Mark Waid, Zeb Wells & Various - The Amazing Spider-Man 583

COMICS/SUPERHERO

It’s been in all the papers, President Barack Obama makes a guest appearance in Spider-Man. It’s yet more proof of how succinctly Obama has tapped into the zeitgeist and is as much of a cultural icon as he is a political spokesman.

It’s an interesting and unique event in comics but what about the story itself? Well, first a word of warning: the much-publicised appearance is only a six-page back-up story (written by Zeb Wells) as two Obamas turn up at the Presidential Inauguration and Spider-Man steps in to help sort out the confusion. It’s cheesy but entertaining enough and its novelty value alone makes it worth a read as a curious pop art artefact.

However, the main meat of the issue is taken up with Spider-Man’s ongoing trials and tribulations (from writer Mark Waid) and a fairly pedestrian story about Peter Parker’s relationship with Betty Brant.