"The Spider-Man event of the summer" officially begins. Can it match up to the hype and to the greatness of the prologue? Read on.
This issue was good. Straightforward and to the point, it doesn't waste any time. This isn't a novel where time is spent mellowing and super characterization, this is a fun fast-paced comic. You know what's happening, and they give it to you.
The whole Spider-Island concept is interesting. When I first heard about it, I didn't think much of it, not really sure what they would do with it. But now I realize there's a lot of potential here. The idea of New Yorkers getting powers that match Spidey's is intriguing and one must wonder how he's going to come out of this one.
There are some great character moments here. I especially like Peter's reaction to all the chaos from the radio. Carlie on the other hand comes off as way too overly-excited, not really thinking the whole thing through.
Jackal is a fun villain to watch, and his two companions: the Spider-King and Tarantula are even more cool.
The whole Identity Crisis has been done countless times before, but never like this. If they all look and claim to be Spidey, then what's to stop his friends from not believing the real one?
The Avengers make a pretty cool appearance, it's great to see them helping out in the Spidey world. (One of the things in the older comics was that they really never really came around to lend a hand, I'm glad Big Time has been showing that they can enter and help.)
Other characters, like Madame Web, are given interesting but annoying roles. I think Slott is purposely trying to make us not like her. She goes on about the Law of Balance, while our hero is getting pretty beat up down in the street. She's probably right, if you mess with the order of things, it will come and bite you. But she is still pretty annoying in this issue.
The art is good, it has a bit of a cartoony feel, but it fits the mood well. (Ten times better than that pre-Big Time art.)
In closing, this issue is a good part one to Spider-Island. It's cool, different, and you never know what to expect. Even if Mary Jane is still an empty character so far in this status quo, (she does get a funny line about The Clone Saga to mess with fans) this is still a great issue.
I give this issue an 8/10.
