Book Review: Spider-Man/Human Torch: I'm with Stupid Digest

Spider-Man/Human Torch: I'm with Stupid Digest by Dan Slott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book by Dan Slott (before he started destroying Spider-man to be replaced Spider Otto) is actually petty good. It collected the limited run Spider-man/Human Torch series that celebrates the unique relationship between Spider-man and the human torch. It's similar to Mark Waid's 1990s story Brave and the Bold doing the same concept with the Silver Age Flash and Green Lantern, though in this case, these two go way back as friends and rivals and these untold stories highlight it.

Of the first stories in the book, the first two are written with the vintage Silver Age feel of the 1960s including one in which Torch hires Spidey as his official photographer as he tries to grab the headlines eventually taking Dr. Doom at the Latverian Embassy and one fun event where the two switch places as Spider-man goes exploring with the rest of the FF while Torch tries to bust up a crime ring. The third issue comes right in the Bronze age, in the 1970s after Gwen Stacy's death and with Spidey wanted for murder. The fourth story is from the early 1980s and features a great guest appearance by the Black Cat. The last is in a more modern setting where Johnny at last learns Spidey's identity after a ton of other people in the Marvel universe and isn't happy about it.

Slott really has some fun here. He plays up the idea that while Spidey envies the Torch, the Torch envies Peter Parker. And he tweaks Marvel convention which has the Statue of Liberty as the Torch and Spidey's meeting spot even though there's really no way Spidey could get there through typical means. The book's not very deep, but it's fun and at the end, a bit heart warming. It's worth a read for fans of these two great characters and their amazing relationship.



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