Amazing Spider-Man Annual #36 Writer: Marc Guggenheim / Artist: Pat Olliffe

After reading the same Spider-Man story for over a month now, even though it's an awesome one, this Annual was a breath of fresh air. Instead of being an off-topic standalone story, like some Annuals do, this one sets up future Spider-Man stories. This is a growing trend in the Marvel Universe: one I happen to like.

One of the stories being set up is May and Jameson Sr.'s wedding. Marc Guggenheim opens the issue with their rehearsal dinner. At it, we're treated to some humorous banter between Peter and Jameson Jr. becoming "brothers." Jameson's reactions and comebacks are hilarious. We're not the only ones being treated though, as Jameson Sr. continues to prove he's got some serious game. His gift to May is sweet and sets up more hilarity from Peter, such as wishing he were gay so he wouldn't have dirty thoughts about his hot cousins.

All that's nice and funny, but the main reason for this issue is to set up a feud with new villain Raptor. Not much is known about him, except that he wants to avenge the death of his family by killing Ben Reilly. Spidey-fans will remember that Ben is Peter's clone and was actually believed to be the real Peter Parker at one point. What Raptor knows is that there's a guy who looks a lot like the guy who killed his family, so he attacks Peter at the rehearsal.

This fight doesn't fare too well. The whole thing lasts way too long and is quite redundant. Also, Peter's funny banter from the beginning of the issue vanishes as he makes one frail jab of joke after another, even while being impaled. While Guggenheim may have slipped up on Spidey's whit, his characterization of Boston was highly entertaining. I loved every "Spidey rahks" and "Jeter sucks" that came from the crowd. Boston's love of Spider-Man is a great play on the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry.

Pat Olliffe does an adequate job on art. His action is easy enough to follow and most of his characters are well drawn, but nothing really stands out as beautiful. One thing that bugged me was Olliffe's depiction of Peter. He chooses to draw him differently than most artists usually do on the series. I'm not a real big fan of the depiction used in this issue.

Overall this issue may not have been important and even that well written, but it was still enjoyable. I appreciated the break from the highly intense American Son and look forward to the threads being set up in this issue. That being said, I can't wait for the finale to American Son next week.