Robert Kirkman is, along with Erik Larsen, the best contemporary superhero writer. His work is deeply set in the most classic tradition, but has a very modern feel in both themes and execution. Besides, it lacks the humourless seriousness of other contemporaries hell bent on either trying to modernise by upping the ante in terms of sex and violence, our deconstructing the living s**t out of the genre. That all has been already done to the death and has never beaten Watchmen, nor gone beyond being mostly self-referential. These broad generalisations being made, the comic you have at hand is splendidly plotted, reviving and refreshing the old Spider-Man team-up concept, bringing in (or back?) some tongue in cheek humour that gets just oh time to help you take it all too seriously (but without deconstructing the genre and the fun for you), telling a boatload of superhero encounters simply based on the sheer concentration of these heroes in and around New York a well as the tight interactions they have developed over the years. So the discovery of a new powerful mutant in the school Peter Parker teaches at brings Wolverine in, draws a dimensionally displayed Doctor Doom to him, with the Fantastic Four hot on his heels. All this while developing a sub-plot featuring a very powerful alien waitingin the wings, plotting to save his ill beloved... And so on, never fermenting, but still giving you slower moments, character interaction and description. Kirkman seriously excels at this game, the only minor gripe I have being Scott Kolins' artwork, competent but not always consistent and at the same level of the excellent writing. This might not be a world changing book, but it's a very good start for the series and a book very, very much above the average. Enjoy!