Ghost-Spider #2 Review

“Gwendolyn Maxine Stacy. She didn’t even change her name. The only explanation is that she wants  to be found.”

Gwen goes to school and starts to meet new people, but are all of them as friendly as she thinks?

Seanan McGuire WROTE IT

Takeshi Miyazawa DREW IT

Takeshi Miyazawa & Rosi Kampe INKED IT

Ian Herring COLORED IT

VC’s Clayton Cowles LETTERED IT

Jorge Molina DID THE COVER

Peach Momoko DID THE VARIANT

Anthony Gambino DESIGNER

Danny Khazem ASSISTANT EDITOR

Devin Lewis EDITOR

GWEN STACY created by STAN LEE & STEVE DITKO

STORY: At home, Gwen finds out from her dad that the Man-Wolf was released into Jonah’s custody. Gwen goes to school on Earth-616. She doesn’t have a local phone or streaming services yet, but meets some potential new friends. Miles Warren transforms into his Jackal persona and continues his work at ESU under the alias of Prof. Guarinus. Gwen goes back to her home Earth to check in & fights some of Man-Wolf’s gang while she’s there.

THOUGHTS: I really love the coloring on this cover and how the art weaves in the supporting characters of the book. We just haven’t seen much of them yet (looking at you, Miles and Jessica). Once again, the cover is playing up the balance of both of Gwen’s earths to remind us of the new dichotomy.

Although this issue was published after the annual, it actually takes place before it, on Gwen’s first day of school. McGuire does a fine job establishing this, introducing some new characters, and showing how Gwen is still a fish out of water. She has no phone yet (for this dimension), no streaming services, and is doing her best to find her way around and navigate slightly-off-for-her pop culture references. Not everyone is as benevolent as they seem, though…

I actually don’t have much to say about this issue. It’s all pretty standard stuff. Gwen seems to be in a good place and is relatively on top of things for her. She’s figured out what to feed her suit to not get headaches, fighting remnants of the Man-Wolf’s gang doesn’t give her much trouble, and she seems blissfully unaware of the machinations that are forming against her.

Having not read the Clone Conspiracy story line, I have no idea if this Miles Warren on Earth-616 is the product of that or of something else. It’s hard to keep track of all the different iterations of the Jackal on this Earth, and now we have an Earth-65 version out there, too, though he doesn’t appear this issue. Who or whatever this Jackal is, he’s using the alias “Prof. Guarinus”, which a Google search reveals that Saint Guarinus of Sitten is the patron of animals and protection from animal diseases. So, there you go, now you can impress your friends at holiday parties with some Spider-Trivia!

Miyazawa does his usual fine job, channeling his manga style for a sense of fun. Herring compliments the art well, making the two Earths feel distinct, maintaining the Earth-65 color palette. I’m still just taking this new status quo in, trying not to throw any stones until we get a full arc or two complete before passing judgement. It’s hard not to see some of the inherent problems, especially with Gwen having such a unique world of her own, but I’m doing my best to be open-minded on a (to me) needless change.

Ghost-Spider #2 is an enjoyable comic by a team well into their groove, but by the same token, nothing really stood out for me. The story slowly moves on and it felt a bit like spinning wheels, but there’s nothing bad in it. The characters act appropriately and look great while doing so. Here’s hoping the next issue gets more exciting!

MY GRADE: C

JAVI’S HUH?: No name change? Really? Not even a wig? I’m waiting for someone, anyone, to say “Hey, you look just like the Gwen Stacy who went here and was murdered. And you’ve got the same name, too! What’re the odds?” If she’s on Earth-616 for the anonymity, being a doppelganger doesn’t seem to help that, costumed identity or not.