Good:

+  I'll start with the art.  Fiumara's art is solid and consistent throughout the issue and Pulido's art in the backup story is also good and worked well with the story.  I also love Fiumara's cover this week with Rhino bursting through the cover; very cool.

+  Joe Kelly has been my favorite of the rotating writers on ASM and this week is a perfect example of why.  Kelly writes a great Peter Parker/Spider-man, and also does a very solid job with Peter's supporting cast.  In fact, this is the first issue where I actually really enjoyed Norah.  Best of all, however, is Kelly's writing of Aleksei Systevich, the original Rhino, and his wife Oksana.  Kelly not only makes Rhino an interesting character for the first time that I can remember, but he actually makes him a character that the reader (and Spider-man) can root for.  As much as I praised Kelly for his work with Spider-man and Black Cat a few months back, I think Kelly's work with all of the characters in this issue blows away all other character work in ASM in recent memory.

+  The story is also by far the most interesting, fun, and heart warming in a long, long time.  Thus far in the Gauntlet Spider-man's foes have appeared with "upgraded" powers, however, I loved the idea of having a story with one of Spider-man's foes having turned their lives around and "upgraded" as a person.  Plus there is a new Rhino who looks to be a more interesting and potentially more dangerous foe than the original.  I also really enjoyed Kelly's backup story where we learn a little about Rhino's decision to go straight and how he met his wife.  It was very well done and did not fall into the usual cliché love story traps that many others do.

+  Some of the other things I really enjoyed about this issue included the first time I ever remember seeing a villain throw a live horse at someone, the continuing back-story with Kraven's family, the possible set up for a fun and interesting New Years Eve issue, and Peter being offered a full time job as a photographer at Front Line. 

Bad:

I have no complaints about this issue.  I expected good things from it and it exceeded those expectations.

Overall, this was an easy pick of the week for me.  Kelly did an amazing job with this issue and it very well may be the best issue of Amazing Spider-man I've read since One More Day.

My rating: 5/5

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