Spider-Man: Spider-Island Companion

Comic Info

Spider-Island: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #2

Reprints Spider-Island: The Amazing Spider-Girl #1-3, Spider-Island: Cloak & Dagger #1-3, Spider-Island: Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1-3, Herc #7-8, Spider-Island: The Avengers #1, Spider-Island: Spider-Woman #1, Spider-Island:  Heroes for Hire #1, Black Panther:  The Most Dangerous Man Alive #524, and Spider-Island: I Love New York City #1 (October 2011-December 2011). The Jackal has unleashed bedbugs upon New York City whose bite grands people the powers of Spider-Man. With superhumans popping up all over, Spider-Man has his hands full and the other heroes of New York City are finding themselves with new powers and abilities while trying to contain the crisis growing on Manhattan. The new “Spider-Men” are a threat, and heroes must rise!

Written by Greg Rucka, Anthony Johnston, Kelly Sue Deconnick, Christopher Yost, Joe Caramagna, Paul Tobin, Skottie Young, Fred Van Lente, Nick Spencer, Greg Pack, David Liss, Dan Abnett, and Andy Lanning, Spider-Man: Spider-Island Companion is a collection of limited series and one-shots surrounding the Dan Slott Spider-Island storyline which ran in Amazing Spider-Man. The collection features art by Max Fiumara, Sebastian Fiumara, Leandro Fernandez, Chuck BB, Mike McKone, Pepe Larraz, David Guertin, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Emma Rios, June Brigman, Francesco Francavilla, and Kyle Hotz. The Cloak and Dagger limited series was also collected in Cloak & Dagger: Runaways and Reversals, Spider-Island:  Heroes for Hire #1 was collected in Heroes for Hire by Abnett & Lanning—The Complete Collection, and Black Panther:  The Most Dangerous Man Alive #524 was included in Black Panther:  The Man Without Fear—The Complete Collection and Black Panther:  The Kingpin of Wakanda.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Slott’s run on Spider-Man and Spider-Island seemed kind of gimmicky. Despite this, I was rather interested in the “side” series that arose from Spider-Island. Not only did I like some of the characters covered in the collection, but I like that many people in NYC gaining Spider-Man powers actually affected other people and comics…something that comic books often forget today.

Spider-Island: The Amazing Spider-Girl #1

I will say that this collection is a real mixed bag. Since it is composed of multiple limited series and continuations of series that were already running, it doesn’t have much flow between storylines. Things like Spider-Girl’s battle with the Society of the Wasp really have little effect on Shang-Chi’s battles. The issues are as the title implies; it is a companion. You have to have some background on the story and the characters to follow it.

If nothing else, Spider-Island is a nice ode to minor characters. Shang-Chi just has never quite caught on in the modern age (though Marvel keeps trying), and I love the character so any chance to see him back is a good thing. The same can be said of Arana or Spider-Girl as she was known as at this time (this ended her solo series), and Cloak & Dagger went through more changes as it seems they always do. They are all interesting characters who never seem to get their fair shake. The Herc tie-in issues, the Avengers, Black Panther, and Spider-Woman all are a bit more expected with what was being published, but they still fill a bit of an oddity because how they were handled here.

Spider-Man: Spider-Island Companion is interesting if you have an interest in the Spider-Man storyline or you have a long-standing interest in any of the characters who get stories in this volume. If you are newbie just starting out in the comic book world, sticking to the core titles (like Spider-Man) is advised because much of this collection doesn’t make sense as a stand-alone. The world of Spider-Island was revisited in the Secret Wars title Spider-Island.

Related Links:

Spider-Man:  Spider Island