This is, of course, ‘Amazing Fantasy’ Volume 2, a low-selling title Marvel is using to wheel out new versions of faded properties. Now, back in Volume 1, it was #15 that introduced Spidey, so in an attempt to coax lightening back into a bottle, Marvel are throwing everything at this issue in the hope that something sticks – a remake of that Spidey cover to add some star power to proceedings, and six radical revamps of old Marvel concepts (or, to be more precise, old Marvel character names) executed by up and coming Marvel talent.

While there’s nothing in here that’s likely to be rushing to the top of the direct market charts and fast track motion picture fame, these old names with new ideas are mostly a lot of fun, and make this one of the most diversely readable comics to come out lately. Oh, and one of these strips is exactly the kind of thing I wish I’d written, and I’m bitterly jealous.

But more on that later. Let’s talk about the least interesting stuff first. Skipping over the two page Spidey story altogether (nice joke, yeah whatever), by far the dullest of the stories here is ‘Positron’. Sean McKeever’s story is what I’ve come to expect from this writer – competent but uninspiring. The story of a super powered experiment on the run, it never quite demonstrates enough spark to justify following up on, in spite of nice Oemingy art from Kristian Donaldson.

Jumping from the last story to the first, ‘Mastermind Excello’ takes a similar concept and does it far better – Amadeus is a teen genius fleeing an agency that may be good or may be bad, and improvising his way out of scrapes using only his acutely accurate mind and whatever comes to hand. There’s a solid and appropriate guest appearance by a major Marvel character, and the story and art place this in that rare category, a genuine middle ground between US comics and manga. Good work from Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa, and one I’d like to see again.

Less likely to warrant a reappearance is the revamped ‘Heartbreak Kid’, not because Robert Aguirre–Sacasa has written a bad story but simply because there doesn’t seem to be any further for it to go. The story of a teen who drinks in the bad emotions of others, it features a run-in with a young Peter Parker and is delivered with appropriately retro art from Jeff Parker and Sal Buscema. It’s a good enough story that taps into an almost romantic level of teen melancholy, but stands alone well and doesn’t really warrant or need a sequel.

Another probably standalone is ‘The Great Video’, recreated by Daniel Way and Nick Dragotta as a black comedy about a loser who gains the worst kind of super abilities. As Paul O’Brien recently pointed out in a recent ‘x-axis’ review, Way often seems to find it difficult shoe-horning in the lead characters in his Marvel work, instead preferring to concentrate on the little guys. Well, here Way gets to run loose with the kind of character he prefers, and it really works. Grim and entertaining, but yet again not really material for an ongoing title.

What can be said about Robert Kirkman and Khary Randolph’s take on ‘Monstro’, apart from that its very Kirkman? Well, it’s a heroic fireman comic which actually works – something that would have been very handy a couple of years back when the likes of ‘The Call’ were being published – and has the trademark Kirkman eye for character, so it has potential. It’d be a hard sell as a regular book, or even a mini-series, but I’m willing to give most things Kirkman writes a go and this is no exception. For his part, Randoph is a talent to watch and his work is some of the most striking here.

And finally, the cream of the crop… ‘Blackjack’. I’ve been increasingly impressed by Dan Slott’s writing of late, but ‘Blackjack’ sees him working at a higher level, presenting a great idea that’s very well executed. Four, two-page strips scattered throughout the issue, ‘Blackjack’ is ‘The Avengers’ (Steed and Peel, not the Marvel superteam) done in the style of an Image comic – two leather clad British spies having surreal, stupid adventures that end with a quip. Jacqui’s a sexy blonde girl with an eyepatch and revealing costume, while Ace wears a suit and a gimp mask. They fly on jetpacks, they fight vampires and dinosaurs and stupid toy robots, and they’re never phased by anything.

Slott and artist Pete Woods cram a lot into each two-page ‘Blackjack’ strip, and I’m viciously jealous that I didn’t think of this perfect blend of cynicism and camp myself. I don’t know if the Marvel zombies will appreciate the deadpan humour of something like this, or gel with its super-compressed surrealism, but I love it, and I want more. These guys deserve a wider audience, so how about putting them as back-ups in other books rather than previews of dreadful titles like ‘Howling Commandoes’ or charmless twee fluff like the recent ‘Franklin Richards’ xmas story. If Marvel are going to force a few pages of extra stuff into the back of each comic, cannot it be something as clever, witty and worthy of exposure as ‘Blackjack’?

With one stroke of creative genius, and a couple of other promising debuts, this issue acquits itself well in the shadow of its influential predecessor. It may not be leading to any major motion picture franchises just yet, but it shows promise for the development of new concepts at Marvel and is well worth picking up for readers in search of creativity in the superhero mainstream.

Mark Clapham is co-author of the book 'Who's Next: An Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who', which is available from Amazon.co.uk in Britain or from Amazon.com in America.