2. Superior Spider-Man #18 by Dan Slott and Ryan Stegman (Marvel)
This is my "controversial" pick which isn't that controversial as it's one of the biggest selling titles at Marvel right now which means it's one of the biggest selling comics in the world right now and, frankly, rightfully so. Superior Spider-Man is excellent, regardless of the Spidey fan contingent who think otherwise. The brief setup for those unfamiliar is that Peter Parker's mind is dead but his body is alive and in control by Dr Otto Octavius aka Doc Ock who managed to switch minds with Peter in the last moments before his body died. At this point in the series, Peter is now completely dead but Otto has continued being Spider-Man, utilising his genius for robotics to assist him in his new endeavour, making him - in his eyes - the Superior Spider-Man! The series so far has been an absolute blast as Superior Spider-Man has had to redefine his morality, adapt to Peter's life and see his friends and family adapt to him - it is easily one of the freshest stories Marvel has going right now and it's all thanks to Dan Slott who is simply on fire with the script. This issue sees Spider-Man 2099 travel back in time (again with the time-travel, Marvel!) to save one of his descendants but Otto, having removed Peter from his head completely, doesn't recognise him so they exchange more than a few words. Elsewhere, Horizon Labs is under investigation, threatening Otto's inventions and Spider-Man tools, and the Hobgoblin gang is running riot just as his Spider-bots are malfunctioning. SS#18 is another great issue with phenomenal art from Ryan Stegman - one panel of Spidey swinging towards Horizon was so well rendered it looked 3D, and this is not a 3D comic! If there's one thing I didn't like, it's Spider-Man 2099 but only because I'm not the world's biggest Peter David fan. Otherwise, Slott does a decent job with the character, though I'm hoping he'll only be around for another issue or two before we move on. Nevertheless, a solid issue - Superior Spider-Man is easily one of the best titles of the year and definitely worth picking up - ignore everyone bellyaching about Otto being Spider-man instead of Peter! Also, the first two trades are out now and I highly recommend them both.