Marvel comics is looking to flesh out the next year of Spider-Man’s life in publishing. Marvel’s “Amazing Spider-Man” title is still in a strong place, utilizing a massive supporting cast for some great moments! I have been waiting since “Dark X-Men” to see Chasm return to Marvel! Thankfully, “Web of Spider-Man” #1 has the latest on Ben Reilly. Supporting players like Kaine and Madame Web are back for this one-shot as well. Will Marvel be able to showcase a confident preview of Spidey’s next year of publishing in “Web of Spider-Man” #1?
Cover by Greg CapulloWritten by Zeb Wells, Cody Ziglar, Steve Foxe, Stephanie Phillips, Greg Weisman, Alex Segura
Penciled by John Romita Jr., Ed McGuinness, Greg Land
Illustrated by Eleonora Carlini, Ig Guara, Eric Gapstur, Joey Vazquez, Salvador Larroca
Inked by Scott Hanna, Mark Farmer, Jay Leisten
Colored by Marcio Menyz, Arthur Hesli, Arif Prianto, Matt Milla, Frank D’Armata, Edgar Delgado, Guru-eFX2024 is primed to be one of the biggest years in Spider-History and you’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg! In the pages of this one-shot, we’re going to lay out some of the biggest upcoming Spider-Stories and characters in the Spider-Verse through the beginning of 2025, and you aren’t going to want to miss this!
Marvel is headed back to fleshing out the aftermath of Spidey’s ‘Gang War’ in “Amazing Spider-man” Pt. 1. Wells continues to implement a close attention to detail with his supporting cast. Tombstone finds himself at odds with Spider-Man finding the White Rabbit in the middle of their brawl. The script is short but picks up on a small but important thread and pulls it into the forefront of the title. Romita’s artwork is solid here, showcasing Peter swinging across New York with a surprising level of accuracy. While far from perfect, Romita’s depiction of Tombstone continues to implement an element of animosity through the tense facial expressions. The first panel introduces the motion and themes of the issue incredibly well. Romita’s anatomy appears to be improving in recent “Amazing Spider-Man” issues. The “Amazing Spider-Man”‘s focus on crime reaps lots of rewards in this first story after the framing sequence.
The story focusing on “Miles Morales: Spider-Man” features incredibly expressive and nimble artwork from Elonora Carlini. Carlini’s strong layouts implement a mysterious tone that ties to Marvel’s upcoming “Blood Hunt” story. Watching Miles battle Energy Vampires with Hightail is intriguing but the imprecise anatomy of Miles pairs down the artwork slightly. The narrative in the Miles Morales story from Ziglar was barely able to implement enough plot threads to get readers to return to the main series. In terms of artwork and story, the “Miles Morales: Spider-Man” tale in “Web of Spider-Man” #1 appears to lack a sense of focus.
Steve Foxe has put Jessica Drew as “Spider-Woman” through a heavy emotional toll in her new comic book. Getting the chance to tap into Jessica’s fractured psyche was a great emotional hook for the “Spider-Woman” story in “Web of Spider-Man” #1. Ig Guara’s sleek and subtle artwork propels the script nicely. Unfortunately, the issue ends on a subtle cliffhanger that fails to strike a powerful note for Jessica. The interesting framing on the final pages introduces a complex visual narrative element to the book that ties into Foxe’s script nicely.
The “Amazing Spider-Man” Pt. 2 opens strong with a tease at The Insidious Six of Limbo realized with Grave Goblin. Norman Osborn suits up as the heroic Gold Goblin to try and put a stop to him. Regular “Amazing Spider-Man” contributor Ed McGuinness’ artwork is teaming with energy as he draws so many small details on Norman’s abs or The Goblin’s sinister gaze. The reflection of Norman’s past teased through his visor was a great narrative element realized on the page visually. The homage to an older Spidey story was beautifully rendered from this creative team. The “Amazing Spider-Man” Pt. 2 is a success thanks to the expansion of a curious story with Norman and beautiful artwork from McGuinness!
The Stephanie Phillips written “Spider-Gwen: The Ghost Spider” carries a casual tone in the first couple of pages. Phillips details Gwen’s adventures through smug captions that evoke a strong personality. Eric Gapstur’s art is able to find palpable emotion in the final pages teasing a dark story moment. Gapstur is able to bring some tension toward the forefront in an epic moment with a mysterious Marvel hero. “Spider-Gwen: The Ghost Spider” should leave Marvel Cinematic Universe fans with a fist-bump moment. Gapstur brings a curious element of wonder captured in the last page from an ambitious layout and design.
Continued belowSteve Foxe’s “Chasm” story should serve to keep readers on their toes. The way this story crosses with “Amazing Spider-Man” Pt. 2 introduces a clever narrative hook. Greg Land’s art continues to drop the ball on facial details. However, the wonder coming from Foxe’s script and mysterious cast of characters assembled for this narrative should have big “Amazing Spider-Man” fans happy. Foxe and Land introduce their leading man with gusto later in the story. Land captures a few tense moments for this dark outlook Ben has on the world. Foxe nicely taps into the characterization Zeb Wells introduced towards Ben Reilly as he turned into the villainous Chasm. Ben continues to be a tragic, mysterious figure in Foxe and Land’s “Chasm” tale. When the story ends, Ben find himself in a new status quo.
Greg Weisman and Joey Vazquez evoke cartoon imagery and a carefree tone in “Spectacular spider-Men.” Vazquez’s elaborate layouts capture so much storytelling from Weisman’s scripting. The casual friendship between Peter and Miles hardly feels unique here after stories like “Spider-Men” and “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” explored these scenarios in a lot of depth. The layout on the last page of “Spectacular Spider-Men” communicates the casual tone of the series in a natural way. Unfortunately, the lighter tone for “Spectacular Spider-Men” may have sacrificed interesting story dynamics.
Author Steve Foxe finds a strong, dark voice for “Kaine” very quickly in his story centered around the tragic figure. The supernatural forces that Kaine battles with brings a very dark tone to the narrative. Greg Land’s brooding art fits the tone of the issue but falls short with the character expressions. Steve Foxe finds an incredibly surprising character to close out the story with. Land’s rendition of this Marvel villain is depicted with a strong sense of charisma.
“Spider-Society” from Alex Segura and Salvador Larroca has a ton of exposition involving recent Spider-Man stories. Segura crafts so many disparate narrative elements, smothering the page in dialogue. Larocca’s gritty artwork highlights the overwritten script with layouts that feel crammed. The “Spider-Society” story has an intriguing twist that falls short due to the expressions illustrated by Larroca. Some of the characters connecting the themes of this tale with “Edge of Spider-Verse” are tantalizing but may not be strong enough to merit a read through of the entire mini.
Marvel’s “Web of Spider-Man” #1 is an uneven comic book. Devoted fans of Chasm, or “Amazing Spider-Man” will no doubt find a lot to love here. The future of Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise and spin-offs does appear to be bright.
Final Verdict: 6.5 – “Web of Spider-Man” #1 is an uneven anthology comic book with clever teases of upcoming narrative elements in the publishing line.
