Ultimate Spider-Man #42 was the comic that got me into comics. I have been a fan ever since, but that being said, the book had lost some of its magic of late. It wasn’t suffering from poor art or inept story-telling exactly, but the spark was dim. I want to say it had something to do with how prolific Bendis had become, but I think it might have more to do with how exciting he finds his own work–i.e. his writing seems to have improved since he started All New X-Men and his other upcoming books.

Since Volume 2 launched, I have been highly receptive to the character and concept but longing for the day that we reach issues 20, 50, 100, etc., as I wanted to see a more developed version of the concept. This issue was like Christmas for that reason–we finally get to see Miles’ own personal journey begin to intersect with loose ends from Peter’s, and it’s a lot of fun. Add to that the continuing development of Miles and Ganke, and ratchet up the stakes by endangering Miles’ family, and we have the recipe for the book I’ve been craving.