The Good
In celebration of Spider-Man's fiftieth anniversary, Marvel has decided to put out some "point one" stories. The idea is to provide single stories that don't rely on the existing continuity or stories of the current series. To make this a little weird, we've been seeing point one issues for Spider-Man titles that are not currently being published.
It's always nice to see Tom DeFalco return to Spider-Man. This story takes place a little while ago (right after J. Jonah Jameson was elected mayor) and it's almost like getting a glimpse at an 'untold' tale that took place around that time. Carlie Cooper gets some time in the spotlight as she ventures out to try to solve a case in a way that goes beyond her normal CSI duties. Seeing her interaction with Spider-Man and Peter Parker prior to what we know is going to happen is like being the only one in on a big secret.
Carlo Barberi's art with Antonio Fabela's colors look really nice. This has a very nice Spidey feel even if he sort of takes the backseat to Carlie's escapades.
The Bad
First off, I'm a little confused with the choice in numbering. 33.1 puts it after the 1998 issue from the 1996 volume of SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN. But there was also another SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN series that took over from MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN with issue #23 in 2006. It would make more sense to follow this series, which ended with issue #41 in 2007. But of course, this is minor.
This issue features the newer Vulture who met his end with the Punisher and also was a character I didn't really like. Hopefully we'll find out why he was chosen for this issue in the next issue.
That brings another problem. Point one issues are supposed to be self-contained. Yet this issue is continuing in SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #33.2.
Was Carlie always this... curvy? I seem to recall her having shorter hair and not looking so model/comic book-like in her earlier appearances. But I'm sure Peter doesn't mind.
The Verdict
It's great to see Marvel celebrating Spider-Man's fiftieth anniversary in a unique way. Resurrecting previous Spider-Man series and giving them a self-contained point one issue is a fun way to see story that doesn't have immediate ties to the current series. Unfortunately there is the question of whether or not the story will 'matter.' This is a story that took place some months ago in Spider-Man's life. It also fails to be a self-contained story as it will continue in the next .2 issue. Fans of the newer Vulture will be happy to see his appearance here and will be in suspense to find out how the story ends. It's not clear how exactly this story celebrates Spidey's anniversary. It has an 'untold tale' feel but whether or not there's any lasting effects of the story remain to be seen.
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