Review - Spider-Man: Blue

On Valentine’s Day, Peter Parker reflects upon his life and the story of how he fell in love with Gwen Stacy. He records these past events in a tape recorder, recounting his greatest heroic and romantic triumphs before one of the greatest tragedies in his life.

Spider-Man: Blue is a six issue mini-series written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale.

Though sometimes regarded as a Gwen Stacy story, Spider-Man: Blue is truly a love letter to Stan Lee and John Romita Sr.’s historic tenure on The Amazing Spider-Man. It captures the exuberance and dynamism of the Silver Age Spider-Man stories, something which changed drastically when Gwen Stacy’s death brought the world of comics screaming into the edgier Bronze Age. In Blue, our titular hero reminisces about how he fell in love with Gwen Stacy and reflects on the impact she had on his life. These past events also coincide with his first encounters with Mary Jane, giving readers a glimpse into the early days prior to her maturation into Peter’s loving wife. This narrative is peppered with battles pulled from Lee and Romita’s run. This action helps to break up the otherwise introspective slant to the series. Loeb and Sale do a beautiful job of paying tribute to the classic Spider-Man stories with Blue. There’s something familiar about it in a way that’s sure to rustle up feelings of nostalgia in its readers.

For those who might be fans of Gwen Stacy and may be expecting her to be a central figure in this series, Blue is likely to be a bit of a disappointment. While it does a spectacular job of capturing the essence of the Lee and Romita era of stories, it ultimately fails to actually pay tribute to Gwen Stacy. Despite being positioned as the subject of Peter’s tape recordings, Gwen has very little panel time. She has no autonomy as her identity is defined solely by her relation to others – as a love interest to Peter and as a rival to Mary Jane. This is further emphasized by how Peter discusses Gwen. She doesn’t come across as a fully-formed human being with her own personality and life, but rather as an object that Peter must acquire (if he should choose her over Mary Jane that is). Loeb and Sale don’t do an adequate job of showing us why Peter loves Gwen or what it is about her that’s actually special. In this regard, they fail her. In contrast, Mary Jane practically bursts out of this series. She’s a truly dynamic presence on the page with electric dialogue and colourful outfits. Through her dialogue and actions, we have a better understanding of who she is and a better sense of why Peter eventually falls in love with her. Even still, there’s something very disturbing about how the women are actually framed in the story. The way they’re discussed is almost as if they’re possessions and that none of their hopes, feelings or aspirations matter as their sole purpose is to be Peter’s love interests. It also doesn’t help that Gwen and Mary Jane are so obviously placed in opposing roles. This is done so obviously that we even see them (Gwen primarily) making catty remarks. It’s immature and beneath both characters (especially Gwen).

While Blue is largely a rehash of events we’ve seen play out in classic comics, Tim Sale does a beautiful job in making everything feel fresh and new while also respecting that source material. Sale’s art is notable for its noir slant (see Batman: The Long Halloween), but he does manage to really capture the ‘60s vibe with this Silver Age inspired series. I really appreciate the effort he put into matching the clothing and styling of that era, as well as the work that went into making each character look distinct (though Gwen and Mary Jane basically look like the same character with different hair colours). In fact, it’s Sale’s art that truly sells this series. That said, I do have a bone to pick with his recreation of Mary Jane’s iconic first appearance in that he didn’t draw her wearing the same outfit. He drew her in a dress rather than the iconic black tank top and tan pants. It’s arguably one of the most enduring pieces of comic book imagery yet it’s not replicated in a way that matches it in any way.

Spider-Man: Blue is a cute mini-series that plays on the nostalgia surrounding the “good ol’ days” of Spider-Man stories. It’s perfectly paced, features gorgeous artwork, and possesses an unironic sentimentality to it. While I found many elements to be somewhat underwhelming and lamented the lack of panel time afforded to Gwen and Mary Jane, I can understand why Blue lands on many best of lists for Spider-Man fans.

RATING: B-