Recently, the latest crossover comic from DC and Marvel hit the stands, and it featured Superman and Spider-Man!
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
Following the reprints of the previous Superman/Spider-Man team-ups, it’s time for new stories featuring this amazing duo. Yes, it’s more expensive—$7.99 an issue—and it costs more than $250 to buy all the various versions of covers with this collection of new tales both with the two heroes as well as their supporting casts.
Here is the book’s description:
>>LEGENDARY CREATORS TAKE ON THE MAN OF STEEL AND YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN! Written by Mark Waid, Tom King, Matt Fraction, Sean Murphy, Gail Simone, Christopher Priest, Greg Rucka and Jeff Lemire Art by Jorge Jimenez, Jim Lee, Steve Lieber, Sean Murphy, Belen Ortega, Daniel Sampere, Nicola Scott and Rafa Sandoval. The Last Son of Krypton meets your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! When journalists Clark Kent and Peter Parker find themselves chasing the same story, the conspiracy they uncover could change the world–especially if Brainiac and Doctor Octopus have anything to say about it. (And we bet they do!) Good thing our intrepid newshounds are secretly Superman and the amazing Spider-Man. Brought to you by legendary storytellers Mark Waid and Jorge Jimenez. And don’t miss these bonus stories: Tom King and Jim Lee tell a tale of Lois Lane and Mary Jane Watson. Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber revisit Superman’s pal Jimmy Olsen…and Carnage! Sean Murphy, meanwhile, takes us to the future with Superboy (Legion) and Spider-Man 2099. Gail Simone teams up with Belen Ortega for a look at what happens when Power Girl meets Punisher. Christopher Priest and Daniel Sampere show us a time when Superboy Prime (who reads all the comics) decided to visit Spider-Man right after he got the black suit. Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott take us on an exciting race–between the Daily Planet and the Daily Bugle. Plus, we finally get to answer the age-old question of who would win in a fair fight, Pa Kent or Uncle Ben! Just kidding, those guys are too nice to fight each other, but Jeff Lemire and Rafa Sandoval will take us deep into the past to see the two men bond in the face of adversity. Celebrate 50 years of DC/Marvel crossovers with eight new original stories by some of DC’s top talent!<<
This is only the first version of this book—the Marvel version, called Spider-Man/Superman, has already been released in April. After the tremendous success of the Batman/Deadpool comics (which you could only get a local comics shops) and the digital-only teamings with the Flash and the Fantastic Four as well as Thor and Shazam, this looks like a trend that may continue for some time to come.
This is helping comics stores tremendously by getting people back through their doors and handing over their hard-earned money to get something very special.
SOMETHING NEW
Why is this such a big success? The answer is that we haven’t seen this before. Check out some of the stories included in this issue:
- “Truth, Justice, and Great Responsibility” by Mark Waid, Jorge Jiménez, Tomeu Morey, and Tom Napolitano
- “The World’s Finest” by Tom King, Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, and Pat Brosseau (Lois Lane and Mary Jane)
- “Pages” by Christopher Priest, Daniel Sampere, Alejandro Sánchez, and Willie Schubert Superboy-Prime and Spider-Man
- “Beyond the Cobwebs of Tomorrow” by Sean Murphy, Simon Gough, and Andworld Design (Superboy and Spider-Man 2099)
- “Jimmy Con Carnage” by Matt Fraction, Steve Lieber, Nathan Fairbairn, and Clayton Cowles (Jimmy Olson and Carnage)
- “The Bridge” by Jeff Lemire, Rafa Sandoval, Ulises Arreola, and Becca Carey (Jonathan Kent and Ben Parker)
- “Bias” by Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott, Marcelo Maiolo, and Ariana Maher (Daily Planet and the Daily Bugle)
- “Blind Date” by Gail Simone, Belén Ortega, Jordie Bellaire, and Lucas Gattoni (Power Girl and the Punisher)
I have to say that this line-up really excited me. I haven’t seen many of these characters meet each other previously. And I like reading stories I have never seen previously. Are they all top-of-the-line outcomes? Not always, but in many cases, all they have to do is be there to get me interested.
It reminds me a lot of when the first Avengers movie was coming to theaters. I was walking through a grocery store when a customer was talking with an employee about it. “I can’t wait for that movie,” one of them said. “I’ve never seen this before!”
The first thing I noticed in this comic is that it is the “regular” comic book size, not like the bigger versions that didn’t fit in the racks of local comics shops. I think a LOT of fans will prefer this “new” or “old” size! I bet the future editions of these crossover books will follow suit!
Probably similar to previous crossover books, the first story was my favorite. Mark Waid does a great job of blending action with comedy, and I loved how the heroes traded foes, with Superman fighting Doctor Octopus and Spider-Man against Brainiac. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the other, shorter stories. I did! They were enjoyable and lived up to the previous editions where the Man of Steel teamed up with the Web-Slinger! Great stuff!
Now, I just have to wait a month or so before the House of Ideas releases their take on this team-up. I truly am looking forward to that book as well!
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