Written by Marc Sumerak, Peter David
Art by David Nakayama, Mike Norton
Published by IDW Publishing
Pages: 46
Retail: $4.99
From 2005-2011, Marvel Comics was your place for all-ages comics. Under the Marvel Adventures line (formerly Marvel Age), all of your favorite superheroes and villains came alive in exciting exploits that captured the heart of classic Marvel while exploring unimaginable new plot-lines. Where else could you find the Hulk and Wolverine switching brains? Or Mole Man turning into a giant thanks to some Pym particles?
The essence of Marvel Adventures was that the comics were fun. They also happened to be quite funny. With a slew of amazing talent such as Darwyn Cooke, Aaron Lopresti, Skottie Young and Tommy Lee Edwards, the sky was the limit! And in some cosmic themed stories, that limit extended into the furthest reaches of the cosmos!
Unfortunately, with the coming of Disney XD’s line-up of animated series based on the Avengers, Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man, Marvel Adventures’ day were numbered. By 2012, the line was defunct. Instead of issues filled with original art and stories, Marvel Comics replaced Marvel Adventures with picto-comics. Here, stills from the cartoons were placed into order, word bubbles added, and put into comic book form. With a couple of pages of fun and games stuff, these comics took over for the Adventures line. Even the digest collections of Marvel Adventures stories were discontinued abruptly, immediately going into out-of-print status.
Sadly, the Marvel Adventures line was all but forgotten. Unless you got lucky at a used book store or maybe a dollar box at a comic book show, it was almost impossible to find anything from this imprint. Well, that’s all about to change!
This week, IDW Publishing was granted access to the Marvel Vaults in order to present some of the most exciting tales from the Marvel Adventures line. First up was a pair of Spidey stories in which the wall-crawler joins forces with some of Marvel’s powerhouses.
In the first story, Spider-Man falls under the spell of Amora, the Enchantress. With the sorceress now claiming the throne of Asgard, Spider-Man has unwittingly become her champion. That all might change when Thor, the god of thunder, arrives on the Asgard scene!
Then Spidey must enlist the help of the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange! When Flash Thompson is attacked by a fierce beast, Spider-Man comes to the rescue. Seemingly, Flash is okay. That is until the moon gets full and the bully turns into a werewolf!
Both stories were great. But Peter David (The Incredible Hulk) is a master at storytelling and his werewolf narrative just has something magical about it. The artwork of both stories is very good. However, it’s the art that has always been the one thing that I wasn’t a huge fan of with Marvel Adventures.
I love thick ink lines. I think it’s a throwback to the 60s and 70s comics that I grew up on. The Marvel Adventures books always featured ultra-modern artwork with characters made up of heavy muscles and pencil-thin inking. There’s nothing wrong with this style of artwork. It’s just not my cup of tea.
That being said, I’m excited that Marvel is giving a new generation of superhero fans a chance to discover Marvel Adventures. In the next few weeks, IDW will be releasing 2 more one-shots under the Marvel Action Classics banner- one starring Captain America and a second featuring The Hulk. The Hulk issue is due in stores on June 5th. Cap’s issue is currently TBA. But until then, you’ll just have to settle for your friendly, neighborhood, Spider-Man!
Marvel Action Classics: Spider-Man Two-In-One #1 debuted in print on May 29th, 2019.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
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