Spidey’s not married, no recognizable supporting cast in sight…., could this be the BND Spider-Man?
Nope, it’s Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #41, an all-ages 22 page straightforward romp pitting Peter and Spidey against the Man Bull (who is looking suspiciously like Ravage 2099 after Stan’s status quo was abandoned).
I usually buy these all-ages books, skim through them and stockpile them for my kiddo in a few years as transition comics he can ‘have his way with’ before he can freely handle the regular line ‘good’ stuff. Sometimes the art in Marvel Adventures books is embarrassingly sub-par, but here the art by Ryan Stegman and Gary Martin is crisp, clean and simple as it seems the all-ages line demands, but at the same time isn’t condescending (and should really be the standard for the Marvel Adventures titles). Mark Sumerak manages to tell a timeless, simple action-oriented Spidey story set in a past that could be as current as yesterday without stooping to contrived Ipod or American Idol references, and even manages a Galactus cameo. The colors are bright, eye-catching and, well…. colorful.
This issue of course also includes a cute Chris Giarrusso one-pager, this month featuring the Hulk. As a whole, this month this book succeeds at what it is intended to be: it is a fine starter comic book to pass along to any lucky kid aged 5 to 11 years old or so.
COVER BY: SEAN MURPHY
WRITER: MARC SUMERAK
PENCILS: RYAN STEGMAN
INKS: GARY MARTIN
All Ages …$2.99
Review by Steve Raker
