Spider-Man #1 (of 5): Get “Lost” With Spider-Man (Spoiler-Free Review!)

I’ll be the first to admit that J.J. Abrams writing a Spider-Man comic rubbed me the wrong way. Whenever “tourist” writers from other media take a stab at writing comics, the end result tends to be mixed (exception: Greg Rucka’s entire career). Abrams’ name in and of itself brings a lot of weight (not to mention expectations) – this is not only the creator of Lost and Alias, but he’s also managed to reimagine and reinvigorate both of the geek-culture holy grails: Star Trek and Star Wars. Add to the mix the hesitancy when it was revealed his son would be co-authoring this miniseries with him – a move that at the very least superficially smelled of nepotism – and you have a recipe for a comic that could go very, very wrong. Not the least of which by setting its own expectations of itself sky-high and then failing to meet them (not to mention a questionable countdown campaign of teasers, which set expectations for a whole other Spider-Man to make his return).

Fandom, you can let loose a collective sigh of relief. What Abrams and son have delivered are a somber, excellently-crafted Spider-Man tale that is replete with Spider-Man touchstones: tragedy, guilt, humanity, and just a touch of inappropriately-timed humor. Right off the bat, the stakes are set and when the unthinkable happens – then the story jumps ahead years and years, throwing the reader off-balance. Story details were scarce when it was solicited, but I highly doubt readers were expecting what unfolds here. Without getting into spoilers, everything follows a very realistic arc that at once defies expectations but also completely plays on Peter Parker as a character – both his strengths and his tragic flaws. And in the end, it’s definitely a tragedy – but an emotionally resonant one, where history repeats in a way that’s relatively predictable yet poignant.

With the exception of the cover (which looks like a quickie pin-up wherein the artist attempted to channel her inner Barry Windsor-Smith and couldn’t pull it off) and the garish ’90s Spider-Man logo, the art within is a thing of beauty. Sara Pichelli (with ink assists by Elisabetta D’Amico) has come a very, very long way since her big breakthrough with Miles Morales at the beginning of the decade. There have been some growing pains (again, see cover), but these pages shine in a way similar to Olivier Coipel – not a bad comparison by any means. Together, she and Abrams are crafting something special. Get in on it now and see what all the buzz is about.