Marvel Comics
Spider-Man Reign
By Hervé St-Louis
June 5, 2021 - 23:47

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Kaare Andrews
Artist(s): Kaare Andrews
Colourist(s): Jose Villarrubia
Letterer(s): Chris Eliopoulos
Cover Artist(s): Kaare Andrews, Jose Villarrubia
ISBN: 9780785117179
$19.99 USD, $32 CAN



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It’s the future and New York is isolated from the rest of the United States. There are no villains left in the city and Spider-man is an old, retired man. The city is run by a squad of fascists who plan on locking it in with a laser grid to prevent people from coming in our going out. A crazed old J. Jonah Jameson forces Peter Parker out of retirement to incite him to lead the rebellion against the fascist mayor. Will he succeed in getting Spider-man to realize, once again, that with great powers come great responsibilities?

I can’t remember how I got this comic. I found it in my collection, so I reviewed it. I was expecting a Death of Captain Jean Dewolff, not this incomprehensible mess. The storytelling is mostly confusing with many narrators speaking at once and an attempt to sound more serious and authoritative by the cartoonist. Gone are Peter Parker and Spider-man’s banters, replaced with perpetual depression and lost of hope. It is surprising how Parker who looks so frail in one panel can pull all the stunts he performs later in the comic.

Cartoonist Kaare Andrews attempted to recreate Frank Miller’s Dark Knight featuring Spider-man. But the result is poor as that story set the stage for a revival in comic book storytelling and it did something new with the character. Andrews’s work is derivative at best but poor as the execution of the story is not impressive. The comic revisits several tropes from Spider-man, including Mary Jane, the Sinister Six, Venom and more. But their interpretation is more shocking than interesting.

While Andrews is a decent artist, his storytelling needs improvement. He delivers a pretentious comic whose visuals make no sense. The faces are often unattractive and the colouring overbearing. Just don't buy this comic, okay.
Rating: 5/10

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