MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #1 – The Neighborhood Spider-Man

Creative Team – Bryan Edward Hill, Nico Leon, Valentine De Landro, Bryan Valenza, VC’s Cory Petit

Published by Marvel Comics

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The Story

This comic will be reviewed by Nerd Initiative’s Anthony and yours truly, Megan!

Anthony – There was a period of time when it felt like Marvel just didn’t know what to do with the character and tried too hard to either fix what wasn’t broken or sabotage his popularity to keep him from growing more popular than the original wall crawler. From the Spy-D super spy book that thankfully never saw the light of day to unnecessary costume changes to a vampirism infection, Miles has been through the wringer! 

Bryan Edward Hill brings Miles Morales back to basics, and I couldn’t be happier about it! This FEELS right. Instead of relying on guest stars and adventures in space and through different dimensions, Miles gets an opportunity to just be the Family Neighborhood Spider-Man of Brooklyn, NY! He’s back in the iconic Red & Black costume and focused on giving Miles as much energy as he gives to Spider-Man; we finally get back to the things that made him a fan favorite when Brian Michael Bendis introduced us to him in Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #1!

Hill’s approach to righting the ship is to employ the old KISS method (Keep It Simple Stupid). There is no overcomplicating things or trying to be clever to the point of suffocating the character under the weight of some massive, convoluted event. He simply hits the reset button. Not like a retcon, no. More like just saying “Hold up. There’s too much going on, and there doesn’t need to be, so let’s get rid of all the distractions. Miles is interesting enough.” That’s really it. There are some panels with Miles thinking things through in his head or talking to Ganke where he explains a bit about what’s been going on with him before this story, and that is done to preserve continuity and bridge the gap to the new direction. But Hill does this without beating the reader over the head with heavy exposition. It feels natural and, iykyk, you’ll find yourself smiling and nodding. 

The more things stay the same, the more they change. Or something like that. In the midst of all this familiarity, Hill introduces some fresh faces amongst the supporting cast and a new villain that is set to be a major threat to Miles and the people he cares about.

Megan – Bryan Edward Hill starts this new series for Miles Morales with a banger of a first issue. It does a great job showing the different layers of Miles’ life. There’s Miles’ life at school, where he has a new crush on a foreign exchange student named Valentina who is something that Miles finds so compelling: her normalcy. She isn’t in the superhero world; she’s a normal girl with a normal life. After being with Starling, some normalcy sounds pretty good to Miles. He’s also taken a break from working multiversal jobs with the other Spider-Heroes to focus on being a Brooklyn-friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. It seems a more grounded lifestyle is just what Miles needs in his life.

Of course, things can’t stay simple for long when Miles is met with a new villain that’s unlike anything he’s seen before, and somehow, his dad is right in the middle of the chaos.

Bryan Edward Hill brings all the things you love about Miles Morales into a story that is poses the same classic Spidey problem: wanting to be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. I loved how Hill starts this series off on a very grounded note and lets us into the life of Miles, getting to know him without the Spider-Man persona. This first issue has me very excited to see where Hill takes Morales in the issues to come.

The Art

Anthony – Nico Leon is quickly establishing a name for himself as a comic book artist. He’s everywhere. People want to work with him. Miles Morales: Spider-Man is his latest offering and illustrates (pun intended) exactly why he’s becoming a household name! Leon obviously has a background in design, and I’d be shocked if he hasn’t at least studied photography and cinematography also. His panel layouts, composition, and innate ability to include a ton of information in each page and panel without allowing it to become an overwhelming mess is something that needs to be recognized. It’s rare, and not many artists can pull it off. Characters have weight. The kinetic energy of every move can be felt. Perspective is readable and sometimes dizzying. There is an accuracy to his physics. In other words, Nico IS Him. 

There is a brief flashback sequence that’s handled by Valentine De Landro that reminded me a lot of a cross between the stylings of Rick Leonardi and Scott McDaniel. There wasn’t enough to really have a strong opinion on it, but it was nice and his heavy use of blacks really separated it from the bright aesthetic of the main story, fulfilling its purpose of letting the reader know “we’re telling a different story here”.  I’m definitely going to look up more of his work because I really like his style. 

Bryan Valenza’s colors are strong, vibrant, and saturated. One of the coolest things he does is create a feeling of natural light cast on his subjects. It’s not defined by hard lines. It moves with the character, and it moves with the position of the sun, adding motion to an otherwise static scene. TL;DR it’s just beautiful. There is a scene that takes place inside a church where Valenza actually renders highlights on characters as if it were shining through the stained glass windows! It’s little touches like that, and the informed shifts from warm to cool and back again that make the world Miles moves in feel alive.

Megan – When you have a story that gets you excited, it’s only right to have artwork that puts you in the same headspace. That’s exactly what the artists gave the readers in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #1. Nico Leon, Valentine De Landro, Bryan Valenza, and Cory Petit band together to bring artwork that gives you the Spider-Man vibes that you crave, with Miles Morales’ personal flavor added to the mix. The action panels feel so classic to Spider-Man, making even the simplest web swinging feel larger than life. Nico Leon and Valentine De Landro brings beautiful linework while making Miles the center focus. Bryan Valenza handles the colors, and it’s pretty clear that he had a lot of fun with it. Valenza gives the pages a lot of vibrancy while working with the more muted tones, which perfectly captures the energy of a Spider-Man comic with the grounded feeling. What I loved was the light reflecting off of Miles, which gave him more of a presence in the panels. Together, the artists really outdid themselves with this and deserve all their flowers.

Final Thoughts

Anthony – 10/10. Bryan Edward Hill is my hero. Every project is handled with care and passion, and if you told me he didn’t love Miles as much as I do, if not more, I would say you were lying through your teeth.  I have followed Miles through all of his titles, and I’ve been waiting for a book like this since he stepped into the 616 after Secret Wars 2015. The writing and art are top-notch, and it finally feels like Miles is being treated as a flagship character that can hold his own in a book without guest stars and magic and vampires and all that. Other creators did a great job. No shade intended. But this is the Miles we all deserve.

Megan – 10/10. Miles Morales: Spider-Man #1 was such an easy win with this fantastic creative team behind it. Bryan Edward Hill feels like the exact right person to be behind the writing, with the artists showing they’re exactly where they’re meant to be. This was a phenomenal first issue, and I’ll be anxiously waiting for the next one!

Overall Grade – 10/10.

Let us know in the comments what you thought of Miles Morales: Spider-Man #1!