Spider-Squirrel #1 is a comic written by Charlie McElvy with pencils & inks by D.C. Stuelpner and colors by John Rauch. A superpowered college student has a very eventful day and runs into a number of different heroes. This is a fight-filled comic with a large cast of strong characters and a story that’ll peak your interest. Our leading man is Charlie Jarrett, otherwise known as Spider-Squirrel. His roommate and friend is the hero called Trash Panda. The story starts off by giving us a look at a regular day in the life of Spider-Squirrel but it soon descends into anything but. The world this story takes place is much like ours minus the superpowers. The action here is hard-hitting but lacks any blood or gore. The pacing here varies but it is normally steady enough to let you soak up what is going on. The tone is lighthearted and comedic with some light stress felt throughout. The dialogue is full of quips and other kinds of supertalk with a humorous tilt. There are more than a few wordy pages. This is an exciting debut comic that shows such a wide range of personalities and environments that there is something for just about everyone.

            There are many different art styles featured here but the main one is a more realistic modern looking one that will bring to mind 80’s comics. The coloring also has a level of realism most of the time while other times things get bright and catch your attention. The environments change frequently with most of the scenery being buildings but the interiors tend to set the scene well. What goes on in the backgrounds persist in the individual panels more often than not. The expression level here is high with word being almost unnecessary at some points because we can easily grasp the sentiment being conveyed. The range of emotions is vast, from silly and serious to annoyance and confusion. Faces in this comic are usually very detailed so it isn’t difficult to decipher what the characters are feeling. The mystical/electrical effects are bright and eye-catching. The action scenes have great flow and tend to be on the shorter side but scattered throughout. No blood or gore here either. A lot of the outfits these men wear appear to be vacuum-sealed.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like stories full of superfolk starring a funny guy dealing with realistic problems and finding themselves in strange situations with sci-fi and mystical elements this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

PG-13. Violence.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“There’s more to a date than being hot!”

 

Physical Link: https://www.xionstudios.com/products/copy-of-spider-squirrel-2-vol-1-digital

Digital Link: https://www.xionstudios.com/products/copy-of-spider-squirrel-1-vol-2

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/watchguard/spider-squirrel-1-a-buddy-hero-multiversal-adventure/description

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

*
*
*
*
*

Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 39

Violent Pages: 20, for 51% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 4

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 1

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 1

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 1

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”