{"id":7334,"date":"2011-09-24T06:00:49","date_gmt":"2011-09-24T06:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=7334"},"modified":"2011-09-24T22:15:39","modified_gmt":"2011-09-24T22:15:39","slug":"astonishing-spider-man-wolverine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2011\/09\/24\/astonishing-spider-man-wolverine\/","title":{"rendered":"Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Jason Aaron<\/strong>, Adam Kubert<\/strong> & various (Marvel\/Panini UK)
\nISBN: 978-1-84653-476-8<\/p>\n

Remember when comic stories were fun, thrilling and, best of all, joyously uncomplicated? Clearly a few people at Marvel still do if the six issue miniseries collected here as Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine <\/strong>is anything to go by\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Eschewing mind-boggling continuity-links and crossover overload, writer Jason Aaron and artist Adam Kubert, with the impressive support of inkers Mark Morales, Dexter Vines & Mark Roslan (as well as colourist Justin Ponsor and letterer Rob Steen) simply set out to craft a well-told, action-packed and even poignant time-travel fun-fest that does everything right\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 and superbly succeed.<\/p>\n

Without giving away too much delicious detail – trust me you’ll be grateful once you read the full epic adventure – sixty-five million years ago, as a giant asteroid hurtles towards Earth and an impact which will wipe out the dinosaurs and at least two emergent species of proto-hominid, a warring couple of marooned superheroes from the 21st<\/sup> century sadly make peace with their fate if not each other.<\/p>\n

Lost in time for months through the most ridiculous of circumstances, Wolverine and Peter Parker are ready to die. The feral mutant has become leader of the smart but diminutive Small People<\/em>, leading them to salvation from the predations of their giant evolutionary rivals the Kill People<\/em> and all other threats, whilst the erstwhile Spider-Man has isolated himself from all contact, terrified of rewriting the future even if he is no longer part of it.<\/p>\n

Moreover, Parker’s dreams are haunted by a woman he doesn’t know, but who has become the only thing he cares for\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

At a most precipitous moment the pair are snatched from their time zone and returned to what appears to be an utterly devastated present. The Small People have survived humanity’s fall and are new rulers of a shattered society, but now are at risk of losing their own shot as overlords of Earth. A fresh Armageddon from leftover human technology, a time-travelling z-list villain and a terrifying sentient planet with the ghost consciousness of Doctor Doom appears to be about to end civilisation one more time…<\/p>\n

After Wolverine saves the day and is brought back from beyond death by Parker, they are separated in time and dumped at significant and harrowing moments of each other’s early life; but all the while sinister forces wielded by a hidden cosmic mastermind are manipulating not just the heroes but time itself…<\/p>\n

After literally saving the world and perhaps the universe, the heroes are still hunted and continually assaulted by Temporal Gangstas The Czar<\/em> and Big Murder<\/em>, until Spider-Man and Wolverine finally strike back and seemingly triumph, only to be stranded in the American west for years.<\/p>\n

At least this time Peter is happily united with the mysterious girl of his dreams.<\/p>\n

However the epic is far from finished and heartbreak is just around the chronal corner\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Fast-paced, spectacular, incredibly ingenious and uproariously witty, this tale is a sparkling timeless gem and the perfect antidote for over-angsty costumed drama overload.<\/p>\n