Written by: B. Earl, Taboo
Art by: Juan Ferreyra
Colors by: Juan Ferreyra
Letters by: VC’s Travis Lanham
Cover art by: Rahzzah
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: October 19, 2022
Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1 follows Peter Parker during a work trip to California to work on potentially life-saving technology using sound. When Peter finds a mysterious rock with ancient carvings, his dreams come to life in monstrous ways.
Is It Good?
This should be a fun book. All the pieces are there. You have Peter Parker being a science nerd and enjoying the sites on the West Coast. You have Spider-Man saving campers from bears and grappling with psychedelic nightmares. And you get a Spider-Man in a slightly modified, nightmare costume that looks creepy as heck.
So, why is Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1 such a tedious, ponderous slog of a read? Well, it could be due to the comic’s abysmal pacing, or it could be due to Peter’s neverending narration that turns more than a few panels into a wall of text, or it could be the inciting incident that doesn’t make a lick of sense.
Per the blurb above, Peter is in California working on cutting-edge science. One day, he finds a mysterious, ancient-looking rock with glyphs carved into it lying in the middle of the lab floor. How did this mysterious rock come to be lying in the middle of a high-tech lab without anyone noticing? Unknown. Why doesn’t Peter look around or ask for help concerning the rock before picking it up and leaving with it? Unknown.
When Peter starts having lucid, waking nightmares every time he touches the rock, why doesn’t he put the darn thing down? Unknown.
For a story to start on the right foot, the hook that gets things going has to make sense. Nothing about the hook in this comic makes sense.
What follows is Peter Parker touching the rock, sending him into a dream reality where everything appears to want to kill him. Then lots of talking and narrating. Again, Peter touches the rock, sending him into a nightmare world he barely manages to escape. Then lots of talking and narrating.
There’s a germ of an idea here, but it’s so ponderously executed, you’ll find your mind wandering after only a few pages.
Ferreyra’s art is fine and fit for purpose in this issue. The monster designs and Spidey’s nightmare suit give the comic plenty of excellent visual interest, which makes the art the highlight of this issue.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Final Thoughts:
Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1 has the seed of a good idea, but the concept is dampened with a hook that doesn’t make sense and lots of tedious narration. The art has some excellent creature designs, but you’ll be tuning out pretty quickly.
Weird Science Marvel Comics 
I just finished this book and I thought I’d go online to see what others have to say. I read your review and I feel the exact same way, you perfectly described this book. I found my mind wandering at about half way through. What an awesome idea but so poorly executed. It’s so back and forth and so many questionable, confusing things going on.
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