COMIC REVIEW: JJ Abrams and Son Presents Spider-Man #1

This comic book is terrible... there is no other way to say it.

Filmmaker and mystery box fetishist JJ Abrams and his son Henry were tasked with creating a Spider-Man comic book; a six-issue mini-series set in an alternate timeline where Peter Parker is no longer Spider-Man and a deadbeat dad with a son named Ben... Ben then turns to the Dark Side and joins the Knights Of Venom to become Kylo Venom... oh wait, I'm sorry. I got that mixed up.

So this book has a twist that involves a woman character and a refrigerator that sets up the current world this series is set in... hint: she's the lady on the cover of this here comic book. This immediately pisses me off; not because of the tired woman in refrigerator gimmick that is a tired trope in and of itself, but it immediately gave me flashbacks of that one Spider-Man story where Spider-Man made a deal with the devil... only this time, the devil's name is Abrams and he wears thick glasses.

And then we jump to the future; Peter is abroad, Ben is a dick kid, and then things change or whatever... this is the story of the kid taking up the mantle eventually and the mystery box that is the least interesting new villain in Caviar or Cadavaria or whatever his name is. The guy looks like something that even Rob Liedfeld would wince at. Think of the ground that covers.

If I can give Spider-Man #1 one sliver of credit, it's that Sarah Pichelli's artwork is rather gorgeous stuff. Honestly, she's probably the only thing that makes this somewhat worthwhile, even with the somewhat muted color scheme that kills the splendor somewhat. It's just too bad that it's quality artwork attached to a wretchedly mediocre story.

I've no bone to pick with Abrams; I think he's a perfectly fine filmmaker that gets a bit of a bad wrap at times for better or worse. With that having been said, this first chapter into the Abrams' take on Spider-Man left a sour taste in my mouth and while I went into this with the best of intentions, it seems as though this is one mystery box that I would be perfectly content in leaving closed.