Marvel Noir: Spider-Man / Punisher

Spider-Man Noir (Single Issues) #1-4

by David Hine, Fabrice Sapolsky, Frank Tieri

The Marvel Universe - shot in noir! Corrupt mob boss the Goblin and his gang of circus freaks rule 1930s New York. Peter Parker is an embittered young man on a search for justice. After the life-changing bite of a mystical arachnid, Peter inherits the force to change the city he loves...but when one crimelord falls, another always rises to take his place. And what's going on in Otto Octavius' lab? The Spider-Man must find out fast, before his friend Robbie Robertson is lost forever. Plus: The merciless vigilante named the Punisher targets mob boss Dutch Schultz, who calls in big guns Barracuda and Jigsaw to protect him...but the violence is about to engulf the souls of a small-time grocer and his impressionable young boy.

COLLECTING: Spider-Man Noir 1-4, Spider-Man Noir: Eyes Without a Face 1-4, Punisher Noir 1-4

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 2013

Reviews

[Harley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the concept of the olden times alt universe.

Pros
Good Concept
Good story which was great
Cons
I didn't like how the same chars where in this universe especially in the spider-man ones like it was set in 1930 or 1830 and peter parker was still a teen.
In Conclusion
Good comic, has some interesting concept and story.

[Jericho Eames · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also picked it up because of the movie and it's all dark and gritty, which I love so much.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spider-Man Noir is fantastic.
The Punisher one was kind of wrong-minded and all over the place.

[Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed. While I liked the drawing in the book I was hoping for something with the same look and feel as the game. My first introduction to Spider-Man Noir was the video game, Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions. It shares the same setting and characters as the Marvel Noir: Spider-man/Punisher book: Norman Osborne as the crime lord, The Goblin and Adrian Toomes (the Vulture), as his cannibalistic side show enforcer. But that is where the similarities end. The game is visually more appealing, more “noir” with its smokey, muted colors and black and white artwork than the typical color panels in the Marvel Noir book.Anything to make it a little truer to its title, “Marvel Noir.” That’s the biggest problem about the book, it’s not noir. It lacks that cynical, hardboiled narrator that Dashiell Hammett made famous in his books or Bogart made famous in the movies.

I wrote a longer review of the book here: http://cranialgunk.com/blog/2014/07/26/the-batmanification-of-spider-man/.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually only read the Spider-Man portion, which was gritty and bloody enough that I didn't want to give the Punisher section a try. I did like this dark remake of Spider-Man. It was interesting to see how everyone sat in the 1930s and the corruption reminded me of the little bit of Gotham that I watched last night.

I didn't really care for the drawing style, which had too many lines and muscles drawn out. The eyes also looked a bit too shiny / cartoon-y for me, but overall it didn't detract from the comic that much. On the other hand, some of the fight scenes and Spider-Man's method of moving (drawn in a manner to show his fluid and rapid movements) didn't evoke that same sort of wonder that I usually have when thinking of Spider-Man's grace. On the other hand, I did like how his spider-sense wasn't the generic electrical bolts but rather something almost demonic-aura in nature.

Hm, it was an interesting glimpse but if it were a whole series, I wouldn't read more of it.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a sense, this is a lot like "regular comics" in that the Spider-Man story was pretty good and the Punisher story was very stupid.

I mean, the villain in the Pusher story -- it doesn't even make any sense. It's just an ugly portrayal of ugly people, of which some are even uglier. It shows no consideration of characters' motivation. And the Punisher is always a stupid character because people break his bones and sever his nerves and he keeps going out of, one guesses, true grit. It's too unbelievable and un-relate-able to.

The Spider-man stories were pretty good. They were a little dark and that darkness clashes somewhat with the morals of the stories. The weird twist with Doctor Octopus is politically confusing. The same is true for the twist with Ben Urich. And the unclear reasons for the killing of Uncle Ben. But still pretty good.

[Austin Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fresh and interesting take on the classic story of Spider-Man, if you love Spider-Man you will love this re-telling of his story and if you noir then you will this story. If you are like me and love both, you better cover up the house in plastic to avoid the grey matter you will be getting everywhere from this comic blowing your mind the entire time. Seriously a must read for any comic fan.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting setting of Spider-Man in an noir 1930s New York. It would be great if Marvel were to do some more Spider-Man stories in this universe. The inclusion of Punisher stories in this noir setting detracts from the volume; the Punisher is just too one-dimensional to really care about. I'd probably have given this volume an extra star if it were just Spider-Man alone.

[Victor · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was fine. The artwork seemed somewhat rushed and the plot style of both stories is very similar. The characters were more like cardboard cutouts rather than characters you actually care about. I do appreciate the 1930s context, it could make for a really cool Spider-Man movie (if of course, they got the right director).

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pair of brutal noir retellings of classic characters. Both Punisher and Spider-Man are written very differently to the mainstream versions of the characters, but it's well-done, and keeps just enough of just the right traits.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 out of 5 for Spider-Man, and the "Punisher and Son" reimagining was no slouch either.

[Charlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.67: Liked the Spider-Man stories but not the Punisher one.

[William Colvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contemporary stories in an old time setting, fantastic artwork and an interesting take on some classic characters

[Alana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spider good, Punisher bad. Which, really, could be my life motto.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvel's Noir titles were hit and miss for me but Spider-Man and the Punisher are great choices because they fit well in the era. The two Spider-Man arcs collected here are really good. David Hine crafts a very interesting tale tying Spidey characters into these new situations. Its a great alternate take on Peter Parker. The art by Carmine Di Giandomenico is well-suited for this title and reminded of Tim Sale. The Punisher arc was nearly as good. Frank Tieri does a fine job with Frank Castle but the ending was a little off and the coloring seemed weird at times. Overall, a really good "What If?" type of story.