'Spider-Verse' #4 Review: The superhero-Western mashup is so fun and alive that it feels like watching a movie
Spoiler alert for 'Spider-Verse' #4
All comic book heroes have their multiversal doppelgangers, but Marvel’s Spider-Verse feels like it has more fun with the concept than any other. 'Cowboy Spider-Man' is a simple enough concept, but the Web-Slinger has just enough extra touches to make him endearing, memorable and a sheer delight to read.
SNL writer Taran Killam makes his Marvel Comics debut with this issue of 'Spider-Verse', and is joined by the fantastic team of Juan Gedeon on art and Brian Reber on colors. The book's action balances a fine line between cool and cartoony and also between bombastic action and humor. It is fun and it is both everything you want from a Western and everything you need in a Spider-Man comic.
For those unfamiliar to the series, the younger Spider-Man — Miles Morales — is being shunted across the Multiverse, meeting different Spider people, and the why of it all is far less important than the who. Each issue features a different Spider-person for Miles to interact with, and in this one, we meet the Web-Slinger, who has appeared in previous Spider-Verse events.
Every moment is saturated with joy, style and fluidity. The art and the writing seamlessly convey how silly the whole concept is while highlighting how cool an action hero the Web-Slinger himself is. The panel layouts in particular pace the comic's action fantastically, which combined with how effectively the art conveys motion, makes you feel like you are watching a movie play out before your very eyes. The comic is alive, like no other.
To highlight how delightful the character is, you should know that he is not just a cowboy with spider powers. He has guns that shoot webbing (with a 'thwang' instead of the classic 'thwip'). He has a horse that was bitten by the same spider that can also climb walls and who also wears a mask. Widow, the spider-horse, shares a unique bond with the Web-Slinger that he has dubbed his 'Rider-Sense'.
Miles Morales' friendly, open-minded heroism plays delightfully against the Web-Slinger's long-rider approach. Taran Killam has a good handle on what makes Miles work, especially with the introduction of the Spanish speaking damsel in distress that Miles is able to serve as a translator for.
The mashup of the superhero and Western genres is done with the same sense of fun that made 'Old Town Road' so popular, and honestly, deserves to go just as viral.
Each issue of 'Spider-Verse' is rounded out with fan submissions for 'Spidersonas' — their own designs of alternate versions of Spider-people. Ren and Spinner, drawn and created by Audra Auclair and CR Scannell respectively, are especially striking — Ren for her vibrant rainbow coloring that blends into bright Japanese billboards and the quiet gold mysticism of Spinner's Greek design. Abraham Lopez's Hallow is a fun but simple concept that looks a lot like a Spider-Man/Hobgoblin mashup.
'Spider-Verse' #4 is written by Taran Killam, with art by Juan Gedeon and colors by Brian Reber, featuring Spidersona designs by Audra Auclair, CR Scannell and Abraham Lopez.