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.