Marvel Pick Of The Week - February 25, 2015 [SPOILERS]

Pick Of The Week:

Spider-Gwen 1, by Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez

In ten years, I wonder how we’ll remember Spider-Gwen. The name is pretty silly – it’s not like we call him Spider-Peter. That would be stupid. And vaguely dirty. And Spider-Gwen isn’t much of a secret identity. “Spider-Jane” might throw bad guys off the trail, but it still runs into the same problems that this is a metatextual fan-service girl-power name for the superhero alternate incarnation of Peter Parker’s dead girlfriend, Gwen Stacy. I look back on the gritty heroes of the 90’s and shudder how many of them were, like, “BloodDeath” or “KursedPayneRipper” or something, and I look at how much I loved the clone Scarlet Spider but now realize it’s ridiculous to run around in a hoodie as a costume, and I worry about how specifically zeitgeist this character is.

And then I get over myself, I stop caring, and I just love everything about Spider-Gwen. I love the art. Spider-Gwen’s costume was as much a reason we’re seeing this book as her relation to Marvel history is. This is an original look, and women are already cosplaying it because it makes sense as a uniform. Robbi Rodriguez draws fairly grounded bodies that pop with Rico Renzi’s colors, and the sound effects weave throughout this world in perfect fit for a main character whose secret identity is a rock drummer. It looks like someone drew with sidewalk chalk all over a perfectly composed set of panels, and that’s exactly the way you represent loud music in a silent medium. Though I love when Spider-Man artists get experimental with elongated human forms or distorted background shapes, this book serves as an accessible visual introduction to a smart, tough woman in a world only slightly off from the one we read in most Marvel comics.

I love the writing, too. Latour picks up the story of Gwen Stacy from her introduction in Edge Of Spider-Verse, where police captain George Stacy has sworn to hunt the feared Spider-Woman (yes, Spider-Gwen is only the title of the book about Spider-Woman, but come on, we’re all calling her Spider-Gwen) but just learned that she’s his daughter. As he leaves voicemail after voicemail begging her to have a conversation, she’s off fighting this world’s version of the Vulture, using a combination of silly jokes, keen personality analysis, and plenty of acrobatic web slinging. As with the great alternate universe stories, we see familiar characters like Frank Castle and Ben Grimm, but we don’t know whether to trust them yet. It’s an enjoyable story with obvious potential for years of stories, either twisting the classic Peter Parker adventures or forging her own.

What I love most about this book, though, is what it represents about Marvel in specific and comics in general. In the last few months, I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing a number of feminist titles such as Bitch Planet and Thor. Marvel’s stable of women leading their own solo titles in 2014 and 2015 include Gamora, Silk, Squirrel Girl, Black Widow, Elektra, She-Hulk, Spider-Woman, Angela, Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Thor. Some of them are assertively feminist, like Thor having to explicitly prove herself to the doubting Asgardian men in her midst, but now that enough of the women have told that story, female characters are able to tell so much more. Spider-Gwen has nothing explicit to say about the value of her gender. She’s not punching men because of disparity in pay rates, and she’s not going on about how inadequate the Spider-Men she met in the multiversal crossover event were. She’s telling a straightforward story about a woman in a rock band who fights street-level crime and has to work through a family issue, and it’s the kind of story I hope other diverse groups can experience some day.

So if Spider-Gwen turns out to be a punchline in 2025, I think the joke will be, “Hey, remember when people thought it was a big deal to have women superheroes? Like, they had to announce it and stuff? Man, what a backwards time we all lived through.” And I think people will still want to cosplay the outfit.

Honorable Mentions:

Amazing Spider-Man 15, because in an issue full of perfect goodbyes, Spider-Man still can’t get over teasing his British counterpart – or trying to be as cool as he is. Take your pick, it’s a funny scene. My British friends have confirmed that yes, this is exactly how every conversation with Americans feels.

Spider-Man 2099 9, because Spider-Man 2099 is not having it from chatty hostages.

All-New X-Men 38, because Star-Lord’s just saying what we’re all thinking about his relationship with Kitty Pryde.

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Marvel Pick Of The Week – February 25, 2015 [SPOILERS]

By Matt Conner | Feb 25, 2015

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