Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider, Vol. 1: Haunted

Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider (2024)

by Stephanie Phillips, Federica Mancin (artist), Paolo Villanelli (artist)

Collects The Ghost-Spider #1-5 and material from Web Of Spider-Man (2024) #1. Spider-Gwen makes a new home for herself in the mainstream Marvel Universe! Gwen Stacy is trapped in the New York of Earth-616 - where she truly becomes a Ghost-Spider! But why did she leave Earth-65 behind to move to the universe where Gwen Stacy died years ago? Why aren't the other spiders meant to know she's here? Why isn't she supposed to suit up? And who will get hurt when she does? You aren't the only one wanting Peter Parker, Miles Morales and Cindy Moon do too! Gwen has had a hard time figuring out who she can trust in her new life - or convincing anyone to trust her. All of which is about to get a whole lot worse as a classic Spider-Foe sets about making everyone see her as a villain!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Spider Man, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

Kindle Edition

First published January 22, 2025

Reviews

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting..but there's way too many Spider Variation books to know exactly what's going on here..
Needed a bit more background..less mystery

[Khurram · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good first book. I wanted to give this 3.5 stars, but for me, the downside is when the book was getting really good, this book ended.

Gwen Stacy from Earth-65 has now moved into Earth-616, the main Marvel Universe. Why has she left in such a hurry? What is she running from? Why is she hiding from her friends? What is she hiding, and why is someone already trying to kill her?

This was the problem for me there were a lot of questions and almost no answers so far, however I can understand that this is the start of an ongoing series and they do not want to give too much away too early, but something would have been nice.

I was great to see the other Spiders as the supporting cast. Peter is already more mature and a better leader than in Amazing. Also, there is a huge upgrade to a classic Spider-man villan. The book finishes with a varient covers gallery, contains both full page and thumbnail covers.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gwen's moving to Earth-616 to stay, whether she likes it or not. A mystery involving the TVA puts the Ghost-Spider firmly in the sights of the Black Tarantula and the Chameleon, but with Gwen unable to tell any of her fellow spider-heroes (or the audience) what's going on, she's all alone in this fight.

I quite enjoyed this. Poor Gwen's experiencing a bit of Parker Luck, with literally everything working against her, from classic foes to new problems, and while there's little in the way of answers right now, I'm intrigued enough to stick around to find out what's happening. Phillips nails Gwen's voice as she struggles with the history of 616's Gwen Stacy, as well as Peter, Miles, and Silk being all up in her case, and her ultimate confrontation with the Chameleon is actually kind of heartwarming.

The art's pretty good. The first three issues are by Federica Mancin, who I've not seen before, but has a nice style, while reliable favourite Paolo Villanelli, hot off fof Star Wars: Bounty Hunters, pencils the final two issues in a very Robbi Rodriguez style that evokes the distinct visual style of the original Spider-Gwen books.

Marvel have tried to reinvent Gwen a few times recently, but it seems the key is to leave her alone and reinvent everything around - so far, it's working.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great start to this new run of Ghost Spider! I preferred the artist for the first three issues (artist changed in issue 4 from Mancin to Villanelli). I'm excited to see where this series will go, ratings below:
#1= 4.5 stars
#2= 3.5 stars
#3= 4 stars
#4= 3 stars
#5= 4 stars
Overall rating of 4 stars

[Myah · Rating 5 out of 5]

the worst part of this series is how short each issue is! i finish each one eager for the next. once again i’m loving the character arc we’re getting for gwen here

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:

Spider-Gwen, aka Ghost-Spider, has famously never lived in Earth-616. Her story has always taken place in another universe. Until now. Now she has to come to Earth-616, where she is trapped and forced to hide.

Here’s the thing: superheroes and hiding don’t mix well, especially not in a city riddled with crime. It doesn’t take long before Gwen comes out into the forefront to save the day, bringing attention to herself.

Review:

I am so happy that they picked up Spider-Gwen’s story again! I love this character and the wild things they tend to put her through. Here’s hoping this series will be no exception! Enter Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider Vol. 1.

I love the idea that there’s a secret reason why Gwen is being forced to hide in Earth-616. I don’t know why they chose to hide her in New York City, of all places. Not only is there plenty of crime going on, but so many heroes know and recognize her. That was probably a mistake. Oh well!

Naturally, Gwen throws herself headfirst into chaos, even (especially) when she really shouldn’t. That brings her up against a new villain, the black Tarantula. They’re clearly toying with the idea of an enemies-to-lovers plot (because that has gone so well for Peter Parker), but I’m not hating it.

The various Spider-themed heroes making cameos were much appreciated. Here’s hoping that we’ll continue to see more cameos in the rest of the series. After all, Gwen is officially living in Earth-616.

Highlights:
Ghost-Spider
Entering Earth-616
Various Spider Cameos
New Villain

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[ComicBookCult Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spider-Gwen Ghost Spider Vol1, the story is enjoyable, well written (although I feel lost at times how we got here) and the art is mostly consistent but at times passable.

I enjoyed the heartfelt moments, the cast of characters and the ending,

I’m excited to read further and see where this goes, Stephanie Phillips is a great writer and I’m always happy to give her work a try.

[Bella Teter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a great read! I love seeing Gwen grow past her stubborness and get out there and do her thing. Seeing her interact with the TVA was really neat, and the story was pretty wild.
Art was EXPLOSIVE. All the artists totally kill it with every Gwen comic, and I can’t wait to see what happens next in her battle with the Black Tarantula :)

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was Interesting but it was pretty confusing to follow at the same time. I felt like there needed to be a little more Backstory and development and less Mystery. A little Mystery to keep you hanging on is fine but this kind of went everywhere with a lot going on for me to follow.

[Justin Biondo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly I’m a little confused on what happened before this run just like I am with the current book but I’m bridging the gaps a lot more here. Stephanie Phillips proves with each issue that she’s becoming one of the best writers Spider-Gwen will ever have.

[N.A. Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story the art is gorgeous. I hadn’t started reading the comics because I’m missing book 1but now that I have this bind up of the first 5 I can move on to the rest in my collection

[Olivia Ambrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Kris Ritchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up because I have always been a fan of this version of Gwen!

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, even if I think I've had too much Loki Season 2 in my comics.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, fast read. My daughter and I enjoyed it! I actually liked that it feels like the first chapter in a larger story, though YMMV. Cool art.

[Arcane Noctis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Im not the type to generally read lots of comics, but I really enjoyed it! :)

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

When we last saw Spider-Gwen, she was offered a way out of Earth-65 by a TVA engineer...

How do you stabilize a character that's been through the wringer for years? With most of the Spider-verse heroes from '616', it was always a...'thing' to get Gwen over to help out. Unlike lower tier characters like Spider-Punk and Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Gwen has been mega popular (thanks 'Across the Spider-Verse') and she's had multiple miniseries and one-shots to tell her stories.

Now we have her...hiding out in the main Marvel universe and, in theory, supposed to hide out and avoid all things Spider-Verse. Of course, that's not going to last more than a few panels.
---
This has potential. Maybe they can pick one freaking alias for her?
=====
Bonus: Black Tarantula gets an heir and a use in a comic besides Amazing Spider-Man...
Bonus Bonus: Wearing a symbiote suit and being told don't dress as a spider...should have a easy fix

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun volume and I love how this had focus on Gwen coming to this world and the mystery of it and how she wanted it to be kept hidden but oh well it doesn’t and then seeing others reactions to it and then the villains. I love this take on Chameleon and why is he after her and new powers for him using tech and all that, plus the set up for whoever this new Black Tarantula is gonna be which is interesting given that their might be romance set up too.. so enemies to lovers? That will be wild but seeing how she helps the villains despite him wanting to kill her highlights her heroics too. Loved this volume, its one of the better Gwen titles in recent times and also awesome TVA set up too.

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gwen moves to 616 full time. Why? Well, that's a mystery, and the reader doesn't get to know why she has to leave her home universe or is supposed to avoid all things superheroic. I don't mind a little obfuscation, but taking it past the first one or two issues starts to get annoying. Especially because we aren't even getting a trickle of new information. I don't even know enough to question whether or not she's being mislead. It helps a little that the spider folk who show up in this volume are all questioning her choices, but I still need one or two answers here.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a bit of a letdown after the exceptional Smash miniseries, but it still feels like a step right in the right direction. Sure, I'd prefer Gwen to develop in her own dimension (since those stories are always better than ones in which she is flung about different Earths). I will take what I can get, however.

[Belfry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

[mils · Rating 1 out of 5]

marvel’s multiverse is so confusing. they drew gwen kinda ugly whenever she wasn’t wearing the suit. had to skim through the last 10 pages or so (1.5⭐️)