There are a lot of comics out there but some stand out head and shoulders above the pack. With “Don’t Miss This,” we want to spotlight those series we think need to be on your pull list. This week, we’re swinging back to one of Marvel’s greatest wall-crawlers: “Miles Morales: Spider-Man.”
Who is this by?
“Miles Morales: Spider-Man” is written by Eisner Award winner Saladin Ahmed, who you may know from “Exiles,” “Black Bolt,” and “The Magnificent Ms. Marvel.” Along with his comic work, he’s also known for his novel, “Throne of the Crescent Moon,” and several short stories. However, it’s also very likely that you already know him from this very comic, which he’s been writing since 2018.
It’s currently illustrated by Christopher Allen, although many artists have also had their turns putting their pencil to the page, including Carmen Carnero, Natacha Bustos, and more. Chris Allen is also known for his work on “Inhumans Prime,” “Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp Prelude,” and “Heroes Reborn: American Knights” for Marvel, but outside of the House of Ideas, he’s also known for comics like “The Last Zombie: The End,” and even several issues of “Knuckles the Echidna.”
What’s it all about?
As the name suggests, it’s about… Miles Morales, who is Spider-Man (originally the Ultimate Universe Spider-Man, brought into the main Marvel continuity post-“Secret Wars,” but you already knew that).
The comic follows Miles as he attempts to balance his super heroics with his personal life and school work. We’ve seen as he tries to juggle responsibilities, start new relationships, and generally try to do the right thing. Oh, and he’s constantly being observed and tested by this creepy villain called the Assessor, so there’s that too.
More recently, he’s had his own “Clone Saga,” which was a significantly better story than the original one (for starters, everyone knew which Miles was real and which ones were clones). This lead to conflicts that draw in and threaten his family, while creating real stakes that don’t have an easy resolution.
Now, we’re right at the start of a new arc, where Miles is going on a universe-hopping journey. He’s met the T’challa of the wild west (as introduced in Exiles, so it’s nice that Saladin is bringing him back in), caught up with Spider-Ham, and even tangled with zombies. So now’s a great point to hop in and start reading.
What makes it so great?
This is, by all means, a character-driven comic. While so many superhero comics use the character’s life outside the costume as filler or a B-plot between heroics, “Miles Morales: Spider-Man” really dives into all aspects of Miles’ life, and it’s all the better for it.
We get to see him struggle and grow, both as a person and a hero. And the fact that his family is aware of his heroics adds another nice level of development and characterization for everyone. It helps that each character is absolutely likable in their own way; we want to see them succeed, we get invested in their stories, and they all feel multi-faceted and alive. Basically: there’s good characterization going on.
And of course, each of the story arcs this comic has gone through have been great. That’s right, they actually had a “Clone Saga” that was good. It created high tension, a real sense of danger, and tough character decisions. Mistakes were made and consequences were had.
Now, Miles is getting to go on his own universe-hopping journey, visiting all sorts of worlds – and building up to a dark “what could have been” universe that ties back to his past arcs.
Frankly, I can’t think of a single story arc in “Miles Morales: Spider-Man” that I didn’t like – it’s just been really solid from start to finish.
Now let’s talk about the art. There hasn’t been a bad artist to illustrate this comic, and right now, Chris Allen’s style is perfect for the universe-traversing journey Miles and Shift are on.
The artwork is large, detailed, and really brings out every important aspect of the scene. We can see the individual folds in Shift’s ever-morphing muscles, but they don’t distract from the overall design. We get large, impressive backgrounds set everywhere from zombie-filled streets to western saloons. Every page feels alive, filled with little touches that add to, well, everything.
Continued belowIn short: great storylines, great character work, and great artwork. So yeah, “great” would be a fitting description.
How can you read it?
Quite a few ways, actually! For starters, you can pick up the latest issue (#37) today at your friendly local comic shop, or online at Comixology or Marvel.com. If you want to catch up on everything leading up to now, you can find volumes 1-6 of the trade paperbacks out anywhere comics are sold, with volume 7 coming out in June.
