Spider-Man Unlimited (Vol. 3) #3 (Story 1)

Background

Spider-Man Unlimited (Vol. 3) is Marvel's new "showcase" title. Released bi-monthly, each issue features two separate stories each month by guest creators. The first couple of issues have been a bit inconsistent, each featuring one good story, and one rather disappointing story. Maybe this issue we can finally get a couple of decent episodes in the same magazine, given that it's a fully-priced $3 title!

Story 'Preventative Medicine'

Mike is standing outside a store that sells pricey street clothing, but he's more interested in the shop assistant that he wants to go make a move on. He heads inside, but she speaks to him, and he loses his nerve. She tells him that the jacket he's looking at would be great on him. It's a $300 jacket, and Mike is broke.

Mike's head fills with visions of himself in that jacket, with the lovely shop-girl doing the booty-shaking thing all over him. He needs that jacket. He heads out and stares at the convenience store across the road. He has a flick-knife. He ain't a crim, but there's a first time for everything.

Spidey swings past, so close you can see the repair work on his costume. Thwip! Mike nearly has a heart attack. Mike thinks of the knife, of the cash, of the girl. He thinks of Spider-Man, of webbing, of cops. What's a guy to do. Mike has a big choice to make...

General Comments

There are only two lines of dialog in this 11-page story, but they echo throughout the entire tale. Spidey appears for all of five panels, but his influence lasts throught this young man's lifetime. Tom McLaughlin has crafted a great tale that looks like a middle-weight, and punches like a heavy-weight.

Oh, Scott Kolins did art and coloring. He has a really intriguing style, very simple pencils, line inking only, with the depth and shading all added with colors. He leans to pale, washed out colors, giving the whole comic a dreamy feel, even when the scenes and subject matter are dirty and realistic. It's a very strange mix, but it works just fine.

Overall Rating

I'm gonna have to pull out the "5 Webs" stamp for this one, it's a real gem.