"Best of Show"

You can't tell by the cover, but Marvel Adventures Super Heroes is a laugh riot in which our three cover stars are talked into doing a favor for a friend that turns into a chore.

Paul Tobin has been writing some of the zaniest Fantastic Four stories in Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four. He may have even topped Jeff Parker. Oh. No. Wait. Parker made Ego, the Living Planet, a player trying to chat up the earth. Nothing tops that. Sorry.

Tobin's debut story for Marvel Adventures Super Heroes comes close to matching Parker's wild wit. He crafts juicy jovial dialogue for the friendlier versions of Iron Man, Spidey and the Hulk that's nevertheless still in character and stages unforgettable sight gags for the trio. The plot in addition actually makes a cockamamie kind of sense.

The favor leads to the Hulk, Spidey and Iron Man playing catch up with an unwitting pair of menaces. This leads to a twist that's all about:
"Charity?"
"Charity?"
"Hulk wants a ribbon."

The ribbon producing event follows neatly into a slugfest that fits the characterization of the self-centered blowhard that started the whole mess. In addition, it paves the way for a very satisfying ending and outrageously funny epilogue.

Alvin Lee, Terry Pallott and Emily Wren generate artwork that's as equally accomplished as that sported the cover. Their Hulk towers in power. Their Iron Man appears far more lithe than his armor suggests, and their Spidey's lean body is ideal for comedy and animated action. The guest star has a robust frame as well as a touch of nastiness to his face that's suitable to his slyness. The promoter of the contest looks beautiful without relying on a super-heroine's physique, and the artists put a lot of effort into moving the "camera" around to create energetic angles.

You may rightly argue that Marvel is trying to exploit their movie successes. After all, all three heroes in Marvel Adventures Super Heroes are the stars of Marvel's lucrative movie franchise. While this is true, Marvel Adventures Super Heroes isn't a contrived means to create a book with the Marvel Trinity. The truth is that Iron Man, Hulk and Spidey are Avengers in the Adventure-verse. They already were team-mates, before Iron Man and the new version of The Hulk. Marvel Adventures Avengers has been foreshadowing this book over two years now.

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