Marvel kicks-off issue #1 this week of a new, four-part Spiderman mini-series entitled "Timestorm 2009-2009".  The comic is scripted by Brian Reed, with pencils by Eric Battle, inks by Andrew Hennessy & Vicente Cifuentes and coloring by Bruno Hang.  This series takes place in the 2099 alternate reality Spiderman series that Marvel ran back in the 1990's.  For the uninitiated, the title had a very science fiction cyberpunk feel, a la the movie Bladerunner, with the society of 2099 run by large corporations and superheroes marginalized as part of the past.  Although I never read any of the series back then, I had heard that part of the premise was that the reality of present-day superheroes was twisted and mythologized via a 2099 religion called The Church Of Thor.

     The story in issue #1 of the new mini-series provides us with a time-travel focus.  The all-powerful Alchemax Corporation is messing with the time continuum by sending a Punisher-like 2099 assassin back to our time in order to assassinate as many 2009 superheroes as possible, as such altering the time continuum per the unrevealed goals of the company's chief executive, Tyler Stone.  Unbenownst to Stone, the assassin's weapon when fired actually propels Spiderman into the year 2099, where he is quickly drugged and imprisoned due to that era's illegality of anyone wielding power abilities.  The plot branches into two directions, one in which another imprisoned powerbeing attempts to assist Parker and another in which the assassin propels a second Marvel hero into the future, resulting in a very interesting end-of-issue #1 cliffhanger.  A secondary sub-plot introduces us to 2099 teenager Miguel O'Hara, who in the 1990's "2099" title run came to serve as that era's Spiderman, fighting against Stone.

     This issue worked for me for a few reasons.  First and foremost, writer Brian Reed has scripted a story that successfully creates a very credible science fiction dystopian corporate society, while blending it nicely with the existing Marvel superhero universe.  Secondly, Reed structures the story clear enough for the newcomer to the "2099" Spiderman Universe to enjoy it in its own right and pick-up enough pieces of the "2099" storyline concept to figure-out what its all about without having to do any background research (or asking around to fellow readers more familiar with "2099").  While there is a very detailed narrative of the "2099" universe in the back of the issue, I really didn't need to read it to gain the basic understanding of this alternate take on the world of Spidey.

     I also enjoyed the early pages of the issue in which scripter Reed shows skill at giving Spidey/Parker that joke-cracking sarcasm that has always been one of my favorite aspects of Spiderman's character.  The art team's work is a special treat in this section of the comic, as they manage the rare feat of giving some humorous and very enjoyable facial range to the Spiderman mask itself, particularly in a two-page spread in which it dawns on Spiderman that he's been propelled into a very futuristic time and place.

     So all-in-all, I recommend this kick-off issue as a very strong and entertaining blend of science fiction and superhero story-telling.