Spider-Man Unlimited (Vol. 3) #4 (Story 1)
Background
Spider-Man Unlimited (Vol. 3) is Marvel's new "showcase" title. Released bi-monthly, each issue features two separate stories each month by guest creators. The good side is, you get a lot of new stuff. The down side is that it won't suit everyone's tastes, and you take your luck each issue.
Story 'Love Withdrawal'
Spider-Man Unlimited (Vol. 3) #4 (Story 1)
| Editor: | Tom Brevoort |
| Writer: | Robert Kirkman |
| Artist: | Cory Walker, Scott Hanna |
| Cover Art: | Erik Larsen |
Robert Kirkman writes, with Cory Walker and Scott Hanna on art. Hanna is a very busy Spidey inker who we all doubtless know pretty well. But his style is very neutral here... he inks what he's given. Bill Crabtree gets a coloring credit, and given the light use of pencils and relatively minimalist linework, his coloring is a major part of the whole art package. So is it any good? Yeah, the art's just fine. Very clean, doesn't interfere with the story at all.
And the story? Well... first off, the story gets bonus points for bringing back the classic small-time villains Powerhouse and Masterblaster! If you grab your copy of the Spider-Man Encyclopedia, you can jog your memory by checking the Appendix on page 228 to see that PH and MB first appeared in Spider-Man #15 (1991) as violent pro-mutant, anti-mutant activists respectively.
Now, I'm presuming Mr. Kirkman must have read the story, and knew they clashed at Empire State University (where they encountered Spidey and X-Men's Beast). Anyhow, according to Mr. K, these guys must have realised they could maybe work together in the banking sector. Unauthorised withdrawals, to be exact.
The narrator of the story is present at the bank job, as is a cute female teller, and (subsequently) Spider-Man. While Spidey takes out the super-trash, our "first person" is busy falling in love. But with whom? Ah... if I told you, I'd spoil the surprise! But I can say that this is an attractive, quirky little story.
General Comments
This story works great. But of course, there's two stories in this issue, so we're not finished yet.
Overall Rating 
Spidey's character is nicely nailed, the villains are great, the dialog works perfectly, and the plot goes good places. Four webs.