Amazing Adventures: Marvel Super Stories #2

Amazing Adventures (Marvel Super Stories Book #2)

Last November, Abrams Fanfare published their second volume of middle-grade comics stories, based on some slightly less-exposed Marvel heroes. Some, like Spider Man, are immediately recognizable, and some have had their own series recently and we know them from that. Each story is no longer than six pages, and various award-winning comic book artists and writers were invited to the anthology. The result, Amazing Adventures (Marvel Super Stories Book #2), is a pleasant sampler, and maybe an introduction to some new and interesting cape-and-mask heroes. Each story has a brief introduction of the hero(es) in question.

The table of contents includes:

• “The Bogus Bodega” by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, in which Spider Man must use strength, flexibility and social media to thwart Doc Ock’s plan to release a mind-controlling energy drink to New York City’s youth.
• “Friend or Foe?” By Dean Haspiel. The Fantastic Four encounter a new nemesis… or is he really a superfan? Which is more dangerous?
• “The Signs of Justice” by Carlisle Robinson. After stopping a robber at an art gallery, Hawkeye tries to decipher the warning another cape-and-masked hero is trying to give him.
• “Overdue” by Ethan M. Aldridge. Even the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange, can let a library book go overdue.
• “The Jawbreaker of Doom” by Ryan Andrews. The Silver Surfer must save a planet, and do it fast.
• “Knightwatch” by Chan Chau. In all three of his aspects, the Moon Knight wrestles with the nature of heroes, monsters, and acceptance.
• “Operation: Tiny Sitter” by Amber Padilla. Ant-man expects a quiet night at home, but his daughter Cassie and a nest of hummingbirds have other ideas.
• “Hulk-araoke” by Jamarr Nicholas. At a music event connected to a hot-air-balloon festival, Hulk must confront a musical adversary.
• “Appointment with Adventure” by Mike Cavallaro. The Mighty Thor confronts Pluto, lord of the underworld, who plans to conquer all of New York City and also Queens.
• “Friends for Life” by Gabriella Epstein. A female spider hero, Silk, is robbed by a foolish villain on her way to a special day. A friend from the past shows up to help.
• “Day Saver” by Tim Fielder. Spiderman 2099 races to save lives in a dystopian future.
• “The New Machine” by Kat Leyh. After a particularly goopy adventure, the Guardians of the Galaxy confront a new “old” machine in place of the sonic scrubber.
• “Hey, Buddy Boy” by Judd Winnick. Captain America thinks back to his youth when he was victimized by a bully, only to find that time changes many, many things.
• “Cheese be Not Proud” by Brian Fies. Qhen their favorite pizza delivery person is mugged bringing them a pizza, three of the Avengers, Beast, Wonder Man and Vision spring into action, confronting the dreaded lava men.
• “All in the Mix” by John Jennings. For King T’Challa’s birthday, the Black Panther’s brilliant sister Shuri builds him a music machine… with unexpected results.

I found I liked various of these tales for many different reasons. The intentionally short length helped. Six pages allowed me to enjoy the artwork even in cases where the story might not have grabbed me. For example, “Day Saver’s” intentionally futuristic style enhances the story, while the Hulk story employs a bright palette and a vivid, brash style I really liked.

At this length, several stories are simply jokes, and that worked fine for me. “Overdue” was probably the best example. I saw the joke coming and I still loved every page of Doctor Strange’s quest to find his overdue library book. “Appointment with Adventure” was also a good joke, with a smaller good joke wrapped up inside.

At the other end of the continuum is Chan Chau’s moody, contemplative “Knightwatch.” Moon Knight is a strange hero to begin with, and one who lives with mental illness. I loved the way the art, with one of the Moon Knight’s aspects in each frame, deepened the nature of this hero. In the end, the knight must acknowledge that he might be misconstruing what he sees sometimes.

“The Signs of Justice” has plenty of gentle humor, but the best part of the story is the way the storyteller uses graphics to demonstrate the experience of being hearing impaired. The use of typeface and fonts to demonstrate blanks in hearing, even when someone is speaking loudly to you, was one of the best depictions I’ve seen. Because the stakes in the tale aren’t too high, the story manages to be funny while still depicting a frustrating real-life situation in a way that made me think, and may make young people think too.

In “Operation: Tiny Sitter,” Ant-Man and his daughter Cassie give up their “dad’s night” to suit up and protect a pair of baby hummingbirds during a storm. The storm is beautifully depicted, and the story is sweet and well-done.

“Cheese be not Proud” was written and drawn by Brian Fies who is a friend of mine. While I was pretty familiar with Beast, Wonder Man was completely new to me. I expect this kind of story to be funny, and it was, as well as fast-paced (which some other stories, even though short, surprisingly were not). The lava men were a treat.

The hard copy has high-quality production values, printed on heavy stock with good resolution. The combination of tales is fun, and may introduce you to a few different Marvel heroes.