ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘Miles Morales: Spider-Man,’ Issue #38

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #38 is written by Saladin Ahmed, penciled by Christopher Allen & Alberto Foche, inked by Foche with Oren Junior & Jose Marzan Jr, colored by Brian Reber, and lettered by VC’s Cory Petit. It’s published by Marvel Comics. Empire of the Spider has Miles Morales and his clone/brother Shift landing on another world while traveling the multiverse in search of their Uncle Aaron. However, the world they’ve landed on is far from a paradise. Another clone of Miles, Selim, came to this world following his battle with Miles and transformed Brooklyn into his own empire, which he rules with an iron fist. Miles and Shift join a resistance full of familiar faces to topple Selim’s empire once and for all.

Four years after he helped launch the title, Ahmed continues to push Miles in new directions. While the young web-slinger is no stranger to traveling in between the planes of reality, to the point where it was the focus of an entire animated film. This is a much darker story, with more personal stakes for Miles. Ahmed even paints Miles’ supporting cast in a new light, including his best friend Ganke and his little sister Billie as both of them are integral parts of the Resistance. And the end page even features a surprise appearance from another Marvel hero, who will no doubt keep readers hooked. But as always, Miles’ emotional journey is at the forefront. He’s enraged when the Empire’s troops abusing citizens on the streets and horrified to learn that some of his friends fell in battle against Selim.

Allen and Foche bring the Empire to life with their artwork, designing heavily armored “Spider-Troopers” and a Brooklyn that feels stuck in perpetual night. They seem to enjoy working with Shift the most, as the clone uses his shapeshifting appearance to take on a variety of forms. There’s his base form, which is massive and muscular; and he can stretch his body into a variety of forms. This extends to his alt-universe self, who’s utterly horrifying. He’s a mass of faces locked in a perpetual scream, with fangs to rival an army of symbiotes.

Topping it all off is Reber’s colors, and he manages to make the Empire look properly post-apocalyptic. The sky is pitch black and many of the resistance fighters wear dark body armor and clothing. Even the buildings have a faded look to them. Red and black are a recurring combination of colors throughout the issue, whether it’s Miles and Shift’s costumes or the regal robes that Selim wears as emperor. The sole exception is Petit’s letters, which have an absence of color. But this makes them stick out: case in point, when Miles uses his venom blast, the “Zzzzraaap” sound stands out in the background.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #38 launches the Empire of the Spider arc, which aims to put a post-apocalyptic spin on the Spider-Verse story. This is a great jumping-on point for readers of all stripes, so whether you’ve been following the book since it began or you’re looking to pick up a Miles story I’d recommend checking the issue out.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #38 will be available wherever comics are sold on June 1, 2022.

Rating: 4.5/5