By Fabrice Sapolsky (writer), David Hine (writer), and Carmine Di Giandomenico (art)
The Story: Welcome to the Great Depression, Peter Parker. In this alternate, hard-broiled mystery (whatever that means) themed version of Spider-Man, Peter and his Aunt May are socialist rabble-rousers who run a soup kitchen during the greatest economic collapse of modern history. Peter’s world is ruled by a mysterious criminal called the Goblin and his crew of henchmen which include alternate takes of the Vulture and Kraven. True to his origin’s, Peter’s motivation for justice is fueled by the murder of his Uncle Ben. However, his youthful idealism is poised to lead him to a premature reunion with his Uncle until Ben Ulrich steps rescues him from Goblin’s gang and then takes him under his wing.
What’s Good: The pacing of the story is really well done by the introduction of an eclectic cast of characters through tight dialogue and an interesting interocular in Ben Ulrich. The character designs are mostly great. For example, the Vulture, who looks like the silent film era Dracula, is down right horrifying. Also, Spider-Man’s costume is both novel and cool.
I’m a fan of Carmine Di Giandomenico’s art from his work on Magneto: Testament and he doesn’t disappoint in this series. I guess his art excels in poverty and harsh settings as both these series offer similar atmospheres. His work appeals me to not for his technical prowess, but rather for his unique, indie feel towards setting and characters while retaining traditional structure.
What’s Not So Good: Peter Parker comes across one dimensional and that one dimension is constipational grumpiness. I guess the idea here is to get rid of the sweet, good-natured Peter Parker and replace him with an edgy and angry teen. The problem with this substitution is that it’s hard to actually like this series’ Peter as he is not at all endearing, but rather very annoying. His facial expression is the same snarl in almost every panel that features only him.
My other chief complaint is that there is not enough Spider-Man in this issue. This is a Spider-Man title, right? How come we only get like three pages of ol’ Spidey and only one line from him where he uses the word “fellers”?
Conclusion: Overall, this is a good start to an interesting series. However, I don’t see how this Noir series will appeal to anyone save the die-hard Spider-Man fans. At the same time, I’m sufficiently drawn enough to want to see where a few plot lines go, which is more than I was expecting when I bought this issue.
Grade: B
-Rob G
Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Carmine Di Giandomenico, David Hine, Green Goblin, Marvel Comics, noir, Patrick Zircher, Peter Parker, Spider-Man, Spider-Man, Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Man Noir #1, Spider-Man Noir #1 - Review, The Vulture
