Spider-Man: Velocity #1 Review

“Isolated and armored against stingy, zappy and otherwise hard-hitting villains. Working title–the Arachknight.”

As Spider-Man faces off against the might of Swarm, Mary Jane has problems of her own! Who ya gonna call when a ghost starts attacking comedians?

WRITER: Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum

ARTIST: Emilio Laiso

COLORIST: Rachelle Rosenberg

LETTERER: VC’s Travis Lanham

COVER ARTIST: Skan

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Adi Granov (design); Gabriele Dell’Otto; Matthew Waite (8-bit variant)

PRODUCTION DESIGN: Nick Russell

ASSISTANT EDITOR: Martin Biro

EDITOR: Mark Basso

SPIDER-MAN created by STAN LEE & STEVE DITKO

STORY: Spider-Man fights Swarm and gets stung. MJ and Ben Urich investigate a comedian who was attacked by an invisible assailant. This “ghost” then goes after the reporters, warning them to drop the story. MJ tells Peter as he designs a new armored suit. Peter field tests his new outfit, but it locks up. Out for sushi dinner later that night, Pete and MJ get attacked by the ghost.

THOUGHTS: Once again, the covers on this series do not disappoint. Skan takes over for Crain, providing readers with a sleek, dynamic look at the Web-Slinger’s new costume. We also get a fun 8-bit variant cover and a look at the design of the Velocity suit, provided by its’ artist, Adi Granov. As he designed the Extremis armor for Iron Man that inspired the MCU version, it’s a no-brainer to get him involved with a Spidey suit that offers some form of protection.

Teased in both the PS4 game and the prior series, City at War, Swarm finally makes his (its?) full appearance. It felt a little short to me though, especially as we once again barely get to see Swarm in his more anthropomorphic visage. Quit teasing us, Marvel! It’s been too long!

At first, I found it weird that Spidey’s suit took a note. While his MCU costumes may have A.I., it’s not typically a comic staple. Then I realized that I’m old and need to get with the times. Spidey interacts with his phone quite a bit in the game and it’s perfectly natural in this day and age to dictate to a phone or some other home smart device.

Mary Jane continues her role as major supporting character here, getting plenty of time to further establish this version’s passion for journalism. It seems perfectly in line that she would fan-girl over Ben Urich. Hallum also gets to delve more into MJ and Peter’s renewed relationship now that we’re free from the events of the game and push them further along. However, it felt a bit off that Peter would mock the idea of Mary Jane’s “ghost”. As she pointed out, he “fought a sentient bee-man in a garden earlier” and beyond that, Peter is a scientist who’s seen all manner of bizarre things in his line of work. While Hallum does have Peter state his belief that there must be a rational, scientific explanation for it, this is a guy operating in a world with a Fantastic Four and has been to Mr. Negative’s own warped world. For him to so casually blow her experience off, even for a moment, didn’t sit right. If anything, I would think her experience would immediately intrigue him into figuring out how to explain it.

It was fun seeing Peter go out and test the first version of his armored suit. Props to Hallum for coming up with a new webbed alter-ego – “Arachknight”! It immediately calls to mind Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man series and gives Spidey a new voice to try out! Do you picture it sounding dark and gravelly, like Batman, or more British? Someone ask Yuri Lowenthal his thoughts!

Emilio Laiso provides the art, offering a more cartoonish style than Bandini’s in the prior series. It reminds me at times of Mark Buckingham, particularly where facial expressions are concerned.  It feels more detailed than Bandini’s style and has more of an organic look to it. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, particularly when it comes to some of Peter’s looks, but I thought he did a fine job, particularly staging the action.

As the first entry into the post-PS4 Spider-Man Gamerverse, I thought the team did a great job continuing this Spidey’s ongoing story. Hallum did solid work laying down the basis for this mini and Laiso offers a fresh take on the art, though it may be an acquired taste for those who liked the style seen during City at War. Miles Morales is absent this time out, making me wonder if Hallum had nothing for him to do or if it was mandated to leave him off-limits till the game’s sequel. Those who love seeing MJ should be happy with this issue, particularly as it led to seeing some of the other Daily Bugle staffers. As we get more into the mystery of the “ghost” next issue, I’m wondering what other Spidey villains may pop up? I definitely plan to stick around to find out!

MY GRADE: B-

JAVI’S HUH?: Where did Peter get the materials to start building an armored suit? Since Otto’s lab is presumably defunct after the events of the game, I can’t imagine parts were cheap to come by.

Who is the guy at the Daily Bugle who looks a lot like a 1960’s-Steve-Ditko-drawn Peter?