For me there were only 3 superheroes growing up. The Super, the Bat, and the Spider. Superman was fun to read on occasion, but too powerful. Batman is obviously the best. But a close second was Spiderman, who was powerful, but fallible. And he always seemed to be facing someone stronger than him, and he had to use both strength and wits to win.
Jim's portrayal of PP/Spiderman was on point, in that he conveyed that he was a regular guy, who had abilities, but they weren't enough to guarantee victory against whoever he faced. I particularly liked his portrayal of Rhino, who clearly was stronger than Spiderman, yet was always foiled because of his temper. Seeing a deeper side to Rhino was refreshing, much more so than the attempt at explaining away all of the villains in the Spiderman 3 movie. And like classic Spiderman story lines, he found himself on the losing side, outnumbered, and on the verge of defeat. And yet he finds a way to pull it off.
What really did it for me was the balance between Spiderman saving the city from supervillains, and Peter Parker saving the day for citizens. He was a role model both as a man and as a hero. I liked the fact that Parker had concerns other than making money for rent and stopping bad guys. Too often the Spiderman secondary plot is just him trying to make a living. But JB made his secondary plot just as heroic as the primary plot, and he didn't need powers to do it. That's why I hope that JB gets another opportunity to do more Spiderman, either in another book, or maybe trying something new as a story author for a comic book story arc.
