Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #3: The Spider, The Tank, and the Wardrobe

There is so much right with this book it is difficult to figure out where to start. This is the Spider-Man I never knew I wanted in my life. It also just so happens to be the Johnny Storm I didn’t know I needed. After reviewing X-Men: Red and talking about Tom Taylor numerous times on our podcast (check out Comic Watchers and subscribe if you haven’t already!), I find myself running out of ways to say what a treasure Tom Taylor is (even if I do call him “Tom King” every other day or so). Taylor inhabits the headspace of these characters. He breathes life into them. The story itself is compelling enough, and there is the undertone of political commentary on the ways the world has change that is deftly handled, but it all comes back to voice when you’re reading a Tom Taylor-crafted book.

This. This IS Spider-Man. Spidey has been treated to numerous writers over the years. Some have gotten the character, some haven’t. But I’m hard pressed to think of any writer who has gotten Pete on such a fundamental level as Taylor. And the art work? The layouts? Cabal and Woodard have truly outdone themselves. And then, just when you think you’ve seen enough…

Taylor spreads out and gives us Johnny “The Babysitter” Storm. I can’t find a flaw in this book. Gorgeous, compelling, exciting. This series is my early favorite for best series of 2019.