By Gregory Lujan — We all love a fun alternate universe story that makes you feel like jumping in a mosh pit, don’t we? I certainly do, and that’s precisely what we get with Spider-Punk #1. Hobie Brown as Spider-Punk first appeared in the pages of Dan Slott’s Amazing Spider-Man run where a huge group from the Spider-Verse had to band together as the spiders of the multiverse were being hunted down by a mysterious force. Do you need to know any of that to read this book? No, not at all, and that is absolutely refreshing.

A strength of this character and book is that it is not bogged down in continuity or decades of story. Accessibility is a potential issue for most Marvel books, but this is not one of them. This book is essentially a clean slate and the team of creators Ziglar, Mason, Charalampidis, and Lanham take full advantage of that to give the reader a fun story full of puns and interesting character moments.

The opening page of this book is purely evocative of old school Punk artwork as we see this world’s Kraven and crew ripping up the city. Total anarchy reigns as Spider-Punk swings in, full of all of the attitude and quips you’d expect out of a character with his name. Along with Spider-Punk, we are introduced to Captain Anarchy, and later on, this world’s version of Riri Williams. These heroes exude a distaste for fascists and a strong, sometimes misguided, taste for Punk puns.

While the choice in puns may cause you to smile with affection while you shake your head in embarrassment, these characters are an interesting read. There is an obvious history between them all. There are shared jokes, experiences, and a camaraderie that is usually hard to capture in a first issue, but is done so well by Ziglar, that the reader would just fall right in. While the plot of this issue is rather straightforward for a number 1 book, the characterizations and interactions drive this book forward.

Every panel of this book is alive with attitude and kinetic energy. The linework is highly detailed and purposeful, while being chaotic and wild. Each panel builds in crescendo of energy as it takes the reader through the action until the reader is engaged in a furious breakdown as the punches land and Kraven goes flying with a smack by a guitar. Mason is also just as skilled at drawing the quieter moments as he is at action panels. While the dialogue indicates there is history between our cast, his artwork captures it. Mason uses the way the characters stand in relation to each other and detailed facial expressions to convey that history, leaving the reader invested in their interactions. If the linework are the drums, giving shape to the book, Charalampidis’ colors are the guitars, adding to the energy of the linework as he uses palettes for specific scenes that lead the reader through a journey.

The action scenes have aggressive palm muted and diverse coloring that enhances Mason’s already chaotic energy. The smaller, more character focused scenes pull from a palette of blues and purples to give a post-hardcore breath of fresh air to the rest of the, otherwise in-your-face book. It should also be noted that Lanham’s letters are the bass and completes the feel of the book. He does this by using a font that accentuates the sharpness of the Punk aesthetic, while taking a large amount of dialogue and making it easy for the reader to digest without obstructing any of the artwork.

Spider-Punk #1 is a book that is pure fun. It is not one that will make the reader question their place in the universe, but it will bring energy to their day, a few puns, and some hardcore aesthetics. The strength of this book is in its artwork and cast of characters. It’s a book that leans heavily into its own aesthetic and can be a bit on the nose at times, it still manages to have sincere moments that genuinely will make the reader smile and throw on their combat boots.

Overall: Spider-Punk #1 is on the nose with its puns and themes, it is a rocking good time with an amusing and diverse cast. 7.8/10

REVIEW: Spider-Punk #1

Spider-Punk #1
Writer: Cody Ziglar
Artist: Justin Mason
Colorist: Jim Charalampidis
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Publisher: Marvel Comics
ANARCHY IN THE SPIDER-VERSE! SPIDER-PUNK GETS HIS OWN SERIES! HOBIE BROWN is THE ANARCHIC SPIDER-PUNK – set to protect EARTH-138 with his ax in hand and his chaotic band of punk rockin' heroes backing him! NORMAN OSBORN is dead, but will the chaos he's created be too much for Spider-Punk and gang to handle? Feel the vibes as CODY ZIGLAR (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) and JUSTIN MASON bring you the jams when "BANNED IN DC" begins here!
Price: $3.99
Buy It Here: Digital

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Greg has many hobbies including comics, music, and action figures. Engineer by trade, he uses his free time to explore artistic outlets. Twitter: @hulkbeast51 IG: @thecollectingrid