I'm not quite ready to declare "Mea Culpa" but I'm getting closer. I was a harsh critic of the plan to reboot Spider-Man. I thought it was unimaginative, hackneyed, didactic, and worst of all not in keeping with the Marvel way of doing things. I didn't see the need for the reboot, only a need for new talent.

So I surprised myself a bit when I picked up Brand New Day. But the fresh start was exhilarating, I have to admit. I liked this Peter Parker and I was interested in some of the people around him. I still feel like this is a Peter Parker that's not exactly the one I know. It's like a comicbook version of the movie Spider-Man, or an Earth-2 Spider-Man. And truth be told, I still miss the old Peter and Mary Jane. But taken on their own, the stories in BND have been good.

So that's my Spider-Man confession. Now on to this story arc. I don't really know who Bob Gale is, so I was concerned, but the tone has remained pretty consistent through the 3 first arcs, which is a pretty remarkable feat. The Freak villian is horrifying, visually, and while the story may not be the most original in the world, it's fun and well-honed enough to pass mustard. Bringing in Doc Conners was a good move. My only problem with the ending is that it leaves yet another loose end (you don't really think Peter's going to find Freak in the next storyarc do you?) and they are building up now.