Spidey/Human Torch Mini !

[Master Darque]

Ok folks ...I checked the Spidey and Marvel threads for a topic for this series and didn't see anything ...so if I missed it , please don't rake me over the coals ....

Anyways .....I almost didn't get this series . I am not in the habit to pick up Spidey's mini's . I passed up all the Spidey/Lizard , Carnage and Doc Ock minis of the last few years . But there was something about the covers of this new mini that caught my attention ....and I am glad it did !

Written by Dan Slott with art by Ty Templeton .....I have to say that THIS series is the BEST thing I've read in a LONG time ....and it's only on issue # 2!! I wasn't a real big fan of Untold tales of Spidey ..... it never really felt all that retro to me . But Slott has got such a handle on not only the Spidey/Torch relationship ..... but he also has a handle on Spidey history ! He throws in a lot of great tidbits from Spidey's past ....great stuff with Flash Thompson , Captain Stacy ....and Spidey's FIRST meeting with Paste Pot Pete had me choking with laughter !! You've gotta see Spidey's mission with the FF when he and Johnny trade places for a day .....oh man . Slott has knocked it out of the park and taken me back to the days when comics were FUN !
And Ty Templeton ....I have a passing familiarity with his work ....I know that he has done a lot with Batman's animated comic series . He has definitely added a retro look to this series that Pat Olliffe's pencils couldn't ....Olliffe's work looked to now . But Templeton has captured images from a bygone day .... still full of detail , nicely rendered , nothing wasted , not too cartoony ....just a great blast from the past .

I've read some incredible stuff over the last few years and I gotta say ....the 1st 2 issues of this mini has done what nothing has for a long time . It's made me laugh aloud many times throughout the read and it has taken me back to being a kid again , when comics were more wondrous and fun ....not so grim and gritty . Thanks Dan and Ty .

If you are a Spidey fan or a Torch fan and you aren't getting this 5 issue mini you need to kick yerself . Or save yerself the abuse and go out and get it NOW , True Believer !!

[Rich L]

I've only read the first issue so far but I couldn't agree more; its a great book and a lot of fun. I love that the first ish even had Johnny living with Sue, as he did during his Strange Tales run. Plus, Spidey's plan to foil Doom was priceless.

And that meeting with Paste Pot Pete - although it would have been funnier if Pete had been illustrated in his original 'costume'.

Great fun, highly recommended!

[Core]

This is a great mini, which isn't surprising as I've come to expect comedic greatness with frequent nods to continuity from Dan Slott. Over the past year, his SHE-HULK book won me over as a fan of his writing, and this limited series has sealed the deal.

One more thing, the coloring on the book, whose name has slipped my mind, is marvelous. The Torch's coloring has never looked so vivid.

[drinkblatzbeer]

first issue was brilliant...
loved every bit of it...


second though...
ugh...
story was weak and man the art looked rushed...

still, hoping for the best all the way through...

[Charagon]

I thought this was going to be a single storyline but the way looks now it's a lot like World's Finest, self contained stories over several years.

[Cody H]

Count me as one of the apparently many who are loving this book. It really does have that very cool nostalgic feel to it, and the comedic ribbing between Torch and Spidey has never been written better, to my knowledge anyway. I'll be missing this one when it comes to an end.

[Mister Mets]

I've loved the first 2 issues so far, as I did the Spider-Man issue of She-Hulk.
I wanna see Dan Slott on a regular Spider-Man book.

[Master Darque]

He's got my vote !

[chicainery]

In June there will be a SPIDER-MAN/HUMAN TORCH: I'M WITH STUPID DIGEST coming out for any who have missed out on Spider-man/Human Torch #1-5.

I'm tempted to buy this digest even though I already have issues 1 and 2 and have ordered the other three.

[speedy12]

it's a great so far!

[olympichero62]

The Paperback comes out in july. It's just a shame we gotta wait till october to read she-hulk again. :(

[Master Darque]

I'll buy the digest as a loaner ....may have to buy multiples .

[Nick MB]

Hm, I adopted a strict "No mini-series unless I know and love the creators" policy a while back to stop myself financially dying, but since there's an ultra-cheap digest of this coming out and everyone seems to love it, I may have to take the plunge...

[Master Darque]

LOL ...you don't " know " the Torch and Spidey enough to love them ? I'm getting 60-70 books a month and feel I've been reading some of the biggest and most important works of the last few years ..... so I promise you that I ain't just throwing out descriptions like " the best thing I've read in years " lightly .... this was traveling back in time to when comics were great fun and you sat out on the porch with a PB&J and some Kool Aid with a stack of Spideys . When you get the trade , dig this thread back up , if it isn't near the top still and lemme know what you thought .

[Master Darque]

YEEAH SPIDER-MOBILE !!!!

Dan ..... what would it take to get you on ASM ....maybe breathe some new life into the character , without necessarily destroying parts of his past , since you seem to enjoy the characters history so much ? Issue 3 was again , a freaking blast . I am noticing how Ty is changing the art to show the time changes .

Anyone else get this yesterday ?

Btw Dan ...... the Hostess homage was friggin classic . :D

[Satans Rubber Duck]

Damn you Americans, we have to wait a whole two days more than you for our comics! Picked up #3 today (Thursday = Avoid Comic Shops If Skint Otherwise Yay! Day) and it's fantastic. I liked the fact that it had a few more 'serious' moments too. But that's good, it's properly following the continuity time lines. Didn't seem to have quite as much Human Torch as it did Spider-Man this time, but otherwise... I liked the first few pages, basically a 'what's happened so far' so you know where this issue fits.

Spider-mobile, mutant apes and tasty fruit pies! What more does a comic need?

[sony]

This was the most awesome issue yet. Loved the fruit pie references (and just about everything else)

[UncleBob]

Spidey should continue being like he is in Spider-Man/Human Torch and New Avengers... only then can he beat Deadpool as the top place in my heart! Until that time, he will always be #2!

[Master Darque]

Spidey should continue being like he is in Spider-Man/Human Torch and New Avengers... only then can he beat Deadpool as the top place in my heart! Until that time, he will always be #2!

That's understandable . It's a terrible shame that Spidey/Peter had to grow up so much with the times .... now he's still got , not only all the angst of being a downtrodden superhero.... but taking care of a wife now and trying to rescue his Aunt every 5 minutes , whilst juggling jobs and identity crisis' .

I sure would like to hear some of Mr Slott's thinking on this book . Can someone go yank him from the Juan Bobillo thread already ?! :D

[Brad Curran]

I just read the Untold Tales of Spider-Man '96 annual, and I think anyone who likes this mini will like it.

[Alan2099]

I just picked up issue three and I have to say I love this. The Spider-mobile, all those hostess references, Jameson used as part of Spidey's supporting cast again, and the characterization is top of the line.

THIS is the Spider-man I love.
Not the way he's written in the rest of the books with all that weight and angst on his shoulder or the way that Ultimates does him where he takes 8 issues to do anything. THIS story is the way I want Spider-man to be written again. Fun.

Now if we could get Ty Templeton and Dan Slott on a regular Spidey book we'd be set.

[Mister Mets]

I just read the Untold Tales of Spider-Man '96 annual, and I think anyone who likes this mini will like it.

That is an excellent story by Kurt Busiek, and Mike Allred.

[chicainery]

Now if we could get Ty Templeton and Dan Slott on a regular Spidey book we'd be set.

I totally agree. I'd love to see it.

[Cody H]

So I'm a little late, but I guess it's my turn to gush over this excellent piece of work. Just read issue #3, and I laughed out loud at least 3 times. I mean, Spidey's at his wise-cracking best here, and the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes? Awesome. I'm kinda sad this is only a mini, as others have said, getting Slott on a regular Spidey title would really fill the void for people who are looking for the that old school Spidey feel. Really makes me think someone should resurrect Untold Tales or something. You listening Marvel?

[Core]

So I'm a little late, but I guess it's my turn to gush over this excellent piece of work. Just read issue #3, and I laughed out loud at least 3 times. I mean, Spidey's at his wise-cracking best here, and the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes? Awesome.

Dan Slott posted this link (http://www.seanbaby.com/hostess.htm) to a collection of the Hostess fruit pie comic ads in another thread. They're a riot and are a nice compliment to issue #3.

[Cody H]

Hey, now that you mention it, I remember seeing a few of those ads in some of my older comics (somewhere around the original clone storyline, I'll have to check later). I'm guessing Slott remembered those old ads and decided to toss them in as an easter egg type thing, very cool. Boy, that Spidey was a commercial-whore back in the 70s, wasn't he? ;)

[jade_nova]

Has issue four come out yet? I was originally not going to get this mini but then I heard how good it is. I find it interesting that the first issue says ten years ago but the art style is from that of the Sixties. This mini is definitely trying to bring back a certain spirit that comics have lost over the last few years.

[Gorakmev]

Has issue four come out yet? I was originally not going to get this mini but then I heard how good it is. I find it interesting that the first issue says ten years ago but the art style is from that of the Sixties. This mini is definitely trying to bring back a certain spirit that comics have lost over the last few years.

I don't think so. Unbelievable, I know, but I think it was delayed.

[jade_nova]

I don't think so. Unbelievable, I know, but I think it was delayed.

Thank god for that. I thought my shop was sold out.

[Master Darque]

I'm glad more people are jumping onto this ...I felt like I was Slott's agent or something , really trying to turn people onto it . But it was so friggin' laugh out loud FUN that I hated the thought that people might miss it as just another blah mini series . Like I almost did . As it is , I've reread 1-3 maybe 6 times already and laugh every time . Definite "good ol' days " feel to it . I'm anxiuosly awaiting the next installment . Marvel really needs to nail this guy down on a monthly Spidey title ...preferably Amazing , if Slott's up for it , anyways .