This is a joke. It's for 4 year olds ( )

Graphic novel #1 of the October Challenge:

Miles Morales, Spider-Man Vol. 1: Straight Out of Brooklyn

I enjoy the Marvel movies although they are beginning to be overwhelming with so many characters. Miles Morales is the new Spider-Man. He's a student at Brooklyn Visions Academy in Brooklyn, NY. He resides in the dorm and sees his parents on the weekend. They know of his secret identity as Spider-Man. Keeping secrets can be exhausting, as you don't want to lie, but you also know the dangers of revealing the truth, which in his case, is that he has powers! Miles struggles with balancing everything in his life. He attends school by day and fights villains by night. He's also very tired. At school, he takes a creative writing course, which is what this novel is--his journal that he's required to write for the class. Therefore, Miles speaks to the reader, as we are reading the journal. He has two good friends at school: Judge and Ganke. Ganke knows Miles has a secret identity and even makes the web fluid that Miles shoots out of his wrists. Miles also likes a girl, Barbara, who feels that Miles keeps secrets from her. With great power comes great responsibility. This quote from the original Spider-Man weights on Miles as he strives to be a teenager and a crime fighter.

Villains and heroes found in this issue: Rhino (sort of), Captain America, Tombstone, Frost Pharaoh, and Starling.

I didn't know Spider-Man could disappear into the surroundings like camouflage and sneak up on people. Otherwise, the story follows the general idea of Spider-Man. It's fun. I felt he mainly seeks to find identity. As a superhero, he must be alone. Only he can do what he does. It's nice when other heroes can help because they are the only people who can understand his separate-ness from the other teens. Miles, however, doesn't have the freedom to go about as the others do. Because of his age, he must attend school and deal with the assistant principal who feels Miles is a troubled teen as well as other challenges that come with being a teen.

If you like Marvel, you'll enjoy this graphic novel. It's volume one, and ends on a cliffhanger. ( )

This was fun and lighthearted while also talking about fighting bad criminals. I am excited to see where Saladin Ahmed is going to take this series. And this will be the Miles comic that my students and I will read next semester! ( )

An oh-so-very generic teen superhero comic with lots of high school hijinks, secret identity angst, an older superhero guest appearance, and c-list super villains, including a new one named Snatcher. (I couldn't resist, I had to yell, "Snatcher! No snatching!") I feel no need to pick up the next volume, especially if even the editors don't care enough about the book to correct Miles' main love interest, Barbara, being referred to by two different last names. ( )