Anyone who’s seen Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse knows that it helped cement Miles Morales as the Spider-Man for a generation. But it also gave some of the lesser-known Spider-Men, Women, and even Pigs the spotlight, including Spider-Man Noir. Noir was a character that was the definition of cool; he punched Nazis in the face, he had a flowing black trench coat and hat, and he was voiced by Nicolas Cage, who’s set to reprise the role in the upcoming Spider-Noir show for Amazon Prime. Spider-Man Noir #1 is an attempt to capitalize on that cool, and it succeeds for the most part.
Spider-Man Noir #1 hits the ground running (leaping?), as Noir is embroiled in battle with the vicious Scorpion Gang. In true Peter Parker fashion, his issues aren’t just limited to crimefighting; he recently split up with Mary Jane Watson, his Aunt May is recovering from a health scare, and he’s coming dangerously close to being evicted. Enter the beautiful yet mysterious Gwen Stacy, who hires Noir to solve her father’s murder. It’s a case that opens up an entirely new can of worms, and puts Noir in even more danger.
Probably the biggest thing that will draw readers to Spider-Man Noir #1 is the presence of Erik Larsen as writer. Larsen’s no stranger to working on Spider-Man, having written and illustrated Peter Parker’s adventures back in the ’80s and early ’90s, but Noir has a different approach. His dialogue is more distinct, peppered with 1930s style phrases and the musings of a private eye. Larsen even showcases how Noir’s dimension hopping adventures took a toll on his life; hanging out with other Spider-folks doesn’t do wonders for your dating life or your living situation.
Marvel
Larsen is joined by Andrea Broccardo on art duties, and it’s clear from the very first page that Broccardo intends to draw the best Spider-Man book he possibly can. Noir is shown leaping at the reader, guns drawn and blazing while his trench coat flaps in the wind; this transitions into a series of pages where he either fells the Scorpion Gang with bullets or webs them up and punches them, moving with the grace you’d expect from Spider-Man (and in a trench coat, no less). Broccardo also gets to put his own spin on classic Spidey character; out of costume, Parker Noir has the stubble and bandages you’d expect from a hard-working private eye, while Gwen is sporting a scarlet red dress in addition to her signature headband.
Rachelle Rosenberg also gets to play around with a different color palette, utilizing darker colors for the noir aspect of the book. She eventually goes lighter for the Peter Parker scenes, as he’s often shown in well lit areas compared to moving in the shadows as Spider-Noir; it’s a great way to strike a true difference between this version of Parker and his web-slinging alter ego. Joe Sabino tops things off with a sparse lettering scheme, which looks like Noir is typing out his thoughts.
Spider-Man Noir #1 features the return of one of the coolest characters in the Spider-Verse, and a mystery that’s appropriate to his time period. Larsen, Broccardo, Rosenberg and Sabino are crafting a tale that truly feels like noir, to the point where you’ll want the next issue to see how this mystery unfolds.
You must be logged in to post a comment.