era inker Scott Hanna, with really amazing (hehe) results. Most gratifyingly, Romita, Hanna and Marcio Menyz do the WHOLE oversized, forty-plus page issue, with no fill-in stories from any other artist. This is the kind of content I've been missing for YEARS, and I am extremely grateful to JR, Jr. from bringing this back at least for his first issue back on the job. I understand his initial run on this will go for five issues, and I am really excited at the prospect of having this rock solid art team on board for five uninterrupted issues.
The writing is nothing to sneeze at, either. Fellow Spidey veteran Zeb Wells spins quite the web of intrigue (sorry, can't help myself), shrouding much of his new story in mystery that's meant to keep us readers coming back. It's way too early to pass judgment on his plans, but this is a very strong first issue for this new status quo that achieves the uncommon (but not unheard of) feat of setting up a longer story while serving as a very satisfying single-issue read. I guess the extra pages helped things along in that regard.
This new status quo is off to a great new start, and even though things are often fluid with these stories, the direction Zeb Well and JR Jr appears to be taking appears to be a fairly fresh take on the character. I remain cautiously optimistic for the future.
9/10
