No Thwips, Just BAMFs: Reviewing ‘Uncanny Spider-Man’ #1

Orchis have declared Earth a mutant-free zone. Good thing they’re not currently looking for a devilish teleporting-friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Life has been rough for everyone’s favorite blue-furred swashbuckling mutant, and Uncanny Spider-Man #1 kicks off the latest chapter for Nightcrawler. Guiding the way are Simon Spurrier, Lee Garbett, Matt Milla, and Joe Caramagna.

Moment of truth to start this off. I haven’t been following the previous titles that have starred Kurt Wagner that have been handled by Spurrier as the writer. I read a bit of the first one Ways Of X and then the three-issue Nightcrawlers mini that was part of the Sins Of Sinister event. There are just too many comics these days to keep up with but being a big fan of the character, I’ve at least mostly kept up with what he’s been through.

You might then wonder why I picked up this series to review. Well, I’m a massive Spider-Man fan and a big old Nightcrawler fan so putting the two worlds together just tickles my fancy. Also, I can never ever pass up a Garbett-drawn book with Milla’s great colors and enhanced by Caramagna‘s tremendous lettering.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this series, but I like what I found.

There was far more Spider-Man-related stuff woven into Kurt’s story than I figured. From Vulture, sorry Director Vulture, to Silver Sable to even Peter Parker Spider-Man himself. Solicits show that there is more to come. It all works and makes sense though, since Kurt is hiding in plain sight as one of the many Spider folks that fill this universe.

Spurrier finds a way to weave the fun of Kurt being a full-on hero with the heaviness of what has happened to him recently as well as to all mutants. We get a solid world-building, a deeper look at Orchis and what they are doing, and even a surprise (while not a surprise) character reveal that changes everything. I’m curious where this series will go, as the vibes of the various Fall Of X books are so wildly different.

There is just such a dynamic smooth detailed emotive feeling to Garbett’s work. A character like Kurt is very fluid in motion and that is reflected in every bit of the artwork. We get a lot of classic feeling panel work but also a lot more modern elements that see the paneling shift and change for the moment. I love the use of all the white gutter space that works against the overly dark nature of the story artwork.

Speaking of darker, Milla brings a heaviness with the colors that make the night feel very much like night & signal the weight that Kurt is carrying around. At the same time, there are plenty of big bright colors in play since this is a superhero story set against a dangerous backdrop.

Moments are very bombastic and quiet, shifting between them, in this issue and the lettering reflects that. Caramagna makes sure that different characters, especially Kurt’s mental BAMF, have their own feeling to their speech bubbles/captions at times. Setting them apart from others, while also just doing things like shifting the font size and spacing to make quieter or louder moments inherently clear.

Uncanny Spider-Man #1 is now available from Marvel Comics.