Review of Spider-Gwen #1

Gwen Stacy is ALIVE you say….? Really? Wait.. She got bit by the Spider instead of Peter? What weird universe is this? This will be a slightly SPOILER FILLED Review!

I find myself once again interesting in the NEW titles Marvel has been releasing. Where I plan on writing reviews for at least the first issues. Some I’ll stick with others I might not. just like Silk…. Spider-Gwen comes spinning outta the Spider-Verse story. I know I probably should read that right? I will eventually. If Marvel is launching these new #1 issues…. then we should expect a smaller catch up page in the beginning… and after that just plow ahead with whatever story that’s being told. So on Spider-Gwen’s creative team we have on writing Jason Latour, on art Robbi Rodriguez, and for colors we have Rico Renzi. All three are names I’ve never heard of. However I am still interested to see what they do with the Gwen Stacy character!

Writing: 

After reading this first issue, I can safely say I’m very unsure of this series. Latour’s writing is good. The story flows very well. There is a previously page for people like me that have yet to read Spider-Verse. Latour sets up the main characters well. We even see many parallels to how Peter’s life usually is. Specifically with JJJ going after Spider-Woman aka Spider-Gwen. I’m not sure what it is about Latour’s writing style, but this feels very repetitive. I dunno why… The funny thing is I’m more intrigued by the Silk series than this one after one issue. In this issue you have Spider-Gwen vs the Vulture. Maybe it’s because Gwen Stacy has been in the Spider-Verse since it’s inception… that I feel this is repetitive. Whereas Silk is a whole brand new character to me. I did very much enjoy the back story for Gwen here… She’s the former drummer of the band The Mary Janes. Latour’s dialogue and Gwen’s quips are all well done. But I think I was expecting more outta this than I got. Maybe if Latour had given Gwen a better villain than The Vulture… I’d like the plot of the issue more.

Art:

Robbi Rodriguez and Rico Renzi are great artists for this title. Even though this is my first time seeing their art… I really enjoyed it. If I had one complaint it’s that at times the art seems very shiny and glossy. Then on other pages it feels like it’s been shredded by a four-year old. The colors absolutely are the best thing about the art. They pop and fade in all the right places. I also really like the Spider-Gwen design. She has a spider-like costume, but it doesn’t really resemble Spider-Man in any way shape or form. It’s more of what if a Spider heroine had a hoodie… yo!? Other than that really digging the art.

Final Thoughts:

Overall I “liked” Spider-Gwen #1, but not sure if I’ll stick with it past issue #2. The story is well written, but as I stated I wish there was a different villain. You can get Spider-Gwen #1 at your local comic shops or on Comixology.