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Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine #1-6
Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine
Spider-Man and Wolverine! Everyone's favorite wisecracking web-spinner and ferocious furball come together in their first major series ever! The superstar creative team of Jason Aaron (WOLVERINE: WEAPON X, PUNISHERMAX) and Adam Kubert (ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR, ULTIMATE X-MEN) send Spidey and Wolvie to the edges of the Marvel Universe as they face such awful beings as the Czar, Big Murder and Doom the Living Planet! But who is the major Marvel villain pulling the strings? And can Spidey and Wolvie refrain from killing one another long enough to find out? Collecting ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #1-6 and material from the ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #1 DIRECTOR'S CUT.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 2008
About the author
Jason Aaron
2,611 books1,565 followersJason Aaron grew up in a small town in Alabama. His cousin, Gustav Hasford, who wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers, on which the feature film Full Metal Jacket was based, was a large influence on Aaron. Aaron decided he wanted to write comics as a child, and though his father was skeptical when Aaron informed him of this aspiration, his mother took Aaron to drug stores, where he would purchase books from spinner racks, some of which he still owns today.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
February 10, 2017
If a fellow Goodreader wants to read a quintessential Jason Aaron book, this is probably what I would recommend. For what Aaron lacks in his ability to work a coherent, interesting, and unique plot, he more than makes up for with his sense of humor, his witty banter and his off kilter take on Marvel’s finest.
Wolverine and Spider-Man, never the best of pals, are somehow being tossed around the time stream. (Yes, it’s a timey-whimey, time travel book.) As the book opens, it’s just two days away from the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs. Logan and Parker are feuding. Spider-Man is trying to solve their dilemma; Wolverine is inventing beer (Mmm! Beer!).
The Orb, Aaron’s go-to C list villain, is also featured prominently. The Orb is basically guy who has a big eye ball in place of a head. Why Aaron is fixated on him is anyone’s guess.
Ignore the main villain in this book. Appreciate the character development and droll dialogue between Spider-Man and Wolverine in this light and funny collection. Aaron really brings out the quipster in Spider-Man; this is not something every Spider-Man writer is able to do, so, bonus!
Bonus content – The one and only time the Bedazzler will be ever mentioned in a super hero comic.
Wolverine and Spider-Man, never the best of pals, are somehow being tossed around the time stream. (Yes, it’s a timey-whimey, time travel book.) As the book opens, it’s just two days away from the asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs. Logan and Parker are feuding. Spider-Man is trying to solve their dilemma; Wolverine is inventing beer (Mmm! Beer!).
The Orb, Aaron’s go-to C list villain, is also featured prominently. The Orb is basically guy who has a big eye ball in place of a head. Why Aaron is fixated on him is anyone’s guess.
Ignore the main villain in this book. Appreciate the character development and droll dialogue between Spider-Man and Wolverine in this light and funny collection. Aaron really brings out the quipster in Spider-Man; this is not something every Spider-Man writer is able to do, so, bonus!
Bonus content – The one and only time the Bedazzler will be ever mentioned in a super hero comic.
March 17, 2021
"This is officially the worst team-up I have ever had in my entire life" (pause) "And I've teamed up with Frog-Man. Let me repeat that - Frog-Man." -- Spider-Man
It's sort of ballsy when the writers put dialogue like that in the snarky mouth of our favorite friendly neighborhood wall-crawler, because a reviewer can take aim and fire away in 'told you so' negativity. And for the initial two-thirds of this volume I was underwhelmed by the story, in which the bickering superhero duo are thrown, obviously against their will, into a time-travel (yawn) tale where they are seemingly trapped in the prehistoric past. Then a funny thing happened - the scoundrel pulling the strings was revealed in the final third, and this blasted some much-needed life into the proceedings. His moments featured some truly amusing and off-kilter discourse - like threatening his incompetent henchmen or underlings with some vicious bodily harm - as if he was portraying a Bond villain on a bender. Then the final chapter gets appropriately poignant, when the title characters briefly appear to be living contented lives in an alternate timeline, without going overboard on the glurge.
It's sort of ballsy when the writers put dialogue like that in the snarky mouth of our favorite friendly neighborhood wall-crawler, because a reviewer can take aim and fire away in 'told you so' negativity. And for the initial two-thirds of this volume I was underwhelmed by the story, in which the bickering superhero duo are thrown, obviously against their will, into a time-travel (yawn) tale where they are seemingly trapped in the prehistoric past. Then a funny thing happened - the scoundrel pulling the strings was revealed in the final third, and this blasted some much-needed life into the proceedings. His moments featured some truly amusing and off-kilter discourse - like threatening his incompetent henchmen or underlings with some vicious bodily harm - as if he was portraying a Bond villain on a bender. Then the final chapter gets appropriately poignant, when the title characters briefly appear to be living contented lives in an alternate timeline, without going overboard on the glurge.
May 28, 2015
This is a silly book. There's aimless time travel and bedazzled costumes and the Orb. (I... kind of love the Orb for his sheer ridiculousness.) It would be kind of a stupid book, but Aaron can really write both Wolverine and Spider-Man, and the dynamic between the two characters really makes the story. They make for a pretty good Odd Couple, actually. So while I didn't particularly care for the whole time travel storyline, I was really enjoying seeing these two characters interact. And there's a surprisingly bittersweet ending that's more effective than it probably should have been. Overall, it's weird, but kind of fun.
July 1, 2021
This was a weird one.
Spider-man and Wolverine while fighting the Orb get transported to ancient past where they live as enemies and we find that its the Cretaceous period and so the dinosaurs and all and then into the far future where the butterfly effects are happening and then the pivotal points in their life like the wrestling one and Spidey meeting Logan's brother until they find out that Czar and Mojo are behind it and its a race against time to fight them and return to their timeline! Also they fight Doom the living planet and Peter has another love story?
It was weird and mess from the start and one thing I dislike is the big conversation texts that Aaron uses for Spidey which make him look like Deadpool and there are good moments but they are overshadowed by the negatives and like it could have been a 3 issue story and feels dragged and we never find the motives of villains messing with them not even Czar and maybe Mojo we do but he is crazy and the art is bad in some places. Skip this one. All you need to know is that it will have no impact on the future of any of these characters. Ugh terrible read.
Spider-man and Wolverine while fighting the Orb get transported to ancient past where they live as enemies and we find that its the Cretaceous period and so the dinosaurs and all and then into the far future where the butterfly effects are happening and then the pivotal points in their life like the wrestling one and Spidey meeting Logan's brother until they find out that Czar and Mojo are behind it and its a race against time to fight them and return to their timeline! Also they fight Doom the living planet and Peter has another love story?
It was weird and mess from the start and one thing I dislike is the big conversation texts that Aaron uses for Spidey which make him look like Deadpool and there are good moments but they are overshadowed by the negatives and like it could have been a 3 issue story and feels dragged and we never find the motives of villains messing with them not even Czar and maybe Mojo we do but he is crazy and the art is bad in some places. Skip this one. All you need to know is that it will have no impact on the future of any of these characters. Ugh terrible read.
September 23, 2011
Spidey and Logan are somehow in the Jurassic era! What the heck is going on here!? And THEN they’re in the future where lots of mini-Logans run the world? What the heck! And THEN they’re in the super future and the middle ages and THEN…
So it’s a time travel story with two of Marvel’s best loved characters, the chatty and pun-ny web slinger teamed up with the angry monosyllabic Canuck with an almighty chip on his shoulder, having at each other as they try to figure out what’s going on.
I think if you approach this book as simply a fun, sometimes even funny, story with lots of interesting visuals and some excellent back-and-forths between Spiderman and Wolverine, you’ll get more out of it. It’s not really a straight story nor one with a particularly interesting explanation or resolution. Spidey sums it all up in the end by saying “sometimes stuff just happens…”. And that’s what this book is, stuff that happens.
But it’s entertaining stuff at least. Jason Aaron’s grittiness and sobriety is missing thanks to having to adopt Peter Parker’s genial outlook on life and he’s got his voice down perfect, as he does Logan’s. To be honest, the story felt a bit overlong once you realised what was happening, but it never became unbearable. Adam Kubert’s artwork is fantastic throughout, as always.
A fun romp teaming up two mis-matched but still endearing characters and setting them loose into a bizarre, but interesting, story. A decent read but by no means essential.
So it’s a time travel story with two of Marvel’s best loved characters, the chatty and pun-ny web slinger teamed up with the angry monosyllabic Canuck with an almighty chip on his shoulder, having at each other as they try to figure out what’s going on.
I think if you approach this book as simply a fun, sometimes even funny, story with lots of interesting visuals and some excellent back-and-forths between Spiderman and Wolverine, you’ll get more out of it. It’s not really a straight story nor one with a particularly interesting explanation or resolution. Spidey sums it all up in the end by saying “sometimes stuff just happens…”. And that’s what this book is, stuff that happens.
But it’s entertaining stuff at least. Jason Aaron’s grittiness and sobriety is missing thanks to having to adopt Peter Parker’s genial outlook on life and he’s got his voice down perfect, as he does Logan’s. To be honest, the story felt a bit overlong once you realised what was happening, but it never became unbearable. Adam Kubert’s artwork is fantastic throughout, as always.
A fun romp teaming up two mis-matched but still endearing characters and setting them loose into a bizarre, but interesting, story. A decent read but by no means essential.
October 27, 2011
Reading the first couple of chapters, I found myself searching for a word I never associate with Aaron: whacky. He's actually not half-bad at bizarre and amusing (which I never would've expected).
The whole book reads like an extended "What If?", and it ultimately doesn't have much if any impact on 'canon', which leaves me torn:
- on one hand, a self-contained story like this gives the writer and readers a way to explore fun or inventive new ways to challenge our heroes
- on the other hand, it means they're not taking any real risks with their characters (almost like when McDonalds tests a new burger in some Podunk town and no one else hears about the failures)
I like it when I get to see my favourite characters get thrown curve balls they don't normally face - keeps my comics from feeling repetitive after a long time reading. But if Marvel keeps returning the characters to status quo (eg. resurrecting dead characters, getting couples back together, or - in Spidey's case - making him miserable all over again), it feels like they're not willing to take risks on a new normal and give us some real progression in the MarvelU - like they don't trust the readers to understand that things change.
I shouldn't hold Aaron accountable for Marvel/DC's corporate cowardice, so judging this story just on his ability to tell a good story and capture the characters - he does very well. I enjoyed it and was interested in following the mysteries and understand what these weird forces were up to.
I must also commend the artists esp. Kubert, for not only supporting the story but bringing a level of detail, dynamism and emotional engagement that takes a good story and really brings it alive.
The whole book reads like an extended "What If?", and it ultimately doesn't have much if any impact on 'canon', which leaves me torn:
- on one hand, a self-contained story like this gives the writer and readers a way to explore fun or inventive new ways to challenge our heroes
- on the other hand, it means they're not taking any real risks with their characters (almost like when McDonalds tests a new burger in some Podunk town and no one else hears about the failures)
I like it when I get to see my favourite characters get thrown curve balls they don't normally face - keeps my comics from feeling repetitive after a long time reading. But if Marvel keeps returning the characters to status quo (eg. resurrecting dead characters, getting couples back together, or - in Spidey's case - making him miserable all over again), it feels like they're not willing to take risks on a new normal and give us some real progression in the MarvelU - like they don't trust the readers to understand that things change.
I shouldn't hold Aaron accountable for Marvel/DC's corporate cowardice, so judging this story just on his ability to tell a good story and capture the characters - he does very well. I enjoyed it and was interested in following the mysteries and understand what these weird forces were up to.
I must also commend the artists esp. Kubert, for not only supporting the story but bringing a level of detail, dynamism and emotional engagement that takes a good story and really brings it alive.
April 3, 2017
4.5 stars. Maybe even 4.75. This really pretty much has it all: Time travel? Giant-robot-devil dinosaurs? Witty banter and chuckle-inducing one-liners? A plenty, but why stop there?
We are treated to Spider-Man and Wolverine in dino-times (Jurassic Parker? The Lost Worldverine? Sorry…) and the race is on to get the hell back to where they came from before an asteroid brings on the Ice Age.But will their presence in the past have catastrophic consequences on the future once they return? It’s a convoluted, confusing and hilarious “yes!”
But that's just the beginning of this uber-fun romp from the dynamic writer-artist tandem of Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert. I’d love to see Jason Aaron helm a Spidey title at some point. He’s great with Wolverine, as always, but his Peter Parker is a show-stealer here. That said, Wolverine’s monologue as he walks toward certain death to kick off the third issue is reason enough to read this entire collection. Aaron is just showing off here.
Lots of time travel. The Phoenix-Wolverine. Dr. Doom as a planet (yeah, you read that correctly). Peter Parker spinning tales around a campfire in the 1800s. A bad guy who doesn’t want his conversation overheard so he has the ears cut off everyone in the room. Spider-Man punching a thug so hard he turns into a baby.
Yep, this all happens. I'd highly recommend this if you approach it as a fun, stand-alone tale. It's a blast.
We are treated to Spider-Man and Wolverine in dino-times (Jurassic Parker? The Lost Worldverine? Sorry…) and the race is on to get the hell back to where they came from before an asteroid brings on the Ice Age.But will their presence in the past have catastrophic consequences on the future once they return? It’s a convoluted, confusing and hilarious “yes!”
But that's just the beginning of this uber-fun romp from the dynamic writer-artist tandem of Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert. I’d love to see Jason Aaron helm a Spidey title at some point. He’s great with Wolverine, as always, but his Peter Parker is a show-stealer here. That said, Wolverine’s monologue as he walks toward certain death to kick off the third issue is reason enough to read this entire collection. Aaron is just showing off here.
Lots of time travel. The Phoenix-Wolverine. Dr. Doom as a planet (yeah, you read that correctly). Peter Parker spinning tales around a campfire in the 1800s. A bad guy who doesn’t want his conversation overheard so he has the ears cut off everyone in the room. Spider-Man punching a thug so hard he turns into a baby.
Yep, this all happens. I'd highly recommend this if you approach it as a fun, stand-alone tale. It's a blast.
November 23, 2012
This book is awesome, it really is that simple.
It puts Marvel's two most popular characters together in a crazy, time travelling story. I love how Jason Aaron writes Peter Parker, and I'm really hoping he gets a stint on an ongoing Spider-man title at some point.
It puts Marvel's two most popular characters together in a crazy, time travelling story. I love how Jason Aaron writes Peter Parker, and I'm really hoping he gets a stint on an ongoing Spider-man title at some point.
June 16, 2016
Bazı yerlerde kafam yandı ama oruçtan olabilir bilemedim dlkdldk.
January 31, 2014
Jason Aaron is a great writer. He takes what could be a very bad book in the hands of many authors, and here, makes it into something funny and entertaining, even if it's a little light once you figure it out.
Peter and Logan end up stuck in the pre-historic past, waiting for the end of the world. Peter is a scientist, Logan goes feral with some caveman tribe. All of a sudden, they're in a different time; the future, where Doctor Doom is an all-powerful existence and the 2 heroes are the only humans alive. There's some interesting bonding that goes on between the 2, as we see their different coping strategies for the different time periods. Interestingly enough, they almost always exist separately, and only cross paths once in a while.
When we finally figure out what's happened and who's behind it, it takes a turn for the rather silly, but that's OK, as this is really just an exercise in character study for Aaron. The first half of this book before the reveal is the stronger part, but the second part isn't too shabby, just not great.
It's obviously work like this, and Aaron's excellent understanding of who Logan is and who Peter Parker is, that ended up with him writing many major titles at Marvel, up to this very moment. He's absolutely a treasure, and long may he keep at it.
Also, the Dukes of Hazzard reference was hilarious for those that caught it/know what it was.
Peter and Logan end up stuck in the pre-historic past, waiting for the end of the world. Peter is a scientist, Logan goes feral with some caveman tribe. All of a sudden, they're in a different time; the future, where Doctor Doom is an all-powerful existence and the 2 heroes are the only humans alive. There's some interesting bonding that goes on between the 2, as we see their different coping strategies for the different time periods. Interestingly enough, they almost always exist separately, and only cross paths once in a while.
When we finally figure out what's happened and who's behind it, it takes a turn for the rather silly, but that's OK, as this is really just an exercise in character study for Aaron. The first half of this book before the reveal is the stronger part, but the second part isn't too shabby, just not great.
It's obviously work like this, and Aaron's excellent understanding of who Logan is and who Peter Parker is, that ended up with him writing many major titles at Marvel, up to this very moment. He's absolutely a treasure, and long may he keep at it.
Also, the Dukes of Hazzard reference was hilarious for those that caught it/know what it was.
December 18, 2020
I love Wolverine and I like Spider-Man, so I figured I'd give this a try. It wasn't spectacular but it wasn't bad either. It's one of those "we can't stand each other at first but eventually become friends" stories, which normally I would be super into, but I think the time traveling was a bit of a mess and made the book overall less enjoyable.
September 16, 2021
Can't say this was bad. The art is solid, there's some funny moments, and Aaron has a good voice for both but this one did bore me most of the time.
So somehow, explained later, Spider-man and Wolverine get lost in time. That's right guys, back to the stone age. Imagine just these two bickering at each other until the asteroid hits and ends dinosaurs, but of course through time traveling hi-jinx we get set back in modern time with a few twist.
This is mostly goofy. There's some good moments here or there, and some cool fight moments, but overall I was pretty bored a lot of it. A 2-2.5 tops.
So somehow, explained later, Spider-man and Wolverine get lost in time. That's right guys, back to the stone age. Imagine just these two bickering at each other until the asteroid hits and ends dinosaurs, but of course through time traveling hi-jinx we get set back in modern time with a few twist.
This is mostly goofy. There's some good moments here or there, and some cool fight moments, but overall I was pretty bored a lot of it. A 2-2.5 tops.
December 12, 2019
Some stories are just for fun, y’know? And this one, about Spider-man and Wolverine getting punted around time and landing in different eras from the pre-apocalyptic Cretaceous to the post-apocalyptic future, is one of those stories. It’s silly and fun and ludicrous and, just a little bit, heartfelt. I liked it a lot.
It’s a stand-alone story, not dissimilar from Marvel’s “What If?” tales, so you don’t have to worry about continuity, although it does appear to be set in the main... er, timeline, of the Marvel universe. But the time travel aspect means you don’t need to know anything other than who the main characters are.
It’s a stand-alone story, not dissimilar from Marvel’s “What If?” tales, so you don’t have to worry about continuity, although it does appear to be set in the main... er, timeline, of the Marvel universe. But the time travel aspect means you don’t need to know anything other than who the main characters are.
February 7, 2018
Drawings - fantastic. Story - shit crazy as the bat with the diamonds. 😀
September 17, 2017
Wonderful art. With Comics, no matter what you make of the writing beautiful art is a joy to behold and gives you pleasure in the reading of it.
The Tale itself gets better as it moves along. I found the start of it a little impenetrable to be honest and time travel / alt reality tales tend to leave me a bit cold. Still it was not so bad it stopped me finishing the story but the way it moves from place to place leaves the narrative a hint choppy for my taste.
I would have been happier with a clearly told straight narrative. The problem for a lot of these books I am reading is that there is SO MUCH canon that the authors are having to look harder and harder for tales to tell. Also to allow the characters to be killed is to kill off a revenue stream so it is unlikely to happen and we all know that. (I’m not a great fan of ‘death of’ stories where you know they are coming back again.) There have also been so many events that they all begin to merge into one. Super Heroes still have a lot to give but they need to be allowed to just tell their life stories. I am beginning to feel just a hint event-weary right now.
If there is going to be another reboot why don't we leave it alone for 10 years after and let the story mature naturally.
So, it's an OK story, but not a GREAT story. A little too forgettable for its own good.
The Tale itself gets better as it moves along. I found the start of it a little impenetrable to be honest and time travel / alt reality tales tend to leave me a bit cold. Still it was not so bad it stopped me finishing the story but the way it moves from place to place leaves the narrative a hint choppy for my taste.
I would have been happier with a clearly told straight narrative. The problem for a lot of these books I am reading is that there is SO MUCH canon that the authors are having to look harder and harder for tales to tell. Also to allow the characters to be killed is to kill off a revenue stream so it is unlikely to happen and we all know that. (I’m not a great fan of ‘death of’ stories where you know they are coming back again.) There have also been so many events that they all begin to merge into one. Super Heroes still have a lot to give but they need to be allowed to just tell their life stories. I am beginning to feel just a hint event-weary right now.
If there is going to be another reboot why don't we leave it alone for 10 years after and let the story mature naturally.
So, it's an OK story, but not a GREAT story. A little too forgettable for its own good.
March 10, 2012
Astonishing? Yes!
Not on the level of SCALPED (but how could it be)
And thankfully not on the low low level of Aaron's Ghost Rider "efforts."
Heh. :)
Adam Kubert keeps up the Kubert legacy quite nicely.
A fun read with solid characterizations of Marvels' two favorites.
Not on the level of SCALPED (but how could it be)
And thankfully not on the low low level of Aaron's Ghost Rider "efforts."
Heh. :)
Adam Kubert keeps up the Kubert legacy quite nicely.
A fun read with solid characterizations of Marvels' two favorites.
May 12, 2017
Spiderman and Wolverine get stuck jumping through time, and they don't always make the right choices. A fun, inconsequential story that feels more like a spiderman story than a Wolverine one. The twist of who was behind it all along was guessable. A good read.
November 15, 2016
Spidey says it best:'...There was no point to any of it. Just random craziness.'
December 15, 2017
Another 3.5 star rating for me. I really wish there was a choice between "liked" and "really liked" that was akin to "really liked, but with some significant reservations."
Anyhow...
[CONTAINS SPOILERS]
This had a GREAT start. Like nothing by Marvel I'd read before. I was so intrigued and pulled in by the mystery of how Spidey and Wolvie ended up where they were. The Ray Bradbury homage, the whacked-out future, the threat of the "minutemen"... basically, right up to the point where it's revealed it's all a scheme of Mojo's. Then I thought, ah, we're back in typical Marvel territory. It's not all downhill from there, though it does pretty much go off the rails. Spidey and Wolvie are batted around history (quite literally), including appearing briefly in each other's pasts (Spider-Man wrestles Wolverine before Uncle Ben's death) until they end up in the old west, where they stay for three years. Wolverine appears fully dressed in Native American chief garb, headdress and all, something that totally wouldn't fly in these days of acute awareness of cultural appropriation. Spidey has fallen in love with the bank teller from earlier in the story, who has also jumped around time, supposedly as a love interest for Spidey concocted by Mojo in the service of his TV show. Of course, as our heroes are on the verge of accepting their lot in life (and time), the one remaining time diamond activates and the time police show up, whisking them back to the moment they disappeared in time, causing Spidey's love interest to lose her memory (but not Spidey and Wolvie, for some strange reason). Yes, you read all that right, and you have to read the book to really appreciate how wacky it is.
At the end of it all, my big question was--is this canon? I couldn't find any indication that it's not, and so what that means is that Spidey and Wolvie have this blood bond and literally years of shared history outside of the timeline they share with their contemporaries, and Spider-Man has the memory of this THREE YEAR relationship with a woman who doesn't even know who he is. It would make sense that this wouldn't come up in any of the main titles these two are involved in, but wouldn't it be a hoot if someone revived this little bit of history at some point in the future?
Speaking of cultural appropriation, I was also vaguely uncomfortable with the Czar's dialogue and his weird little rapperesque sidekick. I don't think that would fly these days, either. At least as written by a white man, talented as he is.
P.S. As far as great crazy concepts go, Doctor Doom as a sentient planet is among the best!
Anyhow...
[CONTAINS SPOILERS]
This had a GREAT start. Like nothing by Marvel I'd read before. I was so intrigued and pulled in by the mystery of how Spidey and Wolvie ended up where they were. The Ray Bradbury homage, the whacked-out future, the threat of the "minutemen"... basically, right up to the point where it's revealed it's all a scheme of Mojo's. Then I thought, ah, we're back in typical Marvel territory. It's not all downhill from there, though it does pretty much go off the rails. Spidey and Wolvie are batted around history (quite literally), including appearing briefly in each other's pasts (Spider-Man wrestles Wolverine before Uncle Ben's death) until they end up in the old west, where they stay for three years. Wolverine appears fully dressed in Native American chief garb, headdress and all, something that totally wouldn't fly in these days of acute awareness of cultural appropriation. Spidey has fallen in love with the bank teller from earlier in the story, who has also jumped around time, supposedly as a love interest for Spidey concocted by Mojo in the service of his TV show. Of course, as our heroes are on the verge of accepting their lot in life (and time), the one remaining time diamond activates and the time police show up, whisking them back to the moment they disappeared in time, causing Spidey's love interest to lose her memory (but not Spidey and Wolvie, for some strange reason). Yes, you read all that right, and you have to read the book to really appreciate how wacky it is.
At the end of it all, my big question was--is this canon? I couldn't find any indication that it's not, and so what that means is that Spidey and Wolvie have this blood bond and literally years of shared history outside of the timeline they share with their contemporaries, and Spider-Man has the memory of this THREE YEAR relationship with a woman who doesn't even know who he is. It would make sense that this wouldn't come up in any of the main titles these two are involved in, but wouldn't it be a hoot if someone revived this little bit of history at some point in the future?
Speaking of cultural appropriation, I was also vaguely uncomfortable with the Czar's dialogue and his weird little rapperesque sidekick. I don't think that would fly these days, either. At least as written by a white man, talented as he is.
P.S. As far as great crazy concepts go, Doctor Doom as a sentient planet is among the best!
August 19, 2020
This is one wild ride. It pinballs across time and space, and the settings are always a joy to explore as they vastly affect our two main characters in different ways. But after everything, it is a character study of some of the most profitable superheroes in Marvel’s pantheon: Spider-Man and Wolverine. Spider-Man is smart and glib, and he is supremely annoying to his opposite, Wolverine, who is gruff and animalistic and smells like bacon.
Some people might have issues with how silly and plot-holey it is, but if you read without thinking too deeply about the plot and all its moving parts you get a fun adventure that moves along at a quick place, never lingering too long in any one place, having characters that go through periodic changes and yet essentially remain who they are at their core. This is a love letter to simpler times when stories were read for simple joy and discovery rather than being brooding and sophisticated and grounded.
It is a smart tale in that it makes use of the inherent silliness in time travel to propel the reader into a twisted landscape of feelings and general chaos and even some cheesy romance and some bromance, ultimately concluding in a meta commentary about the nature of random events and suffering and trauma and how things don’t really change—at least, not in these kinds of comic books.
This should be read with a suspense of disbelief, but if you are reading than it should be mildly entertaining even if you expect stories should have more structure and coherency.
The art is phenomenal. There was one part when one of the characters wears a mask and I could still read the emotion on their face through the mouth and eye holes. Adam Kubert draws the heck out of every panel in this book, creating some gorgeous visuals that I never thought I would get to see—thanks, comics!
Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine by writer Jason Aaron and artist Adam Kubert was not at all boring. It was pretty good, actually. It definitely left an impression.
Some people might have issues with how silly and plot-holey it is, but if you read without thinking too deeply about the plot and all its moving parts you get a fun adventure that moves along at a quick place, never lingering too long in any one place, having characters that go through periodic changes and yet essentially remain who they are at their core. This is a love letter to simpler times when stories were read for simple joy and discovery rather than being brooding and sophisticated and grounded.
It is a smart tale in that it makes use of the inherent silliness in time travel to propel the reader into a twisted landscape of feelings and general chaos and even some cheesy romance and some bromance, ultimately concluding in a meta commentary about the nature of random events and suffering and trauma and how things don’t really change—at least, not in these kinds of comic books.
This should be read with a suspense of disbelief, but if you are reading than it should be mildly entertaining even if you expect stories should have more structure and coherency.
The art is phenomenal. There was one part when one of the characters wears a mask and I could still read the emotion on their face through the mouth and eye holes. Adam Kubert draws the heck out of every panel in this book, creating some gorgeous visuals that I never thought I would get to see—thanks, comics!
Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine by writer Jason Aaron and artist Adam Kubert was not at all boring. It was pretty good, actually. It definitely left an impression.
June 25, 2019
This is somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars. It opens up with our duo stuck in 65 million BC with the meteor about to hit. I really dug the world that was set up here. Peter has built a treehouse on the side of a mountain and Logan is hanging with the locals of Neanderthals as I guess their leader. They are then taken to the future which suffers form the affects of what Logan was doing with the Neanderthals. (I have the hardcover) and in this part of the book is an amazing fold out spead!! So dope!! Afterwards the book does go off the rails a little with Mojo even tho I enjoyed his conversations with his assistant. Face-skin pillows or something LOL!! The book does however come to a nice close with a pretty cool ending.
Overall, a cool story with the strong points being the dynamic, chemistry and banter between Wolverine and Spidey ( two of my all time favs) the artwork and the batshit craziness of the book.
Overall, a cool story with the strong points being the dynamic, chemistry and banter between Wolverine and Spidey ( two of my all time favs) the artwork and the batshit craziness of the book.
May 12, 2020
This is a dumb fun, goofy comic, and I really enjoyed it. I’m not always in the mood for a silly, weightless, time travel type of story, but this one was too fun. And as it turns out, not so weightless after all. It actually made me feel something.
Wolverine and Spider-Man incidentally team up to stop a robbery, but things go awry and suddenly they’re thrown around the timeline, and try to deal with all the ensuing chaos.
At first I was thinking “what’s the point of all this?”, but I quickly shut up and went along for the ride, and I’m glad I did. And the art is great too. It was one crazy comic moment after the next, and before I knew it, the last issue wrapped everything up so well, I didn’t even realize that I saw two frictional co-workers with a lot of differences bond over mutual disaster, suffer ups and downs together, and real emotional punch.
This was fun and surprisingly poignant. I would recommend.
Wolverine and Spider-Man incidentally team up to stop a robbery, but things go awry and suddenly they’re thrown around the timeline, and try to deal with all the ensuing chaos.
At first I was thinking “what’s the point of all this?”, but I quickly shut up and went along for the ride, and I’m glad I did. And the art is great too. It was one crazy comic moment after the next, and before I knew it, the last issue wrapped everything up so well, I didn’t even realize that I saw two frictional co-workers with a lot of differences bond over mutual disaster, suffer ups and downs together, and real emotional punch.
This was fun and surprisingly poignant. I would recommend.
February 12, 2023
I read this in preparation for an episode of The Superhuman Registration Podcast. The full conversation with John and Aldo can be found there.
Probably closer to 2.5 stars, actually. There’s a lot to like here. Jason Aaron is pretty good at mining the whole Marvel universe for crazy ideas: a Phoenix gun, Doom the Living Planet…
Plus the story’s got Mojo. I like Mojo.
But there’s something off here. Not to mention a little mean-spirited. Our antagonist in this story - the time-travelling Czar, strikes me as quite out of place in the 21st century - a stereotype that really doesn’t sit well anymore.
Plus Spidey’s banter is off. It’s really hard to write a wisecracking Spider-Man without making him completely obnoxious. Unfortunately, this tale misses the mark.
Again, there’s stuff to like, but I’m not sure I’d recommend this to anyone, really. Most of these elements can be explored better elsewhere.
Probably closer to 2.5 stars, actually. There’s a lot to like here. Jason Aaron is pretty good at mining the whole Marvel universe for crazy ideas: a Phoenix gun, Doom the Living Planet…
Plus the story’s got Mojo. I like Mojo.
But there’s something off here. Not to mention a little mean-spirited. Our antagonist in this story - the time-travelling Czar, strikes me as quite out of place in the 21st century - a stereotype that really doesn’t sit well anymore.
Plus Spidey’s banter is off. It’s really hard to write a wisecracking Spider-Man without making him completely obnoxious. Unfortunately, this tale misses the mark.
Again, there’s stuff to like, but I’m not sure I’d recommend this to anyone, really. Most of these elements can be explored better elsewhere.
June 13, 2023
3 stars rounded up as there is no 2.5 rating. Interesting premise, but the story is just all over the place. My coworker put it best, “it sounds like how little kids play with their action figures.” The pacing truly feels like that, first we are in dinosaur times then BAM future with no explanations. And then when it seemed like we would get some explanation, the story just ends. What was the point? What did the Czar want? Or the alien? What was the point of Wolverine absorbing the Phoenix Force? Why are Wolverine and Spider-Man’s lives so tied together? Why did it take the TVA so long to intervene? Why did the girl get her memory erased, but not Spidey and Wolvie? There were just so many questions it felt like an incomplete story.
The art and some of the jokes were good. And like I said interesting premise, but doesn’t really pay off.
The art and some of the jokes were good. And like I said interesting premise, but doesn’t really pay off.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2017
This is just plain not good. I thought I would like it, since I enjoy both characters, but these versions are way off, and this story is poorly crafted. It involves time travel with a poorly-explained mechanism, that might be coordinated by Mojo (and I have never read a Mojo story that I liked), and involves alternate realities, including the Phoenix gun, which is as ridiculous as that listicle suggested it was. Ultimately, it has little effect, since it more or less resolves that it never happened with minor exceptions (one of which led to a lackluster Wolverine story). I'd give this one a miss.
December 9, 2017
Příjemná mini-série z roku 2010 od Jamese Aarona a Adama Kuberta. Tipická věc, které pro Marvel Aaron píše, takže je to hravé plné různých šílených nápadu ve stylu wierdu a pulpu. Kromě toho na videu mě třeba bavili dva gangsteři z hoodu co cestují časem a všem rozbíjejí hubu, kradou artefakty a mají harém historických postav; Wolverine naučil neandrtálce vařit pivo a takových různých vifikundací je tam plno. Místy mi to přišlo zbytečně ukecané. Úplně nevím jestli je nutné aby v tomhle bylo bublin jak ve Watchmanech. Ale jinak mě to bavilo. Líbí se mi, že se to dá číst i když o Marvelu nic moc nevíte, ale když se vyznáte je tam plno easter eggů a má to i vliv na některé pozdější comicsy.
April 24, 2019
Dos personajes muy parecidos (solitarios, marcados por dramas en sus relaciones personales) y, a la vez, muy diferentes (uno callado y primario, el otro charlatán y científico), Wolverine y Spider-Man se ven envueltos en una historia que empieza con el robo de unos diamantes en un banco y que les hace dar saltos en el tiempo por las características de esas piedras preciosas. Además de contar con dos personajes ya de por sí muy carismáticos, la historia es entretenida, divertida y coherente con el tema de las paradojas temporales (algo nada sencillo).
January 22, 2023
3.5 stars
Fun time-travel adventures. The banter between Peter/Spidey & Wolverine and the overall humor of the book are what make sit a great read. The story itself is interesting too, especially the worlds/times through which our heroes pass through. On the other hand, the main villain was disappointing for me so the action took a dip towards the end (this is also the reason for half a star missing from the rating). The art was pretty good overall, with a few panels/splash pages that were really great.
Fun time-travel adventures. The banter between Peter/Spidey & Wolverine and the overall humor of the book are what make sit a great read. The story itself is interesting too, especially the worlds/times through which our heroes pass through. On the other hand, the main villain was disappointing for me so the action took a dip towards the end (this is also the reason for half a star missing from the rating). The art was pretty good overall, with a few panels/splash pages that were really great.
October 24, 2023
This mini-series was packed. Jason Aaron is one of my favorite comic writers because he knows how to write a superhero story that has depth. The characters even have development!
Spider-Man and Wolverine are trapped together in the past. They are best frenemies who have to save the world together.
So many things to enjoy about this series. The art is great. The coloring is excellent for the mood of the story, and Easter eggs are scattered all over the series. The story wraps up nicely, but there is a final page that might lead to an interesting future plot.
Spider-Man and Wolverine are trapped together in the past. They are best frenemies who have to save the world together.
So many things to enjoy about this series. The art is great. The coloring is excellent for the mood of the story, and Easter eggs are scattered all over the series. The story wraps up nicely, but there is a final page that might lead to an interesting future plot.
May 8, 2017
This is an odd - but refreshingly so - standalone graphic novel, which ventures into the surreal and absurd. Spider-Man and Wolverine are thrown into an unsettling and bizarre time travel romp which meanders between poignancy and comedy at will. The dialogue is fun, Peter Parker with a beard is good to see, and the art is mostly great, with only a smattering of dodgy panels. Certainly worth a read, if only for a change of pace.
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