Only a Spider-Army can stop the end of the Multiverse! Meet Web-Slinger, the Spider-Man from the Wild West,. He is the Emissary from Hell, he is SUPAIDAMAN! The Spider-Man from the live-action Spider-Man show that aired in Japan in the 1970s is back. And that’s just a glimpse into the Vault of Spiders!
One of the fun things about the Spider-Man multiverse events is that they’ve delivered utterly insane Spider-Man concepts and allowed Marvel, and creators, to explore their multiverse in a controlled way. Things still have to be Spider focused but they can be a little out there. That has made those events a lot of fun and entertaining. So, I was looking forward to Vault of Spiders #1, a spin-off of the excellent Spider-Geddon and walked away, a little bummed.
Vault of Spiders #1 is an anthology so the quality of stories and art is all over the place. Some are good and others head scratching. What’s good about this issue is there really are great concepts. All are great concepts. The executions though, some were a bit lacking.
Spider-Byte and Savage Spider-Man stand out from the four stories. The first stands out for the concept and creativity, and solid costume design, while the latter due to its fantastic art and twist at the end. Both are entertaining and deliver something a little different.
The Web-Slinger, a western set story, and Final Galaxy Battle!, the Japanese take on Spider-Man each have their charms but also stumble. The western aspect is played up a lot and in some ways entertaining but with the story relying on a twist of a character as far as the bad guy, there’s a shrug of the shoulders where a reveal should shock readers. A connection there is missing. The Japanese Spider-Man, while the art is fantastic reminding me of classic manga, the story is headscratching in every way. It makes no sense. That’s part of the point, I think, but when everything else in the comic winks and nods as to their roots (Savage is straight up Tarzan), this one maybe goes a bit too far.
Vault of Spiders #1 is a bit of a let down but fun to see the various versions of Spider-Man. I’d love to see this as an ongoing with longer stories, the brevity was a hindrance. Like a lot of anthologies, there’s some good here and some bad but if you’re a Spider fan it might be worth checking out.
Prologue
Story: Jed MacKay Art/Ink: Scott Koblish
Color: Andres Mossa Lettering: VC’s Travis Lanham
The Web-Slinger
Story: Cullen Bunn Art: Javier Pulido
Color: Muntsa Vicente Lettering: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Final Galaxy Battle!
Story: Jed MacKay Art/Ink/Lettering: Sheldon Vella
Spider-Byte
Story: Nilah Magruder Art/Ink: Alberto Alburquerque
Color: Andrew Crossley Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Story: 7.0 Art: 7.0 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy fore review
