Marvel Knights Spider-man #1 (2013)

Marvel Knights Spider-man #1 (2013)

"99 Problems... one of five"

Story: Matt Kindt
Penciler/Inker: Marco Rudy
Colourist: Val Staples
Letterer: Clayton Cowles

Marvel Knights Spider-man #1 sees the return of Peter Parker as Spider-man, though it apparently takes place before the events in Amazing Spider-man #700.  Still, it is exciting to be able to read a new story with the original Spider-man after nearly a year of the Superior Spider-man.  Is this story worth the wait?  Hit the jump to find out!



Summary: Peter Parker is trying to make some extra money by shooting some family photos, when he steps into a literal house of horrors.  Inside, he confronts what appears to be Madame Web, who warns him he must solve the riddle of the ninety-nine problems.  Madame Web disappears and a girl, who turns out to be robot of some kind, explodes sending Peter reeling across the room.  He quickly changes into his Spider-man outfit where he is confronted by Jack O' Lantern and a host of other villains and monsters.  Spider-man thinks he is being affected by some of Jack's poison gas when he confronts Arcade, who assures Spider-man he is behind this madness and has tricked Spider-man into taking a pill.  He tells Spider-man there is a bomb, somewhere full of innocent people, and that Spider-man must play his game by the rules to save them.  Spider-man then finds himself on what appears to be an airplane, with a host of faceless villains ready to strike.

The good:  This is a difficult issue to review, because it is intentionally vague and confusing.  A big part of this confusion is a result of Rudy's artwork, which is a visual treat.  His spiraling images, meshed up panels, and differing art styles really play into the confusion Spider-man is experiencing.  The reader feels like they are in the room with Spider-man and share his confusion and disorientation as the story goes on.  The story is also written so that the reader shares in Spider-man confusion and frustration.  The story is very fast paced and, like Spider-man, the reader has to struggle a bit to keep up with what is going on.  This really adds to the confusing theme of the issue and also keeps the reader engaged in the story.  Kindt does a nice job of writing Spider-man, and the combination of his inner dialogue and his spoken words really display Spider-man's inability to comprehend the situation while staying true to the character.  As Halloween is only a few weeks away, the use of some of Spider-man's more horror-themed villains is a nice touch and really adds to the creepiness factor this issue is going for. 

The not so good:  Overall the issue is very well done for what it is supposed to be. It is hard to come up with any definitive criticism of the issue because it is made intentionally confusing and leaves both Spider-man and the reader wondering what it going on. 

Overall rating: B+ (8.8/10)

Ads:

Just one ad for this issue, the ad for New York Comic Con which is this weekend.  There looks to be some significant Spider-man news coming out of NYCC this year!