OK, that subject title may be a little harsh. It came from a google.jp search that got someone to this website. Amazing Spider-Man #546 is a perfectly fine comic. It just has a few problems that kind of grate.
First off, there is a lot of infodump here. Slott seems to be setting up a large number of future plot threads all at once, as well as establishing the new status quo for the character. And it’s a bit overwhelming. Particularly when combined with McNiven’s art.
McNiven is my biggest problem with this comic. His art just doesn’t work for me here, the detail is actually distracting from the amount of information Slott is trying to convey. On a panel by panel basis he has some great layouts, but it all looks a little too busy for the story. His art worked wonders on the vacuous framework that was Civil War, but things move faster here, and in the end it feels rather tiring to look at his art AND read all the dialogue Slott’s providing (often a lot in a tiny panel – are they doing this comic “Marvel Style”? If so I’m more inclined to blame Slott for not working his dialogue to McNiven’s panels.).
Also: the “nerdy” new love interest for Peter is really too attractively drawn for her character. For all the complaints about Spider-Man being married to a super-model (MJ being a super-model seemed something born out of general pop-culture trends of the time), replacing her with someone with model looks WHO JUST HAPPENS TO WEAR GLASSES seems stupid and shallow. It gives the comic the aesthetic of a dumb Hollywood teen movie. John Romita Sr. style comic book sexiness please, rather than this aseptic glossy magazine prettiness.
Phil Winslade’s art in Bob Gale’s Aunt May back up strip is much more in line with what I want to see on a Spidey comic. Winslade’s art increasingly reminds me of Gene Colan. I’m sure it was there before, but I’m only noticing it now since I’ve seen uncoloured Colan art in various Essentials. What it boils down to is that I’d like to see Winslade do a main story on the book.
Script-wise, a little too much is given to running through Spidey tropes that seem a little old to longtime Spidey fans. The Aunt May and job hunting stuff seemed out of place 40+ years down the line from his first appearance, particularly now when the material that did that originally is so freely available. The Osborn entourage stuff seemed a little bit like a clumsy stab at modernity at first, but at least it felt a little new. The villain, Negative Man, was interesting and the stuff with Jonah at the end was the high point of the book. Overall there was a little too much housekeeping and pipe laying, and note enough story.
Of course the advantage of the new format is we don’t have so long to wait for the next issue and so what flaws there are, aren’t left to stew. McNiven’s art on it’s own looks great, so I’m hoping when the script moves towards following the flow of a story, rather than acting as an establishing issue, it will run at a pace that suits McNiven’s style.