Amazing Spider-man #600

One of my earliest memories is my dad taking me to a convenience store on Valley Road to buy a comic book. The issue was Amazing Spider-man #275. Spider-man vs. the Hobgoblin. Peter Parker was about to give up being Spider-man. He was telling Mary Jane how he became Spider-man (in fact, the issue included a reprint of Amazing Fantasy #15). There was a moment, when the Hobgoblin kidnaps someone close to Parker, and Peter isn't going to help. There were other superheroes out there. And Mary Jane is shocked. She yells at Peter, "Where's your sense of responsibility now?"

Two pages later, Spider-man showed up and tried to save the day. My younger self loved that moment. I probably cheered when my dad read it to me. I still smile thinking of that issue (rue the fact that it ended in a cliffhanger and I missed the next issue...)

Since then I've always followed Spider-man. I may not have bought all the comics, but I always knew what was going on. The Clone Saga. Venom. Maximum Carnage. Spider Totems. And One More Day. The death of Aunt May (#400)... the re-appearance of May.

Today, the 600th issue arrived.

It's a HUGE issue... 104 pages long, including a 64 page main story. That story revolves around the marriage of Aunt May, and Spider-man trying to get the groom to the wedding. Of course, Dr. Octopus shows up and tries to disrupt the scenario, by taking over New York. There's a huge cliffhanger at the end. It's a typical Spider-man story.

But man is it fun. There are wisecracks. There's angst. There's action. Guest stars. Pure melodrama.

The new writers have gotten Spidey right. Forget One More Day. The story may have been odd (to say the least) but it got Spider-man here. These guys know what makes the character tick. They know what'll make you cheer, and what'll make you smile. And that's what Spidey's always been about. Adrenaline, action, and fun.

Well done, Marvel. It was well worth my money.