The Amazing Spider-Man #651

       And the biggest name in Marvel Comics is back! It feels like an eternity since the last issue of Spider-Man (So it's been a few weeks, so what. I missed it). With the new tricks a new suit brings and a gaggle of goons to beat up, Spidey and Black Cat have their work cut out for them if they're going to take back the stolen Reverbium from the Kingpin. But Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos have plenty of tricks up their sleeves and the finale to the first story of big time is sure to be explosive. Enough talk though, let's open up Amazing Spider-Man 651! 
 
       Our issue opens up with the new Hobgoblin swooping in to tell Kingpin that Spider-Man and the Black Cat are going to try and steal back the Reverbium. Kingpin decides the follow up on this lead and sends the Hobgoblin down a few Hands Ninjas to determine the truth. Seeing the approaching horde, Black Cat leaves Spidey to fend for himself, choosing to steal from Kingpin so that she sees some profit from the adventure. As the Hobgoblin attacks, Spider-Man adjusts his suit to nullify the sound from Hobgoblins scream, but as a result he can't hear Black Cat crying for help when she gets caught by Montana, head of Kingpins security team. Two battles then ensue, with Black Cat vs. Kingpin & Montana and Spider-Man vs. Hobgoblin. But as the tower collapses around them all, not everybody walks away... 
 
       I love Dan Slott on Spider-Man. He was my favorite writer for him during Brand New Day and he proves to be an excellent choice to write here as well. From what was a cluttered start to the story, with fifty thousand things going on, everything has tied together into a nice little package and I'm really excited to see what Slott brings to the table next arc. He's really impressing me here and I look forward to a long, promising run. Not to mention, Slott is doing incredible work on Peters home life and I can't wait to see where it goes from here next arc. Plus, the ending, while simple, was quite touching and I really enjoyed it. I love the way Slott has played the relationship between Aunt May and Peter, it's great. 

       Humberto Ramos probably does his best work of the arc with this issue. His work is clean and has greater consistency than it did in the past. I particularly liked his renditions of Spider-Man and Peter at the end looked great. Maybe it's the inking of Carlos Cuevas and Joseph M. Damon. Something just really beat out the past issues. There is a great split image of the Hobgoblin and Phil Urich and it's gorgeous, I hope we get some more work along those lines with his next arc. My only complaint is that there are a couple instances where something is a bit less than clear and on one page the lettering looks a bit off, but otherwise Joe Caramagna does outstanding work with the goblin scream. Top-notch work all around. 
 
       In a wee little back-up, we see what has come of both Mac Gargan and the Spider-Slayer. It's a quick little diddy, but it has great characterization and that's really what makes it work. It's essentially a teaser for the next issue and it definitely excites me and makes me very worried about the lives of those close to J. Jonah Jameson. You know, like all five people he cares about. 
 
      Overall, I was very happy with this comic. Issue after issue it proves to be worth my money. Next we get to see the beautiful work of Stefano Caselli and man, am I excited to see what he does! 5 out of 5, a great finale to the start of Big Time!