Marvel's Spider-Punk #1
- Artist
- Justin Mason
- Colorist
- Jim Charalampidis
- Cover Artist
- Alejandro Sanchez, Olivier Coipel
- Letterer
- VC's Travis Lanham
- Price
- 3.99
- Publisher
- Marvel Comics
- Release Date
- 2022-04-06
- Writer
- Cody Ziglar
Spider-Punk is among the wackiest alternate Earth versions of Spider-Man in the Marvel universe, who made their appearance during 2014’s Spider-Verse saga. The foul-mouthed, punk-loving teenager Hobart Brown got his powers from a radioactive spider. Spider-Punk used his gifts to take down President Osborn, who had plunged his homeworld of Earth-138 into an authoritarian regime, by bashing him to death with his guitar. Now, the anti-fascist hero, along with his anarchist friends, keeps their neighborhood and community safe from Nazis. Spider-Punk finally gets his much-deserved solo series, written by Cody Ziglar with artwork from Justin Mason and Jim Charalampidis and lettering from VC's Travis Lanham.
Spider-Punk #1 starts off the five-issue miniseries with a bang. Set in a dystopian world where punk rock reigns supreme, Hobie and his friends, the freedom fighter Karl Morningdew (Captain Anarchy) and the genius Riri Williams (Riot Heart), fight fascists like Nazi-punks Kraven and the Hunters to keep their city safe. When a near-fatal altercation makes the Spider-Band takes a closer look at the tech brandished by Kraven and his gang, they are surprised at the energy level emanating from the weapon. Kraven returns for round two, this time with an ace up in his sleeve. Spider-Punk and his band of anarchists must step up to defeat this new threat.
When the fascists come out to play, the friendly jammin' Spider-Punk and his trusty guitar are here to help. Cody Ziglar writes the character with a lot of spunk and spirit, spewing profanities at every chance and never backing down from a good brawl. More importantly, he fights to keep his city free, with his friends having his back through thick and thin. Spider-Punk #1 moves in a linear fashion with little to no exposition hindering the progression of events and intermittent fight sequences, which keeps the intrigue going. Ziglar livens up the world of Earth-138 using colorful language and a plot-driven story, even giving some mainstream characters a cultural update.
The artwork of Spider-Punk #1 is an absolute blast, taking the wacky energy of punk rock and giving it life through a series of boldly inked and cartoonishly stylized illustrations. Artist Justin Mason employs striking action lines and frames the characters in dynamic poses to create eye-catching panels. However, the designs of newly introduced characters look generic and akin to their Earth-616 counterparts, with some punk motifs slapped on them. That said, the ultimate pizzazz emanates from the coloring of the book, creating a visual feast for the eyes. Colorist Jim Charalampidis uses the brightest of shades and a slew of tertiary colors, even incorporating Travis Lanham's lettering into the effects, to pop out the punk feel of the dystopian world.
Spider-Punk #1 swings off to a great start with a pretty solid story told at an enthralling pace that keeps the readers rooted to their seats. The creative team aptly captures the vibrant world of Earth-138, filling it with spikes, mohawks, and emo hairstyles in a multitude of colors, each reflecting the personality of its wearer. Hobie is just as reckless as he was in his first appearance, but this time he has friends who keep him straight. It is endearing to hear them have a banter amongst themselves. Spider-Punk #1 welcomes new and established readers with an end that promises even more rockin' battles.
