Spider-Man: Blue
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Pencils: Tim Sale
Colors: Steve Buccellato

Okay folks, time for an oldie, but a goodie…

If you’re a fan of Spider-Man, then you’ve probably already read Spider-Man: Blue and if you haven’t then you really need to. The hardcover only goes for about $15 and it’s definitely worth a buy, you won’t regret it.

I was perusing some of my TPB’s last night for something to read before I called it a night, and I came across my copy of Spider-Man: Blue by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. Now, granted, I have read this  probably at least half a dozen times, but it’s one of my favorites and figured if it was worth reading 6 times, what could a 7 th hurt?

A little back story; when the folks at my local comic shop recommended Spider-Man: Blue to me they briefly explained the premise, which I thought sounded interesting, but being a bot that was not built until the early 80’s the actual event of Gwen Stacy dying was about a decade before my time. I felt it was my responsibility to experience that prior to reading Blue. So I purchased two trades that day, Spider-Man: Blue and The Death of Gwen Stacy.

Upon arriving home I immediately plowed through The Death of Gwen Stacy. Even though I knew the whole story from flash backs, word of mouth, and just that general nerd knowledge that most of us have about the history of our favorite superheroes, reading the issues was still exhilerating. I think of all Marvel characters, Spider-Man has been one of the characters who have experienced the most tragedy, and I think the death of Gwen Stacy was one of those pinnacles in Peter Parker’s life that have affected every issue since. The story was epic and tragic and would shape issues of Spider-Man comics for years to come.

Which finally brings me to Spider-Man: Blue. Essentially, the story is narrated by Peter on Valentine’s Day recording himself into a hand held tape recorder because he feels like the story of how he and Gwen fell in love should be remembered. The story is told from the point of view of Peter as he is in college, Gwen is just starting to notice him, Harry and him are only just becoming friends, and he is of course juggling his double life as Spider-Man. The great thing about this story is the villains and Spider-Man take on a supporting role while the story of Peter and Gwen take the forefront, but the story as a whole still maintains the feeling that this is a Spider-Man tale. Peter trys desperately to get some time alone with Gwen, only to be called into action time and time again as Kraven the Hunter sends animal-themed villains after him over and over again in a master plot to study, then take down Spider-Man. Or course, during this time, we also have the introduction of Peter’s wife-to-be, Mary Jane Watson, who is also after Peter’s attention creating further road blocks between Gwen and Peter. I think the thing I appreciated the most about this story is it didn’t “beat a dead horse”; it doesn’t take us all the way up to Gwen’s death and retell that story that has been recalled over and over, it only takes us up to Gwen and Peter’s first kiss. The book ends with Peter in the attic, saying that every year around this time he get’s “Blue” and explains how Gwen’s death helped MJ mature to the point she could be in a committed relationship with Peter; MJ walks in, after presumably having listened to the last little bit of what Peter had said, and tells Peter to tell Gwen “Hi.” for her.

Jeph Loeb has written many, many great things in the comic universe, spanning from DC to Marvel. In reading a lot of other reviews for Spider-Man: Blue I found that a lot of people liked it, but also felt it was stale, or boring, or uninteresting; fair enough, they are entitled to their opinion, but I also read a lot of people saying it wasn’t as good as Loeb’s DC work, such at The Long Halloween and Superman for All Seasons and that Loeb was getting lazy. To me, you are comparing apples to oranges. DC characters are not Marvel characters and vise versa, they exist in separate universes, and the characters are completely different, and to me, Loeb was out to accomplish something different with his work with Marvel like with Daredevil: Yellow and Spider-Man: Blue than with his work with DC. Loeb’s work with Blue was fantastic and he really set a great tone, he set out to allow the readers to re-live the early story of Gwen and Peter and accomplished it beautifully.

Tim Sale’s art in this book is equally amazing as the writing it’s self. His style set’s a great tone for the book that also captures a nostalgiac essence. He draws an amazing Gwen and a great MJ; his amazing visuals coenside with the story as whole very nicely. Even if you aren’t a big fan of the story, Sale’s art work is probably reason enough to check this TPB out. Steve Buccellato’s colors are really good as well and compliment Sale’s art very nicely.

I had a great time exploring the story of Peter and Gwen, which may be odd because Gwen was really Peter’s “it” girl in the 70’s and after she died it seems like it’s been all about Mary Jane since. The final great thing about Spider-Man: Blue is that it recognizes this fact, and attributes Gwen’s death to MJ’s character progression, essentially allowing MJ and Peter to be together. Reading Blue felt like a nice visit to the past and makes you feel like you got to know an old friend just a little better having seen what Peter once lost. As a Spider-Man fan, I highly recommend this collection to anyone that really enjoys going back a little to explore an older story told wonderfully from a new perspective, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Collecting Spider-Man: Blue:

Book One: My Funny Valentine

Book Two: Let’s Fall in Love

Book Three: Anything Goes

Book Four: Autumn in New York

Book Five: If I Had You

Book Six: All of Me