SPIDER-GWEN #1

Capsule Review

Writer Jason Latour and artist Robbi Rodriguez provide a vivid, bouncy, exuberant, and fun superhero tale. I feel bad that I didn’t like it! And in this case I think the problem is with the reviewer, and not the work. Taken in isolation, Spider-Gwen is a high-quality bit of teen superhero storytelling, but in the context of the Spider-Man “franchise,” it feels like a gimmick, like a line-extension, and like it “doesn’t count.” All of which is unfair, because this is a nice book, but your ability to enjoy it will hinge on whether you think it’s really cool that this time the radioactive spider bit Gwen and this time it was Peter Parker who became the Lizard and this time Captain Stacy has to deal with his own daughter (instead of his daughter’s boyfriend) being the superhero. If you’ve never read a Spider-Man book, you might like it (but might also be puzzled by all the meta stuff); if all you’ve ever read are Spider-Man books, then maybe you’ll like this niche-of-a-niche stuff. I didn’t. An excellent book that I didn’t like! You can’t win them all.

Approachability For New Readers

Trying, but it’s hard. The splash page is a “Previously On …” recap, but the events themselves didn’t make sense to this new reader. Who was that dying guy? (Oh, it’s Peter Parker …which isn’t a spoiler, by the way). There’s a big text feature in the back that brings it all together. So you can get up to speed on Spider-Gwen, if you want. I applaud the effort.

Read #2?

No. This is a nice book, but I’m not really interested in it’s-the-same-as-Spider-Man-but-only-different-in-this-alternate-universe-butterfly-flapping-wing-way.

Sales Rank

#3 October

Read more about Spider-Man at Longbox Graveyard

• The Amazing Spider-Man
• Top Ten Issues of Amazing Spider-Man
• Spider-Man Covers Gallery
• Spider-Man!
• Spectacular Spider-Foes Gallery
• Top Ten Loves of Peter Parker Part 1 and Part 2
• Spider-Man’s Bottom Ten Bronze Age Bums
• Steve Ditko’s Spider-Faces
• Face-to-Face With … The Lizard!
• Spider-Man Gallery
• Best Frenemies Forever
• Top Ten Spider-Man Battles Part 1 and Part 2

Read more capsule reviews of Marvel’s All-New All-Different rolling reboot.