The Book That Never Was...
I don't think Peter David got to tell the stories he originally intended to with this book. Various crossover events must have posed a problem for him, such as The Other and Civil War. This was really a shame, because as much as I've enjoyed PAD's run, I can't help but think of what might have been had he more creative freedom. It's things like this that make me feel that the fans who bitch about "event fatigue" may have a point. Fortunately, PAD ends his run with a stellar issue featuring a long overdue chat between Peter and Mr. Jameson. It's a great read, and a story I fear, that would've never been told by the Spider-Writers and editors had PAD not written it. Come to think of it, a lot of PAD's run has had him picking up the slack from other writers. He finally resolved the goofy plot thread left over from Mark Millar's run where JJ thought his son was Spider-Man. He brought in the Mysterio we saw at the end of Kevin Smith's Spider-Man/Black Cat miniseries, as well as resurrecting the old one in a new and exciting way after he was needlessly killed off. He also (thankfully) concluded The Other, brought Flash Thompson out of his comatose state, and revived Peter's job at the high school. Too bad he couldn't get around to the Stacy twins...
F.N. Spider-Man was really the Spider-Man fan's comic. Don't get me wrong, anybody can enjoy it, but the hardcores are the ones who will appreciate it the most. This issue is a great buy for those curious about the current dynamic between Jameson and Spider-Man now that his identity's been revealed. It has all the superb dialogue, humour, drama, and great characterization that I've come to expect from this series.
Thank you PAD! Good luck on She-Hulk!
