This week, we have a main review of Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #1, and in the rapid rundown we checkout the epilog to the latest Spider-Man crossover with Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral—Bodycount #1.
Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #1
Cover art by Phil Jimenez and Alex Sinclair
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Marcus To
Color Artist: Alex Sinclair
Art, Tell-All Pages: Marcos Martin & Muntsa Vicente
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
With Spider-Man: Brand New Day hitting theaters in the coming weeks, Marvel is seeking to capitalize on that sweet, sweet life-giving corporate synergy by revisiting the Brand New Day era of the comics with their latest Marvel throwback series—Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #1. Long-time Spider-Man scribe and key member of the BND-era brain trust Dan Slott has returned to the web-head and joining him is the steady hand of Marcus To. As far as these throwback series and synergy-tying books go, this return to the BND era is off to a strong start.
Dan Slott’s long tenure on Spider-Man has left me wondering if he would have anything left to say as he revisited the character. I have always enjoyed his take on Spider-Man, even if it got a bit long in the tooth. Spectacular Spider-Man shows that Slott is still far more than comfortable to tell a good Spider-Man story, even if it isn’t groundbreaking. Of course, I don’t think that is exactly what the comic is setting out to do.
Art by Marcus To and Alex Sinclair
Fans of the PlayStation 4 Spider-Man game and/or Marvel Cinematic Universe will find this comic to be a great read as it makes Mr. Negative the central character and simplifies the whole One More Day/Brand New Day dynamic in the cleanest way possible. This is accomplished with what is credited as these Tell-All Pages that serve as a type of data page/recap but done in amazing Marcos Martin art. For example, the opening page of the story is one of the best one-page retellings of the Spider-Man Origin I have ever read and the OMD/BND Recap is so simple and clean that it makes me want to revisit the story.
Art by Marcus To and Alex Sinclair
The plot’s focus on Mr. Negative is a no-brainer given his central nature to the BND era and the character’s rise to prominence in recent years. Slott’s inclusion of Punisher helps synergize with the film and his take on Punisher is a distillation of the character. His dynamic alongside Spider-Man is always a treat and allows Slott to show off his strength—Spider-Man banter. Slott isn’t exactly swinging for the fences here, but instead he is opting to play a game of solid fundamentals. At times, it is nice to just have a good Spider-Man comic in the sea of symbiotes, revelations, and space adventures.
Marcus To’s art is well-executed here. The page layouts and panels are dynamic and easy to follow. He draws a solid Spider-Man and his body language is equally sound. There are moments that he struggles with Kingpin’s proportions early in the issue, but that character gives most artist fits. It’s a good, workmanlike performance. The aforementioned tell-all pages by Marcos Martin are a real treat and help elevate the book. I hope Marvel does more of these and collects them somewhere. It’s a great way to provide readers with vital information.
Art by Marcus To and Alex Sinclair
Overall, I deeply enjoyed Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #1. It’s interesting to see Marvel revisit this particular era of Spider-Man. Be it in the movie or even the recent Brand New Day collections. I think the era gets derided by fans given the connection to OMD, but I feel that upon revisit most fans will find there’s a lot to like about it. The bigger issue at hand is Marvel’s difficulty in figuring out what to do with Peter Parker. There are few Marvel characters that have been messed with more than ol’ Pete and it keeps making the character an impernable wall to casual readers. So, I think if you are curious about checking out Spider-Man comics with the new movie on the horizon you will find Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #1 to be a good time.
Final Verdict: Buy
Rapid Rundown:
- Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral—Bodycount #1
Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral—Bodycount #1- Following the events of Death Spiral, Writer Charles Soule and artist Kev Walker takes us into the mind of Torment as he plummets to his death at the hands of Venom. Soule takes us through the character’s history as a sociopath that sees families as a burden or a spiral around their necks and seeks to alleviate the target’s burden by killing all of the family members. It’s pretty messed up, but Soule does a great job in just one shot to give us this twisted origin. Walker’s art (alongside Matt Hollingsworth’s colors) is absolutely gorgeous. The art is moody and dynamic throughout the issue and the way he gives Torment this inhuman body language really hits home how much of a sociopath he is. This is a great little epilogue to the crossover and worth checking out.
Read past installments of the Marvel Rundown here!
And check out the Beat’s other recent comics reviews!
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