Spider-Island is almost here as the 666th issue of Amazing Spider-Man delivers a prelude including several developments that will affect Spider-Man's future.
The Good
I always enjoy Slott and Caselli issues (not that I don't like the ones drawn by other artists). Caselli is great at capture a character's emotions through their facial expressions. Spider-Man is continuing his mission of wiping out crime, we see more developments including the fact that he's still dealing with the loss of his spider-senses and he's also using his new job to develop more gadgets he can use for crime-fighting.
The real story is all the New Yorkers suddenly gaining spider-powers. We've seen this developing in back stories but now we're getting closer to seeing the ramifications and how this could affect Spider-Man. Bringing back Jackyl for this story makes perfect sense. Even though Spider-Man is getting ready and getting even more training, you can't help but be concerned for our Web-head.
The Bad
I like where the story is going but I can't help but be a little concerned over the idea of Spider-Island. You have to admit the name sounds cheesy and clearly this won't be a permanent thing. Although non-permanent changes could be bad for characters like Spider-Girl. There's also another aspect that I feel may just be a tease and I'm afraid to get my hopes up. If you've read the issue, you could probably figure out what I'm referring to (it happens towards the end so I can't spoil it).
The Verdict
Spider-Island is almost here. The official prelude issue continues the tiny snippets we've been seeing in the back up stories and Spider-Man's life is about to be turned upside down. His life has been going very smoothly lately and we all know that can't last forever. Spider-Man has been evolving as a character since Slott began BIG TIME and it's great seeing the changes the character makes to further himself along. He's made more changes in the past year than he has in the last decade. He is going to need those changes if he hopes to survive what is coming up in Spider-Island. It was also great to see that a big deal wasn't made out of the fact that this is the 666th issue. I really want to get excited over the possibility at the end but I'm afraid of getting my hopes up if it's just a big tease.