Issue #1

Spider-Verse is over -more over less- and fan favourite Spider-Gwen is given her own ongoing series. Something about this character has had her resonate with readers and it’s great that she’s managed to stick around with her own title.

If you haven’t read her first appearance or any of her subsequent appearances in the Spider-Verse arc then you’ll probably be lost here. This issue picks up right after Spider-Verse leaves off and assumes you know what’s all going on. This does mean that it’s not a slow start but it’s also not the best way for new readers to access the character.

Part of what makes Spider-Gwen so successful is that Gwen is a very distinct character in her own right. She’s not a simple female version of Peter Parker and she’s also not the same Gwen that readers will have come to know prior to her death in the main series continuity. She’s her own person and there’s no attempt to pander to any perceived expectations that people might have about a superpowered Gwen. Given that Gwen is a drummer -or a former drummer at this point- there’s a certain rebellious tone to the issue and her character in general which works as being a lot more than simple teen angst. She is a fun character to follow and has a dose of realism to her that I find really refreshing. She’s a lot like Ms. Marvel in the sense that she seems like she could be a real person living in today’s world.

I had a major issue with how the villain was portrayed here. For every great moment that Gwen had the Vulture had an equally terrible one. There was something about him that seemed campy and over the top which completely contrasts with the sophisticated storytelling in the other pages of the issue.

One of the central conflicts definitely seems to be Gwen’s changed relationship with her father after revealing her identity but there wasn’t really enough done to establish this more than at surface level. I dare say this will feature more prominently as the series continues but for now it seems a little uninteresting.