SPIDER-MAN 2099: EXODUS ALPHA #1 hits your local comic book shop this week from Marvel Comics. The book is written by Steve Orlando, with art by Paul Fry, colors work from Neeraj Menon, and you will read Joe Caramagna’s letter work. Leinil Francis Yu and Sunny Gho created the cover. The creative team compliments each other for an action-packed adventure.
Have you ever tried writing a non-spoiler review, and all you want to talk about is the last page?! It’s not easy, but we are going to do our best.
About the issue:
Miguel O’Hara is back! After fighting battles across the timestream, MIGUEL O’HARA is at last back defending his present and our future! For SPIDER-MAN 2099, the only thing constant about life in Nueva York is change. So when a cataclysmic crash creates a new Garden of Eden in what was once the American Wastelands, Spider-Man knows exactly what the next atrocity will be. Watch as THE CABAL plans to set society ablaze — and you’ll never guess who is leading them!
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Orlando throws Miguel O’Hara (aka Spider-Man 2099) right into the action, and the train doesn’t stop until the last page with a massive reveal. The pacing is what makes this issue a wild ride. You can break the book up into six parts; every five pages, the book goes in a new direction. As a reader, you never get a chance to catch your breath. Then the setup and punchline Orlando puts together is pure comic book magic. It’s a solid “Oh shit!” moment. I read the issue and immediately wanted to talk with someone about it. I want validation of my reaction, and if we are talking about how a comic book made you feel, then SPIDER-MAN 2099: EXODUS ALPHA #1 has something special.
Fry brings excellent visuals to a Spider-Man book. I felt the physical height of Miguel swinging through Nueva York. The perspective of the buildings was extreme, and Spider-Man 2099 always felt fluid; the action never seemed close to the ground. Miguel also flies differently through the air than Peter Parker, and you always knew it was Miguel under the mask. Fry brought all the little details that make a comic book exciting.
Did I mention that this book is action-packed and reads at a wicked fast pace? Menon had a significant hand in creating this intense pace. Every five or so pages, the color tone of the book changes. The color changes are jarring, going from light blue to dark black red. Then the Ghost Rider is in your face with the bright yellow. Menon’s color palette for the issue keeps you on your toes and highlights the action and plot points.
Caramagna’s letter work is stellar in this issue. The volume control was perfect; I was yelling or whispering dialogue in my head. The book is pure chaos with action, and Caramagna makes a full Ghost Rider page look beautiful with a giant BOOM and then follows it up on the next page with a rollercoaster ride of a KATHOOM. Caramagna also balances the conversations between Miguel and Lyla very well. The word balloon placement acts as a cushion and allows the art to flow from panel to panel.
My favorite panel of the SPIDER-MAN 2099: EXODUS ALPHA #1 is a one-page spread of Ghost Rider going berserk (he has a chainsaw!). Fry goes off with an extreme perspective, Menon guides the eye with colors, and Caramagna drops the BOOM. You can feel the vengeance of Ghost Rider; the page is perfect.
Again, SPIDER-MAN 2099: EXODUS ALPHA #1 hits your local comic book shop on May 4th; grab your copy and let me know what you think.
Read the first five pages of SPIDER-MAN 2099: EXODUS ALPHA #1 below:
