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Call it a reboot.  Call it a marketing ploy.  After her massive Spiderverse debut and five solo book issues, Spider-Gwen is getting a new comic.  It will debut this fall after Secret Wars under Marvel’s “All-New, All-Different” relaunch banner.  However, the more things change, the more things stay the same.  Despite being renumbered, Spider-Gwen will continue to keep its creative team of Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez and will pick up from where Spider-Gwen #5 left off.  It will even take place on Earth-65, indicating that Secret Wars may join the long line of events that promises to change everything but doesn’t end up changing much of anything– at least we get Battleworld out of this one.

According to Latour in an interview with IGN:

The aim with this first couple of issues is to give folks who are new an entry point into Gwen’s world but to also fill in a little back story for people who’ve been with us awhile.

So with that in mind we begin with Gwen discovering that someone has re-created Peter Parker’s LIzard formula. This of course is a terrible realization for her, in that becoming The Lizard is what killed Peter and branded Gwen a fugitive. So as she sets out to figure out just who is behind all of this she’s torn between her chances to clear her name and the great debt of responsibility she feels toward Peter’s legacy. It’s a story that will take Gwen down memory lane a little and we’ll see just how a lot of this came to pass.

Of course there are still a lot of loose ends from “MOST WANTED?” (our first volume) and we haven’t forgotten them. Captain Stacy is still the only thing standing between Gwen and Frank Castle’s NYPD and “Matt Murderdock” is still out to, I guess you could say, “get” Spider-Woman.

By: Lindsey Morris

 Spider-Gwen #1 

 Marvel Comics 

 Writer: Jason Latour

 Artist: Robbi Rodriguez

 Colorist: Rico Renzi

 Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles

 Cover Artist: Robbi Rodriguez

As one of the latest phenomena in the comics industry, the pressure to put out a compelling first issue was certainly on for writer Jason Latour, artist Robbi Rodriguez, and colorist Rico Renzi. With over 200,000 pre-orders, a huge fan base, and a cosplay opportunity that caught fire on the con circuit, Spider-Gwen #1 was a smashing success long before anyone got their hands on the first copy.

The story follows up on Edge of the Spider-Verse #2 (sort of), which really should be considered the zero issue for this series. There is little recap of those events, which is unfortunate because it immediately puts the ongoing at a bit of an imbalance from a narrative perspective. New readers might find sussing out what’s going on difficult, but it seems fitting that the frantic speed this comic has picked over the past few months be mirrored in its plot – at least initially.

The artwork is definitely what stands out most for the book, with every page bringing something dynamic and bright. Rodriguez puts together panels that are tight, but sketchy, and Renzi uses a great cool palette throughout, punctuated by contrasts that will eventually make your eyeballs hurt. Every page pops with this mix of well-executed madness, and together they make visuals that are pitch-perfect for a comic about a girl bitten by a radioactive spider who also happens to play drums and fight crime.

The overall plot, however, leaves a little something to be desired. It’s a fun romp through the life of Spider-Gwen, don’t get me wrong, but there is an air of superficiality that just can’t be shaken. Constant phone checking, puns even Deadpool would groan at, and a villain without a clear motivation all add up to a plot going seemingly nowhere. This is a first issue, so some slack is merited, but Spider-Gwen would benefit immensely from being grounded in conflicts other than personal drama and directionless villains in the coming months.

Spider-Gwen #1 is an entertaining, if disjointed, introductory issue. Frenetic almost to a fault, the singular artwork and a vivid color palette lend themselves to the punchy writing and teenage antics. A worthwhile read for all comic fans.

Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez bring us an untold (and unauthorized) (and more-or-less NSFW) tale of “Spring Break Wolverine.” If you’re not familiar with the two, Jason is the writer behind Loose Ends, and recently drew B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth: The Pickens County Horror. Robbi is among other things the artist behind Stephen Colbert’s Tek Jansen and Maintenance.