Issue #2 continues Spider-Man and the Red Hulk’s adventure in the realm of the Mole Man and it’s like the first issue never ended. This is a roller coaster of a series, not taking many breaks and giving the reader page after page of big screen action. Zeb Wells is smartly leaving the interpersonal stuff to Amazing and Dan Slott and instead has ramped up the action and excitement. This was always the best part of Marvel Team-Up anyway so it’s fitting for this new version to follow the same pattern.
But what really made this a worthy purchase is the Joe Madureira artwork. This could be some of his best stuff since Battle Chasers. Each panel and page is just packed with the kind of detail I thought artists today forgot about. The character designs are just incredible, if a bit reminiscent of Darksiders, and his Red Hulk is a thing of beauty. The man really needs to find the time to draw more comics, because if more of them looked like this, there may be more comic book readers.
My heart breaks that Joe Mad will only be on for three issues before taking a break, but with art this good, I’ll take what I can get. Plus, if Wells can keep the stories this fun and entertaining, it won’t be much of a problem.
Like I said before, Avenging Spider-Man is all about the action. The book has little substance and was a ridiculously quick read. That being said, it was still one of better comics I purchased this week. Sometime a book doesn’t have to be deep to be good; it just has to be fun. Avenging Spider-Man fits that description perfectly.
