THIS WEEK: Spider-Men Peter Parker and Miles Morales team up for the latest installment of the Double Trouble series!

Note: the review below contains spoilers. If you want a quick, spoiler-free buy/pass recommendation on the comics in question, check out the bottom of the article for our final verdict.


Peter Parker & Miles Morales, Spider-Men: Double Trouble #1

Writers: Mariko Tamaki & Vita Ayala
Artists: GuriHiru
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Artists: GuriHiru

So I’m going to start off by being completely honest with you, dear reader (because really, if you can’t expect honesty from your friendly neighborhood comic reviewer, who can you expect it from): I love Spider-Man, but I have tried to follow Spider-Man comics a number of times over the past few years, and I just can’t do it. It comes out like four times a month, plus one-shots and event tie-ins, and I have a lot of things to read each week. I tried to hang on to the most recent relaunch but I fell so far behind on it I just couldn’t.

So praise Odin for Double Trouble, the once-a-month, relatively continuity-free series of new-reader-friendly stories that Marvel has been releasing in four-issue miniseries for the past couple of years. The latest of those, Peter Parker & Miles Morales, Spider-Men: Double Trouble, kicks off this week, and for a lapsed regular Spidey reader like myself, who can’t keep track of all these gol-danged Goblins flying around, it is a breath of fresh air. This new series follows the titular pair on an entertaining standalone adventure that also sets up a larger story that will presumably play out over the next three issues.

Writers Mariko Tamaki and Vita Ayala strike a light, fun tone for the issue from the very beginning, with a glimpse at both Miles and Peter’s home lives before the two join up to do some Spider-Man-ing. The banter between Peter and Miles is pure joy throughout, and the nature of the relationship between the two characters is a key element of the issue. While it’s mostly played for laughs, it’s still an interesting dynamic that I hope is further explored as the series progresses. 

The art team known as GuriHiru returns for the latest Double Trouble outing, and they bring their signature clean, cartoony linework and energy to the story. Their Peter and Miles are uniquely physical and expressive even through full-face masks, and the threat that the pair face in this issue is equal parts visually adorable and terrifying. They also get a chance to play with the visuals of Venom a bit more, picking up from the last Spidey-centric Double Trouble series in 2019, which is always entertaining.

Peter Parker & Miles Morales, Spider-Men: Double Trouble #1 is just what this reviewer ordered. It’s new reader-friendly without being bogged down in exposition. It’s kid-friendly without talking down to its readers. It’s a great time with Marvel’s two resident wallcrawlers. The main ongoing Spidey series may not be for me right now, but it’s nice to know there’s something out there that I can pick up and easily enjoy.

Final Verdict: BUY


Rapid Rundown!

  • Captain America: Symbol of Truth #7
    • I’ve really been feeling this series as Sam Wilson explores the Marvel Universes’ political and sociological landscape in a way that Steve can’t. Having failed to prevent the assassination of Mohannda’s new Prime Minister, an event orchestrated by the mysterious White Wolf, the country now plunges into civil war, and Sam being the man he is won’t let innocent people suffer for his failure. After the events in Wakanda, writer Tochi Onyebuchi and artist Ig Guara keep Sam rocking on his heels as he goes in with the newest Nomad to protect a group of civilians caught in the crossfire. To add to the politics, there’s the usual comic book drama as the Falcon recovers from his injuries and the identity of the new Nomad is revealed. –GC3

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