Freaks Abound!
Bob Gale writes a fun one part story, you just need to get past the bad dialogue to fully enjoy it. Another problem with the issue is that it blantantly mirrors a scene from one of my favorite Spider-Man stories. When Spider-Man doesn't chase after Menace due to having somewhere more urgent to attend to, the public thinks he's a coward. This of course, is very similar to when Spidey ran from a battle with the Green Goblin all the way back in #17 due to Aunt May being ill, and garnering the same reaction from the public. I usually defend Brand New Day when it is accused of being repetitive (most of the allegations are shallow at best), but not even I can excuse this. Despite its problems the issue still proves to be fun, Barry Kitson's interior artwork looks great and I loved the way Spidey defeats Freak at the end.
On a side note, Marvel needs to get rid of those Brand New Day banners they put on the covers. If they want to convince skeptical fans that this is indeed the new Spider-Man status quo then they need to stop making it feel like an event.