Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #546 (Story 4)

Background

Bob Gale and Phil Jimmenez will take over Amazing Spider-Man from issue #552. Bob's already scripted the two-page Status Quo story from this issue, but here he is tackling the Aunt May/Soup Kitchen plot.

Story 'The Astonishing Aunt May!'

A solo story of Aunt May working in that homeless soup kitchen. One day she tries to befriend a drug addict called "Freak" who is so far gone he is even snorting the sugar from the table. When May tries to be his friend he begs her for money. He's in trouble, and suddenly that trouble walks through the door. It's Raymond.

Who is Raymond? Freak's pusher? His loan-shark? His stockbroker? We don't know, but he seems keen on dishing out some pain. May intercepts him and, using wiles that only little old ladies possess, convinces him, not only to abandon his search for Freak, but also to make a hefty donation to the soup kitchen on his way out.

Was it worth it? Freak is eyeing that collection box with ill-concealed avarice. To be continued in two months!

General Comments

Each of the new authors is staking out their part of the Spider-Man mythos. Dan Slott is using the Daily Bugle, Marc Guggenheim has Jackpot and Bob Gale is going to concentrate on what is happening to May. The interest will be in how much each writer's plots crossover into the other writer's stories.

This short is not the strongest in the issue. I can't help be thinking I've read stuff like this a dozen times before, and it doesn't make me look forward to Bob Gale's art with any great degree of anticipation. However, it isn't actively bad. And it is only three pages long, after all.

Overall Rating

Having read the three pages, I feel I can see exactly how Gale's three issue arc is going to go down. Not very inspiring. Two and a half webs.