The Amazing Spider-Man: Spider-Island

The Amazing Spider-Man (1999) (Collected Editions) #44

by Dan Slott, Rick Remender, Stefano Caselli (Illustrator)

Between keeping New York City safe as Spider-Man, being a member of two Avengers teams and the FF, and his day job at Horizon Labs, Peter Parker's life is as crazy as it's ever been. And it's about to get even crazier. Welcome to Spider-Island, where a million New Yorkers suddenly possess Spider-Man's powers - but none of the responsibility! Can Spidey play world-saving super hero while the Big Apple gets eaten alive from the inside out when he's suddenly not quite so special? When he's surrounded by a million people just as powerful as him? When even his girlfriend is web-swinging through the city? And just wait until you meet J. Jonah Jameson, the Spectacular Spider-Mayor!

COLLECTING: Amazing Spider -Man 666-673, Venom 6-9, Spider -Island : Deadly Foes , material from Amazing Spider -Man 659-660, 662-665, Spider-Island Spotlight

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Spider Man, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Dan Slott is an American comic book writer, the current writer on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, and is best known for his work on books such as Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, The Superior Spider-Man, and Ren & Stimpy.

Reviews

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone assemble!


This TPB edition collects "Amazing Spider-Man: Infested", "Amazing Spider-Man" #666-673, "Venom" #6-9 and a couple of selected stories from "Spider-Island: Deadly Foes", plus several interviews and a sketch galley.


Creative Team:

Writers: Dan Slott, Rick Remender, Christos Gage & Fred Van Lente

Illustrators: Humberto Ramos, Stefano Caselli, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Tom Fowler, Minck Oosterveer, Barry Kitson, Emma Rios, Max Fiumara, Onofrio Catacchio, Lee Garbett & Scott Hanna


SPIDER-POWERS, ANYONE?

Dan Slott is one of the bravest writers in the comic book business nowadays, famous (or infamous) for polemic storylines like Superior Spider-Man, and not matter if you like his stories or not, if you're into the comic books, hardly you aren't aware of what he's doing, since usually what he does cause an impact in the industry.

So, choosing Dr. Miles Warren aka The Jackal, infamous villain of the also infamous Spider-Clone Saga for his own Spider-Island wasn't that unusual, since Dan Slott knows how to justify his writer's salary.

This is a story so big, that you have not only your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, but also Agent Venom, Anti-Venom, Jessica Carpenter aka new Madam Web, plus the Avengers, the Future Foundation (Fantastic Four minus Human Torch), and even the Young Allies...

...Manhattan is infested with genetically manipulated bedbugs and more than a million civilians got spider-powers but without none of the responsibity to use them in a good way!

This is the worse nightmare for Mayor J. Jonah Jameson, and he doesn't know how far the dark dream will extend!

The Jackal has not only a whole scientific team of clones of himself (in his previous human form), but also a couple of powerful enforcers...

...however he isn't the one pulling the string in this insidious web, and a terrible threat is about to get control of all the infested spider-powered civilians, and hardly will stop with an island...

...the rest of the nation and even the world are at risk!

In a city where you find spider-men in every corner...

...the Amazing Spider-Man hardly is a difference in this dangerous game...

...but the scientific mind of Peter Parker...

...may be the key factor in the middle of this massive menace over the Manhattan!

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from over-exposure by putting the character in a 37 books at once, and making trillions of dollars worldwide on his image, the Spider-Man books are usually all about fun. Spider-Man quips his way through a bunch of rollicking adventures as he rescues his extended Spider family from any danger. They’re also about Peter Parker’s abysmal luck with everything involved with his daily life: money, women, Aunt May’s wheat cakes. And finally about honor. Spider-Man recognizes the enormity of his powers and because he was raised by loving people (see: Superman), it’s all about doing the right thing and using his spider-abilities for the common good.

So what would happen if the island of Manhattan is now overrun with millions of people possessing new found Spider-powers?



Okay, what else?



And just who’s responsible for this madness?



What the hell? The Jackal? The clone guy?

Wait come back! He’s not such a bad guy. He’s one of Spider-Man’s funnier villains and he didn’t actually write the Clone Saga. He’s not the ultimate mover behind this, but he does his best to make sure that New York City just isn’t about Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Men and Women.

The Superior Spider-Man has been Slott’s shining moment, but this storyline is where he really started to own the title. Remender’s Venom tie-in issues included here do a decent job of pumping up the action and giving Flash Thompson a fairly interesting back story as well. This is a whopper of a collection but it’s a quick read. There are other Spider Island titles out they're but there not necessary to the enjoyment of the storyline, which is pretty much self-contained here.

I think I might be coming around to Ramos’ art, it captures Slott’s buoyant tone fairly well.

Oh, who am I kidding, I hate this stylized crap. But this is cute:



Cap Wolf -> -> Cap Spider

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

When people all over New York starting waking up with Spider powers, including his girlfriend, Spider-Man swings into action. Soon, New York is infested with Spider-Men and the Avengers are called in. But what happens when everyone starts to mutate? And who is the source of the infection? And can Spider-Man stop the epidemic before it leaves Spider-Island?

After my experience with Spider-Man: Big Time Ultimate Collection, I decided to dip my toes into another Spider-Man collection and this one sounded great. Was it?

Eh. The main concept itself was a really cool idea. People are granted Spider-powers and chaos ensues. Spider-Man and company race against impossible odds and fix everything with all the thrills of a summer block buster. What could go wrong?

Well, my main gripe is that it was too long for what it was and hinged too much on too many ancillary Spider-characters, like Venom and Anti-Venom. Coupled with that, Humberto Ramos' art seemed rushed in about half of his pages. Also, it turns out I'm not a big fan of Rick Remender's writing. He's no Dan Slott, that's for sure.

Now that I got the gripes out of the way, here's a ton of stuff that I liked:
- Mary Jane with Spider-powers
- J. Jonah Jameson with Spider-Powers
- The Shocker with six arms
- Kaine and Spidey teaming up to take on the main villain
- Kaine's final fate
- Reed Richards' involvment
- Gravity and Firestar being referred to as Spider-Man's Amazing Friends
- Shang Chi teaching Spidey kung fu
- events from The Other storyline referenced, complete with organic web shooters
- The Parker luck kicking in

With rumors of Kaine stepping into Spider-Man's shoes after Amazing Spider-Man #700, I figured I should see where it all began. While it wasn't as good as Big Time, it was still fun. It's a high three.

[Aldo Haegemans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Expected more from it But it was Still Good

[RG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story arc!!! Anti venom saving the day..who would have thought!!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know how but this was somehow really fun. It was total chaos and still somehow found a way to not be terrible. I’ll give it a 3.5 and round up to a 4.

[Matěj Komiksumec · Rating 3 out of 5]

Velmi aktuální příběh! Nákaza, karanténa a vakcína. Jen ti obří pavouci se z nás nestávají.
Každopádně jak trochu víc zabředávám do Slottova Spideyho začínám si všímat určitých nepříjemných prvků. První je bezpochyby stejná formulka - Peter padá do problémů u kterých neví co a jak ale bleskově to řeší a vše je dobré. Druhý je, že v podstatě celá osobnost Petera je postavena na tom - tu humor, tady humor a Parker si nám několikrát postěžuje, že je Parker takže má smůlu! Nah. Pokud vás fakt baví šedesátkový příběhy tak vás Slott bude bavit ukrutně.

Když se vrátím ke Spider Islandu, tak je celkem fajn. Díky tomu, že to není tak obří event tak se Tie iny dají relativně číst a není toho tolik. Hlavní řada je z hlediska akce a vtipů dobrá. Příběh samotný je vlastně dost hloupý a tak strašně předvídatelný když nám všechny své trumfy pořád odhaluje není se tolik na co těšit. Ale třeba kresba je celou dobu super takže se na to hezky kouká (ano Ivo Humberto Ramos je cool!).
Pro arachnofobiky povinnost!

[Trike · Rating 3 out of 5]

To sum it up, “this meeting could’ve been an email.”

I mean, it’s mostly good despite being yet another goddamn crossover event, but boy is it long. Back in the day this would’ve been two, maybe three issues, and it would’ve been solved and suddenly the Silver Surfer would’ve crashed into the pier or something.

I mostly read this to continue with the Flash-Thompson-as-Venom story and this was the only place to find those issues. Which I hate. Stupid crossover events. Fortunately the Spider-Man ones (like the excellent Spider-Verse) tend to not suck, so there’s that. But this was a long way to go for 3 issues of Venom. It’s too bad the omnibuses are going for $390 a pop or I would’ve just bought those.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll give Dan Slott this much: he sticks by his motto of "just have fun." This is a big, crazy crossover event that only gets crazier as it progresses, but it never loses that sense of just doing whatever the next big, fun, ridiculously comic-booky thing is. Unfortunately, that leads to a lot of loose ends that all need tying up with whatever spare string is lying around, and some string that Slott just pulls out of thin air.

So, here's the setup. The incredibly silly Spider-Man villain The Jackal (a fuzzy green guy who looks and acts nothing like a jackal) has genetically engineered bed bugs to pass along spider powers to anyone they bite, much like the original spider that bit Peter Parker. He then spreads these bugs all over Manhattan, giving millions of people, good and bad, the ability to do pretty much everything Spider-Man can do. What follows is a continually escalating level of chaos that somehow manages to top itself at every turn.

Marvel crossovers at large could learn a lot from this one. The central plot from Amazing Spider-Man flows pretty seemlessly with the additional issues of Venom, and I never felt like I was missing anything. There are a bunch of supplemental series and issues out there, which are not collected here, but I don't feel any need to read them, really. Everything is here, minus maybe a couple of small details that are easily filled in. The central part of a crossover should always be able to standalone the way this one does, and I applaud Slott and Remender for making it work here.

In the end, though, Slott has to work pretty hard to resolve everything. While the action and plot mostly build outward organically, the end is just a bunch of things falling perfectly into place, and then a bunch of other things falling seemingly out of the sky, until the day is saved. This lazy plotting (along with Slott's occasionally corny, old-school dialogue) took me out of it a little bit. I got a little bored by the end, though I really enjoyed the first half or so.

So, not a perfect crossover by any means, but a pretty solid one that I'd say is worth giving a shot. It sure beats the others Marvels crapped out in recent years.

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm working my way through Dan Slott's run on Spider-Man, and at this point I "get" his writing: he just provides a fun, yet modern take on Spidey, still maintaining some of the hallmarks of early Spider-Man such as the Parker luck and complicated lifestyle.

Over time he has brought Peter through ups and down, situations where he really doesn't know what to do but somehow still saves everyone. Spider Island is no different. There are some nice moments in here for Peter, some genuinely funny ones, and a few that just didn't work so well. Despite being a hardcore "early" Spider-Man fan I do enjoy most of Slott's stories. None of them have blown me away yet, but they almost always entertain me and that pretty much sums up how I felt about Spider Island.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. One of my favourite Spider-Man arcs, and probably my favourite Dan Slott Spider-Man story so far.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is awesome. The outbreak of spider-powers among all of Manhattan sounds trite, but the way it evolves and gets out of control - and the way people just naturally *want* to keep the newfound powers - leaves me actually interested in how the smart guys will solve this crisis.

Jameson's reactions are exactly how I've always imagined he'd respond - terrified, belligerent, lashing out - just the way we like old flat-top.

Other than a few klangy lines to introduce people's names, Slott's writing is a great balance of fun, funny, serious and gravitas. Everyone feels like a full character (especially the Jackal, who's a nutjob but a loveably unique one). And for a story with so many subplots, Slott does a much better job than most Marvel events at keeping things balanced among the stories (letting them all build together) and still making sense (not feeling like there's essential off-camera action that is getting skipped over). Perhaps this is the way to run an event - let *one* creative team run the main throughline, and leave the the other teams to fill in the side dishes.

Ramos' art is great for this - it's clean and easy to follow the voluminous action, and it's fun and light in ways that a Deodato or other realistic artists would really sour and darken this already tough-to-swallow plot.

The Venom story is more of what Remender and Fowler have been doing in the Venom book so far - muddy ink-heavy dark art that makes it very hard to understand the movements during the fight scenes, brutally heart-wrenching character pounding on Flash who deals with his dying father and the amazingly awful childhood he endured, plus being pulled away from Betty in impossible-to-account-for circumstances (all while trying to deal with these deadly threats as the Venom agent).

[Derrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recently, I really enjoyed Spider-Man in the Daredevil & Punisher crossover story. I had been holding off on Spider-Man: Spider-Island, but I figured it would be time to give it a chance.

I didn't love it, though. It started well, and it had its moments. (The final rooftop scene with Pete, Julia, and MJ was a highlight.) But it just all felt so silly and rushed. Peter's not bad here, though I struggled to put up with him after a few issues worth of story. Slott's laying on the joking so heavily. Also, apparently Peter Parker is now a junior Reed/Tony, able to invent just about any magic gadget for the situation? I am sure Slott feels it's a logical progression for the character, who has always been a bit of a science whiz, but for me it just feels OFF. It makes him into a kind of Gary Stu.

Carlie's a horrible character. She reminded me of Bones -- we're constantly told how smart and clever and all around awesome she is. Tiresome. And Norah Winters was just too teenybopper - this is not the kick butt Lois Lane from Rucka's Punisher.I think what hurt both of these characters and most of the story was the cartoony artwork. I see what they wanted: A whimsical, almost anime feel. I just found it to be too stylized, and it ultimately became a distraction .

I could overlook the lack of substance and the messiness because it was just not fun enough for me. I think I had better stick with Essential Amazing Spider-Man, Vol. 3 or some of the Masterworks. A lot of folks really dug it, but this one is not for me.

[Tesutamento · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clone Saga'nın meşhur kötüsü Jackal geri dönüyor ve bu kez tüm Manhattan'a örümcek adam virüsü yayıyor. Başta herkes örümcek adam güçlerine sahip olmanın keyfini sürerken evrimleri devam ediyor ve dev örümceklere dönüşüyorlar. Herkesin örümcek adam olduğu yerde bizimki kendini pek sıradan hissediyor fakat günü bu kez Peter Parker olarak kurtarıyor. Bu ciltte nihayet örümcek hislerini de geri kazanıyor. Shang-Chi'den ders almayı tam da tamamlamıştı halbuki. Sonunda Carlie Peter'dan ayrıldı ve ben çok mutluyum bu ayrılıktan. MJ varken yakıştırmam mümkün değil. Kişililk olarak da hiç sevilesi değil. Jackal bile diyor ki"para verseler klonlamam."

Mary Jane, J. Jonah Jameson ve hiç sevmediğim Carlie gibi karakterlerin güce sahip olunca neler yapacağını görmek ilginçti. Mary Jane'in virüse bir miktar değil de tam bağışıklık göstermesi daha mantıklı olabilirdi fakat onu da ağ atarken görmek güzeldi. Shocker'ın altı kollu olması gibi değişimleri başka kötülerde de görmek iyi olabilirdi.

Ben biraz kapağa aldanıp kapaktaki kahramanların da güç kazanacağı bir hikaye beklemiştim. Şimdi dönüp bakınca biraz aşırıya kaçarmış dengeler. Böylesi daha iyi olmuş. Keşke Türkçe basımında birçok yabancı baskıda olduğu gibi ciltte Venom'un sayıları da bulunsaymış. Hikayedeki bazı noktalar çok daha iyi dolabilirmiş. Yayıncı önsözde bu durumdan bahsediyor fakat açıklama pek tatmin edici gelmedi. Başka sebepler varmış gibi geldi.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a big fan of how Dan Slott writes Peter Parker and how things don’t feel like they really matter this was a decent story i had fun but I really didn’t care that much.

[Amory · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting idea I guess, but 400 pages was too long to spend on it. All the Venom parts could have been heavily condensed to make this more enjoyable/to avoid switching between so many main characters. Only getting 2 stars instead of 1 because I got to see Mary-Jane Watson have spider powers.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is normally the case with Dan Slott's Spiderman work, this was a lot of fun. Definitely recommend if you're a fan of the character, though I think Spider-verse is better.

But by the end I was just thinking, god why isn't he just with Mary-Jane?

[Unai · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hace años, creo yo, que no leo Spiderman. Desde los tiempos de Straczynski, los desbarres posteriores y como punto final, la ultima vez que ojeé algo fue con el famoso Mephistazo, o el síndrome Resines que se sacaron de la manga y que y me hizo mandar a paseo para un buen tiempo al trepamuros en cuestión, que además nunca ha sido muy santo de mi devoción. El síndrome Resines es aquel por el cual como se les iban de madre las paranoias constantes, decidieron sacarse de la manda a Mephisto que cual guionista de Lost le dijo a Peter Parker, que borraba todo y que nunca se casó con Mary Jane. Un semireset patillero muy chungo.

Pero ahora parece que es un buen momento para retomarlo un poco de mano de su línea principal. He oído que es el caso de varias personas que después de tiempo pueden retomar desde aquí sin grandes perdidas y que la historia de Spider Island en cuestión puede merecer la pena. Ahora la publica Panini aquí desde esta semana y por 6 jureles que cuestan sus 112 paginas merece la pena. Aunque sea para ver los cambios de los que no tenía ni puta idea.



Para empezar no se porque, pero lo investigaré, Peter Parker ha perdido el sentido arácnido. Y segundo, tiene novia nueva y es una agente de policía de Nueva York llamada Carlie Cooper, aunque parece tener buena relación con su ex Mary Jane, que digo que si son ex, es porque recuerdan que una vez estuvieron juntos… en fin esa parte me la trae al pairo.

El caso que centra todo este evento arácnido es que un villano, El Chacal, suelta por Manhattan montones de arañas que al morder a la gente les otorgan los poderes arácnidos de Spiderman. Los villanos y mafiosos están organizados por el Chacal y sus lugartenientes para generar el caos y visten además como Spiderman, mientras que el autentico Spiderman se ve con el marrón de que su novia tiene poderes, y se lo cuenta a él nada mas descubrirlo, cosa que él por supuesto no ha hecho con ella.



En fin, gente normal con poderes, villanos, mafiosos y demás ralea con poderes, los vengadores, fundación futuro y todo el mundo desbordado y Peter Parker que ahora es tan poderoso como la vecina del 5º, literalmente y Manhattan sitiado y aislado por la policía. El Alcalde Jameson por fin se ve como un visionario por su paranoia arácnida y la tía May mudándose a Boston con su recién estrenado marido que no es otro que el padre de Jameson (esto es un putiferio)

De las 112 paginas del tomo de Panini solo las ultimas corresponden ya al comienzo del evento y lo acompañan varias números de previa y el tomo del free comic book day. El aperitivo, con varias paginas de preludio con dibujo de la gallega Emma Ríos, han servido en mi caso, para calentar motores arácnidos y reconciliarme un poco con el personaje. Tras ello tenemos el preludio en el Amazing Spiderman 666 con guión de Dan Slott y dibujo de Stefano Caselli para pasar después al Amazing Spiderman 667, como primera parte del evento propiamente dicho y en la que toma los lápices otra vez el mexicano Humberto Ramos, que cada día me gusta mas, a pesar de lo reticente que era con su manera de dibujar. Me parece que le sienta a Spiderman como un guante el estilo de dibujo de Ramos.



Por mi parte, seguiré mensualmente desde aquí la edición que se vaya publicando de Amazing Spiderman y ya veremos si reseño algo una vez terminado el evento o no. Por mi parte y desde el punto de vista de quien ha estado alejado un tiempo de la serie, puede ser recomendable para retomarlo. Hay puntos que no conocemos, como el del cambio de novia, el plueriempleo en 2 equipos de vengadores y Fundación Futuro, el que Jameson sea alcalde o que no tenga sentido arácnido, pero su sentido del humor “pa’matarlo” sigue ahí, y reconozco que ha estado divertido de volver a leer.

[Nathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not entirely sure who came up with the idea to turn everyone in New York into Spider-Men and Women but I wished I was at that Marvel board meeting to turn that idea down. I feel bad for Marvel, recently their usual major story lines have been pretty stale just take a look at Fear Itself but at least that book had Stuart Immomen whereas Spider-Island had Caselli and Ramos. Now I do enjoy Ramos' artwork but his jagged edged characters couldn't bring life to this story. The idea was stupid so naturally the execution was difficult and resulted in failure. A spider queen? That's telepathic? I know were reading comic books but lately new villains seem to be put together from the Super-Villain Bargain Bin and lack any real malevolence. It's like the creators were trying to put together something really bad-ass and ended up with something mediocre. There are tons of ways to improve this story line from a blockbuster epic to a meaningful one like X-men Messiah Complex but unfortunately the authors didn't take those steps. Pick it up for a good chuckle at the villainess otherwise leave it on the shelf. Oh didn't even comment on the green, furry goblin. Oh yeah there's a green, furry goblin in it. Don't ask.

[Peter Derk · Rating 4 out of 5]

One day Spider-Man wakes up and discovers that ALL residents of Manhattan have spider powers. I kid you not. In fact, their spider powers are better than those of the real SM. They have built-in web shooters, some of them are stronger, and they have the spidey sense that Peter Parker recently lost (SEE ASM #654 (you have no idea how long I've been waiting to say that!)).

Imagine waking up and seeing that everything you thought made you special was now possessed by literally EVERY other person in Manhattan.

What really works about the story is that it could easily devolve into madcap wildness and people just swinging around. And there's some of that, don't worry. But instead of dwelling on Peter Parker being mopey and not feeling special, which doesn't even happen for the most part, what we get is a lot of seeing how spider powers change the way that people feel about Spider-Man. How his loved ones come to understand him differently, how his enemies do too, and asking the question about the difference between Spider-Men and the Amazing Spider-Man.

[Judah Radd · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good: some satisfying emotional beats, good dialogue, Venom issues were well drawn, and some exciting climaxes

The bad: terrible art from Humberto Ramos in the ASM issues, an uninspired plot, a lack of cool heroic moments, and it was occasionally boring. There’s also a few too many logical leaps, even for Marvel.

I really don’t like multiple spider-men. I like spider-man being the only spider-person. This had a lot of spider-people. The interpersonal relationship stuff was solid. Dan Slott does that really well. His problem is that all too often, he’s like “well, it’s comics! May as well have the most absurd plot ever. Who cares. It’s comics.” It made some of the developments a bit grating.

Let me reiterate that Ramos’ art really is almost unreadable.

Anyway, it is what it is. Not the worst, but your chances of loving it are slim

[Sevki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spider-Man is my favourite super hero, which is why I still continue reading this Vol.2 era of "Amazing" but the stories are just... Bad. Real bad. Many people praised Slott for his work but after the maturity of Straczynski stories, these volumes are just for children. Nothing remains the same. Dead come back. Everything happens for random reasons, and the past stuff that are supposed be affecting present/future are just not there anymore. (I know this is standard Marvel, but that does not mean we have to like it or put up with it.)

Maybe I got too old for these comis but since I saw what Straczynski can do with Spidey, Waid with Daredevil, and Aja with Hawkeye etc., I just want to read new quality stories, not bad repetitions.

6 more volumes before "Superior". I am not even sure if I will read it. Sigh.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wowie, what a book! The Jackal and the Queen give everyone in Manhatten Spider-powers. And then turn them into giant spiders. Perhaps it's a bit silly but the scale is pretty huge. It has some fights in it, lots of laughs, many from Spidey himself and a fair few from the Thing too, and is much more than Spiderman just saving the day. It tests everything it means for him to have spider-powers. It's Peter Parker using his powers that saves the day, not the powers themselves.

Overall, great art and a great story which was not only exciting but was important for Spider man. I hope the Ends of the Earth arc is as good as this one! Oh and the Venom issues including in the book were surprisingly awesome too so I might have to go and read some more Venom now!

[Paul Hasbrouck · Rating 4 out of 5]

A massive crossover adventure story with NYC under siege by the creepy army of bed bugs, created by The Jackal , yes he who created all those clones many years ago. These bed bugs cause the good citizens of the city to first gain the powers of Spider-Man and then mutate into giant spiders! Good Peter needs a lot of help and he does....Venom(Flash Thompson), Anti-Venom, the Thing, Reed Richards, the Avengers, the gang of young scientists, one clone, the annoying Madame Web(I can see the future, but I will not tell you about it! eck!) and the delightful M.J. Watson.
Dan Slott's writing keeps the action moving, the jokes coming at a fast pace and love of the Big Apple shows through out. One of great running jokes, is how the Spider-Mobile is mocked at every turn.

[Alex Sarll]

I never used to like Spidey, but without ever making the change implausible, Dan Slott has gradually made him less of a schmuck - and emphasised, all along, that his spider-powers are one of the least interesting things about him. Which comes to a head here, when the entire population of New York gets the same powers. Unlike a lot of recent event comics, this feels like a story one writer wanted to tell, rather than some nonsense cooked up in marketing. Which is ironic, given Slott has admitted it was something he came up with when asked to plug a hole in the event schedule. Still, not bad at all.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best Spider-man story in years. Though at it's length, it could have had a few more twists and turns.

[Fizzgig76 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reprints Amazing Spider-Man (2) #559-560, #662-673, Venom (2) #6-9, and Spider-Island: Deadly Foes #1 (June 2011-January 2012). The Jackal has unleashed a new horror on Manhattan that could threaten the entire world. People are suddenly gaining the powers of Spider-Man, and with these powers comes “no” responsibility. While some with powers become heroes, others become villains and it is up to Spider-Man and the other heroes of Manhattan to stop the virus and save the city. Unfortunately, Jackal has some of his own tricks up his sleeve and a secret backer that could be an even greater danger.

Written by Dan Slott with additional writing by Fred Van Lente and Christos Gage, Spider-Man: Spider-Island was an event series in Slott’s long Spider-Man run. Following Spider-Man: The Return of Anti-Venom, the collection also collects Rick Remender’s Venom tie-in issues (November 2011-December 2011) and the one-shot Spider-Island: Deadly Foes #1 (October 2011) and features art by Barry Kitson, Lee Garbett, Scott Hanna, Emma Rios, Max Fiumara, Guiseppe Camuncoli, Onofrio Catacchio, Minck Oosterveer, Stafano Caselli, Humeberto Ramos, and Tom Fowler. Issues in the collection were also featured in Spider-Man: Big Time—The Complete Collection Volume 2.

Spider-Island was where I initially thought about going back to Slott’s Spider-Man after dropping it during the first part of his run. I was hearing a lot of buzz about the event series, and the series was bringing in characters that I like (like Shang-Chi, the second Spider-Woman, and Cloak & Dagger). I tried to read Spider-Island cold…and failed miserably. Returning to Spider-Island as I catch up on some of Slott’s read, I find the basic premise of the story interesting, but I’m not much into how it is told.

The basic concept is goofy. You have the Jackal’s big plan to infect the whole city with Spider-Man powers (secretly for the Spider-Queen)…and then what? Being a supervillain, it doesn’t necessarily mean his choices are smart, but it seems like a lot of work to get to this point and the logistics of containing an infection in the New York City area is almost impossible.

This raises a comic book problem which is especially prevalent now. Comic books want it both ways. They say that old style comics are too cartoony and not realistic enough, but they continue to use characters that dress up like animals and give cartoon plots that lack logic. It feels like Spider-Island wants to be fun, but attempts to make it “real” take a lot of the fun out…likewise, the realism of the story hurts the fun of the characters involved.

Spider-Man: Spider-Island isn’t awful, but it also isn’t very impressive. I wasn’t a fan of a lot of Slott’s supporting cast and this volume relies on that supporting cast a lot. I love the character of Spider-Man, and I miss Spider-Man…I realize you can’t necessarily “go-back”, but it would be nice to find a happy medium between modern comics and the great runs of the past. Spider-Man: Spider-Island was followed by Spider-Man: Flying Blind.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

UGGGGGHHHHHH.......

I liked the idea of this. I just wish it would have happened at a better time of Peter's life. And with a different villain. I mean, honestly: (1) This was my first time encountering the Jackal, and he just came across as weird and annoying to me, (2) Clones again? Really? Can't we all agree that everyone hated the clone saga? So can we just... not with the clones anymore? Please?

All of that... and this happens after "Brand New Day." I have not read "Brand New Day." I do not want to, and, unless the library's comic book club decides to, I have no intention of reading it. The idea of Peter Parker giving up his marriage to Mary Jane to save Aunt May (who has lived a long, full life) by making a deal with the literal devil, Mephisto--it's just dumb. I mean, that's the LAST THING AUNT MAY WOULD WANT. If she knew she'd... she'd... whack Peter with his own wheatcakes!

So, yes, I haven't read it. But I get what happens. And after having read Mary Jane and Peter happily married, with Aunt May even knowing about Peter being Spider-Man... well, this shift is particularly frustrating. The dynamics and relationships we were exploring were top-notch! Peter as a character was evolving--because he as a person was growing. His world was changing in the best possible ways, and, guess what... We readers actually like to see him escaping that Parker Luck now and again and being happy.

Instead, this is a massive reset in the worst possible way. We want to see Peter grow. We want to see the people around him grow. We want him to have some happiness. You can have Parker Luck, sure... but you've got reward our hero a little bit! And what we had before was... perfect. A balance that gave us what we wanted for our hero while also keeping the spirit of Spidey.

But we can't have nice things, so "Brand New Day" happened, and now we're here. Which stinks, because, I actually like Carlie as a character, and even JJJ's dad. I just wish those characters could have been introduced in a different way, in a better-written Spidey world.

All of that aside... the idea of everyone getting Spidey powers, but not everyone having the sense of responsibility, could have been really cool. And their were nuggets of that coolness here... but then it just decided to jump the shark and go full-on monster movie.

Honestly, if it would have been reigned in a little and taken place before "Brand New Day," then this could have been a solid comic. (Bonus points if it could have happened without the Jackal and clones. This is a comic book... you could have figured out some other way for everyone to get Spider powers. If nothing else, fall on good ole magic.)

But that's not the story we got. So while I'll acknowledge the potential here, I can't give this book any more than 2-stars.

Alas and alack.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really, really cannot stand Humberto Ramos' artwork. It just grates my nerves, with his fat, squared fingers and buck teeth on everybody. This story arc as a whole was okay, and I would have liked it better if Ramos wasn't the artist on the bulk of it. Dan Slott can only do much when saddled with deadweight like Ramos.

I did not, and will not, buy the Spider-Island Companion hardcover, which collects all of the sidebar and crossover issues. While I'm sure that it will flesh out many of the seemingly minor guest appearances in the main arc, I refuse to support these types of things any more. I often have buyers remorse and dump them on eBay anyways, so I will save myself some time and money.

The Remender penned Venom issues were interesting, and I am curious about this run. I simply cannot afford to keep up with all of these titles any more. I would gladly read (and review them) if someone wants to loan them to me. Ha! I stopped counting my backlog at 200 books a few months ago, and need to whittle that down before I start gobbling up everything under the sun again.

Way to go, Marvel! After 27 Premiere Edition Hardcovers collecting the last 121 issues of Amazing Spider-Man in a consistent format, Marvel ups and changes formats to the oversized hardcover for this arc. The dimensions of a Premiere Hardcover are 7.2 X 10.5 inches, while this oversized hardcover's dimensions are 8 X 11.2 inches. Now my bookshelves will be forever marred by this unfortunate deviation, since they went right back to the Premiere Hardcover format with the next book in the run. A pox upon you, Marvel!

The nice thing about the oversized hardcover format is that, over the years, Marvel has managed to perfect it so that they lay reasonably flat, even with glued binding. Not all OHCs have glued binding, but this one does. This also has a nice paper stock.

[heystardust · Rating 3 out of 5]

as far as comic book events go this is. fine? it has a clear, intriguing premise (everyone in new york gets spider-powers) with a deeply weird explanation ( the secret first female marine wants to put bugs in captain america ). it has insane lore for those who like that (what was HAPPENING in deadly foes?? hello???) but isn’t too inaccessible otherwise, i think? i had a fun time going “what the hell is happening right now”

featuring such other hits as:
- eddie brock in his aggressive catholicism era (while flash and venom have a bad time)
- mj having a surprisingly okay time
- j jonah jameson biting people
- dan slott’s typical…….. attitude about women and sex. the villains here are Pheromones Woman and miles warren so make of that what you will. personally i found this event Manageable compared to the rest of slott’s run but that’s not saying much
- kaine parker having the absolute worst time of his life followed by getting to do a fastball special with ms marvel, so silver linings?