Spider-Man: The Gathering
of the Sinister Six
By
Adam-Troy Castro
Tired of lame story
lines by Mackie in the main Spider-titles? Byrne getting on your
nerves with revisionist history? Well if you long for a return to
a classic Spider-Man, then this novel is for you. I haven't
enjoyed a Spider-Man story like this in years. Nor have we
readers been introduced to such a cool new villain . The
introduction of Venom in 1988 is the last I recall.
Castro begins his book with an introduction to the mysterious
villain, simply known as the Gentleman. Along with him for his
trip to NYC is a mysterious young girl by the name of Pity. Both
of these outstanding new characters have ties to our web swinging
wonder.
People these days brag about how Deadpool is the king of one
liners. How easily they forget that Spidey is the king of crime
fighting comedy. The people to blame for this loss are the
terrible writers we have on the current titles.
Castro excels with humorous moments in this book. There were two
that were particularly funny. One involved Mary Jane trying to
get rid of a bomb and in doing so Castro pays homage to the
classic 1960's show with Adam West. Another funny moment involved
Spidey fighting a wacky villain by the name of Candy Man with his
candy nougat gun. These little one line jokes enhanced the
reading of this outstanding novel. Another plus to the book was
the character development of Flash Thompson. Mackie tried to send
him back to the bully he was in high school with the awful Peter
Parker: Spider-Man # 4. Castro however writes Thompson correctly.
A down on your luck, well meaning guy who has grown since high
school.
Luckily for us as readers Castro has 2 other books to follow-up
to this one with. This trilogy of books, that started with this
one, will united the Sinister Six. I highly recommend this book
to anyone who has ever been a fan of Spider-Man. Your amazement
of the character will be sparked back into life with Mr. Castro's
outstanding writing skills. He also leaves the reader with a heck
of a cliffhanger. A full four out of four Spider-heads on this
one.