Writer: Greg Weisman
Penciler: Humberto Ramos
Inker: Victor Olazaba
Colorist: Edgar Delgado
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artists: Sean Galloway; David Marquez & Romulo Jr. [Foil]; David Nakayama; Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosenberg [Homage]; Dike Ruan & Marte Gracia
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $4.99
Release Date: March 6, 2024
New York’s Gang War brought the spectacular Spider-Men together. Miles Morales signaled he’d like to spend quality time with Peter Parker. What happens when Manhattan and Brooklyn’s webslingers gather for coffee? Let’s grab our lattes, thwip into The Spectacular Spider-Men #1, and find out!
Story
Miles Morales is in therapy. Queen Goblin and Kraven the Hunter revealed Peter Parker’s anger, and the Jackal probed his fears. So when times get tough, New York’s Spider-Men stick together!
In the Spectacular Spider-Men #1, a man risks Contempt Of Court for refusing to tell the truth. Singers perform a heartrending opera. Two people profess their love in Venice, unmenaced by a crazed Water Elemental. While teasing us with these introductions, Greg Weisman gives us a hulked-out smashfest. Or should I say, a Jackal-Hulk Smashfest?
Past and present alternate as Peter and Miles break the ice. Laying the framework for a new relationship takes time, especially between two men who have suffered as much trauma as Peter and Miles. The Spectacular Spider-Men #1 gives the webslingers three months to do this. What links Peter and Miles’ meetups at an Empire State University coffee shop with their Jackal-Hulk battle is Dr. Seymour Krepps' discovery. The Jackal's brother, Raymond Aaron Warren, stops by to help. And then there are the leaflets tacked up across campus, offering money to beta testers. University students always need pocket change.
After seeing Peter and Miles combat Crime Lords, A.I.M. soldiers, Cape Killers, D-Listers, and Z-Listers, it's great to see the two webslingers struggle to subdue such a wild and unrestrained monster. Spider-fans will enjoy seeing Peter and Miles lower their guard and find common ground. Beyond the teasers, relationship dynamics, and the rampaging Jackal-Hulk, the mystery behind the Jackal-Hulk's creation and the discovery of a body in the laboratory promises more Arachnobatic action in the next issue!
Art
Humberto Ramos and Victor Olazaba portray Peter and Miles with Arachnobatic flair. The spectacular Spider-Men twist and turn with muscles as strong, supple, and balanced as the opera singers' voices. The Jackal-Hulk roars like a green King Kong as it claws and pounds the spider-men, smashes signs, and crashes through walls. Panels stretch across pages, imbuing battles with cinematic appeal, while Miles saves Peter from becoming Jackal-Hulk’s plaything. Puny Spider-Men!
Edgar Delgado lavishes a loaded palette on Ramos and Olazaba’s whimsical coffee shop scenes. The light streaming through the coffee shop windows highlights and shades Peter's interactions with Miles, acquaintances, and laid-back, loveable Kenny. Crosshatching adds aging to Delgado's brown courtroom walls, while the waxed floor resembles glass. Orange, pink, and yellow fill the sky as a woman prepares to board a gondola in Venice. Street lamps glow beneath dark gray clouds at E.S.U. Yet Peter, Miles, and the Jackal-Hulk remain visible on this fraught night in The Spectacular Spider-Men #1.
Joe Caramagna thwips black, uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons with adequate spacing between lines of text. The appealing font is Spiderifically sized and sufficiently Arachnobatic that shrinkage proves rare. Large-size music notes accompany the lyrics floating across the stage. Colorful roars escape Jackal-Hulk’s T-Rex teeth, permeating his tirades, undaunted by the red, white, and blue Thwips produced by his spider-men adversaries. While early enlarged red words reveal Peter’s frustration, later ones reveal his joy.
Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
The Spectacular Spider-Men #1 honors webslinger history as Peter Parker and Miles Morales explore the age gap, find common ground, discover acquaintances old and new, and uncover the Jackal’s legacy at Empire State University.
Rating 9.6/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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