I've always had a fondness for the Spider-Man/Human Torch friendship/rivalry and I certainly have a fondness for Slott's old school Marvel style (as seen in She-Hulk) and Ty Templeton's art style (as seen on Batman Adventures and Bigg Time, among others). Generally, I'm not as big of a fan of the flashback stories, as they can be a bit on the inconsequential side, but Spider-Man/Human Torch is pure old school fun, and it's hard to complain too loudly about that. I have my quibbles, especially with Nelson's overpowering inks, but in general, I was pretty pleased with this, and recommend it to fans of Ultimate Spider-Man and She-Hulk alike.
Slott seems to be deliberately channeling the spirit of Stan Lee in this story, and that's a good thing. There are some goofy coincidences and bad luck, but they're always used either for humorous effect or to reinforce the basic nature of the two heroes, and so they're easily forgivable. In addition, Slott does some nice referencing of older stories and the status quo at the time, from Torch's girlfriend Dorrie Evans to Peter's girlfriend Betty Brant to the run-ins between Peter and the Torch up to that point, all the while including new elements that fit right in with that general style. The Torch's method of tricking the Mole Man in particular reads like something right out of a Stan Lee comic.
The plot itself is also unapologetically old school, the kind of thing you're unlikely to find in modern comics. The Torch hires Peter Parker to be his photographer because he's tired of Spider-Man stealing his limelight. It's a lightweight, ultimately inconsequential problem, and it allows the story to be more light and fun as a result, while still seeing why it's important to the characters. The resulting story hangs on the rivalry between the Torch and Spider-Man, on playing up the foibles of both characters without making either one completely unlikable. Slott does a pretty good job here, although the sympathies of the reader are certainly meant to lie with Spider-Man, as he is the point-of-view character and shows a lot more teen arrogance than Peter Parker does. Still, it's easy to understand Johnny Storm's frustration, and Slott does play up that neither character really understands the problems that the other character faces, but sees only their own.
It's pretty impressive that the story, for all its brevity, features quite a few things happening. A subplot about romance, important moments that establish J. Jonah Jameson, Aunt May and the Fantastic Four as supporting cast for the lead characters and two supervillains all make an appearance alongside the main story, which is about the rivalry between the title characters. I was especially pleased at Slott's handling of the two supervillains, mocking one of them for all he's worth (deservedly, and in a very funny scene) and playing up the other one as dangerous without bringing the fun tone of the book down.
Would that I could be so universally positive about the artwork, but while the art certainly works, I was disappointed to see Templeton's crisp, clean style buried under far too heavy inks, and I thought the colors were a little over-saturated as well. The storytelling is strong, and the art certainly looks good, but in attempting to give it a look more reminiscent of John Romita, the whole thing instead starts to look over-produced, like the faux anime look of some of the Dreamwave books, and it's not really appropriate to the tone of this book. 8/10
