The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #3

First off I have to give credit where it's due and the credit that I'm dishing out has to go to Marvel's choices in talent and quality titles. It seems every time I turn around there's a new title that is released that I need to pick because I've heard good things (Scarlet Spider, Venom, Hawkeye, Fearless Defenders etc.). Following this trend I happened upon The Superior Foes of Spider-Man series brought to me (and hopefully you) and I'm happy to announce that it's totally worth your hard earned cash!

This particular review is over issue #3 of the series and was brought into my grubby hands by Nick Spencer (Writer), Steve Lieber (Artist), Rachel Rosenburg (Colors), Joe Caramagna (Letters), and finally Michael Del Mundo (Cover). Basically the plot picks up from the previous issues of Boomerang (the lead and voice of the title) trying to convince the rest of the Sinister Six to help him retrieve the head of Silvermane. The whole process is so wonderfully mundane, it truly is a slice of life piece for C-list villains.

We see Spencer weave in wonderful dialogue to go along with Lieber's clever and laugh-inducing panels. The colors particularly capture the everydayness of the story at hand as well. Nick Spencer seems to have quite the range with this being a more light-hearted tale by introducing a super villains anonymous organization complete with Dr. Bong and man-boob rendered hippo! Spencer also plays with the readers trust by giving an inkling that Boomerang is on the verge of changing by ratting out the location of Sinister Six members who had previously kicked him out of the team. As it turns out though, it's to just get back at them and teach them a lesson. The whole seen is played to great effect and leaves the reader with a cliffhanger that makes you want to see how the bungling Sinister Six deals with serious heroes like Power Man and Iron Fist.

Lieber is such a great choice for being the artist of this series. He doesn't over-render characters but instead opts for a very realistic and straightforward approach which certainly lends to the plot and action happening within the panels. He definitely pulls off the gags Spencer tries to convey in ways that you would not think. Each angle and panel maxes out the comedy as it ensues. The art will definitely make you feel like you are hanging out with lovable losers for a while.

Overall this series is another win for Marvel. I highly recommend it if you're being overwhelmed by the serious nature of comics these days. You get to see the cyborg head of a crime boss with knife in mouth try to gut a kid only to later be mounted to an RC car, loyal only to the kid he had just tried to murder. It's priceless. Plus it's $2.99, buy this!!