Let’s get this out of the way now, Avenging Spider-Man #1 is a comic that initially I had no interest in. My interest in Spider-Island died near the end and decided on a whim to give Avenging Spider-Man a shot. Lo and behold I got a pleasant surprise. Zeb Wells is a writer that’s been doing Spider-Man books and other series in and around Marvel. Just not many books that I was interested in. The name that caught my eye was Joe Madureira, one of my favorite artists who created one of my favorite series that’s never been finished being Battle Chasers. Yes I’m still slightly bitter about him not finishing Battle Chasers, this isn’t about that so we’ll be moving right along. Joe Madureira is still a great artist so I couldn’t help but check out the first issue. The concept of Avenging Spider-Man is him teaming up with different members of the Avengers on adventures. Reviving the classic Marvel Team-Up format. This came together in a way that I couldn’t have ever imagined.
There’s one thing you’re going to notice in Avenging Spider-Man right away is this is a truly action packed first issue. Madureira is a nice fit with the amount of action that’s happens right from the beginning, showcased by a double page splash of the Avengers fighting a giant robot. Now ask yourself you can’t help but smile at Avenging Spider-Man starting off on this note. I find there is nothing wrong with that at all. You can tell Zeb Wells is having a blast writing Spider-Man and these sequences for Joe Mad to draw. This shows that between the two of them these are sort of Spider-Man stories they’ve both always wanted to do. There’s a nice bit in one quiet moment of how Spider-Man can manage to be on all these teams and still manage to be in New York City at the right time. As Spidey explains that sometimes he can’t be. Which leads to a brilliant bit of chaos at the New York City Marathon and Madureira cutting loose on a double page spread with Mole Man’s Subterraneans swarming the marathoners.
What caught my eye is from that page on every page is just so much fun. There’s a great segment with the Avengers arguing which person has to take Spider-Man back to New York so he can get back to his day job. Specifically leading to his team up with Red Hulk and their interactions with each other along the way. Zeb Wells shows he has a nice handle on Spider-Man and his interactions with the other Avengers. There’s a new quirk in the underground sequence that leads to the last page with J. Jonah Jameson that interests me. I give Zeb Wells credit in putting a nice twist in there that does make a lot sense when you think about why J. Jonah is down there. By the time I was at the last page and learned what was going on underground, I’m steered toward wanting to see where this goes next issue.
Avenging Spider-Man is a pleasant surprise. This takes Marvel Team-Up and explodes with bombastic energy making this a must read. I have to say I’ll be looking for more of Zeb Wells from here on, this was a lot of fun. This is one of the more fun Marvel Comics in recent history. As long as Joe Madureira can keep up the monthly schedule, we’re in for one amazing series. I laughed, I smiled, and got hooked from the beginning. Avenging Spider-Man you make the Marvel Universe a brighter place in one issue and I’m going to be there for the next.
Seems legit – I’m interested! Great review, Wesley!