Avenging Spider-Man #1

Background

Supposedly set sometime after the events of Spider-Island, “Avenging Spider-Man” was created to tell stories stories that are said to fit somewhere between the cracks of Amazing Spider-Man but will not tie in directly,instead focusing on his other adventures with various team ups and special cameos.

Story 'Jameson Kidnapped'

In the midst of a chaotic battle along side his fellow avengers, Spidey poses a simple question to the readers: how does he find the time to deal with everything, including keeping up protection of his home town.

Answer: sometimes he doesn’t

Case in point, NYC is under attack by hordes of little yellow creatures. They instantly grab mayor Jameson and pull him underground where in: Jonah comes face to face with, none other than the notorious Moleman. However, he quickly realizes who the real muscle is behind the attack. It turns out Moleman aint in charge no more. Apparently ,the moles have their own authority figures.

Meanwhile Spidey and his ride home,( Red Hulk) land in town to deal with the invasion, but are instantly swallowed up by a gigantic reptile like creature, with multiple layers of teeth and a dozen or more snake like tongues. The neurotoxin from within the beast slowly immobilizes both our heroes. Things are looking grim.

General Comments

The issue ends with a double cliffhanger.. How bout that?

Isn’t it a bit strange that author Zeb Wells starts off by having Spider-Man break the forth wall by directly addressing the readers? And for some reason none of his so called Avengers buddies want to give Spidey a ride home. Really? I would think that Spidey was more of a likeable guy. It’s not like he’s brand new to the team or super hero community. Honestly I can’t understand why Thor or Iron-Man would mind flying Spidey over to NYC, it’s not like it would take them all day. Surely Spidey would have thought about this before he signed up.

Red Hulk and Spidey kinda make for an awkward pair, being so opposite in size and personality, which is both entertaining and humorous. They even make a little mention of it themselves.

Overall Rating

Too short to give much credit. Just when the story was coming to a point it had to stop. At least we had a little bit of a reveal in showing the Moleman, and then a twist. As for the web swinging action; well there really wasn’t any. Hulk didn’t add much to the story except for visuals and humor. Although I feel like this has good potential and could live up to being a solid alternate title for Spidey fans.

Certainly the artwork is a step above the average and thank god for that. Lovely details and luscious colors spill off the page. Some unique and quirky expressions from Spider-Man bring out the light hearted fun and personal appeal. Jameson never one to be at a loss for words, is constantly adding pop culture references to his comments, making the dialog much more flamboyant.

I liked this issue and will probably pick up number 2, if nothing else for then for wonderful art. Not sure what will really separate this book from Avengers, other than having a focus on Spidey, but it’s way too early to tell. So far it seems like just a light hearted action tale. Ultimately it feels a little insignificant but I don’t mind putting my faith in writer Zeb Wells to come up with some fun and exciting action, with moments of good comedic value too.