Amazing Spider-Man #27
Plot: Spider-Man saves a cat that smells like poop from two Ralph Fiennes rejects.
Likes: Not a whole lot. The highlight of the issue was a beautiful two-page
spread where Spidey bonked the bad guys with two garbage can lids!
Dislikes: The super-villains were a step up from Typeface, but still
ridiculous. Calling themselves Mr. P and Mr. Q (I guess all the words in the English language have been copyrighted by Marvel already so they are having to resort to letters now) they go after an ugly mutant cat that is totally harmless save for its horrific smell. (Maybe P and Q should go after Taco Bell patrons next.) Spidey's spider-sense wasn't working in this issue, either...he was barely able to dodge bullets, got torn up by the cat and even got flattened by Mr. P's pathetic laser cane. Sad. Really, really sad.
Rating: out of four web-heads. You don't need a spider-sense to tell you
that this comic is a waste of money. This tale was brought to us by the letters P and Q and the number 27. No cats were harmed in the making of this comic. Spider-Man's wardrobe provided by Marvel Fashions 500, Mister Q and Mister P's wardrobe's provided by Armani.

Amazing Spider-Man#26
Plot: This issue delves into the relationships between fathers and sons. Specifically, Spider-Man's relationship with his father, Richard Parker, and the Squid's relationship with his father, Mike Callahan. Peter asks his Aunt if she knows how to get ahold of Mike as he was Richard Parker's best friend. She does, and Peter seeks him out. The Squid also seeks out Callahan and a struggle ensues between Spidey and the Squid. (NOTE: The Squid's first and only appearance prior to this story was in the classic Peter Parker: Spider-Man #16...one of the best Spidey stories ever!)
Likes: The character development in this issue is really top notch. For all of Marvel's claims of superior character development of their characters, two of Peter Parker's most important supporting characters have been almost totally ignored for 38 years...his parents!!! It's nice to see that he actually has feelings for his parents here. I hope that his parents are explored in depth during 2001. I also like the Squid, corny though he may be!
Dislikes: I realize that the Squid doing well against Spidey here had a purpose, but I really would have liked Spidey to have gotten in a victory against somebody this issue...maybe some of the Squid's buddies in the Wicked Brigade could have shown up for a gratuitous beating or something.
Rating: Great on characterization, weak on Spider-Thrills. Both are important parts of any Spidey story, so I give this issue out of four web-heads.

Amazing Spider-Man #25
Plot: Norman Osborn seeks to brainwash Peter into becoming his heir, the future Green Goblin. (CAUTION: This story and it's conclusion are much darker in tone than standard Spidey stories...parents of young children might want to read this first before letting their kids read it).
Likes: The flashback scenes where we see Norman's horrible treatment by his father as a child are very well done. Mackie's delving into the relationships between parents and children are one of the true highlights of his writing. Peter's dream sequence almost brought tears to my eyes. The whole idea of the Green Goblin trying to make Peter his Heir Apparent was pretty cool, too...very reminiscent of Batman's relationship with his most dangerous foe, Ra's Al Ghul.
Dislikes: Not quite enough action in this issue for my tastes, but the characterization was so good that it made up for most of that. The only major problem I have with this issue is Osborn's psychotic speech about darkness...I REALLY don't  want to know how this guy's head works, thanks...If I did, I'd be reading biographies of Adolph Hitler or Charles Manson, not Spidey comics!
Rating: This thing was just too creepy for me! Zero webheads out of a possible four...too bad, because if I hadn't had to sit through Norman's tirade I would have given this three out of four web-heads instead of zero.

Amazing Spider-Man #24
Plot: This "Maximum Security" tie-in concludes the three-part "The Distinguished Gentleman From New York" story begun in ASM #22. Spider-Man finds himself battling several alien races in this issue...the Z'Nox, the Badoon and even a member of the Aakon. He also has to stop a mutating politician (Senator Ward) from destroying the entire human race with an alien virus. Like I said a few issues ago, better him than me!
Likes: This was a pretty good issue. One of Mackie's strong points is his frequent usage of villains from outside of Spidey's Rogue's Gallery, as this issue shows. This story shows (as many of Mackie's have) that Spider-Man is truly a World Class Hero despite his humble demeanor and down-to-Earth sensibilities. It's also a real treat to see Spidey as the Green Goblin fighting one of the alien Aakon. For the most part Romita's art is as impressive as usual, too...especially a full page shot of Arthur imbedded into the Z'Nox's virus machine. 
Dislikes: Uh...on page three, Jill Stacy's face is...well, gone. There is also a crazy scene where the Ranger tells Peter about the alien virus he is infected with, and Peter doesn't believe him. I find it VERY difficult to believe that a man who once drank a serum that gave him four extra arms, a guy who watched the Beyonder destroy an entire galaxy, a guy who on three separate occasions teamed-up with an alien who looked like Donald Duck after a 20-year tax audit...a guy like that would be unable to accept the possibility that the huge red rash on his stomach is due to an alien virus!!!
Rating: Not a classic, but an enjoyable tale nonetheless. webheads out of four.

Amazing Spider-Man #23
Plot: This story takes place on two fronts: in the present, where Spidey, 
Arthur Stacy and the Ranger battle Senator Stewart Ward and the
alien Z'Nox, and the past where Arthur, Ranger and Senator Ward battle 
Hydra and the Z'Nox. This issue also features Peter moonlighting as the
Green Goblin!
Likes: It was fun seeing Arthur Stacy in his glory days, complete with a
cool GI Joe-type code name (Seeker)! Senator Ward's code name was cool,
too, if overused lately (Sentry). Mackie deserves a lot of praise for his efforts
to bring  back Arthur, Jill and Paul Stacy into the Spidey-Mythos the last 
few years. Ever
since Marvel finished destroying the Stacy family (by driving off Gwen
Stacy II at the end of ASM #149) in the mid-70's the Stacy's have only
been brought back in flashback sequences or demented illusions for the
purpose of making Peter look like a failure. It's nice to see that some
writers are still capable of writing stories not based on the principles
of nihilism and character deconstruction (see Jim Krueger's disastrous
Spidey: Universe X one-shot).
Dislikes: This issue was as bad as the last one.  Spidey shouldn't be
fighting people infected with alien viruses, he should be fighting cool
super-villains! Erik Larsen, if you are reading this, I'm willing to
initiate a national fundraiser, "Save Our Spidey" (SOS) to get you back
as a writer for one of Spidey's titles!!!
Rating:  web-heads out of four. Sorry, Spidey!

Amazing Spider-Man #22
Plot: Senator Ward captures Venom (you have no idea how painful it was
for me to write that) in an effort to help him understand his own
relationship with an alien virus the Z'Nox have infected him with.
Likes: Not much. The only cool part was when Spidey dropped a water
tower on some Iron Man types. Well, okay, the part where Arthur Stacy
boosted the power output on Spidey's tracers to REALLY get his attention
was cool, too!
Dislikes: Howard Mackie is one of the best Spider-Writers of all time,
but he has had his share of lame issues since the relaunch, and this is
one of the worst. The whole alien virus thing was just plain
gross...Venom getting sacked by a politician was just plain SAD.  And
Spidey wandering around clueless in this issue doesn't exactly boost his
image, either.
Rating: web-heads out of four.

Amazing Spider-Man #21
Plot:  This issue concludes Mackie's two-part Alistair Smythe story. Spidey has a real problem to deal with here...not only does he have to outfight Smythe's newest and deadliest Spider-Slayer (while carrying his annoying boss in one arm), he also has to hunt down and destroy an entire army of Smythe's mini-Slayers who are targeting his best friends at the same time!!! Better him than me. 
Likes: Great action and great humor. There is a hilarious bathroom scene that you really have to see to believe.
Dislikes: The ending was definitely anti-climactic...Spidey just hits the big robot a whole bunch of times until it stops! Spidey is one of the most brilliant super-heroes in the Marvel Universe...he should be flexing his cerebellum as much as he flexes his muscles.  The other thing that bothered me a little was the fact that the whole Spidey-saves-JJJ thing has really been done to death. Heck, it had been done to death way back in 1977! Time for Marvel to stop rehashing the same basic plots from ASM #1-25 and break some creative new ground. 
Rating: Still a great issue...great humor, great action and Spidey comes out on top in the end.  web-heads out of four.

Amazing Spider-Man # 20
Plot: Alistair Smythe threatens to kill Jonah Jameson's family if he doesn't agree to lure Spidey into his latest trap. Jameson agrees, of course, and places an ad in his paper revealing that he possesses Spidey's web-shooters and costume and is planning to have DNA experts analyze them both in hopes of determining his secret identity.  Spidey shows up at the Daily Bugle to see who is behind this latest scheme to wipe him off the face of the planet, and ends up battling every single Spider-Slayer that Alistair and his infamous dad Spencer ever created! After wiping out every single one of them, Smythe brings out a legion of new, tiny Slayers accompanied by a huge, six-armed monstrosity that he reveals as his newest and deadliest Slayer of all (Smythe isn't kidding, either, as we learn next issue). One of the tiny Slayers sticks to Spidey's face and begins to read his mind...we don't see what happens next, because this story is continued next issue. NOTE: Amazing Spider-Man #25,  58 and 192 are also reprinted in this issue. 
Likes: It was really cool to see Spidey take on ALL of Smythe's Spider-Slayers and win. Spidey is a heck of a lot tougher than he has appeared in battles with a few of these models in the past, so it was a nice vindication of sorts.  Randy (Robertson) and Peter's misadventures with Gloria Grant and Jill Stacy were a lot of fun to witness, too. In one sequence Joe Robertson, Randy's dad, asks Peter if living with his wild son has him crawling the walls yet, and Peter answers "Not so that anybody'd notice, Robbie." Mackie has a great sense of humor, and this issue really shows it. 
Dislikes: Erik Larsen's art looks rushed here, although even Larsen's rushed art is palatable. It is also kind of hard to believe that Spidey would rush headlong into a mysterious trap without some kind of gadget or plan, especially after how many times in the past he's paid for doing so. I really would have liked to have seen Alistair in his Spider-Slayer battlesuit here, too...that really added a lot to him visually (not to mention physically!) 
Rating: out of four. A very good Spidey comic, if perhaps a little rushed.

Amazing Spider-Man #19
Plot: The story is dubbed "Mirror, Mirror," just like the Star Trek episode where Spock has the Fu Manchu thing going on.  Apparently the human half of Venom (who is ironically really the costume, as the symbiote has always been the controlling factor of Venom), Eddie Brock, wants to get back together with his ex-wife Ann Weying. He goes to visit her only to find that she has developed an overpowering fear of leaving her apartment. Brock opens the window and, of course, that is exactly the moment Spidey just happens to swing by, wearing his black-and-white costume (his red-and-blue togs having been stolen in a previous issue). The sight of the black-and-white costume disturbs Ann as she mistakenly believes it to be the alien, come back to bond with her again. Venom ambushes Spidey and the two go at it for a few pages. The story tragically ends with Ann committing suicide. 
Likes: It's great to see Spidey battling Venom in his black-and-white suit again, the first time since ASM #300. Ann Weying's trauma caused by having once been bonded to the symbiote is well-explored, as is the contrasting of the deaths of Peter and Eddie's respective wives. Spider-Man's stamina, far too often downplayed, is excellently displayed here, as well.
 Dislikes: The nightmare scene takes up far too much space in this issue, a whopping three pages! For that matter, it was a really lame nightmare to begin with. The Spidey/Venom battle is too one-sided, as Venom is the only one actually getting in any shots. Yes, the battle ends in a stalemate, but Spidey still looks like he's fighting too far below par here. I also have to admit to not being too thrilled over Ann's death...this may be horribly tacky of me, but I would have liked her to join with another symbiote and truly become Venom's mate. 
Rating: All in all, not a bad issue, but very little  we haven't seen a hundred times before. I'd give it web-heads out of a possible 4.