Spyboy: Bet Your Life

Spyboy #3

by Peter David, Carlos Meglia, Pop Mhan

A deadly nerve gas and a plot against the United Nations puts SpyBoy and Bombshell hot on the trail of the insidious Madam Imadam, head of the international Palindrome terrorist organization! Their search leads them to the exotic city of Marispan, where Butch is on vacation with his mother, Barbie Q is doublecrossed and fights for her life against a diminutive, cyborg samurai, secrets about Alex's mother come from an unexpected source, and Sean Fleming gets lucky (sort of). A mysterious city and a casino filled with spies and danger...what more could a SpyFan ask for? Collects issues #7-9 of the ongoing series.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

80 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 2001

About the author

aka David Peters

Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.

Reviews

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series just seems to be more of the same. It's basically a spy parody, which can be really funny but also gets old after a while. (Think Austin Powers.) Overall the art was a little sexier this volume which I enjoyed but since this is more a young adult type title I wonder how appropriate that is. (Then again, I suppose maybe it's spot on when you think about it since the target audience does seem to be teenage boys.) Overall another fun volume but it's starting to drag a little.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spyboy is not great in the exact way a lot of comics from the late 90s and early 2000s aren't great. It's a little more violent than it needs to be but the main problem is that the art is way, way to suggestive and fetishy for the younger audiences it is meant to reach. This is an issue earlier in the series but goes over the top in book 3.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

A different artist than Pop Mhan does the first two chapters here, and I didn't care for his art style. Otherwise, a continuation of the Spyboy story with the usual mix of over-the-top action and silliness. By this third volume the formula is getting a bit stale.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole thing continues to be silly, but spy films are silly in themselves, so it works. Best use of a hyphen between issues.