Good grief, it’s good.

I’m not actually sure what’s going on with Jimmy’s whole Norman Osborn deal (all indications are it’s a fake-out), but Parker gets in a ton of character development. One quibble has to be how much Parker expects his reader to remember the original limited series. I guess it’s been six or seven months since I read it, but I’ve forgotten some of the nuances in the character relationships.

This issue, Parker integrates the flashback story, running it concurrent to the “Dark Reign” tie-in. I figured, given that format, the two stories would tie together, but I’m not sure. Maybe Parker’s just trying to get readers hooked (though I can’t imagine Atlas would appeal to Marvelheads who buy anything with a “Dark Reign” tag on the cover).

Again, Pagulayan’s art makes the lead story feel a bit overdone. It’s fine art, but it’s definitely awkward.