Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse by Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom with Luciano Vecchio (Illustrator, Cover Art) and, Jim Towe (Illustrator)

 

Spider-Verse vs. Venomverse by authors Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom with Luciano Vecchio (Illustrator, Cover Art) and, Jim Towe (Illustrator), is a miniseries where the Spider-Man of various universes go to war against the Venoms of various universes. The trade, which will come out in January, will collect the Web of Spider-Verse, Web of Venomverse prequels, and the main series. I read this through the Marvel Unlimited App.

 

The entities that individually control each groups have suddenly decided that the other entity and their group must die. So, each entity selects a team of heroes from each group and forces those selected to fight to the death to save their group.

 

The Spider-Verse team is led by the main Spider-Man (Peter Parker of Earth 616), and includes Spider-Ham (a cartoon pig that was bitten by a radioactive Spider), a super solider, and others. They must go against the symbiote team. A team that is led by an Eddie Brock Venom that murdered the Peter Parker of its universe and now tries to be a hero.

 

The prequels are not very relevant to the main series and just are used for backstory for some characters who show up. For example, based on the prequel, one would think that a vampire Spider-Man was going to play a big role in this series. Instead, despite getting a lot of pages in a prequel, it just shows up for the big fight at the end. This happens quite a lot with a number of such characters that just show up in the big fight at the end. A lot of the prequel characters only exists to fill big fight at the end.

 

The art, across the board, is just okay at best. This is an action-adventure style deal that tries to take itself seriously, but as a reader, one knows they are not going to wipe out a whole group of heroes. The ending is pretty predictable so the read is just a fun time where one gets to see these two groups fight. So, if you are a fan of either group you might enjoy this title as long as you just treat as a not a serious read.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4aun9FK

 

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2026

Scott's Take: Predator versus Spider-Man by Benjamin Percy and Marcelo Ferreira (Illustrator)

 

Predator versus Spider-Man by Benjamin Percy and Marcelo Ferreira (Illustrator) collects the miniseries which is set in the same universe as Predator vs Wolverine, Predator vs Black Panther. This miniseries sees Spider-Man attempting to stop a new serial killer during a power outage in New York. The new serial killer is a rogue Predator. It is not long before Kraven the Hunter and other Predators arrive to make matters worse.

 

Spider-Man and Mary Jane both have big roles in this quick action packed and incredibly violent horror style miniseries. The violence is not shy at all. People are skinned and way more. The art is intense and does a good job of showing the horror of the situation.

 

My one gripe is the ending is not really an ending. Instead, it is set up for the Predator vs Marvel Universe miniseries.  A book should have a proper ending and not just leave the reader going—Okay, so that’s it.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/435P9Lw

 

I read this through the Marvel Unlimited app.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2025

Scott's Take: Ultimate Spider-Man by Jonathan Hickman Vol. 1: Married With Children

Ultimate Spider-Man by Jonathan Hickman Vol. 1: Married With Children is the newest read in Ultimate Spider-Man series now set in a different Ultimate universe than the previous series with the same tagline of Ultimate Spider-Man. This read I read in unconventional way as I read the first 5 issues on Marvel Unlimited via my iPad and then read issue 6 in print from the library.

 

I really enjoyed this series. In my opinion, this is the best Spider-Man book currently out by a mile. Based on sales numbers available to the public, I am not alone in that feeling, as the read has remained in the top ten of most sales for comic books each month for several months straight. Often in the first place. It is blowing out every other Spider-Man book and there are many.

 

This volume has Peter Parker as a middle-aged father of two and is married to Mary Jane. He is happy with his job, loves his family,  and there are happy with him. But, he feels lost and that his life in not what it was supposed to be. He feels like something was taken from him. He is right.

 

There is an evil cabal who runs this Earth and changed the course of his life. Back when Petter Parker was a teen they stopped him from being bitten by the spider that would have given him his powers. So, he never became Spider-Man. By preventing the bite, one of the world’s greatest heroes was neutralized before ever becoming a threat to the cabal. Now, in the present, Tony Stark gives him the option to be bitten by the spider and finally get his powers. If he wants them.  He accepts and thus begins his new career choice as a superhero. 

 

This is Spider-Man as a revolutionary fighting against a cabal that owns the criminals, the media, the cops, the government, etc. He teams up with Harry Osborn, aka the Green Goblin ,who has his own reasons for fighting against the cabal.

 

This is a fun read. The art is excellent, Peter is written better than he has been in his own books in a long time, and the variant covers are some of the best I have seen. A lot of them depict fun family moments that are hilarious. This is how Spider-Man should be.

 

One complaint that I have read is that this volume has less action than a typical Spider-Man story as there is a big focus on dialog and some issues have no action scenes. I did not mind this since the dialog issues with no action were so well written. While it all worked for me, this might bother some readers. This is a really good read. I look forward to volume 2 whenever it comes out and whatever the title will be.

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4fu8nOs

 

 

My reading came from both the Marvel Unlimited website as well as the print version of the volume from Hampton-Illinois Branch of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2024

Scott's Take: Spider-Man: Great Power, Great Mayhem

Spider-Man: Great Power, Great Mayhem is a book of ten short stories by various authors. This middle school age level Spider-Man stories, teenage Spider-man (Peter Parker) faces off against several of his foes while getting help from Thor, Iron Man, and Dr. Strange.

 

None of these ten stories are connected in anyway. The art is good and the writing is good for this kind of thing. Giving each writer a handful of pages does not allow for much breathing room for a story. In these tales, there is not really any character development. Instead, the focus is on the action.

 

Overall, this is a great little collection of Spider-Man stories that, while limited by the format, are pretty fun overall.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/42e75BP

 

 

My reading copy came by way of the Hoopla App through the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple © 2024

Scott's Take: Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours Omnibus by Jim Butcher, Keith R. A. Decandido, and Christopher L. Bennett

Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours Omnibus by Jim Butcher, Keith R. A. Decandido, and Christopher L. Bennett is a three-book set that includes the novels, The Darkest Hours, Down these Mean Streets, and Drowned in Thunder. Each novel was originally printed in the early 2000s and therefore each one is set in that time period and follows the conventions of the Spider-Man universe at that time.

 

The first book and my favorite of this collection, The Darkest Hours, features Spider-Man and the Black Cat trying to stop The Ancients (relatives of the fearsome Morlun) from eating Spider-man. Anyone who has read anything involving the Spider-Man foe known as Morlun is well aware that is one of the most dangerous foes and is also aware that his relatives are just as dangerous. For those unfamiliar with Morlun, he is a monster that looks like a normal man in appearance, but is incredibly powerful and has no regard for human life at all. His primary goal is to eat Spider-Man and others who are inspired by animals (usually called totems) so that he can gather their life force and uses it as strength. His family is just as bad.

 

There are references to earlier stories and those references are very detailed in this read. Those other stories introduced magic as an element in the origin of how Spider-Man got bitten. Basically, the idea was that a magical Spider (a totem) was connected to the web of life of which all reality was connected and multiple people in the Multiverse were bitten and thus chosen to defend their particular point of reality. On the primary Earth in the Multiverse, the Spider choose Peter Parker.  It is ambiguous during this era how much Spider-Man’s powers were derived from science or magic.

 

In the second book, Down These Mean Streets, Spider-Man teams up with the NYPD to stop the proliferation of a dangerous new drug which not only makes you high, it also gives you temporary superpowers. While adults do use the drug, it is mainly being sold to the youth. This is a far more straightforward read than the proceeding book. It is also a far more depressing read as well as not all the kids who are exposed to the dangerous drug survive.

 

Drowned in Thunder has Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson engaged in a media war after a series of robot attacks happen in New York City. Each is blaming the other for being behind the attacks. Clearly, Spider-Man is not responsible. But, is J. Jonah Jameson responsible? This book was also more straightforward than the first book.

 

All three Spider-Man stories are full of humor and action and are good reads set in the status quo of the early 2000s as depicted in the comics. That means Spider-man is married to Marry Jane, Aunt May knows he is Spider-Man, and Peter Parker is a High School teacher teaching Science. These facts play prominent roles in these stories. 

 

The last two books in the collection each have a manor focus on real life issues. Racism, drug use, and being born in poverty guide your life choices is a major theme of the second book while fake news, disinformation and personal bias make up a major portion of the third book. At times, in both books, things get a bit preachy as nothing subtle at all. Both books have a far more reflective tone than the first book, The Darkest Hours.

 

The Darkest Hours was my favorite and was full of action and humor. The tale also includes Dr. Strange. I very much enjoy the interactions between Dr. Strange and Spiderman which often became very funny.

 

All three books have a wide and changeable cast of characters outside of the those listed above. They are set in the same time sequence as ordered in the collection. The villains are very different in each book. The writing styles and prose are unique for each book where each author manages to create their own unique Peter Parker while staying consistent with his character.

 

These stories hold up surprising well despite their age. These books are for more mature readers and not for kids. The usual trigger warnings for this type of adult oriented comics and novels apply here and are in terms of drug use, suicide, death of children, excessive and detailed violence, and more.

 

I highly recommend this collection. 

 

Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours Omnibus

Jim Butcher

Keith R. A. Decandido

Christopher L. Bennett

Titan Books (Marvel)

https://titanbooks.com/70490-marvel-classic-novels-spider-man-the-darkest-hours-omnibus/

May 2021

ISBN# 978-1789096040

Paperback (also available eBook format)

608 Pages 

 

My reading copy came from the Grauwyler Park of the Dallas Public Library System.

 

Scott A. Tipple ©2021

Scott's Take: Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt by Neil Kleid

Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt by Neil Kleid is an adaption in novel form of the comic of the same title. This novelization adapts the famous comic, keeping most of the plot, while attempting to update it for modern times. Kraven the Hunter (a longtime Spider-Man foe) has decided to launch a hunt of Spider-man for the last time. He will do whatever it takes to kill Spider-Man. This book takes place from multiple perspectives including two different villains and Spider-Man.  

Featuring sex, violence, lots of death, and plenty of humor this is an adult novel. This novel deals with concepts such as death, survivor’s guilt, honor, child abuse, dark secrets, and more. There is a huge horror element in this book as it depicts classic scenes found in the comic. This novel is not for children. This book would probably give them nightmares.

I highly recommend Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt by Neil Kleid for adult Spider-Man fans that are looking for a new spin on the classic tale.

My reading copy came from Central, aka Downtown Branch, of the Dallas Public Library System back before the libraries closed their doors in the middle of March due to the ongoing pandemic.

Scott A. Tipple © 2020

WELCOME TO HELL ~ by Glenn Walker: Marvel's New Animated Spider-Man

WELCOME TO HELL ~ by Glenn Walker: Marvel's New Animated Spider-Man: The worst part of superhero reboots is retelling of the origin story over and over and over again. Despite the official Marvel Cinematic ...