Spider-Man Noir returns to comics just in time for his new Amazon Prime series in Spider-Man Noir: The Gwen Stacy Affair. It’s the 1930s, and Peter Parker is a private detective by day — and vigilante Spider-Man by night. Things were going well until a certain dame walked into his office to ask Peter to solve the case of her father’s murder. The dame’s name? Gwen Stacy! This case may not only break George Stacy’s police department, but Spider-Man himself!
Debuting in 2009, Spider-Man Noir places Peter Parker in the 1930s where he tackles issues brought about by The Great Depression and the rise of the Nazi party – not to mention pulp inspired takes on his classic villains. The character was the standout amongst Marvel’s Noir line and returned in several sequel series and along with being one of the main players of the first Spider-Verse saga, not to mention several video game and cartoon appearances. But it was his appearance in the animated Into The Spider-Verse film that catapulted the character into the mainstream. The film’s portrayal of the character by Nicolas Cage lent heavily into the 1930s aspect of the character and reimagined him as a private investigator.
This portrayal would influence subsequent comic appearances of the character and would inspire the new live-action prime series that sees Cage reprise his role as the character. Timed for the release of the Prime show is this new comic mini-series written by Savage Dragon creator and renowned 90s Amazing Spider-Man artist Erik Larsen. Larsen has returned various times to the main Marvel Universe Spider-Man character in recent years for covers and anthology series, but this is his first encounter with the Noir version.
Whilst maintaining continuity with all the past Spider-Man Noir comics, the character has now taken more attributes from Nicholas Cage interpretation – albeit a little less tongue and cheek. Larsen goes down the murder mystery route for this series and proves to be quite a deft hand in that department with both George Stacy and his daughter Gwen proving to be more than meets the eye. He also revisits some themes from the original series including the rise of the Nazi party and their infiltration attempts of America. There are some particularly great scenes where Peter clashes with American sympathisers that are welded well into the ongoing mystery.
Andrea Broccardo excels at capturing the noir tone on the art side of things. As an acclaimed artist in his own right, Larsen has a strong grasp on visual storytelling which makes him an ideal creative partner for Broccardo. There is a consistent level of suspense that is maintained throughout which segues well into Broccardo’s natural flair for superhero action.
This is a welcome return of Spider-Man Noir and a perfect showcase of what makes this alternate universe version of Spider-Man so memorable. A perfect series for established fans and newcomers fresh off the Amazon Prime show!
Spider-Man Noir: The Gwen Stacy Affair is out now from Marvel (9781302967178, p/b, £16.99)
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