The Web of Life Is Back in Spider-Verse #1
The Spider-Verse is back! And if the cover is anything to go by, only Miles Morales can save the Web of Life in Spider-Verse #1. Spider-Verse will have to do a lot of explaining, given how the last spider-oriented event went.
This series will be perfect for fans who have devotedly followed all of the Spider events, but it’ll also be a great starting point for new fans. Or, you know, for fans hooked after the animated movie.
Spider-Verse #1 has a massive creative team behind the project, so you know it will be full of memorable moments. Having read this issue, I can confirm that it holds up to the promises being made.
Writing
Spider-Verse #1 has what is quite possibly one of the best introductions to any significant event – which is saying something. It’s dramatically written and visually stunning (but more later). It’s one of those moments that’ll give fans goosebumps.
Jed MacKay has taken the helm for this new project, and he didn’t waste any time. This issue took off at a running start – quite literally at some points. There is still a lot that needs to be explained. But there’s little doubt in my mind that they’ll get around to all of that in due time.
There were many delightful hat tips during this issue, references to moments and characters from all the previous events. In that sense, it was full of feel-good moments. It also had a healthy dose of chaos and confusion, guaranteed to keep the readers going.
There are plenty of highlights to this issue. Perhaps my favorite is how MacKay has set up which characters will – and won’t – be included in this series of events. It’s established in a way that makes sense while not hiding from the fact that characters are being left out.
Art
Remember that massive creative team I mentioned? Well, they all fit into the artist category for this issue. Spider-Verse #1 had a variety of art styles showcased within the pages. This resulted in a rather significant need for a good amount of artists.
Artists Juan Frigeri and Carlos Lopez are responsible for that outstanding introduction I mentioned. They also worked on several other pages. Taking over from them were artists Stacey Lee, Arthur Adams, James Harren, Dike Ruan, and Sheldon Vella.
Lee also provided the colors for their pages. Working alongside Lee for the colorists were Federico Blee, Dave Stewart, and Sheldon Vella. Every artist got a chance to let their style shine – and it perfectly matched the universe they were assigned to. It was a unique and clever way of making the differences obvious.
Finally, VC’s Joe Sabino was in charge of the lettering for this issue. His work helped to unify the multiple different art styles into one cohesive piece of work.
Conclusion
Spider-Verse #1 was a dramatic and fantastic introduction to what will surely be a memorable series. This series had much to live up to, with the other events and movies fresh in many fans’ minds. Yet it’s already proving up to the task and then some.
This series will be one to watch if the clever way of showing different earths and spider characters is any indication. I’m looking forward to what reveals will be included in Spider-Verse #2.
This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.
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