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Review: Spider-Men #1

By | June 14th, 2012
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

It’s finally happened! After 12 years of having two universes that shared the same shelf space in the Marvel Multiverse, The Main Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Marvel Universe are meeting in this, the first issue of “Spider-Men!”

Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by Sara Pichelli

History is made as Ultimate Spider-Man Miles Morales meets the one and only Peter Parker, your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man!

This book is an important one. It’s the first time in the history of Marvel Comics that the original universe crossed over with the younger Ultimate Universe introduced in the beginning of the last decade. In many ways, you could compare it to “Flash” #123. In that book, Barry Allen and Jay Garrick helped establish what we know now as the Multiverse concept. With the obvious caveat that the multiverse has existed in the pages of Marvel for decades, this book no less connects the two in a very real way.

One of the best things about this book is the creative team. Bendis, the writer of “Ultimate Spider-Man” has always been a writer who got the voice of Spider-Man. He understood the weight Peter carries and how he tries to offset it with humor and self-effacing comments. It was true in his run on “Ultimate Spider-Man,” and it’s currently true in his run on the various “Avengers” books starring the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler. Miles, on the other hand, is a bit different. Miles Morales, the new, Ultimate Universe Spider-Man, created by Bendis and series artist Sara Pichelli, is a bit more on the reserved side. He’s quiet and thoughtful. In many ways, Peter and Miles are exactly alike. In others, they couldn’t be more different.

Bendis’ take on the book is a simple one, and one we’ve seen before, but is no less effective. While out on patrol, Peter stumbles upon some funny business and ends up in a universe where he’s dead and there’s another Spider-Man swinging around town. The set-up is the books strongest point and simultaneously its weakest. The book focuses on Peter throughout 19 of the 20 pages; it makes a lot of sense because of the trauma of ending up in a world where you’re dead and replaced by someone else, but on the other hand, a dual narrative might have served the story better. Getting into Miles head to see how he reacts to his returning predecessor feels like a misstep in the first issue and I hope it’s one that is corrected in the next issue and beyond. Miles is a lead in this book just like Peter and should be treated as such. I would also hope that they would take the opportunity to give more bang for our buck, as this is a $4 book with only enough pages for a book that is $3 over at DC.

Pichelli, the artist over on “Ultimate Spider-Man” along with “Spider-Men,” is the highlight of the book. It feels like she took the time to make it as polished as it could possibly be, as much as each issue of “USM” is, at the very least. Her grasp on the physics of Spider-Man along with the energy of New York City (ah hurr hurr hurr, you’ll see why that’s so funny) bring a lot of fun to the title, and her composition for action sequences AND personal sequences along with glorious reaching skylines make for a hugely enjoyable comic to pick up and enjoy. The last page in particular has so much going for it, and it’s just a one page splash panel. The emotion that she can bring to the table, especially for a page that had two fully masked characters is astounding.

If you’re a fan of either Spider-Man, you’ll dig this book. It’s fun, exciting, and does something that’s never been done before by Marvel. There’s a little bit of something for everyone, so you should pick this book up!

Final Verdict: 8.5/10 – Buy


Gilbert Short

Gilbert Short. The Man. The Myth. The Legend. When he's not reading comic books so you don't have to, he's likely listening to mediocre music or watching excellent television. Passionate about Giants baseball and 49ers football. When he was a kid he wanted to be The Ultimate Warrior. He still kind of does. His favorite character is Superman and he will argue with you about it if you try to convince him otherwise. He also happens to be the head of Social Media Relations, which means you should totally give him a follow onTwitter.

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