Gwen Stacy and her dad are now on Earth-616 after Gwen’s recent bonding with the Cosmic Cube. She’s arrived just in time too, as a symbiote unlike any other is leaving a swath of corpses throughout the city and only Ghost-Spider can stop it!
All New Spider-Gwen: Ghost-Spider #1 is very much a “day in the life” type story, showing Gwen continuing to adjust to life on Earth-616 as she continues her fiery relationship with Fabian LaMuerto (the son of longtime Spider-Man foe Black Tarantula) and tries to get a band together (is Dazzler available?). Amidst the pains of her new life, we drop in on murder scenes and the contrast between Gwen’s light-hearted adventuring and daily grind alternating with bloody crime scenes makes for some jarring (and gripping) reading.
I like this direction the book’s taking, with writer Stephanie Phillips moving from the cosmic storytelling of her previous Spider-Gwen series to a more gritty, street-level tale here. Gwen’s a great character and her Spider-Gwen alter ego, much like Peter Parker’s, fits well in any scenario and genre. Here, we’ve moved from “Infinity War”-level cosmic to “Law and Order” and it’s all good.
Bringing Gwen’s dad to Earth-616 was a great decision and I love that Gwen has him there to give her advice and comfort. Peter always had Aunt May and Gwen has an equally loving and caring person watching over her. And with her dad on the police force (just like the original Gwen and Captain Stacy) it opens up a lot of rich story possibilities.
Marvel
In terms of the other supporting characters, I’ve always found Fabian a bit grating, but I keep hoping he’ll grow on me. Another Spider character makes an appearance here and I hope she stays around, because she and Gwen have a great dynamic and I’d love to see her become a permanent fixture in the series.
Artist Paolo Villanelli’s art fits the story’s atmosphere perfectly, his style resembling a more kinetic version of Frank Miller’s Daredevil run way back in the ’80s. Page 6 of the issue is especially dazzling, a splash page with Ghost-Spider swinging at the reader as she webs across the city, looking like she’s going to crash through the panel any second and break free of the confines of the book.
If you’re unfamiliar with Gwen and her history, no problem, there’s a blurb at the beginning of the book summarizing how she got to this point, what her powers are, etc.. It’s a perfect primer and introduction to the character so you can dive right into the story with no confusion. The series kicks off with this lovely “day in the life” story for Gwen as a nightmarish serial killer prowls the city.
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