Amazing Spider-Man #579 (& #578)

I really like Spider-Man as a superhero. I almost always enjoy reading Amazing Spider-Man. It is a great all-ages fun comic book that never disappoints. One thing that is especially refreshing about Amazing Spider-Man is that the creative teams are always changing on the book. I enjoy seeing fresh new takes on Spider-Man and the villains - it's fun.

Every so often a creator comes on the book and I get really excited because I recognize the name as a favorite of mine. Such was the case for these last 2 issues. Mark Waid, a superstar in comics, authored this 2-part story. I instantly recognized Waid from 52 and Kingdom Come. I'm sure he's done a lot more and even more that I have read, but I can't remember off the top of my head. Anyway, he is a good story-teller and a good superhero writer. That got me excited.

This opening panel really set the tone at the beginning of #578:

Spider-Man perched above the city eating take-out Chinese food =o)  A few months ago there was a similar panel of Spider-Man sipping a Starbucks coffee. I really like that. It keeps the book real and fun. So anyway, on to the story...

Peter Parker is on his way somewhere when the Shocker attempts to crush the subway car Peter is on. It is a very fun Spider-Man story with a little twist/side-plot involving J. J. Jameson, but I won't give it away. I recommend this 2 part story-arc. It was fun, well written, with excellent art. Plenty of action and have I mentioned fun yet?  ;-)

EDIT/UPDATE (12/8/08):  I re-read these 2 issues and I feel like I didn't do this story justice in my review. This story is about as perfect of a Spider-Man story as you could have. It really was exceptional. I was thinking back on it and thinking, "how could it have been better?" I couldn't think of anything that would have made it better. It was a perfect story. Highly recommended.