Review by Frank Plowright
Wild Blue Yonder is published under the Marvel Knights imprint, where it’s the fourth volume in a series, but Reginald Hudlin and Billy Tan provide a standalone story over six chapters, so no need to worry about what’s come before.
Peter Parker is taken on staff at the Daily Bugle, where he’s partnered with a new reporter. As Spider-Man he’s part of the Avengers, where his relationship with Wolverine is becoming abrasive. Meanwhile the Absorbing Man has escaped jail and works for the Owl, a gangster who’s supplied him with a kill list. Being able to take on the properties of any substance he touches makes him a first class threat, but fortunately that’s not combined with a first class intellect.
The emotional responses can seem a little off, but Hudlin more than compensates by knowing his Marvel history and coming across as a film maker greatly enjoying his opportunity to rummage in the Marvel toybox. Several guest stars turn up, and although an Avengers appearance is of little consequence, his use of Hank Pym is smart, and well written, and the idea of introducing a naive Superman (in all but name) to Spider-Man’s world makes for a fun diversion and an intriguing mystery.
Billy Tan is associated with an artistic style very much influenced by what the likes of Jim Lee and his followers were producing in the 1990s. Tan’s pages are more refined with fewer lines, but Wild Blue Yonder provides the opportunity to show significant variety with flashback scenes. His updated and cleaner version of the 1940s Superman seen on the sample art is attractive, and he has the chance to produce his own versions of several other styles. For some present day sequences he seems to have been looking at Jae Lee’s work, and the combined result is sparkling superhero art.
Every question asked by Hudlin’s plot has an ingenious solution, possibly his best move being what he does with the Absorbing Man. It’s both funny and tragic. Dealing with the Superman stand-in is a little too rushed at the end, but what Hudlin comes up with works in finishing a really fun Spider-Man graphic novel ticking a lot of boxes.
