Spider-Man: Brand New Day vol. 1

So months and months later, I finally get to see what all the brand new fuss is about. I definitely count among those who are annoyed about the stupid and callous way that MJ was written out of the story. I had toyed with the idea of boycotting Spidey like so many other people, but I figured the new creative team were not the ones to do the awful One More Day story. So I'm giving BND a shot.

I like the art. That's the first impression I come away with. McNiven is stellar as always, and La Rocca is a favorite too. La Rocca has a fun redesign on the Blue Shield that was pretty cool. I like Jackpot's design too, but I'm not sure who is responsible for her costume.

Re: Jackpot, I liked her a lot more than I thought I would. She was a pretty fun guest star, and I find myself hoping that she could be MJ (although I think I saw some interweb spoiler that she's a nobody?) In any case, she was a fun little newbie to the hero biz, from giving out fake names to wanting to claim Menace as her own arch-foe. Fun stuff.

The Spidey action is well done throughout. Slott and Guggenheim have some great dialogue for Spidey, his jokes and puns are really strong, making the fights a joy to read. The spider-action is the strength of the collection. However, I could not be more bored by Harry Osborne and those ladies. I can't even remember any of the other people's names. I know the supporting cast was a point of emphasis for the writers, and for me, they failed, because I don't care about any of them in the slightest.

All in all, the trade is a good value. There is enough fighting to get past the boring soap stuff, the art is great, and the bonus material of variant covers and other stuff makes it worthwhile. I don't know why anyone would buy this stuff weekly. I think I got a much better value, and I'd be annoyed on the drama-heavy weeks.

Good