the overview: A little boy with a neglectant mother, finds solice in imagined senarios involving his favorite superhero Spider-Man.

the plot: As five year old Lafronce returns home from school to find his mother asleep on the couch and no food in the refrigerator, he imagines Spider-Man has come to visit him, and Lafronce eagerly tells his favorite hero that a girl from school named Rochelle is having a birthday party, with pizza from "Pizza Shed". Lafronce mentions to the imaginary Spidey that his mother forgot about dinner again, and Spidey comforts him, telling him his mother loves him and he can get food at school tomorrow. Spidey then swings out the window, bidding farewell to his sidekick, Lafronce, the Spider-Kid.

The next day in class while the other kids work on crafts, Lafronce continues to doodle pictures of Spider-Man with him and his mother and another od Spider-Man and Lafronce webslinging. Those pictures are being shown to an unnamed man later by Lafronce's aunt Aleisha Bennett and her boyfriend Ray Walker, who want to take Lafronce into their care, but unfortunatly cannot because of Social Services problems. Meanwhile, Lafronce arrives at home after class to find his mother being beaten up by Devo, a thug who Lafronce is familiar with. Crying in his room Lafronce is comforted by Spider-Man who offers his secret sidekick a Spider-Kid costume. Aleisha continues to try to get Lafronce in her and Ray's care, but is told by a Social Services worker that because she and Ray are unmarried and living together, having Lafronce placed in their care is a problem and he's better off with his mother. The Social Services worker tells Ray, who gets on the phone, that he's going to do all he can to help them, a hollow comment made as he walks onto a golf course.

The next day at school, Lafronce's teacher tells the class about birds of South America, among them a Vulture, which inspires a fantasy where Spider-Man and Spider-Kid take down the criminal Vulture. Lafronce later tells his Aunt about this, when she and Ray take Lafronce out for ice cream and give him a new shirt, which he eagerly plans on wearing to Rochelle's party. His pleasent mood is cut short though, when they return home and find police cars and ambulences outside Lafronce's apartment building, and bodies being taken out. In the aftermath, Lafronce returns to his old bedroom and finds his favorite, old Spider-Man trading card on the floor of his room. Spider-Man shows up then, asking Lafronce where he's been, to which he explains he's been living with his Aunt Aleisha, and he doesn't know if he can be a Spider-Kid any more. Spidey tells him that's all right and he needs someone to keep an eye on things where Lafronce lives now. Spidey tells Lafronce that they have to go their separate ways now and he has to look after his Aunt and Uncle now. Before he goes, Lafronce is told that he's a big man now, and big men don't give hugs, they shake hands, and an unmasked Spidey shakes hands with his secret sidekick.

the review: This is what Spidey's about, even if it was an imaginary Spider-Man. He's about offering hope and making a difference and like Spider-Man said in issue #16 of this series, it's usually the kids who understand that he's a hero. I was a little disappointed after last month's issue involving William the monk and it's attempts at inserting humor in a more serious situation. There is no humor to be found in this issue, it's all very serious, but it's very unlifting too. I can't think of any hardcore Spidey fan who wouldn't finish reading this and not have a smile on their face.

This story is being compared by some to the classic Roger Stern story, "The Kid Who Collected Spider-Man", and I think that's a fair comparison. It's hard for me to describe my feelings on this (though oddly enough I can't say enough about a bad book), but to say I really liked it, and think that this is one of the best Spidey stories ever told, even without Spider-Man. Paul Jenkins is fast becoming one of the great Spider-Man writers and while I'd still like to see more action and classic villains in this title, I think that we can make room for an issue like this.

I've been wanting to see more classic villains in this book, but I think that if we're going to get more stories like this, leave the action to Amazing Spider-Man.

Paul Jenkins is great writer, Mark Buckingham an excellent visualist. They deserve nothing less than a full ***** out of ***** for this issue.

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