I can't imagine anyone might do such a thing. Meanwhile, I'll go get a snack from my spence...err… pantry!

Mysterio? I'd love it if this was all a manifestation of Mysterio.

🕸️ Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-tober Day One: The Homemade Suit 🕸️

The echoed image from AF #15's final panel is a pretty solid giveaway that we shouldn't be cheering. (And a nice touch)

Wacker asks, "Has the Spider-Man line been wandering aimlessly for the past 10 years?" :Dan sits up straight:

Based on gut size alone, I'm Lucas.

Should I be embarrassed for liking it?

You won't love my analysis from my podcast review then!

I mean, I think the primary story has a really good hook. They did something that I'm not entirely sure how I feel about, regarding Ravage's identity, but I think the core concept behind the story is really interesting and exciting. And appropriate for a 1000th issue of Peter's story.

If you treat it like a normal ASM issue, you won't be disappointed. Kelly and Larraz clearly have a banger of a story for us; they just don't get to tell it in full here. The rest is just a grab-bag of stories of varying quality and rationalizations for their inclusion.

The result is that none of the advantages of being a part of a bigger line (or in this comics case: collection) apply to their various books. There is no tide to lift up the smaller books or stories, its a bunch of titles fending for themselves, and ultimately drowning.

A bunch of random stories, which are often good, that are loosely tied together (if at all), that exist across time, space, and the multiverse. Led by an editorial that seems terrified to sculpt or ask creatives to be a part of a grander vision for the line.

This critique is kind of my extended critique of Marvel Comics entire line at the moment, just perfectly represented in one issue of ASM. The Cebulski/Lowe era perfectly represented in a single issue of comics.

ASM #1000 feels like it was made to please almost no one. Readers will be frustrated and newcomers confused. And again, many of the individual stories are solid, some good even, and the primary tale promises greatness, but the product feels lacking true vision in a special issue that called for it.

Even Marvel Comics #1000 had a unifying construction that made it feel like a cohesive product, the “one page per year” concept, and made me walk away feeling like it made a statement about the Marvel universe.

My overall feeling is that editorial seemed scared and desperate to get the stories that they got or to give notes/direction to creatives, which honestly makes me feel sad for the state of a book with this legacy celebrating a milestone that had been set in stone for years.

The other stories aren't bad, most are just forgettable and many feel like random inventory stories that don't follow any particular theme, have no connective tissue, and feel like they exist to draw attention rather than make any collective statement about Spidey or this milestone.