Review: Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #1

Although The Inheritors are causing chaos throughout the Spiderverse in Marvel’s Spider-centric event, Spider-Geddon, Spider-Gwen manages to turn the heat down just enough to give us a solid story on a much smaller scale. That is at least for most of this first issue from the creative team of Seanan McGuire and Rosi Kampe.Â Gwen has recently been released from prison, which is where the last series ended, and is scrambling to find her feet in her current circumstances, being broke, hungry and a bit unprepared for the events that are about to unfold.

McGuire does a bang up job finding Gwen’s voice and making it authentic, relatable and likable right from the start. She is understandably more unsure of herself than she has been in the past and that comes across in McGuire’s character development. There is an underlying sense of self-doubt, subtle but, it speaks to the emotional baggage now being toted around by Gwen in the wake of her situation. This is basically an in-depth character study of Spider-Gwen with some well crafted action beats woven in to keep the pace lively. That being said, there are also some big picture elements going on just beneath the surface that add a bit of urgency to the narrative. The introduction of an alternate universe Goblin that is neither green nor male, as well as a Peter Parker that looks more like Harry Potter than his 616 counterpart. The humor is nuanced and perfectly timed, Gwen’s inability to deliver perfectly honed banter is in itself some of the wittiest banter in the Spider-books. Although the second half of the book takes a necessary turn toward darker thematic territory, it works cohesively with the lighter material to deliver an extremely balanced and well thought out story. A fantastic cameo by Spider-Ham works exceedingly well as a means of delivering crucial exposition and ties the entire issue firmly into the larger events of Spider-Geddon.

Visually, Rosi Kampe’s art is imaginative and original. The action sequences are expertly choreographed and stunningly staged. The final face off between Gwen and the Goblin is magnificently executed. The environment feels futuristic yet somehow familiar, there is a sense of dystopia,a kind of neo-modernism in the ultra-clean lines, but not so much as to render the setting without heart or humanity. The characters are rendered dynamically especially in the case of Spider-Gwen herself; her costume is beautiful and iconic particularly once Ian Herring’s vibrant colors are added to the mix. Kampe has the uncanny ability to render an almost limitless array of emotions despite Gwen being masked throughout most of the issue.

Overall, as a debut issue, this one is surprisingly action heavy while still setting up an engrossing narrative which is something that usually takes at least two issues to accomplish. This creative team is firing on all cylinders and reaching cruising altitude in record-setting fashion. This issue is full of heart and McGuire handles a fan-favorite character with respect and precision. The same can be said of the visual element of this collaboration, Kampe makes Spider-Gwen swing off the page, the panels are cleverly used to punch up the pace as well as deliver some of the best action scenes on the racks this week. It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a huge fan of this character as well as the supporting cast, but if this was my first exposure to the world of Spider-Gwen, I would certainly be a fan after reading it. 4.75/5

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Writer-Seanan McGuire
Artist- Rosi Kampe
Colors-Ian Herring