Between Amazing Spider-man however many times a month, two Avengers teams, and the Future Foundation it'd be easy to wonder if Spider-Man needs another book. In fact, Avenging Spider-Man opens up the addressing the titular character's being everywhere and doing everything with everyone and does so with perfect Spider-Man finesse, showing right off the bat that the creative team of Zeb Wells and Joe Madureira have put together a fun and sharp book.
Avenging Spidey is set up as an old school team-up, playing off all the new "partners" our once usually solo hero now has. I doubt we're going to get the deep character and life development for Peter or Spidey that is served up in Amazing, and that's just fine. Every now and then you need a book that is just a solid read of good fun and action. This one starts off with Red Hulk whose brute strength, hard demeanor, and inexperience proves a nice foil for webhead's agility, playful tone, and often under-appreciated experience. Also, they look good side by side.
Wells captures both characters attitudes nicely, particularly Parker's. Which is great. The skill it takes to write that lighthearted, banter-filled jokester is harder than it seems and when done poorly, it's bad. Wells shows he can handle Spider-Man as well as Slott and Bendis, which is good company.
That's all well and good and essential, but Joe Mad is clearly the star of this book. His kinetic style fits the book's tone of fun and action absolutely perfectly, and Wells serves up a script that utilizes all his best skills right down to the page layouts. Mad dances between Spidey's lean athletic build to Red Hulk's (do they still call him Rulk?) almost cartoony muscular size and handles pairs the former's agility to the latter's brutal approach so handily. Simply put, the book is a pleasure to look at and could almost work as a silent picture book, which says a lot these days.
If I were to give this book one crit, it's that with all its swift, blockbuster-y action the book feels incredibly brief. It's a very nice set up for the premise and first story, but it ends all too quickly. As problems go, it's a small one; however, when you're shelling out $4 for a book you'd like to get your monies worth. Unfortunately that's not a problem that I feel is unique to Avenging S-M; Marvel's got that problem with a lot of books these days.
For those Spider-fans who, like myself, walked away after Brand New Day/One More Day, this looks like the perfect book to pick up and get your Spidey fix without feeling like you've compromised on your principles. For Spider-Fans who love reading the character and haven't walked away, this is a great place to get your solid entertainment with one of your favorite characters.
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