OK, I'm going to approach "Amazing Spider-Man: Extra!" in a different format than most reviews here. We've got eight different stories spread across the three issues over nine months (September 2008-May 2009), so I'm just going to give a quick review of each, skipping the full "Amazing Spider-Man" treatment I usually give. A general note is that these issues, for the most part, serve the point of this sort of book. Other than "Black & White" in issue #2 and "With Great Responsibility Comes Great Power" in issue #3, none of these stories really serves as essential reading for any of the ongoing (at the time) plots in "Amazing Spider-Man." Instead, they flesh out some characters and some background in a mostly enjoyable way. I'm still a little annoyed by them, though, since, given that ASM is publishing three times a month, the fact that two of the eight stories DO actually have a direct impact on ongoing plots seems a little sneaky to me.
Death of a Wise Guy: As I've mentioned before, I love Chris Bachalo, even though he occasionally makes it hard to follow the storyline sometimes. For example, it took me a while to figure out why Hammerhead killed the couple in the theater. The plot also had some quirks. Kelly on the whole did a great job of humanizing Hammerhead, but I didn't buy the coincidence of Hammerhead having to kill his father or his decision to get his adamantium skeleton grafted to him without anesthesia. But, overall, it's a pretty good story.
Death of a Wise Guy: As I've mentioned before, I love Chris Bachalo, even though he occasionally makes it hard to follow the storyline sometimes. For example, it took me a while to figure out why Hammerhead killed the couple in the theater. The plot also had some quirks. Kelly on the whole did a great job of humanizing Hammerhead, but I didn't buy the coincidence of Hammerhead having to kill his father or his decision to get his adamantium skeleton grafted to him without anesthesia. But, overall, it's a pretty good story.
Birthday Boy: Meh. This story didn't work for me because Peter's pretty much totally out of character here. I don't really see him as a "get into a fist fight with a bunch of drunk jackholes" kind of guy. I mean, we're talking about the guy who doesn't drink (or, at least, didn't until issue #600) just so he doesn't accidentally hurt anyone with his enhanced strength. As such, I just don't see him just pounding on a bunch of guys, even if it's to protect Harry's honor. It pretty much ruined the story for me, including the key moment, where Harry ditches his snooty friends to hang with his old friend, Peter.
The Spartacus Gambit: OK, I have to say, if I read this story in the order in which the Spider-books were published, I think I'd be totally and completely lost. This issue was published in September 2008, whereas the storyline in which this story falls -- the "Character Assassination" arc -- took place in March 2009. The story itself was fine, though it doesn't add too much to the storyline of which it's a part. But, if I were reading these issues in order of release, I think I'd be, at the very least, confused.
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