Series: Spider-Gwen
Writer: Jason Latour
Artist: Robbi Rodriguez
Inker: Rico Renzi
Page Count: 24
Summary from Comixology: “Because you demanded it. Gwen Stacy is back on the webs and has an all-new, all-different mystery to solve: the reappearance of The Lizard! Spider-Woman was convinced that the Lizard died in her arms alongside Peter Parker. But when a similar monster goes on a reptilian rampage, she’s left with doubts not only about Peter’s life, but his death as well. And witness the debut of the Osborns of Earth-65! Fan-favorite creators Jason Latour, Robbi Rodriguez and Rico Renzi are back for more with a story that every Spider-Fan will be talking about!”
Spider-Gwen made her first appearance in Edge of Spider-Verse #2, which came out in 2014. The first issue one of Spider-Gwen came out in February of this year, and it ran for four issues, until Secret Wars happened and put an end to all current Marvel books. And now it’s October, and we have a second #1 Spider-Gwen. So thanks for that Marvel. Her first on going book ended before the first arc ended. I’m not really sure why a series needs a second relaunch in a years time. I actually spent a good 10 minutes bitching about this with the owner of my LCS, and I said I wasn’t going to buy it. But, I ended up buying it because I’m a sucker for Spider-Gwen, and I think Marvel knows this. At least the book was only $3.99 instead of $5.99 (I’m looking at you Amazing Spider-Man).
If you haven’t read Spider-Gwen (the first series), I think you’ll be pretty confused and lost in this issue. This is not a good starting on point, since it seems to still somewhat continue with the previous story arc. I have been following Gwen since her appearance in Edge of Spider-Verse (Hell, I even flipped that book for $80 just a month ago). If you are a fan of this series, then this is definitely a book that you need to check out. Spider-Gwen is honestly one of my favorite Spider-Characters. I have always had a soft spot for Gwen, even her early character that was extremely snobby and despised Spider-Man. I actually love this rendition of the character. She’s a bit of a rocker chick, she struggles with daily life, and she has the essential “Parker luck,” that we all love the 616 Spider-Man for.
Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez make a great creative team, and I love that they have been working on Spider-Gwen since Edge of Spider-Verse #2. At the moment, Spider-Gwen feels more like a book that would be a creative owned property that you would read on Image, instead of it being a Marvel book, and I think that’s one of the things that makes this book so special and unique. From the cover, to the very last page, this book is just visually stunning. The art work, and the colors just blend in one of the best ways I could ever imagine. I think one of the greatest thing about this book truly is Robbi Rodriguez’s art. I was on the fence about picking up this book, and his art was the final selling point for me. If you haven’t read the previous story arc of Spider-Gwen, I really can’t recommend this book to you (but, you should go track down the previous story. It was great fun). BUT, if you have jumped into Gwen’s spider-verse, then you need to pick this book up. With all this being said, you should really get into this book. It won’t be hard to track down the first five, and it’ll be totally worth it.
Music Pairing:
There were a couple series moments when Gwen relives, and struggles with causing the death of her beloved friend Peter Parker. She was trying to do what was best, but the situation didn’t really play out her her, the way she had wished. Also, Gwen isn’t having the best day, so I feel like she would be jamming some sad music while these events unfolded. So, get in touch with your emotions and jam the post-pop punk band Daisyhead, and specifically their track Neck. Which deals with some heavy subject matter.