2. The Superior Spider-Man #20 by Dan Slott and Giuseppe Camuncoli (Marvel)
Longtime Spider-man readers might well be rolling their eyes when they see the cover to this issue's Superior Spider-man as Spidey and old squeeze Felicia Hardy aka Black Cat cuddle up on the cover like we've seen them do a million times before - but this is Superior Spider-man, not the old Spider-man! Dan Slott brilliantly riffs on the expected as Spidey meets Black Cat and resolves their encounter in an unexpected way. Otto's romance with Anna Maria continues as they share a delightful moonlit picnic on a giant web and Otto takes the next step in building Spider-man up into a bigger, more effective enterprise. Meanwhile, Carlie Cooper's gotten hard evidence of Spider-man being financed by Doc Ock's offshore accounts, MJ has a great scene outside a fire-house as she moves on from Peter, and Otto's big day of getting his doctorate finally comes round - not without its complications of course. Slott continues to work marvels with this continually imaginative and fresh take on Spider-man and this new story arc, following the still good but not that amazing story arc of Spider-man 2099, looks like it's going to be a doozy. New dilemmas from his old identity and his new are brought up as two of his old acquaintances threaten his new charmed life, one of which raises the stakes on his stance on killing. All I can say is, as good as this issue is, I can't wait for the next one! Giuseppe Camuncoli's artwork is terrific too, far better than his work on X-Men: Battle of the Atom #9 which was very workmanlike. His Black Cat is great, giving her her classic tote bag, Spidey's new outfit looks great and that picnic scene was delightful. Camuncoli's work on Superior Spider-man continues to elevate the series and be the place to see his best art. Slott manages to keep the series as exciting and eventful as ever, juggling numerous storylines expertly and ensuring the reader is never bored with the comic. He's doing absolutely stellar work with this title and it really shows. A great new story arc kicks off this issue that fans of the Superior Spider-man will love - and if you've never read the series, check it out, it's definitely one of the jewels in Marvel NOW's crown.