I've got to remind myself that when I read a book starring the Gwen Stacy Spider-Woman that her story takes place on another earth. She's not from Earth-616. These aren't the characters I am used to.
It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that I even knew this issue existed. A Thanksgiving tale, I promptly ordered this book after doing further research for some Turkey Day reads to get into an early festive mood. After a sucky last couple of school years, I am doing everything possible to stay positive and say no when I need to say no and temporarily step away from it all. This early jump on the holiday season is one of my ways of practicing some self care.
This issue is essentially 1 complete story, told in two parts. The first part has Gwen Stacy spending her first Thanksgiving away from her father. Captain Stacy has taken the fall to prevent Gwen from being arrested as the vigilante Spider-Woman. Aiding the family is a very corrupt Matt Murdock. Changes in fate have resulted in the blind lawyer secretly taking control of New York's criminal element as the Kingpin of Crime! And for some reason, Murdock has taken an interest in Gwen!
After a fateful meeting with May Parker, Gwen, still mourning the death of Peter Parker, runs into an old friend- a Jessica Drew from some other earth that occupies the Spider-Verse.
With the arrival of this Jessica Drew as well as a very childlike version of the villain Porcupine, things change tone. For one thing, the art goes from rather streamlined and from the portfolio of Paul Pope-looking to kinda cartoonish and something out of MAD Magazine. I preferred the first style, by regular artist Robbi Rodriguez (Spider-Women). I'm really not sure why the artwork is taken over in part 2 by Chris Visions (Scarlet Witch). However, I can attest that it really wasn't warranted. And since there wasn't an announced change in artists, it was rather striking.
It took me a couple of minutes to figure out that this was the same story. The artwork change was just that so differing, I thought briefly that I was reading a sneak peak of some forthcoming Marvel title. On the plus side, the second half of this story had more of a Thanksgiving day theme.
So technically, I think this is my first real encounter with Gwen Stacy and her world of Earth-65. I've encountered the character in other Marvel titles and animated features. But when I've experienced Spider-Gwen, it's always as a supporting player. This strange new world intrigues me. I think I like a Matt Murdock who isn't on the side of the angels. Should I come across any further Spider-Gwen titles at my local library, I think I'd have zero issue grabbing a couple for a read. Even though this series is 7 years old, it's got a lot of peaked interest in this Madman all of a sudden.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
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