Spider-Man and The X-Men #1

By Elliott Kalan, Marco Faila, Ian Herring

When Spider-Man and The X-Men was first announced, there were probably plenty of groans from people thinking this was nothing more than replacing one member of the Marvel “big two” for the other one. After all, Spidey and Wolvie are in everything, so why do we need any more of them? Heck, Wolverine is dead and his name is still plastered all over numerous minis and an upcoming weekly series. If this is your line of thinking, that’s understandable. It’s also going to keep you from the best Spider-Man comic in years.

Kalan (head writer of The Daily Show) has written some Marvel comics before. All of his past endeavors have been decent. The first issue of Spider-Man and The X-Men is on a whole other level. Per Wolverine’s dying wishes, Spidey is brought on board the Jean Grey School as a special guidance counselor. Logan claimed he wanted Spidey to find a “mole” within the student body, but as the issue goes on, perhaps Wolverine had another agenda. These students he’s assigned to have the power, but are lacking any sort of responsibility. I’m told Spidey may know a thing or two about that stuff.

Most of the issue is joke after joke at a very fast pace. This works because Spidey feels completely out of his element and it’s consistent with his character to use humor in order to cope. It also helps that every punchline is downright hilarious. Each panel of this issue is so charming and fun. The fact that Stegron and Sauron are the primary (and ridiculous) antagonists is just icing on the cake.

Marco Failla (pencils) and Ian Herring (colors) give us a traditional and modern Marvel art style. That’s not a bad thing. Every panel has a Marvel tone, so you never forget that this is a Marvel title. There’s one instance where it’s a little difficult to understand what the art is trying to convey in relation to the story, but it’s just a small point that can be easily overlooked.

If there is only one Marvel title you can get this week, you better make it this one. It’s such a great time and is already the best 616 Spidey book on the stands. You owe it to yourself to give this a try.