Gwenpool is back! She has returned, joined by Kate Bishop (Hawkeye), Spider-Man, and the always welcome Jeff the Land Shark, to face her doppelgänger and new villain, The Architect, in a bloody, gory brawl through New York City.
Oh, and Fin Fang Foom is here too. Kind of worth the price of admission to support Fin Fang Foom appearances.
Marvel
With a character like Gwenpool, the story is pushing the boundaries and unravels a bit as the narrative goes on. The main cast of supporting characters are consistently well written and help ground the comic when the meta kicks in. Gwenpool and Kate’s interactions are always welcome, and the friendship is felt through the issues. Spider-Man is also the perfect character to have around an unreliable narrator, and helps provide moments of levity and calmness as the world goes sideways. Cavan Scott’s dialogue is natural and keeps the pages turning.
The art could have pushed the envelope more to match the story and writing. Issue #1 sets the tone with Gwenpool jumping out of panels and using the comic book medium to her advantage in a fight, but then the rest of the issues become traditional. It wouldn’t have been as noticeable and disappointing if you didn’t see how much they were flirting with the abstractness in issue #1. The creativity does shine in a few key moments as Gwenpool enters the minds of various characters. Their minds are built to reflect the art and color style of specific times in comic history – it’s a fun and well-researched reprieve from the main style throughout. Stefano Nesi definitely flexed on more than enough action panels throughout the series, a major highlight being the Fin Fang Foom encounter.
The meta stuff is the meta stuff and will be a love-it-or-hate-it type of thing. Because the metaness is interwoven into the character and plot, it is a tough recommendation if you don’t have a baseline knowledge of Marvel lore. Cavan Scott did a good job of introducing exposition at the right time to create the stakes if you are unfamiliar with the key players, but a majority of the moments hit way more if you know the history. I fall into the elder millennial subgroup, which makes me familiar with the many one-off moments involving famous ’80s panels or callbacks to specific writers, so it is in my particular wheelhouse. They could have really leaned into it because the reader is either going to get them all or none of them, so no reason to play it safe.
Marvel
I needed more Gwenpool. Odd thing to say with her as the titular character, but how the story plays out, she’s more of a puppet master, and her voice comes through, but without her front and center, it was almost more of a Spider-Man miniseries at times.
At times, Gwenpool goes in a few too many directions or flies too close to the sun when it leans into the fourth wall, but, overall, the trade paperback is an enjoyable read. All of the parts worked together, the ending was a bold decision, and the inclusion of a specific piece of famous Marvel lore made for a breezy read. The trade is self-contained and provides a clean beginning, middle, and end to the first arc. A recommended storyline for the elder millennials who are flirting with modern comic storytelling but still need their lore comfort blanket.
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