Rating:  -
Avoid! BRING Mary Jane BACK! also bad writing. I can't wait for a retcon of this retcon.
Rating: -
Brand new day continues! This volume features more storylines without any continuity whatsoever!
The first story, by Bob Gale and Phil Jimenez, is one of the worst I've ever read. Gale's dialoge is campy, his sense of timing is horrible, and the plot is ridiculous. The art is okay, though. The story features "Freak," a junkie who accidently snorts some stem cells (which were lying around) and turns into a (very gross) giant monster. He then tries to get more drugs.
The second story is a bit better--Zeb Wells is a fun writer, and Chris BAchalo is a great artist. Still, the Brand New Day theme stains the story, and the premise is very weird.
All in all, if you want good Spider-Man, look a little harder.
Rating: -
Spider-Man Brand New Day is just such a rotten treatment of the character and this collection is proof. I'm not sure why Marvel Comics wanted to turn Peter Parker into Archie, but this is clearly NOT the Peter Parker who has been in the Amazing Title since 1966.
The writing in this collection is ponderous and borderline embarrassment. The art is at least good (so if you don't want to read) maybe you'll enjoy the collection.
Marvel's flagship character needs to be treated much better than this collection. Avoid it at all costs!
Rating:  -
Since the One More Day debacle, Amazing Spider-Man has undergone a faster shipping schedule thanks to having a revolving team of writers and artists. Here, Spidey is up to his usual troubles, with a new villain called Freak being at the epicenter. Volume two of Brand New Day also marks the debuts of writers Bob Gale and Zeb Wells to the Brand New Day team, each of which make up what is great about this volume, and what is just plain bad. Gale provides some atrocious dialogue and corny captions, while Wells provides some spetacular Spidey action that is instantly enjoyable. The absolute best part of this second volume of Brand New Day however is the same thing that made the first volume so good: the artwork. Phil Jimenez (New X-Men, Infinite Crisis) provides great work, and even more surprisingly does Chris Bachalo (X-Men), whose work I don't usually admire, but whose style more than suits the title. Barry Kitson (The Order) provides solid art as well as the volume comes to a close, which once again finds Gale marring things up. Besides Gale's disappointing contributions, it should be noted that Freak may very well be one of the worst villains to ever cross paths with Spidey. There just isn't anything original or compelling with the villain, and he only fails even more so in Gale's hands. Still, Zeb Wells manages to weave some great Spidey material, and the artwork is spectacular to boot. All in all, the good barely outweighs the bad here, but the second volume of Brand New Day is still an enjoyable and entertaining Spidey romp, and one can only hope that things will get better and more consistent from this point forward.
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