Peter Parker fails to show up again this issue for more premarital sex, which is disappointing, but otherwise DeConnick is in fine form. Setting up a cult centered around Norman Osborn is a good plot point, as are some of the smaller developments. DeConnick knows how to tightly wind scenes and she’d probably do really well on a horror book.

Rios also continues to impress. She basically has the one style, but there’s intensity. Norman gets more feverish lines while the stuff at the Daily Bugle is far cleaner.

As for the Bugle, Norah Winters is still central to that side of the story. But Winters’s place at the paper, Marvel Universe or not, seems unrealistic. It feels like DeConnick is saddled with the cast and she’s having troubles making Winters work.

But all the Norman and supervillain stuff? It’s all great.

Osborn is, surprisingly or not, an excellent series.