Spidey and the Mini-Marvels

    (Marvel, 2003)
™ and © Marvel Characters, Inc.

At first glance, Spidey and the Mini Marvels looks like a Fred Hembeck starter kit for Marvel fans still wearing Underoos. Well, the stories contained within are certainly for juveniles, but writer-artist Chris Giarrusso lacks Hembeck’s wit and distinctiveness.

The art is marginally cute (in a bobble-head doll kind of way), but there’s not much here for readers young or old to sink their webbing or claws into. “Paperboy Showdown” has Spider-Man and Eddie Brock delivering papers to the likes of The Green Goblin, while “Cereal Quest” has a determined Wolverine purchasing the last box of X-Crunch at the grocery store.

Most of the gags, including Venom’s “I Wanna Eat Your Brains” mantra and a bear using Giant-Man’s golf clubs, fall flat. By issue’s end, the whole thing sort of fizzles out, leaving readers wishing they had spent their $3.50 of allowance on something else (like an Archie digest).

— Brett Weiss
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  NotesWriterArtist
Spidey and the Mini-Marvels #1

May, 2003
Cover Price: $3.50
2 copies available from $5.00 		Chris GiarrussoChris Giarrusso
Spidey and the Mini-Marvels #1 Ashcan Edition

31-Oct-2003
Cover Price: $0.00
2 copies available from $1.75 		Chris GiarrussoChris Giarrusso