Published May 2020 by Marvel
Written by Margaret Stohl
Art by Juan Ferreyra
Cover by Dave Rapoza
28 pages PC/B&W

MURDER AND MYSTERY IN THE MIGHTY MARVEL MANNER!

DATELINE, 1939! As the specter of war looms on the horizon, SPIDER-MAN: NOIR fights the good fight at home, stopping the injustices of a more friendly-neighborhood variety. But after a dame is murdered at The Black Cat nightclub and all clues point overseas, Spidey will have no choice but to board the next flight to Europe and kick off a globetrotting adventure through yesteryear of the Marvel Universe!

Featured Characters:
The Spider-Man (Peter Parker)
J.J. Jameson
May Parker
Mary Jane Watson
Dr. Huma Bergmann (First appearance)
Electro (First appearance; unnamed)

Spider-Man: Noir #1 is a Fun Pulp Superhero Story

Margaret Stohl and Juan Ferreyra's Spider-Man: Noir #1 proves you don't need Nick Cage to make the character fun.

Over a decade ago, Marvel Comics released a slew of miniseries that saw its heroes reimagined in the 1930s. Teeming with dark and pulpy tales, the comics in the Marvel Noir Universe were a mixed bag. And with Spider-Man Noir #1, Marvel is revisiting this dark world filled with femme fatales, hardboiled detectives and pre-World War II political turmoil as the United States inches closer to World War II.

Set in New York City in 1939, Spider-Man: Noir #1 follows a private detective named Peter Parker, who has both amazing sleuthing abilities and the strengths of his Marvel Earth-616 counterpart. After a fatal shooting at Black Cat's, a bar owned by Felicia Hardy, Peter stumbles upon a clue that will lead him to the killer's' tracks and seems to send him off on a rip-roaring adventure.

If how this issue ends is any indication, this comic could have been called Spider-Man: Pulp. The series seems set to be an Indiana Jones-esque homage to the pulp heroes and serial adventures of yesteryear, and Spider-Man: Noir #1 is the perfect kind of debut issue for this sort of thing.

Writer Margaret Stohl does a wonderful job of filling everyone in on what kind of man this version of Peter Parker is and where his moral standing truly lies). This sort of fresh recap is greatly appreciated, especially for anyone who hasn't read any of the Marvel Noir books for a decade ago or for those who haven't been keeping up with this Spider-Man's adventures throughout the Spider-Verse in comics or film. The dialogue is true to the what most people conjure when they think of film noir and pulpy crime stories, at least in some of its lingo and colloquialisms. However, characters often speak without the sass or cryptic double entendres which the best entries of the genre have to offer.

Even with a few minor dialogue issues, Stohl's script is tight and moves along at a steady clip, giving the reader only the information required to get a handle on the world and the seedy characters who call it home. The final few pages notably feel like they're trying to move beyond the 1930s New York that's defined Spider-Man's previous adventures on his homeworld. The first Spider-Man: Noir stories gave us plenty of the hero's local flavor, and it's a smart move to turn his attention abroad.

Illustrator Juan Ferreyra has a tight handle on the aesthetics that make it seem like he was born to draw this kind of world. The use of muted colors and slightly out-of-focus linework adds to the dreary wartime tone of the issue. The book's fluid, exciting action sequences blend superhero comics and film noir wonderfully in a style that lands somewhere between the work of Clayton Crain and Sean Phillips. This is a handsome book. In fact, the only time things get wonky on a visual level is when some panels feature a digital blur effect, which comes off as a bit cheap.

Spider-Man: Noir #1 is a fun reintroduction to one of the weirdest and most under-utilized versions of Peter Parker Marvel Comics has. Stohl and Ferreyra have done solid work together, breathing new life into a character who wasn't much more than a punchline to mainstream audiences. Film noir buffs my scoff at how restrained this issue is, but for casual fans of the genre (and Spider-Man) should find something latch on to.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a 2018 American computer-animated superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales / Spider-Man, produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Marvel Entertainment. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is the first animated film in the Spider-Man franchise.Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman (in Persichetti and Rothman's feature directorial debuts) from a screenplay by Phil Lord and Rothman, it stars Shameik Moore as Morales, alongside the voices of Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Velez, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage, and Liev Schreiber. The film's story follows Miles Morales as he becomes the new Spider-Man and joins other Spider-People from various parallel universes to save his universe from Kingpin.

Nicolas Cage as Peter Parker / Spider-Man Noir:
A dark and monochromatic alternate version of Peter Parker from a 1930s universe. Cage based his character on the films of Humphrey Bogart, and the voices of actors from that era such as James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) is an upcoming American computer-animated superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales / Spider-Man, produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Marvel, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the first of a two-part sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and is set in a shared multiverse of alternate universes called the "Spider-Verse". The film is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson from a screenplay by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and David Callaham. Shameik Moore voices Morales, starring alongside Oscar Isaac, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, and Issa Rae.

Sony began developing Across the Spider-Verse before Into the Spider-Verse's release in 2018, with the writing and directing team attached. It was set to focus on the relationship between Morales and Steinfeld's Gwen Stacy / Spider-Woman. The film was officially announced in November 2019, animation work began in June 2020, and the title was revealed in December 2021.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One) is scheduled to be released in the United States on October 7, 2022, delayed from an initial April 2022 date due to the pandemic. Part Two is expected to be released in 2023, and a female-focused spin-off film is also in development.

Before checking out, please check out my other listings HERE!
Questions?  Comments?  Send a message!

Excelsior!