Writer: Stephanie Phillips
Artist: Paolo Villanelli
Colorist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Cover Artists: David Marquez & Marte Gracia; Matteo Lolli; Nogi San; J Scott Campbell; Simone Di Meo
Production Designer: Kat Walkington
Editors: Emerald Bensadoun, Martin Biro, Jordan D White & CB Cebulski
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $4.99
Release Date: August 20, 2025
Granted the power of a god, Gwen Stacy used the Cosmic Cube to visit King Loki’s world. She saw how King Loki abandoned his subjects and how jealousy consumed him. So instead of gifting King Loki her powers, Gwen used the Cosmic Cube to craft an ending for the trickster-god, redress some wrongs, and write a new beginning for herself.
Now, Gwen Stacy is starting over. She's made a new home on Earth-616. She shares an apartment with her father instead of living alone in an unfurnished apartment. Carlos LaMuerto has moved into the Big House, but his son Fabian also gets a second chance. How will Gwen tackle crime without a Cosmic Cube or a symbiote? Will Gwen put on her Cyclops Was Right T-shirt again? And will King Loki ever swim with sharks? We’re going to need a bigger comic, so let’s leap into the twenty-six-page All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #1 and see!
Story
When Gwen Stacy looks back on her life, what she has lost looms large. She gained superpowers but lost Peter Parker. Blamed for his death, Gwen became a fugitive in her world. Then, Cindy Moon took away the powers granted by a radioactive spider. Even though she gained venom superpowers, Gwen eventually lost everything: her father, the Mary Janes, and Earth-65. When TVA agent Ouroborous brought her to Earth-616, Carlos LaMuerto and his agents bounced Gwen around like a Ping-Pong ball. Ultimately, King Loki's cosmic tour led Gwen to destroy Solara Prime, a world she only wanted to help.
In All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #1, she has used the Cosmic Cube's energy to regain her original spider-powers. Gwen lives with her father in New York City on Earth-616. The police no longer hunt her for grand theft auto, defacing buildings, and stealing children's ice cream cones. (That's a good thing, as her father works for the police). She resurrected Fabian and is training him to be her sidekick.
Unfortunately, as Fabian points out, every action has consequences. Newton’s third rule ripples through Gwen's life, as Stephanie Phillips reveals changes in her friends' behavior. Irony and frustration accompany Gwen's new life on Earth-616. Yet she gains the sense of belonging she has lacked since the Cosmic Cube unleashed an apocalypse on Earth-65. As she fine-tunes her present, the universe strikes back. Gwen doesn’t encounter a Kobayashi Maru in All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #1. Neither does she get a total win/win.
Art
Paolo Villanelli fills this new chapter in Gwen’s life with fraught action and emotional intensity. Despite all the changes Gwen has made, her expression often reveals unhappiness, concern, hurt, and anger. A paper that could enhance her future crinkles in her hand. When George Stacy hesitates to face her, Gwen sees his face and body struggle with rage.
All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #1 begins with red. It covers a garment, Gwen's drum kit, a frantic man's hands, and a still body. Matt Milla fills panels with vivid colors and backgrounds that radiate energy. Yet despite the absence of ravens, black accompanies the abundant colors.
Black streaks the sky and backgrounds. It seems more dominant on her new costume, and envelops characters. Yet when Gwen meets a new friend and pursues her passion, she shines with pink energy bolstered by green and blue.
Ariana Maher thwips uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons and boxes using conventional arrows. The turquoise bordering the narrative boxes increases when Gwen pursues her passion. The text grows bold for intonation and shrinks for lowered voices. Shouts threaten to pop dialogue balloons. Sound effects accompany Gwen’s experimentation, a pretend fight that is also real, and a storm that destroys everything in its path. Thanks to Marvel for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
The spider-totems seem destined to be more reactive than proactive. As Gwen Stacy starts over on Earth-616, she's in the catbird's seat. But as Peter Parker believed he could live the dream until Hellgate's arrival, an unexpected force will Whack-A-Spider in All-New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #1.
Rating 9.6/10
To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
No comments:
Post a Comment