Teenage Gwen Stacy suits up to become Ghost-Spider, but she must also handle her responsibilities as the drummer of the Mary Janes! Find out how she does in Giant-Size Spider-Gwen #1 by Marvel Comics!

GIANT-SIZE SPIDER-GWEN #1

Writer: Melissa Flores
Artist: Alba Glez and Elisabetta D’Amico
Colorist: Fer Sifuentes-Sujo
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Editor: Martin Bird
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $6.99
Release Date: March 6th, 2024

Previously in Spider-Gwen: Gwen Stacy of Earth-65 has a synthetic symbiotic suit, web shooters, a Spider-Sense, the ability to stick to walls, and the proportional speed and strength of a spider. With those powers, she is known as Ghost-Spider. However, she is also a rising star in her band, the Mary Janes. She recently went on tour with Dazzler, and Mary Jane Watson returned with the Carnage symbiote!

BEST FRIENDS

Note: This covers the new content in the first half of the comic, not the reprint in the second half.

Giant-Size Spider-Gwen #1 starts with the Mary Janes playing a gig and Carnage taking control and wreaking havoc! Ghost Spider can subdue Carnage, and she reverts back to Mary Jane. While Gwen and MJ discuss their options, they are attacked by Orlando Octavius, Otto Octavius’s adopted kid, who sports classic metallic arms. Orlando claims that the Carnage symbiote is his property and, therefore, MJ is his property. Ghost Spider and Carnage team up to escape. Gwen calls Natasha to get some help, but she and Carnage are attacked two more times, once by Mortis, Dazzler’s sister, and Mysterio. Eventually, the duo makes it to a helicopter with Natasha, where MJ tells Gwen she will take some time to train and control the symbiote. Meanwhile, Orlando, Mortis, and Mysterio set their sights on something Sinister.

LOSING A FRIEND

Whenever I read Ghost Spider, I have to determine my expectations. Is it the character from the Spider-Verse movies? The Gwen Stacy I know from Earth-616? And whenever I sit down to figure that out, I realize that I don’t understand the character clearly. However, in the last mini-series, Gwen’s personality stayed with me a little more, especially her relationship with her friends. When I opened up Giant-Size Spider-Gwen #1, I found that my current expectation was challenged because of how the creative team approached the MJ and Gwen relationship. The writing was very well done, considering the page count. I felt both their personalities on the page and the setup of MJ leaving throughout the book. Even with multiple villains showing up, the focus never left this duo’s relationship. Balancing the characterization while setting the seeds for the Sinister Six is extremely difficult, but Melissa Flores was successful.

The art was dynamic as well. Carnage and Ghost Spider look great on the page, and they always have. The art style differs slightly from standard Marvel and leans towards cartoons rather than realism, but that is okay. I think what sold me, though, was the treatment of MJ/Carnage’s hair. Good stuff there.

I will need to address the elephant in the room. This book is costly for the price, and I find myself disappointed that the price tag includes a normal-sized issue and then a reprint of Spider-Gwen #15 from 2015. I am lucky enough to get review copies, but I would be disappointed if I paid the seven-dollar price tag.

BOTTOM LINE: WORTH A READ

Giant-Size: Spider-Gwen #1 is an excellent read and something I would feel comfortable giving to a younger reader. And I think the comic is directed at a middle school audience. I would have liked a little deeper or darker interpretation as an adult reader. But that is just personal preference. With that in mind, this comic gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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