Writer: Justina Ireland
Artist: Mike Hawthorne
Inker: Wade Von Grawbadger
Colorist: Erick Arciniega
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Amazing Spider-Man: Halloween Special #1 is my favorite type of Spider-Man story. I do not think I’m alone in thinking Spidey is at his best when he is simply saving civilians. I don’t need him to have his own company, or to fight a clone of himself while contemplating his entire existence, nor do I need him to make deals with the literal devil. He is at his best being a friendly neighbor to people and always looking out for them. This is why I love comics. Comics are supposed to entertain, and that is exactly what Ireland and the rest of the creative team do here.
SPOILERS AHEAD
More Tricks Than Treats
In this issue, we see Spidey face off against Hallows’ Eve. His night of enjoying people having fun trick-or-treating is interrupted by her stealing from a jewelry store. This story was the first time I’ve heard of Eve (Spidey calls her Eve, so I will too). Her powers seem to come from whoever’s face is on the mask she is wearing. I really dig that. She gets the upper hand after their chase and subdues him by wrapping him around a street light. She curses him by taking away his powers. He tries to stop her from getting away, and he shoots candy out of a webshooter. Then, he tries to give candy to kids (after all, it is Halloween), and spiders come out of the other webshooter. I found this very fun. As mentioned above, these low-stakes stories are what I enjoy about Spidey. The gamble of the webshooters being advantageous or not is a clever obstacle. They are another plus because they make room for character moments. Now, knowing that he can’t trust his webshooters, he hitches a ride with a truck driver. The truck driver only follows where Eve’s going because Spidey promised him candy. That gets paid off by a panel of the guy in a pile of candy, thanking Spidey.
Playing Hero
The story reaches its climax when Eve and Spidey both notice a building on fire. After getting there on foot because he can’t rely on his webshooters, he has to carry people down to safety. As he’s told there are still people trapped inside, Eve comes to the rescue. She carries more people out before she gives Spidey back his powers. Then, Spidey attempts to rescue a woman and her child, but they get separated by falling debris. Spidey tries his best to lift that fallen beam, but he doesn’t have much luck. Yet again, Eve comes to the rescue, this time with a Hydro-Man mask. She uses the water to snuff out the fire and save everyone.
A True Unmasking?
Now, I want to talk about Eve during and after the fire. Ireland added the line, as Eve gets some people out of the fire before Spidey goes back up: “There has to be some way to help”. I held onto this line because not only does Eve come back to save everyone, but she and Spidey talk about heroism afterward. She calls him an obnoxious do-gooder. He tells her to think about doing some good because the masks are pretty powerful. She asks him if being a hero pays. He tells her no. As the panel zooms out to show the family embracing each other after being caught in that fire, they both realize seeing that is the real payment. This turn of character means a lot to me because Spidey never preached to her. He did his usual quips as they battled and only reacted to her heroism afterwards. During this conversation, he follows her lead. Eve chose to help. She chose to give Spidey his powers back. He only talked about her heroism after she sat beside him and started joking around about his do-gooder attitude. I really enjoy seeing how many characters seem to do good when they’re around Spidey or just inspired by him. He is always supportive!
The Art
I first saw Hawthorne’s art on a couple of books from Chip Zdarsky’s Batman run. Ever since then, I've been a fan. He draws characters and settings very well. This Spidey issue is no exception. Spidey is lean (my preferred Spidey look), and New York City’s buildings look larger than life. My favorite scene in this issue is the fire rescue, specifically with Spidey, the woman, and her child. The stakes are extremely clear. Now, this is where my emotional investment peaked! I don’t handle children in distressing situations well, so this tugged on my heart a little. The child is coughing because of the smoke. The woman pleads with Spidey not to leave her. Hawthorne points the panel up at Spidey, so we see how much power he can muster. I also like the other beams in the background that make the environment feel so small and claustrophobic. His bright red-and-blue suit is surrounded by the fire, and it just pops off the page beautifully thanks to Arciniega. He also cakes the page in oranges and yellows, making the fire look out of control. Grawbadger’s inks focus on Spidey’s musculature, really highlighting the strain it is under. I can talk about this forever, but I have to wrap up this review.
Final Thoughts
Amazing Spider-Man: Halloween Special #1 is a great showcase of Spider-Man’s character. I like him in simple, character-driven stories that highlight his compassion for civilians and his adversaries. Ireland understands this well, and she is joined by a spectacular team of artists to tell a fun story that stands by itself. This one-shot is an awesome seasonal story that should remind fans why we read comics. At the end of the day, comics are supposed to entertain. What’s not entertaining about Spidey shooting candy and spiders out of his webshooters?