Written by Jason Aaron
Illustrated by Adam KubertMeet Czar and Big Murder. They’ve kicked Spider-Man and
Wolverine’s butts throughout time, working for the mystery villain
who’s been running this whole scheme. And he’s winning. But will it
matter when, SPOILER ALERT, the Phoenix Force steps in? Don’t miss the penultimate chapter of Jason Aaron (WOLVERINE) and Adam Kubert’s (X-MEN) modern-day masterpiece!
A month ago, I wrote an article for our Friday Rec column Marvel’s Astonishing line for being accessible, creative, and ultimately fun – and if there is any series that has assuredly helped to define the kind of output we should be seeing from the Astonishing line, it’s Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine.
Find out why after the cut.
If there’s one thing that can be said for Marvel’s Astonishing line so far, it’s that Marvel has really wasted no time in trying to get the comics in the line to be as relevant and acclaimed as Whedon’s 25 issue run on the X-Men. The selling point of the Astonishing Line is that you can literally hop in with any story and find something that is inherently accessible for even the most neophyte of comic book fan, and the various stories that we’ve seen so far have certainly all held to that standard. However, it is with Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine that we are currently setting the new standard, because as far as the eye can see the Astonishing line currently resides in the land of the mini. If that is to be the future of the line, then we should hope that all upcoming creators take a note or two from Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine, because this is definitely one of the top books on the shelf this week.
You can really tell Aaron is having a ball writing this comic. Aaron isn’t neccesarily a stranger to absurdist humor (see: Who Won’t Wield The Shield), but in this he takes it up to a (similar) self referential level. Shots are taken at both Spider-Man and Wolverine as well as the world we live in. Mojo has certainly never not been a rather over the top caricature of television executives, but Aaron lets him have it in the same way that Hickman did in Astonishing Tales, really driving the point home in a hilarious fashion. Throw in a few time jumping characters and an insane ending that continues to up the comic’s ante and what you have is quite literally one of the most fun comics on the market this week.
I suppose the ultimate selling point of this issue is that, out of all the comics that Aaron is currently penning, this is easily the most light hearted. Aaron is certainly a rather dark writer, but you can tell the further and further we get into this story that this is the definition of a writer cutting loose and literally just writing a comic with as little personal restrictions as possible. Yes, we have Scalped (a dark odyssey if I’ve ever seen one), PunisherMAX (an all out gore fest) and Wolverine (which has restored the character to a place of depth and prominence outside of a walking deus ex machina/punch line), but as good as those comics are they’re certainly nothing to laugh at unless you’re a decidedly morbid individual. Here, with a comic that throws Mojo, time travel, afros, bedazzling, and well placed one-liners on just about every page, it’s very hard to not sit back and smile as you read. That’s essentially what is so great about the Astonishing line. Yes, this will be considered in canon once the story ends, but the focus of this story is really to tell an accessible romp starring two of Marvel’s most prominent characters, and Aaron is writing the duo quite fantastic in sync with one another.
And then there’s Adam Kubert. Oh man, there is Adam Kubert! The various Kuberts in the comic industry represent an incredible legacy of artistic talent within the medium, but to say that Adam hasn’t been decidedly knocking each issue artistically of the proverbial artistic park is an understatement. The issue is absolutely gorgeous and incredibly well paced. Kubert translates Aaron’s scripts to the page like a fiend, bringing to life the insanity that is Mojoworld and Mojovision. Plus, you have to love Kubert’s nature of sneaking in small visual jokes to the comic, such as Big Murder’s EGOT which, while readily apparent on the cover, is literally funny every time I see it. As much as the comic sees Aaron cutting loose in the script, the translation to the visual medium by Kubert is second to none and in all honesty warrants further Spider-Man and Wolverine team-up stories, if only for more bedazzled shoes.
To put it simply, if you are looking for a self aware comic that doesn’t take itself too seriously or is help up by thousands of years of canon this and canon that, you should be reading Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine. The only real downfall to this story is that it’s a mini, but one could hope that depending on how well this sells Marvel would be willing to allow Kubert and Aaron to team up again. We need more comics as fresh and enjoyable as this one, especially as the summer approaches and both of the Big 2 are ready to unleash their “supreme universe altering events” on us. Comics are good for their longevity, but at times it helps that we have comics like this which simply allow top tier creators to have a little bit of ridiculous fun with the medium as well.
Final Verdict: 9.8 – Buy
