In Spider-Boy #2 from Marvel Comics, written by Dan Slott with art by Paco Medina and Ty Templeton, we’re getting two Christmas tales of our newest, littlest hero.
We reviewed the book on the Stack podcast. But in the interest of highlighting more about the title, here’s a summary of the conversation with our thoughts. And if you prefer the longer audio version, that’s below as well!
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Spider-Boy #2 Review:
In the front story, Spider-Boy helps Captain America take down Taskmaster and save Christmas. And in the backup story, he teams up with Squirrel Girl, and Christmas saves him. Or, more specifically, Santa Claus.
Host Pete LePage kicked things off saying the “backup was awesome… This is Dan Slott having a blast, and that jumps off the page.” LePage also enjoyed the front story, and the back and forth between Captain America and Taskmaster in particular. “Such a great, fun issue,” LePage said. “I had a blast with this.”
Alex Zalben added, “this is such an enjoyable title… There are very few comics that we’re talking about [here] that you could just hand to absolutely anybody, and Spider-Boy is one of them.” Zalben chalked part of the appeal up to the skills Dan Slott has gathered throughout his career: writing Spider-Man for so long; writing all-ages stories; and starting in joke comics… “And just bringing it together in an absolutely ludicrous way.”
Justin Tyler, meanwhile, felt that Spider-Boy is a little “overexposed.” But Zalben noted part of the reason for that is Spider-Boy #1 was the best-selling comic of the last month, and “everything that [Dan Slott] does with Spider-Boy sells out… There’s clearly a hunger there from the audience.”
Spider-Boy #2 Official Synopsis:
VERSUS TASKMASTER! Spider-Boy’s history of punching up has been wiped from the memory of most of the Marvel Universe, but that doesn’t mean he can’t hold his own! Plus, SPIDER-MAN gets a lesson in sidekicks from none other than CAPTAIN AMERICA! Plus: “Yes, Spider-Boy, there IS a Santa Claus!” The Arachnid-Kid and Kris Kringle are getting ready to kick some humbug butt!
