Amazing Spider-Man #644

This has proven to be one of the most frenetic, fast-paced thrillers I've ever seen Spidey involved in. It's like some wonderful love child of Jackie Chan, Buster Keaton and Speed -- meaning you've got serious drama and impressive physical humor to underlay the relentless action. The revelations at the end of this were just intense procession of nailbiters -- I really need to see the next issue of ASM, and now! Read Full Review

It is very nice to finally be able to say something nice about an ASM issue after the dreadful OMIT and dull beginning to this Mark Waid story. Simply a fun issue of Spider-Man being chased by villains with cool plot twists at the end. Read Full Review

This arc has turned out to be pretty entertaining and I am definitely going to be following it to the conclusion. There have been some bumps along the way but Mark Waid has delivered a so far solid swan song for Spider-Mans Brand New Day. Read Full Review

Mark Waid's scripting is somewhat haphazard. Humor has never been his strong suit with the series, so the straightforwardly dramatic tone of this issue is a boon. Waid still shows a tendency to overwrite his hero, though. Having Spidey voice his sense of personal torment isn't nearly as effective as having the issue show it organically. Waid had the opportunity for a truly memorable scene in this issue as Spidey and Rhino encounter each other for the first time since the latter's tragic meltdown in issue #625. While Waid mines the scene for some of its depth, it's difficult not to imagine how much more could have been done in a story that allowed the proper space. Paul Azaceta's art is also frustratingly haphazard. The action scenes have a dynamic quality, but Azaceta's unattractive figures and facial work tend to drag down the more dialogue-centered panels. Hopefully "Origin of the Species" can find its legs in these last two issues. Read Full Review