The Amazing Spider-Man #643

Spider-Man has to race across town with a newborn in hand while every NYC cop and his entire rogue's gallery comes gunning for him.
 

The Good

Waid and the rest of ASM writing staff have done a great job of updating Spidey and his mythos to the times while still keeping them true to their roots. So is definitely classic Spidey - - Peter can't catch a break as the entire world seems against and, of course, the first thing to suffer is his social life. But then there's the also the added complication of just how much harder it'd be for him to keep his secret identiy in a time when everybody's got a personal camera or a flipcam. I also like how they've fit Spidey into the goings-on of the great MU - - how his usually very-private grudge with Norma Osborn and his villains has now become a matter of national securty in the wake of Dark Reign and Siege.

The Bad

I think Azaceta's a fine artist - - his style reminds me of Eduaro Risso's a lot - - but I don't know if his gritty style's that approriate for Spider-Man. There's  a certain amount of fudging needed to make Spidey's characteristic poses work and I think he might be drawing the wall-crawler a little too realistically while he's swinging around. His body often looked pained in mid-motion.

The Verdict - 3.5/5

This is vintage Spider-Man - - everybody favorite wall-crawler facing almost-comedically insurmountable odds. It might run a little too soap operatic for modern readers, but it's still got plenty chills (Doc Okc's creepy new redesign) and spills (the double whammy Spidey puts on Sandman and Electroc) to properly ratchet up the thrill-o-meter. I'm always impressed with how the team's able to put a good title in what has to be an unbelievably-demanding weekly release schedule.