Spidey Vol. 2: After-School Special (#7-#12)

3.5/5

Robbie Thompson continues his run on a younger version of our web-slinging hero, keeping the same set-up and momentum as the first volume.

This set of issues has a bit more going on. On top of the usual villain-of-the-issue, Spidey teams up with the likes of Black Panther and Captain America, each taking an interest in Spider-Man after his team-up with Iron Man. Of course, Spider-Man still has to stay on top of his life as Peter Parker, which includes tutoring not only Gwen Stacy, but bully Flash Thompson as well!

Much like the first volume, After-School Special still delivers fun stories for younger audiences and never loses its stride. It's funny, bright, and easy to read through in a single sitting. Not only that, but the plot and characterizations are becoming more and more solid, making this a bit better than volume 1. Plus, Robbie Thompson crafts an interesting scene between Captain America and J. Jonah Jameson.

Overall, I'm starting to warm up to this series. My sister loves it, so I'll definitely try to keep up with it for her sake. Though the art isn't the greatest, it's certainly serviceable and Robbie Thompson's writing will definitely pull you in.

UPDATE: I recently discovered that this was a 12-issue miniseries, meaning that this volume was the ending. I'm actually a bit bummed by this because, had this been ongoing, the story seemed to have finally found its foothold. As an ending to a series, this is a bit rushed and the whole Sinister Six plotline didn't seem to have nearly as much impact as the other subplots. However, this is definitely a series worth reading.

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