Book Review: Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham by S. Skeates et al.

Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham written by Steve Skeates with Tom DeFalco and others, penciled by Mark Armstrong and others, and inked by Joe Albelo and others

After seeing Into the Spider-verse, I was intrigued to learn more about the Spectacular Spider-Ham. I'd heard of him before but never given him a chance. He certainly seems like a one-joke character, but could the creators make more of him?

Spider-ham first appeared in 1983 in a comic line aimed at the younger crowd. The book is full of animal versions of Marvel characters like Captain Americat, Croctor Strange, Ducktor Doom, and the Fantastic Fur. Each issue in this collection of five features a main story with Spider-ham (and occasional guest heroes and villains) and a shorter story of another playfully re-imagined Marvel hero, like Goose Rider for Ghost Rider or Thrr (a Norse dog) for Thor. 

While there are some stories that work well as entertainment for children and for adults too, I found these tales are just for kids. They were only occasionally funny to me and the stories were mostly predictable (except for one toward the end). The art is cartoonish, fitting the silly antics and ridiculous situations (even by comic book standards). 

Not recommended unless you are a kid.