Comic Review: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2019-) #2

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2

Marvel Comics

Writer: Tom Taylor

Artist: Juann Cabal

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is an absolute joy of a Spider-Man comic and makes it very clear that Tom Taylor is an ideal writer for the wall-crawler.

This issue sees Peter clash with and then investigate the mysterious man with super strength from the last issue, while also having to figure out what to do with the two mysterious orange kids that have been left in his bedroom. It’s a well-paced issue that ends on a reveal that makes the reader, as well as Spidey, completely confused.

The action sequences are fun to read and flow well, with one page’s panels all being taken from an onlooker’s phone as he records the scene. There’s also an introduction of a new police detective that ties into events of the first issue, who seems like they could provide the kind of dynamic that Jean DeWolff and Yuri Watanabe did in the past.

Tom Taylor is marvelous at writing Peter Parker. He manages to capture Peter’s attitude and sense of humor perfectly, injecting just the correct amount of snark where required. In addition to that, Tom Taylor is also adept at showing Peter’s selflessness and resilience. He also writes Johnny Storm well, and the dynamic between Johnny and Peter is fantastically done with the two bantering exactly as they should. The series’ new supporting characters, old lady Marnie and new detective Shari Sebbens don’t do too much this issue, but there’s definitely potential for them in future issues, and they’re both likable characters.

Juann Cabal is perfect at drawing Spider-Man. The slightly cartoon-ish aesthetic that he uses is pleasant to look at and makes for great action sequences, every action is clearly drawn making it very easy to keep up with. There’s something particularly lovely about Spider-Man himself in this series; he’s drawn in a way that manages to look exactly like Spider-Man should.

Nolan Woodward’s colors play a major part in this. They’re bright and suit the tone of the book perfectly, and every page pops out at the reader as a result. Again, this works especially well with Spider-Man’s costume. It feels like Woodward found perfect shades of red and blue to use for the iconic suit.