The Spectacular Spider-Men #1 Review

 

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.

Amazing Spider-Man #40 Review

 

Writer: Zeb Wells

Penciler: John Romita Jr.

Inker: Scott Hanna

Colorist: Marcio Menyz

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: John Romita Jr, Scott Hanna & Marcio Menyz; J. Scott Campbell & Tanya Lehoux; Tony Daniel & Sonia Oback; Anthony Francisco; Sean Galloway; Peach Momoko; Joey Vazquez

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $5.99

Release Date: December 20, 2023

 

Madame Masque organized all this chaos, but can she control it? Janice Lincoln loves her father, but then she ousts him as head of his territory. And who does Spidey team up with this issue? Let’s thwip into Amazing Spider-Man #40 and find out!

 

Story

Digger is back and working for a hooded figure who wears a rose. Beetle insists on taking Diamondback's territory. And Madame Masque tells an injured Hammerhead, "Fine. Call in your boys. Go ahead. Make my day!"

 

Madame Masque grabs the headlines in Amazing Spider-Man #40. She played understudy for years. Now she's taking the stage. She believes she'll win this Game Of Thrones. But does she hold all the cards?

 

Aside from She-Hulk, Spider-Man couldn’t keep his team together. So Peter accepts Tombstone’s offer to repeat their former partnership. This time, Tombstone's making no bones about his involvement. He’s a master strategist and knows what this play will cost him. Still, his daughter’s worth it.

 

 

 

Janet Lincoln has finally thrown in the towel with Randy Robertson and embraced the Dark Side. With Randy in hospital and no longer campaigning to overturn Fisk’s Law, she’s building a new future without him. Aside from losing Randy, one wonders what else her actions will cost her. With Luke Cage ignoring Fisk’s Law by coordinating with superheroes and covertly fighting foes as Power Man, will he face the consequences of his actions? With Wilson Fisk back in New York City, might the Kingpin use this Gang War to his advantage? Does anyone think he wants his master-crafted anti-vigilante law overturned? 

 

 

 

Art

John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna preserve the Rose’s anonymity in their opening page. Then the Art Bros show us the Tracksuit Mafia poised to take down the Inner Demons. She-Hulk practices her fastball while Spider-Man scores a strike. Madame Masque’s body language reinforces her confidence, and Hammerhead's crew pays her respect. While Janice looks determined, she betrays none of the joy she revealed with Randy. Tombstone can't help but smile as he helps Spidey and Shulkie take on the Tracksuite Bros. Yet Tombstone’s not smiling when he discusses the future with his temporary teammates. 

 

 

 

A closeup of Tombstone pouring drinks affords readers a glimpse of Spider-Man. Smoke rises behind Tombstone, reminding us of the anarchy ruling the crime lord's streets. The Beetle makes a powerful statement as she busts into Diamondback's headquarters. John Romita Jr. and Scott Hanna close Amazing Spider-Man #40 by showing a worried father beside his confident daughter as each confronts different crime lords.

 

Marcio Menyz paints pages using a palette loaded with bold colors. Light sources and shadows give scenes drama. While bathing closeups of Madame Masque and Hammerhead in gray tones, the mansion's façade glows with color and reflects gold like her shiny mask. Menyz and Erick Arciniega signaled Hammerhead’s ambition in ASM #35 by showing the crime lord’s reflection in a pool of blood. Now blood coats Hammerhead’s face in Amazing Spider-Man #40.

 

 

 

Vibrant sound effects report gunfire and toppled boxes in a warehouse wrangle. Madame Masque crunches her victims from great heights and underfoot. While Joe Caramagna thwips easily readable uppercase black letters into most of his white balloons, Tombstone’s tell tiny tales. But then, after his extended hospital stay, it’s understandable Tombstone's reflecting on his mortality and the model he set for his daughter.

 

Thanks to Marvel for providing this essential chapter of the Gang War saga for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Spider-Man, She-Hulk, and the Beetle tackle symptoms while Madame Masque, Tombstone, and perhaps another player concentrate on curing New York City’s disease in Amazing Spider-Man #40.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.