ASM 515-518, TAC, Vol. 2 15-27, Avengers, Vol. 3 500-503 & Finale, New Avengers, Vol. 1 1-10, Spider-Man: Breakout 1-5. This one was in progress for 32 days. Granted, that includes a week out of town where I didn’t work on it, but nonetheless, it became an albatross around my neck, and I was mostly just happy to be done looking at it. As always, if things take too long, I don’t even want to mess with them anymore, my Achilles heel. In the reviled Avengers Disassembled storyline, Scarlet Witch ruins things for everybody, destroying Avengers Mansion, killing a whole bunch of Avengers, and making many Avengers live their worst possible day (But also Spider-Man and the FF, for some reason). This somehow orchestrates a scenario where a lady who controls bugs and people makes Spider-Man turn into a giant spider, die, and be reborn out of his own corpse with new powers, which is just insane. Months later, the New Avengers form during a nightmare breakout at the Raft, wherein 90+ supervillains are said to have rioted, and half of them got away, an adventure that takes them all the way to the Savage Land, where the fight Sauron and a rogue faction of SHIELD led by Yelena Belova. Thusly does Spider-Man officially join the team after decades of being a loner. The Sentry is brought into the main continuity, and the FF, Avengers, X-Men and Inhumans team up to fight the Void. Spider-Man battles the U-Foes and a gang of mind control powered villains as they fight each other after breaking out of the Raft. A previously unseen high school friend of Peter’s who’s a jerk resurfaces, turns himself into a supervillain, and burns down Peter & MJs apartment as well as Aunt May’s house. And the wretched 2nd volume of Spectacular Spider-Man is put out of its misery after the aforementioned giant spider story, Kingpin crashing superhero poker night, a ridiculous story about obscure villain Mindworm, and still more nonsense with Gwen Stacy’s adult twins, this time in France. Also we learn various big deal superheroes have secret meetings about what’s going on in the world in a group called “The Illuminati,” which, you know, isn’t something I would have named a benevolent organization, but I wasn’t in charge. A whole lot goin’ on in this set. And from here on out, Spider-Man stars in 3 monthlies, one team book, and a bunch of other things every month. Market saturation is back. Drawn with an eye toward the look of David Finch, Danny Miki and Frank D’Armata’s work on New Avengers, but without directly copying anything. The coloring just about killed me. And I join the prestigious ranks of artists who absolutely cannot draw Adi Granov’s first Iron Man suit.