Spider-Man! Spider-Man! Does whatever! A spider can! As long as that spider never, ever leaves high school so that Marvel can keep going back to the neverending wellspring of stories that is teenage Peter Parker. Still, this is easily one of the better issues drawn from that well so I’m not complaining.
Read on down below for our full spoiler free review of “Spidey” #1!
Written by Robbie Thompson
Illustrated by Nick Bradshaw
Think you know everything about Peter Parker’s early days? Think again. It’s action, adventure and a rip-roaring romp in classic Marvel style as Spidey swings onto shelves this winter! Featuring adventures from throughout the web-slinging wonder’s younger years, it’s a return to the days of overdue homework, not knowing how to talk to girls (or anybody, really) and just plenty of danger. Witness some of Spidey’s earliest tangles with the likes of Doc Ock, Sandman, and a host of other unexpected guests!
There’s a strange irony to the fact that a book like this came about because of Marvel’s All-New, All-Different initiative when, honestly, it’s probably the least new and least different idea Marvel has had in years. Marvel loves taking Peter Parker back to high school even though Stan Lee and Steve Ditko had him graduate after only 28 issues. They did it with the “Chapter One” series, they did it with “Ultimate Spider-Man”, the movies have been rebooted twice in order to focus on Peter Parker’s high school days even more than the last series to the point where Peter Parker is now played by a literal child. It’s even stranger, then, that an issue that, by all counts, should come across as the most played out story ever told actually comes off as fresh and, more importantly, fun thanks to the efforts of Robbie Thompson and Nick Bradshaw.
If “Ultimate Spider-Man” was the decompressed version of Peter Parker’s early days, “Spidey” #1 is the hyper-compressed version. Instead of having to wait four months to see Peter Parker finally put on the Spider-Man costume, “Spidey” #1 pretty much skips over the origin story in a single page, “All-Star Superman” style, in order to focus on the fun and carefree comedy and action of the rest of issue that sees Peter go up against Doctor Octopus and his most dreaded enemy yet: history tests. The one thing that struck me the most about this issue is the almost breakneck pace at which Thompson and Bradshaw go through the beats of this issue. The feeling isn’t that the story is rushed, but more like a well-timed comedy that never allows any down time between gags. The feeling is like that of Spider-Man as if he were in a John Hughes movie except when he’s not getting into high school hijinks, he’s swinging around and taking out villains.
It makes for a great first issue that focuses more on being a fun, action-filled Spider-Man story than anything else. Thompson and Bradshaw play pretty fast and loose with continuity, allowing “Spidey” #1 to stand on it’s own without being bogged down trying to tie itself into other stories that taken place during Peter’s teenage years. While that does mean that this could end up simply retreading old ground that we’ve seen in things like “Ultimate Spider-Man” or the “Learning To Crawl” miniseries, this issue proves that a fun story trumps continuity in this case.
A lot of the fun in this issue comes from Nick Bradshaw’s art. There’s a great sense of visual comedy throughout the issue and Bradshaw uses an excellent sense of perspective in panels to create the set-up and punchlines to several different visual jokes as you read through the page. This issue is packed with humour and is perfectly fitted to the goofy, witty humour of Spider-Man. Many of the pages are so strongly designed around Nick Bradshaw’s style of visual comedy that, honestly, they can be read and appreciated without having to read the captions or dialogue. That’s one of the truest marks of a comic where the art isn’t just there to serve the writing, but is an integral part of the storytelling and it’s definitely the case here.
Continued belowNot only that, but Bradshaw obviously excels at capturing the action of the big fight between Spidey and Doc Ock as anyone who was even remotely familiar with his art would have guessed. The detailing in Bradshaw’s pencils is a perfect fit for the characters of Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus as Bradshaw is able to fill a double-page spread with Spider-Man leading around and trying to fight off Doc Ock’s tentacles in an attempt to get at the man himself and it makes for a gorgeous page to pour over and try to appreciate every detail.
It’s the perfect blend of action and humour that makes Spider-Man such a compelling character to read about and makes this issue such a blast to read. While it may feel like material that has been covered before in the myriad of teenage Peter Parker stories that have been mentioned throughout this review, Thompson and Bradshaw breathe fresh life into the high school era of Peter Parker’s life by focusing on telling a fun Spider-Man story over trying to tie it into the continuity of his life. While adult Peter Parker is off being an international superspy, now’s as good a time as any to go back to basics and remind ourselves just how fun a Spider-Man story can really be.
Final Verdict: 8.6 – It’s funny, it’s full of action and it’s probably my favourite Spider-Man issue I’ve read in years. Highly recommended.
