Marvel & Disney: What If...? Goofy Became Spider-Man #1 Review

 

Writers: Steve Behling & Riccardo Secchi

Artist: Francesco D’Ippolito

Colorist: Lucio Ruvidotti

Letterer: Laura Tartaglia

Cover Artists: Francesco D’Ippolito & Lucio Ruvidotti; Andrea Freccero; Phil Noto; Ron Lim & Israel Silva; Skottie Young

Designer: Kat Walkington

Editors: Mikey J Basso, Mark Paniccia & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: July 30, 2025

 

When the school day ends, Goofy’s fellow students invite him out for the evening. Goofy appreciates the offer, but others depend on him. So, he returns home to tend to his insects. How will Goofy's love of insects impact his homelife? And how might a spider-bite alter his future? Let's grab a slice of Aunt Tessie's pie, leap into Marvel & Disney: What If...? Goofy Became Spider-Man #1, and see!

 

Story

In Steve Behling and Riccardo Secchi’s story, Goofy lives in a house with his aunt Tessie. She awakens him each morning, makes him his meals, drives him to and from school, and helps him pursue his interests. Others might denigrate his time-consuming idiosyncrasies, but she finds Goofy's approach to life charming.

 

In Marvel & Disney: What If...? Goofy Became Spider-Man #1, Goofy is fascinated with entomology. He looks forward to each class with Professor Gyro. Like Aunt Tessie, Professor Gyro looks after Goofy. As his top student, he encourages Goofy to apply the same focus and vigor to his other classes. But Goofy single-mindedly pursues his chief interest, and no one forces him to divert time from what he loves.

 

While Goofy fixates on insects, he's not self-centered. When he sees others in trouble, he tries to lend a hand. Goofy also respects life in all its forms. It would be easy to discount Goofy as clueless in Marvel & Disney: What If...? Goofy Became Spider-Man #1. Becoming "Spider-Goofy" may initially go to his head. But his dedication to protecting others helps him become a Spider-Goofy that other Spider-Men would readily work alongside. That is, if they can get used to Goofy's catchphrase.

 

 

 

Art

Goofy wears a red vest and blue slacks, along with a turtleneck shirt, gloves, and a hat. Aunt Tessie dresses in a long-sleeve blouse and skirt. Like her hair, Francesco D’Ippolito gives her kitchen a 1960s sensibility. The Pterygota swarm that nests in her cupboard cleans a pie plate before flying through the window to enjoy their day. Goofy counts his bees off with his fingers as he greets them each morning.

 

Lucio Ruvidotti lavishes a palette of cheery pastels on Marvel & Disney: What If...? Goofy Became Spider-Man #1. Professor Gyro stands out in his yellow hair, white face, and orange beak. As he points to the colorful chemical formula on his whiteboard, his red shirt, blue slacks, green hat, and white gloves link him with his most devoted student. Green clothes, hats, interior flooring, grass, foliage, and kitchen cupboards imbue the urban setting with a pastoral feel.

 

Laura Tartaglia fills yellow narrative boxes and white dialogue balloons with black uppercase letters. The yellow boxes introduce characters, locate readers in time and space, and clarify Goofy's entomological remarks. Words grow bold for intonation, and Goofy's thoughts float in puffy clouds as he explores his newfound abilities. Sound effects accompany moments of pain, sorrow, and elation in Disney’s reimagining of Amazing Fantasy #15. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

While Goofy shares a love of science with Peter Parker, he has more A-hyucks than anger, as his friends long to include him in their activities. But while Goofy Parker shines, Uncle Ben threatens to steal readers' hearts in Marvel & Disney: What If...? Goofy Became Spider-Man #1.

 

Rating: 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch. 

 

Deadpool Vs. Wolverine: Slash ‘Em Up #1 Review

 

Writer: Christos Gage

Artist: Alan Robinson

Colorist: Carlos Lopez

Letterer: Joe Sabino

Cover Artists: Ron Lim & Israel Silva; Mark Bagley & Richard Isanove

Production Design: Carlos Lao

Digital Comics Specialist: Annie Cheng

Print Layout Production: Meghan O’Leary

Sr Manager Digital: Tim Smith 3

Editors: Drew Baumgartner, Cy Pedro Beltran, Mark Basso, Tom Brevoort & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $5.99

Release Date: March 19, 2025

 

When Deadpool enters Madri-Gen, guards greet the merc with a mouth at gunpoint. Deadpool apologizes for shattering their plate glass window. But he has a job to do. Deadpool won’t let locked doors or men in uniforms stand in his way of securing a paycheck.

 

Unfortunately for Wade, more than guards impede his march toward a five-star review. Wolverine also wants to steal the company's hot new product. As in Deadpool & Wolverine WWIII, Wade and Logan pursue the same target. Neither will let the other get in his way. Who will claim the neurostimulator? And who will leave Madri-Gen empty-handed? Let's leap into Deadpool Vs. Wolverine Slash 'Em Up #1, and find out!

 

Story

While Deadpool doesn't want to disappoint his client, Wolverine's ambitions are more complicated. At least, they seem so. Logan believes he let a young man down a long time ago. Securing the neurostimulator for his former friend helps Logan feel like righting a wrong. But Logan’s memories of his time before he became Weapon X make Wade jealous. In Christos Gage’s story, Deadpool would give anything to reclaim memories of his youth.

 

This realization pits the two living weapons at odds. Yet it also unites them. While they hack and slash their way through Madri-Gen and each other, Wade and Logan debate the importance of memories. As they try to steal this device for their clients, both men realize that Deadpool could benefit most by using it. Yet lingering in the background of Deadpool Vs Wolverine Slash ‘Em Up #1 is a question.

 

Logan’s memories of torture and enslavement weigh him down. Peter Parker sacrificed his additional memories of Uncle Ben to return Spider-Boy to the Web Of Life And Destiny. Will reclaiming his past complete Deadpool or fill the aching void with dead weight?

 

Art

As Deadpool takes on young guns with attitude, Wolverine arrives to cross claws with swords. Amid the slashing, hacking, and impalements, the two living weapons entertain their opponents before killing them. Alan Robinson transforms the high-tech corporate world into a Dungeons And Dragons tournament in Deadpool Vs. Wolverine: Slash 'Em Up #1. As Wade and Logan follow in Indiana Jones’ footsteps, they battle beings from Dr Moreau’s laboratories at Omni Consumer Products.

 

Carlos Lopez applies a loaded palette to the heroes’ journey from the sleek, neutral floors and ceilings of desk-filled offices to subbasements filled with traps, pitfalls, and monstrosities. Vibrant colors fill backgrounds in closeups. Gunfire, laser beams, and explosions brighten this fast-paced action thriller. Yet nothing warms the pages of Deadpool Vs. Wolverine: Slash 'Em Up #1 as much as Deadpool's zest of life and how he shares others' pain.

 

Joe Sabino fills white and yellow dialogue balloons with uppercase letters that grow bold for intonation, enlarge for volume, and shrink for lowered voices. Deadpool ensures that he and Wolverine receive headliner status with red 3D logos. The merc with a mouth also vocalizes every injury. Sound effects help us hear grunting ground troops, bouncing grenades, bonking heads, and wall-demolishing impacts. Who knew Mace wasn't a helpful hardware place? Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Some claim that memories are for losers who lead uninteresting lives. Many preach that it is not what you know but what you do that matters. Yet you cannot understand the worth of something until you have it. Wolverine prefers to shatter a mirror than look in it. But in Deadpool Vs Wolverine Slash 'Em Up #1, Wade Wilson wants to perceive the man he has become. And he can't do that without having something that may not be good for him.

 

Rating 9.5/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22 Review

 

Writer: Cody Ziglar

Artist: Brent Peeples & Daniel Picciotto

Colorist: Bryan Valenza

Letterer: Cory Petit

Cover Artists: Federico Vicentini & Neeraj Menon; Rose Besch; Ron Lim & Israel Silva

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 3, 2024

 

Miles fought at Blade's side. They teamed up with Bloodline to trap the energy vampire R’ym’r with an ancient seal. Now, Blade fights for the vampires, his daughter has vanished, and R’ym’r’s followers have freed their lord. Miles fights R’ym’r alongside Hightail, his former enemy on Agent Gao’s Cape Killers squad. Can Miles and Hightail prevent R’ym’r’s followers from overtaking Brooklyn? Let's grab our venom swords, leap into Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22, and find out!

 

Story

R’ym’r once converted Hightail to his cause. Blade turned Miles into his minion. Now, both are free from their vampire masters' control. Yet they are changed, and the anger at being violated still burns.

 

In Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22, R’ym’r returns from his imprisonment. Hightail insists she’s nobody’s pawn. She’s happy to prove that by working out her aggression on her former lord. Miles fights alongside her. Hurting R’ym’r and his minions brings satisfaction. But the energy vampire’s followers released him at a power plant. Every moment he stands before them, R’ym’r absorbs the plant’s energy.

 

 

 

When Bloodline learned that Blade was behind this Darkforce invasion, she dropped out of sight to process the revelation. But Bloodline isn't content to sit on the sidelines for long. Like Miles, she won't rest when danger, particularly the undead, threatens her fellow Humans. So, in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22, Bloodline returns to aid her friend. Hightail doesn't want to be with either one. Like Rabble, her past has turned her against Humanity. Miles' joke about her nationality isn't a turn-on. Yet when Bloodline arrives, Hightail fights beside her. Thankfully, Bloodline has a plan. It requires all their strengths, but it could imprison R’ym’r again.

 

Cody Ziglar's story hums with the drama and humor that arises from our differences and shows how we can work with others who don't share our values. Miles struggles to accept Bloodline's cold, logical view on how to combat her father. Yet, he's willing to compromise and commit to actions he may later regret to defeat the evil threatening not just his beloved borough or all of New York City but the entire world.

 

 

Art

Smoke rises as smiling R’ym’r displays his six-pack abs. His face reflects off Hightail’s shades as one of her knives thuds into his rippled forehead. Miles and Hightail charge when vampires attack. But R’ym’r’s forces soon force them to fight back-to-back. Brent Peeples and Daniel Picciotto highlight Hightail's flight with three full-page panels and one double-page spread. They also work across the pages when Hightail displays her celerity. Hightail, Miles, and Bloodline look good together as a team. Intriguingly, R’my’r may have wings, but he charges his enemies or swoops close to the ground, while vampires without wings bound and fly.

 

Bryan Valenza casts vivid heroes against beige and brown vampires in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22. Orange and yellow frequently replace the gray smoke and gray-blue sky. Miles’ sword glows yellow-white, while Hightail’s lime green armor shines. But no one outshines the sword-wielding, high-kicking Bloodline with her vibrant pink hair. Crimson spurts and flies. A wave of Dracula's gray hand opens a swirling orange portal. A multiple exposure shot shows Hightail’s suit shift from yellow to lemon-lime to green as she completes a circuit of her enemies.

 

Cory Petit thwips the black uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons. The delicate font rarely shrinks and emboldens for inflection. R’ym’r’s dialogue hovers in cloud balloons, while an exchange in Spanish resides within < and >. Colorful sound effects help us hear knives thud, bones break, and Miles’ sword cutting off a fresh link of vampire sausage. And no, John Cougar Mellencamp fans, R’ym’r doesn’t say, “It hurts so good.” Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

Final Thoughts

Blade’s plan to empower vampires demonstrates the divisions in the bloodsucking community. Blade, Dracula, and R’ym’r may despise each other, yet it takes a woman who despises Miles and a vampire hunter who despises Dracula to banish R’ym’r back to his prison dimension in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22.

 

Rating 8.8/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 Review

 

Writers: Derek Landy

Penciler: Ron Lim

Inker: Don Ho

Artist: Sara Pichelli

Colorists: Israel Silva & Travis Lanham

Letterers: Joe Caramagna & Travis Lanham

Cover Artists: Salvador Larroca & Edgar Delgado; Ron Lim & Israel Silva; Mike McKone & Dean White; RB Silva

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: July 3, 2024

 

Thanos made his beloved Death into an Infinity Stone. Like the others, the Death Stone sought a person to inhabit. Sadly for Thanos, it wasn't him. Who are the Infinity Stone Bearers, and what do they have to do with Peter Parker? Let's thwip into Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 and find out!

 

The Infinity Watch Part 2

Story

Spider-Man is having a bad day. When he sees someone robbing an armored money truck, he realizes it's about to get better. Apprehending a villain gives him a chance to let off some steam. But will it ease his guilt over not saving a man’s life yesterday? In Derek Landy's story, Peter's not so overwhelmed that he asks Norman Osborn to boost his spider-sense. (In Norman's current mood, he probably wouldn't help anyway). But Fission was learning to use his powers. Perhaps Fission could have matured into a hero and used his powers to help others. But he won't get that chance because Spider-Man couldn't diagnose Fission’s malfunctioning tech before it overloaded.

 

In Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, Overtime is having a bad day. Fighting Spider-Man doesn’t make it any better. But then he realizes that Spider-Man is also hurting. So, Overtime abandons his long-term plans to ease his conscience and uses his Time Stone powers to help Spider-Man. In Derek Landy's story, Overtime can return to the same event multiple times without meeting himself. To paraphrase his conversation with Spider-Man, he can mess with the timestream without creating paradoxes. But even when he has part of his personal goal within his grasp, Overtime sacrifices his partial victory to help someone else. 

 

 

 

Art

Ron Lim and Don Ho help Spider-Man emerge from a four-panel page as skyscrapers rise to his left and motion lines streak through the sky to his right before the webslinger alights on a street light and crouches like Spidey The Hunter. Yellow police tape surrounds the broken concrete at the base of a pillar supporting an electronic billboard. Spider-Man's body language suggests more anger than amusement as the green-suited robber escalates from fisticuffs to a side-handle baton. Overtime's easygoing expression graduates to irritation, then anger when he realizes he won't accomplish his goal today.

 

 

Israel Silva lavishes a loaded palette of bright and attractive colors on Ron Lim and Don Ho’s action-packed panels in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. White-green energy mimics the circle on Overtime’s chest as he travels in time. Colors show depth and nuance as Overtime splashes through the wet streets, webbed Fission explodes in the rain, and the bird on the billboard changes expressions and postures. Joe Caramagna enhances Overtime's sacrificial journey with large, black uppercase letters in white dialogue balloons, white letters in green narrative boxes, enlarged colorful words, and energizing sound effects.

 

 

 

The Death Stone Saga Part 2

Story

The Death Stone rejected Nighthawk and raised Phil Coulson from the dead. Nighthawk tries to connect with Phil, but the revived man's memories are fragmented. Unlike Star, Quantum, and Overtime, Phil Coulson doesn't understand what has happened to him. But Nighthawk isn't interested in what Phil Coulson might do once he gets his head together. Like Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, Nighthawk wants to reshape the universe. But first, he needs all the Infinity Stones. (A shiny gauntlet would also come in handy).

 

Derek Landy’s second story in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 doesn’t feature our web-slinging hero. Still, it’s another story about people trying to rewrite the present to suit their preferred vision of reality. Nighthawk grows more desperate to accomplish his mission here than in the Thanos Annual #1. Perhaps Spider-Man could have talked Nighthawk into making a better choice in The Death Stone Saga Part 2. As things stand, shadows cover Nighthawk's path, and his journey may grow darker with time.

 

Art

Nick Fury’s son rises from bed, pulls on his eye patch, and enters the kitchen. He gazes through the window over the sink and drinks a glass of water. Nighthawk stands atop a crypt. Like Batman or Spawn, he gazes down at Phil Coulson, sitting on the ground between the upright headstones. Coulson resembles a broken man. Yet he soon rises to regard Nighthawk. Resolve washes through his eyes as the purpose that once drove him struggles to return. But then, Tahiti is a magical place.

 

Mattia Iacono casts Nick Fury’s early morning rising in soft blues and paints the graveyard’s sky aqua green. Coulson's dark suit and Nighthawk's black costume stand out amid the pale brown trees and gray memorials. Travis Lanham enhances Derek Landy’s second story in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 with large, black uppercase letters in white dialogue balloons and white letters in blue narrative boxes. A shrunken final word suggests Phil Of The Dead's realization that he needs to get his head together fast if he wishes to pursue another celebrated political career.

 

 

Final Thoughts

Should we use our resources and skills to help people today or focus on correcting yesterday’s errors? Or is there a difference between the two options? In Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1, Overtime sets aside his plans to help Spider-Man, while another hero must decide if a second chance at life is worth fighting for.

 

Rating 9.3/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.