Spider-Man Family

(Marvel, 2005)
™ and © Marvel Characters, Inc.

Recalling the halcyon days of the DC 100-Page Super Spectacular, this one-shot features almost everyone who has worn the, um, Mantle of the Spider. The lead story brings together Spider-Man, Spider-Girl, Arana: The Heart of the Spider, and—Oh, my stars and garters!—Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham and essentially celebrates Ol’ Web-Head’s place in the Marvel Universe. Beyond that, there are reprints of Spider-Man’s first meeting with Jessica Drew, the mysterious Spider-Woman; the first appearances of Spider-Man 2099 and the aforementioned Spider-Ham; and Fred Hembeck’s look at Peter Parker’s boyhood—Petey! This is a nice package of nostalgia for any fan of Marvel’s resident web-slinger.

— Thomas Moudry

From the Comics Buyer’s Guide:

History time: Once upon a time, DC folded Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Supergirl into a compendium called Superman Family. This format was duplicated in titles such as Batman Family, Tarzan Family, and a team-up comic book called Super-Team Family. The name may be a joke, but the contents of Spider-Man Family are seriously good comics.

The lead story, by Tom DeFalco and Ron Lim, combines Spider-Girl and Araña through their common link, Spidey. Back-ups include Spider-Man’s first meeting with current hot property the first Spider-Woman. Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, teams with Captain Americat to take on The Hulk-Bunny. (OK, they didn’t work too hard on that name.) Young Peter Parker ruins Matt Murdock’s life in a story by Fred Hembeck. Spider-Man 2099’s debut by Peter David and an “Untold Tale” round out the package.

At more than 100 pages, it’s a comic book of considerable heft. It has the reading power of a trade paperback without the price tag and it’s packed with stories that haven’t been reprinted 50 times already. What else could one want in a comic book?

— Jack Abramowitz

Jump to issue:

Notes

Writer

Artist

#1

December, 2005
Cover Price: $4.99
4 copies available from $4.98

Tom DeFalco, Steven Grant, Mark Gruenwald, Peter David, Fred Hembeck, Kurt Busiek

Ron Lim, Frank Springer, Mark Armstrong, Rick Leonardi, Fred Hembeck, Pat Olliffe