Amazing Spider-man #900

     Marvel celebrates Spider-Man's 60th anniversary in this 900th (or 6th, if you like to reboot the same title over and over and over) giant-sized issue that feels like a particularly well-done annual. 

     The main self-contained story by Wells and McGuinness involves a Super-Adaptoid with the powers and skills of the entire Sinister Six. The artwork looks great- very clean, dynamic, and easy to follow. The story is an amiable little nostalgia-grab with no knowledge of concurrent continuity necessary. It makes sure to throw in a number of cameos and revolves around a little philosophical riff on the repeated question "Who is Spider-Man?" It feels like the kind of Spider-Man story Marvel used to tell, before all the clones, knock-offs, multiversal equivalents, and supernatural nonsense. 

     The brief back-up with Jimmy Kimmel is reminiscent of when the Avengers went on Letterman during Assistant Editors Month many years ago. It's just a bit of Marvel pop-culture pandering that doesn't aspire to anything but joking around and going down smooth.

     For those Spider-Man readers that prefer simpler, street-level stories with a single hero, Amazing Spider-Man #900 will easily scratch that itch. And speaking of the concurrent continuity, it's actually pretty enjoyable around the time of this reboot, at least feeling grounded and appropriate to the character.  Modern American superhero comics often want to do everything but sit down and tell a simple story that keeps readers coming back, so when one of the best franchises is returning to form, it's worth a brief check-in.