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    Ben Reilly: Spider-Man #1 Review
    Review

    Ben Reilly: Spider-Man #1 Review

    Matthew PetersonBy Matthew PetersonJanuary 24, 2022No Comments4 Mins Read

    Once upon a time, Peter Parker thought he was actually a clone, and relinquished the mantle of Spider-Man to his “brother,” Ben. Your Major Spoilers review of Ben Reilly: Spider-Man #1 from Marvel Comics awaits!

    You can purchase this issue via our Amazon affiliate link

    BEN REILLY: SPIDER-MAN #1

    Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
    Artist: David Baldeón
    Colorist: Israel Silva
    Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
    Editor: Danny Khezam
    Publisher: Marvel Comics
    Cover Price: $3.99
    Release Date: January 19, 2022

    Previously in Ben Reilly: Spider-Man: Darkness looms over New York City as murders begin to pile up… but how are they all connected? Do the answers Ben is looking for reside in the haunted halls of the Ravencroft Institute? Find out as we return to the era when Ben Reilly was the one, true Spider-Man!

    MEANWHILE, SEVERAL YEARS AGO

    Though the halcyon days of 1994 are nearly two decades in the past for us, under the sliding timeline of the Marvel Universe, they were just a couple of years back. It is here that we join the newly minted Spider-Man, Ben Reilly, walking the streets of New York once more. He is accosted by J. Jonah Jameson, who mistakes him for his clone brother, and takes more than a little enjoyment in JJ’s discomfort upon being proven wrong. It’s not long before trouble rears its head in the form of Carrion, an old spider-foe, who has once again escaped the Ravencroft Asylum to run rampant. Ben’s first instinct is to beat him senseless, but when he discovers that Malcolm (Carrion’s alter-ego) somehow called him back into existence, to deal with the grief of the loss of his mom. Ben capitalizes on Carrion’s telepathic powers, sharing the pain of loss and allowing Malcolm to put down his murderous other-self. When he drops Carrion off, the Asylum’s director tells him he needs a couple of friends of his own, a sentiment echoed by Ben’s boss at his coffee shop job the next day. Ben tells both of them that he doesn’t DO friends, especially after five years on the run, but even he is surprised when The Scorpion shows up… in his bedroom!

    CARRION, MY WAYWARD SON

    The first thing that strikes me about this issue is the coloring. It’s over-shaded and too vivid for my tastes, making everyone’s face a relief map of shades and highlights and becoming really distracting early on. By the time Ben leaps into action on page six (wherein Spider-Man makes his first costumed appearance, with muddy dark blues, oversaturated reds, shadow effects, and highlights that don’t seem to come from any light source), I’m officially turned off by the art. Baldeón’s work on Domino a couple of years ago was wonderful, but for some reason, that doesn’t carry over here. Luckily, DeMatteis’ script is intense and emotional, focusing on Ben’s similarities to the villain in play and the empathy at the heart of Spider-Man’s adventures. The resolution to the fight is refreshing and ingenious and having similar conversations in and out of costume really brings home the emotional stakes. It also works well to differentiate between Ben and Peter’s approach to the costumed hero game.

    BOTTOM LINE: NOT FEELING THIS ART

    All in all, though, Ben Reilly: Spider-Man #1 is a relatively successful venture even with the coloring issue, thanks to the strong scripting and some solid storytelling chops in the art, but I can’t help but feel it could have been even better than 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. I’m not sure whether this book is trying to target older fans who remember Ben’s run, new fans picked up since his return in Amazing Spider-Man, or someone else entirely, but that’s not really something that affects the story’s enjoyability.


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    BEN REILLY: SPIDER-MAN #1

    67%
    67%
    Flashback: 1994!

    DeMatteis, as always, crafts a really fascinating script but somehow the combination of a Baldeón's new style and the over-produced colors really brings the visuals down for me.

    • Writing
      8
    • Art
      7
    • Coloring
      5
    • User Ratings (0 Votes)
      0
    Amazing Spider-Man Ben Reilly Danny Khezam David Baldeon Israel Silva j m dematteis Joe Caramagna marvel comics Review Spider-Man
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    Matthew Peterson
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    Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.

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