Spider-Verse 4 review

This is my smallest pull list in a while. I only picked up 4 comics today so instead of bothering with a first impression’s post, I’ll just write a review for all 4. I’ve been enjoying Mike Costa’s Spider-Verse so far. It’s not what I would call a special mini-series, but it’s a fun gathering of a bunch of Alternate Universe Spider people. Spider-Gwen is sort-of the star, but Spider-Ham, British Spider-Man and Anya Corazon also get a fair amount of character focus.

Part of what makes this mini-series fun is that, while the Spider-People are working together, there’s a lot of differing opinions between them. Furthermore, Norman Osborn convinced most of them to help him unravel the web of life in the last issue. We know he’s up to something nefarious, but until today we weren’t sure what. The last issue ended with Gwen Stacey meeting Peter Parker in a cemetery, right in front of her grave.

Apart from Venom attacking Gwen and Peter (who apparently doesn’t have spider powers), this is mostly a setup issue for the final conflict. The venom fight is fun if maybe a bit quick, and Gwen taps into her music skills to take him down in a creative way. The rest of the issue is mostly plot reveals, where Peter and Gwen discuss Norman’s sinister motives, while Anya and Peter Porker figure out what’s really going on. The dialogue between Anya and Porker is kind of fun, but the best parts of this issue are between Gwen and Peter.

The art by Andre Araujo is ok. It’s kind of weird in that sometimes the backgrounds are more detailed than the characters, most notably in the opening pages with the trees and grass in the cemetery. Facial expression do a good job at conveying emotions, but sometimes the proportions feel a little weird. There are also a few too many teeth shots with open mouths, although the teeth look nice. The colouring by Rachelle Rosenberg is good enough; it matches the simple style.

Again this comic isn’t anything special, but it’s fun, and sometimes fun is all you need. If a story that teams up Spider-Gwen, Spider-Ham, British Spider-Man, Spider-Man Noir, Indian Spider-Man and Anya Corzona interests you, this is at least worth a look. While I’m enjoying it enough to keep buying it, I recommend you read it before you buy it.

7/10