Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #5
(W) Dan Slott (A) Marcus To
SPIDEY MUST SAVE… THE PUNISHER?! CAN SPIDER-MAN FREE THE PUNISHER FROM MR. NEGATIVE’S CONTROL? HE’D BETTER- OR THE ENTIRE CITY IS DOOMED!
The Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #4
(W) Dan Slott (A) Marcus To
DARKEST BEFORE BRAND NEW DAY’S DAWN! There’s no stopping MR. NEGATIVE now that he has the Lexicon, the directory of Kingpin’s entire criminal enterprise! But nobody tell that to SPIDER-MAN — he’s still going to do whatever a spider can do to stop the crime lord from weaponizing it — and the PUNISHER — against all of New York City!
Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #3
(W) Dan Slott (A) Marcus To, Marcos Martín
BRAND-NEW DANGER! Can the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN hope to overcome a two-pronged assault by both THE PUNISHER and MR. NEGATIVE across New York City?! To make matters worse, the fight is now at Peter Parker’s very doorstep!
New Titans #37
(W) Tate Brombal (A) Marcus To
THE SECRETS OF CYBORG! Not-So-Happy Harbor! The Titans uncover a dark force manipulating the quaint New England town that seeks to awaken a beast from deep beneath their new Mountain Headquarters! Meanwhile, Terra unearths Cyborg’s workshop — but can he trust her with his secrets… or will he have to bury her for good?!
The Art of Star Trek & Defiant
Angel Unzueta; Mike Feehan; Ramon Rosanas, Marcus To
You’ve read the series, now revel in the art that brought to life the critically acclaimed and award-winning Star Trek and Defiant comic series!
Star Trek and Defiant have woven a story consisting of 65 issues’ worth of comics into one interconnected epic. This art book gives you an in-depth look into what made it all possible, focusing on cover art, concept art, and final interior art. Also included are interviews with a select number of artists talking about their process and what makes Star Trek special for them.
Artists include Ramon Rosanas, Francesco Francavilla, Declan Shalvey, Rachael Stott, Malachi Ward, JK Woodward, Liana Kangas, Ángel Unzueta, Angel Hernandez, Marcus To, Megan Levens, and more. In total, over 65 artists are highlighted for their contributions to the series!
Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #2
(W) Dan Slott (A) Marcus To, Marcos Martín
The adventure into one of Spidey’s most important periods with some of the creators who made it happen — continues! Spider-Man paints a giant target on his back by stealing the Kingpin’s LEXICON, Fisk’s directory detailing his entire criminal enterprise. PUNISHER steps in to “help” Spidey, but Mr. Negative and his army of unkillable Inner Demons put them both through their paces and do something truly horrific to our favorite hero and our favorite anti-hero!
New Titans #36
(W) Tate Brombal (A) Marcus To
WELCOME TO MOUNT TITANS! With their towers all destroyed in the aftermath of DC K.O., the Titans set up shop in a new yet familiar location! But who are the Titans in this new era? What is their purpose? And does it have anything to do with the Heart of Apokolips that Cyborg is hiding in the basement?
Revisit one of the most transformative periods of Spider-Man history with some of the creators who made it happen! Spider-Man discovers one of the most valuable items the Kingpin, aka Wilson Fisk possesses – THE LEXICON. This directory of the Kingpin’s criminal enterprise could destroy the criminal landscape of New York City, and that’s Spider-Man’s goal when he takes it. But Fisk isn’t the only person who wants the Lexicon… Mr. Negative would love his competitor’s secret information, but so would Frank Castle, A.K.A. THE PUNISHER. Taking the Lexicon sure seemed like a good idea to make the city safer, but it’s painted the biggest target ever on Spider-Man’s back! The Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #1 is the latest series that takes us back to a key time in a character’s history adding to it with an in-continuity tale.
Spider-Man is a character that I dip in and out of when it comes to the various series. He’s not a character whose adventures I’ve read for a long time, the exception being Dan Slott‘s Superior Spider-Man run. So, seeing Slott take on one of the more controversial periods for the character left me intrigued. I enjoy his writing and have liked his previous work for the character. But, while The Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #1 has its moments, overall it doesn’t feel like anything vital that had to be told.
The Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #1 isn’t bad, but it feels like the type of miniseries put together specifically to tie into something else going on, in this case the upcoming film Spider-Man: Brand New Day which also features the Punisher who is in this comic as well. The cynical part of me says that’s the driver of this series, as opposed to really adding to Spider-Man’s history in an interesting way that impacts the character today or something really original, it had to be done.
“Brand New Day” was a storyline post “Civil War” that had Spider-Man striking a bargain where everyone forgot who he was and it dealt with that aftermath. We see that in this comic with so many feeling like they remember Spider-Man unmasking but not who was under it. It does its best to catch readers up on what is a rather complicated storyline. Mephisto isn’t mentioned at all to keep it all simpler and reflect Peter’s memories of how things went down.
There is some aspects that are interesting in the comic though. The idea of Spider-Man having this book of crime and using to to break up major operations is actually an intriguing idea. Spider-Man working with the police to do so and leaving the criminals to the justice system while the Punisher would rather have a more permanent solution is also interesting. But, the comic feels like there’s little point to its setting in the timeline so far. It could happen at any point, for the most part, it being “Brand New Day” doesn’t feel like it’s mandatory other than tying into the upcoming film in another way.
The art by Marcus To is pretty good. He’s joined by Alex Sinclair on color and Joe Caramagna on lettering. Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente provide some art going over the rather complicated history. Visually, the comic looks good with some decent action. The art is crisp but lacks a certain flair to it that we’ve seen in other Spider-Man comics. Like the story itself, it’s fine but doesn’t really stand out as anything truly special.
The Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #1 isn’t a bad debut and for those that really dig the time period or character it could work. But, it feels like its primary focus is giving those who see the upcoming movie a comic they might be drawn to. In that case again, it’s not something that will likely hook those readers to come back or seek something else out. Overall, it’s a perfectly fine read that’s also rather forgettable, like Peter’s identity.
Story: Dan Slott Art: Marcus To, Marcos Martin, Muntsa Vicente
Color: Alex Sinclair Letters: Joe Caramagna
Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
Spectacular Spider-Man: Brand New Day #1
(W) Dan Slott (A) Marcus To
BRAND NEW BRAND NEW DAY! Spider-Man discovers one of the most valuable items the Kingpin, A.K.A. Wilson Fisk, possesses — THE LEXICON. This directory of the Kingpin’s criminal enterprise could destroy the criminal landscape of New York City and that’s Spider-Man’s goal when he takes it. But Fisk isn’t the only person who wants the Lexicon… Mr. Negative would love his competitor’s secret information, but so would Frank Castle himself, the Punisher. Taking the Lexicon sure seemed like a good idea to make the city safer, but it’s painted the biggest target ever on Spider-Man’s back!
Planet of the Apes vs. Fantastic Four #3
(W) Josh Trujillo (A) Andrea Di Vito
(C) Erick Arciniega (L) Joe Caramagna
(CA) Greg Land, Rachelle Rosenberg (VCA) Cory Smith, Marcus To, Pete Woods, Scott Hepburn
A rebellion is afoot in Ape City… and the Fantastic Four have lost their powers. Enter: The Apetastic Four! Meanwhile, Dr. Doom and the Red Ghost’s plans begin to bear fruit. Will they conquer the Planet of the Apes… or destroy it?!
