Writer: Greg Weisman
Pencils: Humberto Ramos
Inks: Victor Olazaba
Colors: Edgar Delgado
Letters: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado
Variant Cover: Sean Galloway; David Marquez & Romulo Fajardo Jr.; David Nakayama; Todd Nauck & Rachelle Rosemberg; Dike Ruan & Marte Gracia
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: 4.99
Release Date: March 6, 2024
The Banter Begins
Two Spider-Men walk into a coffee shop… No, that is not the setup for a joke. Instead, it’s the setup for a brand new Spider-Men series starring both Miles and Peter. What makes this one different from the great mass of other Spider books? Spectacular Spider-Men #1 is focused more on Peter and Miles as Peter and Miles than as Spider-Men. Come here for web swinging (because there’s still plenty of that). But stay for the coffee and quip-a-thon.
It’s Brooklyn Spider-Man and Manhattan Spider-Man versus a Hulked out Jackal when Spectacular Spider-Men #1 begins. The issue then jumps to some time in the past where Peter and Miles are web swinging together and Peter suggests that the two meet up weekly like ordinary people (Peter seems sold on Wednesdays at 4:00). From there the issue alternates between the fight in the present and scenes between Peter and Miles at their chosen coffee shop in the past with each flashback getting progressively closer to the present. Arguably, the main storyline isn’t the fight against the Jackal but Peter’s quest to become that special kind of coffee shop regular where the people know his name and order. It turns out that beating the Jackal might actually be easier.
Spectacular Spider-Men #1 is well-timed as a lighthearted follow-up to an idea introduced in Gang War: Peter hasn’t kept up a regular relationship with Miles. But this issue also has nothing whatsoever to do with Gang War or recent events in either characters’ series, so readers needn’t worry about the series beginning with baggage inherited from them. Instead Weisman delivers a straightforward coffee shop adventure for Peter and Miles and straightforward monster adventure for both Spider-Men.
The choice for the series’ first villain is surprising. The names “Miles Warren” and “Jackal” carry with them a lot of baggage, and invoking them immediately brings to mind perhaps the most loaded word in the Spider-Man canon: “clone.” Spectacular Spider-Men #1 just barely kicks off the series’ first plotline, but readers may go into subsequent issues with trepidation.
Spectacular Spider-Men #1 is split almost half-and-half between the two Spider-Men fighting the Jackal and Miles and Peter planning and keeping their hangouts. Weisman’s dialogue flows in an almost stream of consciousness exchange of good-natured ribbing and quips. Paired with any other characters, this high octane banter could easily come off as excessive. But both of these characters are consistently written in such a way that it comes off just right, even down to the requisite groan worthy comments from Peter.
The intercutting between the action in the present and the flashbacks to Peter and Miles hanging out in the past works well. Weisman goes big for a page or two on the fight, usually including a gag between the two Spider-Men, and then jumps back to the coffee shop. It’s almost like a hammer swing. The hammer comes down hard with a page or two of Spidey action and then pulls back for the calmer scene.
The issue’s charm, and hopefully that of Spectacular Spider-Men in general going forward, are the scenes featuring Miles and Peter at the coffee shop. The action sequences are fast paced, and both characters are fun. But there’s a lot more to Peter and Miles than being Spider-Man, and it’s fun to see that side of them even if it is superficial for now. Particularly amusing is how Miles comes across as the more mature of the two.
Always In Motion
Ramos handles the art in Spectacular Spider-Men #1. The two Spider-Men look particularly lean and agile. Both characters appear in acrobatic poses, but they never look like a tangle of limbs in the way that some artists draw them while web swinging, heavily contorted. Angles are sharp where characters bend at their elbows or knees. Characters tend to have overly exaggerated expressions, especially in how their mouths move. All in all, this is recognizable Ramos art.
The fight sequences between the Spider-Men and the Jackal are exciting and dynamic. Ramos’ style leans into a kind of non-stop feel to the action. There is a constant sense of movement between panels. Packing this kind of energy into the action sequences makes the frequent cutting back-and-forth work. There isn’t a kind of ramp up when the issue returns to the fight. You go from a casual joke at the coffee shop to Spider-Man swinging across the panel and it delivers that little extra thrill going back to the action.
Delgado doesn’t go with an overly vivid color palette, but it’s very high contrast. He’s adept here in using his coloring to highlight where the reader’s eyes should go in a panel. Olazaba’s inking furthers this effect as outlines on whatever is in focus are heavier by comparison to everything else. A basic example is one scene in the coffee shop where Peter is wearing blue and Miles is wearing red and the two are surrounded by people who are mainly in shades of brown and beige. This is only one of the most obvious examples of how he visually directs traffic. It’s consistent throughout the issue, whether in this kind of scene or doing action sequences, and it’s very effective.
Caramagna makes some good sound effects choices. The font he uses for the Jackal’s roar is fun. But where Caramagna shines in Spectacular Spider-Men #1 is how close together he packs Peter and Miles’ dialogue bubbles when they’re talking to each other. With so much of their dialogue consisting of fast banter, slipping dialogue bubbles in between each other and layering their edges on top of each other speeds up the reading. It’s a great visual representation of Wiesman’s writing choice.
Final Thoughts
Spectacular Spider-Men #1 is the fun buddy cop Spider-Man comic we never knew we needed. It is setting up to be a unique title in the Spider-Man space, potentially more concerned with Peter and Miles when they’re away from the webs. This issue is fun more than anything else, and as a first issue it succeeds by a mile. Spider-Man fans can’t miss it.
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