The last couple of years have had me following the Amazing Spider-Man Masterworks and Zeb Wells’ Amazing Spider-Man run somewhat concurrently, so now maybe it’s time for me to dip my toes into something a little different with the somehow both seminal and slept-on Spider-Girl by DeFalco and Frenz.
Marvel
Why Spider-Girl? Did I somehow have a spider-shaped hole in my heart? Have I steadily gotten myself so addicted to Marvel’s Spider stories that now I am compelled to try as many out as I can get my grubby hands on? Well, no. As much as I enjoy the web-head, I could stand to ignore him for a while after this stretch. Really, I had just heard good things about this run, and the new Modern Era Epic Collection line is a fun thing to keep up with, particularly with a series as long as this one. Alongside that, I just like testing the concept of “every comic is someone’s first” and this is a great opportunity for that, as, while it’s the second Epic volume for this collection, it’s the fifth volume in the series, and starts at issue #68. And that’s a fun thing about this book.
This comic is aggressively approachable. It constantly goes out of its way to make sure you know the cast and interpersonal relationships that make it tick, to the point that it’s a little irritating at a certain point. It was clearly intended to be read monthly with long gaps between some character appearances and subplots. It’s a style that makes sense for the book, and it has its charms, but it’s impossible for me to say I loved it entirely.
The other thing about the book that stood out was how much it feels like a typical Spider-Man comic. Really, it has all the same qualities as classic Amazing Spider-Man, or even Ultimate Spider-Man. In some ways it feels more like an imitation of the good parts than it really feels like an extension of the concept, even. The only thing that really sets it apart is that May is more integrated into the wider universe than Peter was at the same relative period, but that tracks, given she’s a second generation superhero. Besides that, now Peter is a part of all that stuff anyway, so maybe it was a precursor to that more that anything else.
Marvel
Now, it should be noted that none of that really matters, and didn’t weigh in on my experience at all. It’s just noteworthy in the softest sense of the term. The real reason to read this title is to see characters actually get to become adults with families, and see a new generation come up behind them. It’s to see coach Thompson and grandpa JJJ and all the other grown characters. It’s a real highlight that May has normal friends and that they are the grandchildren of Normn Osborn and JJJ.
Then, of course, is getting a Spider-Man who actually got to get old, married, and have children. Seeing him in marital bliss is great, and Spider-Girl really is proof that you could pull off letting him become an adult instead of a perpetually divorced manchild. Instead he’s a…oh wait let’s see, oh right, a cop (the “right-winger Peter Parker” crowd is awfully happy about this).
So it’s not perfect. Aside from a questionable line of work for Petey, it’s also disappointing to see MJ only exist to sit around holding a baby, with some breaks peppered in where she stands around holding a baby. They’re obviously not the main characters, so it’s not a big deal. I could maybe even cope my way into thinking that being boring is intentional so that May is more interesting to follow, and in that way, it is very successful. And the thing is, she is really interesting! I like her conflicts, and the way they intersect with her normal and superhero lives. It’s a classic format for a reason and this really nails it.
Starting with volume 5 was a little weird, but it still really worked as a comic and is something that I want to (eventually) read all of. This has everything a great Spider-Man comic should have and then some. Might take a tiny bit of adjusting to get used to the comic telling you what it’s about every 24 pages, but it’s hard to point to a better chunk of issues.
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