Amazing Spider-Man #28 synopsis

the plot: As Peter looks off into the night, wondering where his beloved Mary Jane could be, the Stalker, the man who has been holding Mary Jane captive since her apparent death feels Peter's pain literally. As the Stalker explains to the still captive MJ, he developed telepathy in puberty and, unable to controll it, went through his life in pain. However a chance encounter with Spider-Man left the Stalker with new purpose. He felt all of Peter's memories and feelings, and felt that Peter was not best suited to life his life. He felt he was. So as Peter arrives at the diner where the Stalker holds MJ, husband and wife are reunited...Until the Stalker makes his move and Peter falls to the ground.

the review: As long-time writer Howard Mackie ends his nine year run on Spider-Man, he is in excellent form, bringing back Mary Jane into Peter's life and giving motives to the man behind her dissapearence. Granted the origin of the Stalker was a bit on the contrived side (he goes from a seemingly crazed fan to a guy that wants to live Peter's life), it was still a reasonable explanation. While the sotry itself is mainly to get from point A to point B, it's told well enough that interest is held throughout it. I did have a few problems with the book though, specifically that there is no mention of the gang war last month, that the cat Peter brought home in Amazing #27 seems to be completely forgotten, and, more importantly, that Peter arrives at the Stalker's hideout with no real explanation for how he got there. Like I said, these are minor quibbles when you realize that the point of the story is to bring Mary Jane back into Peter's life.

Lee Weeks, whose artwork in such books as "Death and Destiny" and "Mysterio Manifesto" was fantastic turns in great work to a story high on exposition and low on action. His detail, and great character design looks great here. Granted Week's Stalker looks nothing like the shadowy character as drawn by John Byrne, or even Joe Bennett, but it looks great anyway. And the reunion between Peter and MJ? While Peter's verbal reaction to seeing was not what I'd said, the art during that scene was dead-on.

So when all is said and done was Howard Mackie's run on Spider-Man all that bad? Well, yes and no. The ideas were often excellent, but flawed during their execution. I had read once that while Howard Mackie would use continuity in his books, he was not fond of fussing over it. That's very true of his writing. However he has done some great work over the years and for all of the fan backlash I'm sure that is what he'll be remembered for. That and not for having given us Hunger, the annoying vampire. Boy, I really don't like Hunger. Do yourself a favor and don't buy Peter Parker #4, featuring Hunger.

Amazing Spider-Man #29 ***1/2 out of *****.

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