The Spectacular Spider-Man #1: A New Wednesday Regular

Way back in the early 2000s, a young Humberto Ramos was teamed up with author Paul Jenkins to tackle a little-known indie title, The Spectacular Spider-Man. Jokes aside, that book was created during a time of extreme complication and confusion with the web-head, who had maybe a hundred different books out that were all trying something different in various extremes, leaving the freshly re-minted title of ‘Spectacular’ to be a home base for clear-cut and raw Spider-Man stories that were just as comforting as they were challenging at times.

Flash forward to now, and Marvel has fully debuted a new ‘Spectacular’ Spider-Man series with Humberto Ramos back once more, but this time with legendary Spider-Man auteur Greg Weisman as the two shift the title away from being one focused solely on Peter and instead teaming him up with Brooklyn’s best, Miles Morales. While this series could’ve been buried under the weight of expectation, the first issue of The Spectacular Spider-Men was a good, if messy one that really stands out on comic stands overcrowded with Spidey titles to enjoy.

In a quite messy fashion, the story follows two plots simultaneously. On one side, we see Peter and Miles dealing with the return of Miles Warren, the Jackal, which is rendered in astonishing fashion by Ramos who is turning some of his best work with Spider-Man to date in this issue. There’s a two-page sequence of the two Spider-Men webbing Warren up, who’s been mysteriously turned into a hulk-like version of his Jackal form, and it is way more dynamic than it has any right to be. While that side of the story lacks any depth currently and is simply a mystery, what it excels at is selling Ramos’ kineticism as an artist.

Each panel is alive with motion and expression, Ramos giving Peter and Miles a distinct difference in how they move as superheroes, both of them still distinctly Spider-Men. This comes coupled with an ink job from Victor Olazaba that is divine with its precision and colors from Edgar Delgado that feel each seen with an extra level of atmosphere. It’s the kind of comic book art that demands a reinstatement of one’s childhood glee and imagination without sacrificing the maturity of the work. Put simply, it is pure superhero bliss.

On the flip side, we get extended sequences of Peter and Miles establishing a new foundation for their relationship as people, scheduling a weekly civilian checkup with one another at a Coffee Bean location right in the heart of E.S.U. While Weisman’s dialogue and characterization shine a great bit during the Jackal chase sequence, it’s here in the most human and crowded of settings that his ability to capture youth, joy, and character. He’s got the voice down for Peter as expected, but I was surprised to find just how excellent his approach to Miles is without him already having extensive work with him.

The book does a great job of balancing out both heroes, neither feeling like a guest appearance in the other’s story. While the initial setup is Peter focused with the use of the Jackal, its quickly tied into Miles’ own personal relationships with a forgotten friend.

No matter how busy the scenes get or how ham-fisted some of the plot setups have to be in order to flow with the issue’s convoluted structure, everything remains clear and full of characterization. The framework of the series surrounding this weekly meetup isn’t half-assed either. The Coffee Bean is given a cast of characters that are humorous and fully recognizable as people from the jump already; its promise as a setting base for this title is already immensely positive.