Comic Review: Spider-Man: The Spider’s Shadow #1

Spider-Man: The Spider’s Shadow #1

Marvel Comics

Writer: Chip Zdarsky

Artists: Pasqual Ferry (Artist), Matt Hollingsworth (Color Artist), VC’s Joe Caramagna (Letterer)

The Bombastic Bag-Man is dead. I jest, but in a roundabout way, that’s the premise of The Spider’s Shadow. Chip Zdarsky pens this dark new four-part What If miniseries from Marvel Comics which he calls “a play on a familiar What If story,” in which Peter Parker chooses not to give up the Venom symbiote.  

Set during the original Alien Costume Saga of the 1980s, Spider’s Shadow wastes no time setting the stage for a dark, violent Spider-Man story. Zdarsky’s years of experience writing Spider-Man, including the acclaimed Spider-Man Life Story, show clearly here, as does his recent work on Daredevil to a small extent. While there is a decent amount of action, especially involving the Hobgoblin, the issue is packed with introspection and classic Spidey guilt. 

Overall, the tone of this issue is consistently ominous, in line with more serious Spidey stories like Back in Black. That likely means that Spider’s Shadow won’t appeal as much to readers looking for the more standard comedic Spider-Man, but it’s perfect for fans of the black costume and the darker tone of its associated stories.

There are a few brief moments of humor, but Zdarsky succeeds in establishing generally high stakes and conveying Peter’s exacerbated feelings of frustration, isolation, and anger. Thus, his actions feel natural and in line with his character, even at the story’s major point of divergence from the original, when Peter discovers the truth and refuses to remove the black suit. There’s little here that’s played for laughs (hence the absence of the temporary Bag-Man costume from ASM #258), but the seriousness works in context.

The artwork by Pasqual Ferry and colorist Matt Hollingsworth suits the story well. Ferry’s depiction of the symbiote is incredibly simple, a monolith of black with almost no shading or reflection, broken only by Spidey’s eyes and chest symbol. It’s a great design choice, making Spidey look dark and feel inhuman. The overall line art is appealing too: stylized but not overly exaggerated, and with emphasis on dynamic action poses that show off Spidey’s acrobatic ability.

Phil Noto’s covers for this issue and issue 2 (shown in a preview) are also worth mentioning. Frankly, they’re terrifying. Noto conveys fear so effectively in these single images that, as good as Ferry is, it’s almost a shame that the rest of the book doesn’t look like this.

Spider’s Shadow is a strong start to the new What If line. It takes itself seriously but not too seriously, and its tone and violence feel necessary and earned. It remains to be seen whether this will reach the heights of Spider-Man Life Story, but Zdarsky, Ferry, and Hollingsworth have established great momentum here.