Review- SPIDER-MAN: FLYING BLIND

SPIDER-MAN: FLYING BLIND (Marvel, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 674-677 and Daredevil No. 8 (cover dates January-March, 2012)

Writers: Dan Slott (674-676) and Mark Waid (677 and Daredevil No. 8)

Artists: Giuseppe Camuncoli (Penciler 674, 675), Klaus Janson (Inker, 674, 675), Humberto Ramos (676), Emma Rios (677), and Kano (Daredevil No. 8)

I'm really far behind on my reading, so I'm bumping up a lot of “current” Marvel stuff before committing to all of these new relaunched Marvel Now titles via their collected edition counterparts. I'm almost caught up on Avengers and Captain America, so now it's time for Spider-Man.

Spidey battles the Vulture and his new apprentices in issues 674 and 675, which remind me of the first three issues of Web of Spider-Man with the Vulturions. Issue 676 doesn't feature Spider-Man at all, not even for one panel. We get “treated” to Humberto Ramos' “artwork” in a story starring the Sinister Six. My God Ramos sucks. In a perfect world he would be paired up with Bendis and they could make Bishop or Deadpool comics, never to be heard from again. Instead, I have to suffer through his crappy artwork ruining my favorite character. At least it's only one issue out of the book.

Emma Rios' artwork on issue 677 is a breath of fresh air, ditto Kano's artwork on the Daredevil crossover issue. Issue 677 and the Daredevil issue are the best in the book. Mark Waid returned to Amazing Spider-Man for this issue. He was part of the “Spidey Brain Trust” during the Brand New Day relaunch a couple of years ago and has been writing the new Daredevil series. He seems to have a pretty good grasp on Spider-Man.

Dan Slott's run has been solid. Some issues are better than others, and I am cool with that. Every single issue doesn't have to top the one that came before it so long as they are all decent reads. So while this wasn't the greatest collection of Spider-Man stories ever unleashed upon the world, they were entertaining and worth your time and money. At the end of the day that is all that I ask for out of a comic book: entertain me and don't make me regret spending my money on it. It seems so simple yet is really difficult to do. Props to Dan Slott and Mark Waid for giving it their all.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Typical Marvel Premiere Edition Hardcover, with the same production values that the format has to offer.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. Nice thick coated stock with a slight sheen, perfect for modern coloring.

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. It's glued, but it's a thin hardcover, so it's no biggie. It's not like it's going to fall apart or anything. I normally lose sleep over books with glued binding, but not with these Premiere Hardcovers.