Rating: 
Summary: Almost there...
Review: Writers are often the main stars of comic books, but in this case that title easily goes to Tim Sale, the artist. I'm not even basing that claim off of his past works, I'm making it entirely from just this book alone. Jeph Loeb's story leaves a lot to be desired from (such as the "mystery man" in this book. Anyone who's read a few of the old Spidey comics could guess who it is instantly, and his "revelation" is so anticlimactic). This is not a very accessible book if you don't know who kills Gwen Stacy or if you don't have much knowledge of Peter Parker's (Spider-Man's) life. Even if you do know who kills Gwen (Norman Osborn, a.k.a. the Green Goblin), it seems that Jeph Loeb isn't concentrating enough on her while the killer appears in the book. This isn't a book about Norman, and this isn't really a book about her death by his hands -- it's just about the love that Gewn and Peter Parker shared.Despite the writer's faults throughout Spider-Man: Blue, the last scene in the final chapter of this book -- the one in which we join Peter in his house as he's recording the events of his and Gwen's past together -- almost entirely makes up for Jeph's shortcomings in the previous chapters. I was on the edge of tears as I read it, and that doesn't often happen to me. Art-wise, the book's beautiful. Gorgeous. While I loved the coloring in Daredevil: Yellow (and, incidentally, the colorist on that book, Matt Hollingsworth, is my favorite colorist), it is in my opinion that Steve Buccelato's work here is even better. However, the creators' best collaborated work is definitely Daredevil: Yellow, their first-ever "color" book. The story there is much better than the story here (the killer of the main love interest in that book, incidentally, is never mentioned...), and the artwork is beautiful. If you can pick up the hardcover versions of both of these books, get them. Bringing this review to a close, while this book does have a lot of positives to it, it doesn't reach the heights set by Daredevil: Yellow. But do not dismiss this book. Buy it...but purchase Daredevil: Yellow first.
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