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Ghost-Spider, Vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over

Seanan McGuire, Takeshi Miyazawa (Illustrator), Rosi Kämpe (Illustrator)

5 stars
116 (18%)
4 stars
247 (39%)
3 stars
224 (35%)
2 stars
37 (5%)
1 star
5 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
Profile Image for Baba.
Baba
3,619 reviews986 followers
October 21, 2020
Two villains for the price of one, as Gwen now famous in her reality decides to go to school in main Marvel reality with the likes of Peter Parker and professor Connors... surely she won't get into any trouble? Some great potential around dimension crossing, but it all feels a bit rushed. 5 out of 12
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Chad
8,134 reviews906 followers
August 24, 2020
Gwen has started college at Empire State in the 616 universe. So, of course, the Jackal returns with his Gwen Stacy obsession. It was fine except Peter Parker is also a T.A. there and there's no way he doesn't notice Miles Warren working as a professor there even if it's under an assumed name. McGuire continues with her "day in the life" storytelling. It's not very exciting but adding the college element did up my interest. The storytelling is still very decompressed. This does end midstory which I'm never a fan of.
Profile Image for Paul.
Paul
2,309 reviews20 followers
June 27, 2020
I really enjoyed this one. Gwen’s settling in to her new life, dividing her time between her superheroing in her home universe (Universe 65, to anyone who’s keeping score) and going to college in the ‘main’ Marvel Universe (616 to its friends).

Things obviously aren’t going to run smoothly for our hero, though, and sure enough she soon finds herself in the sights of not just one but two versions of Professor Miles Warren (aka The Jackal... well, one of them is, anyway).

I’m really enjoying the artwork on this book but I do have one minor complaint: Gwen now gets her powers from a symbiote, which flows on and off her body and imitates her street clothes (much like the Venom symbiote) but twice in this volume Gwen puts her mask on as though it’s made of regular cloth. Bonehead mistakes like this really hinder the reader’s attempt to suspend disbelief and could be caught and corrected quite easily by an editor that was paying attention.

This minor quibble aside, I thought this volume rocked and I’m looking forward to the next one.
Profile Image for Chris Lemmerman.
Chris Lemmerman
Author 7 books98 followers
February 7, 2020
The next phase in the Spider-Gwen story continues here, as Gwen begins attending college in the 616 universe while juggling her commitments back home on Earth-65. The slice-of-life style stories work well, and McGuire's really gotten a good handle on who Gwen is now and how she interacts with everyone around her. If anything though, this just feels a little slow - it takes a bit too long for the Jackal story to really kick into gear, and then the volume ends before things can progress any further.

Takeshi Miyazawa continues on art from the previous volume, with previous penciller Rosie Kampé on inks, so the visuals remain pretty consistent despite the (unnecessary) renumbering.
Profile Image for Diz.
Diz
1,605 reviews98 followers
August 15, 2020
Ghost-Spider's identity is open knowledge on her world, so in order to attend university safely, she has to enroll Empire State University in universe 616 (the standard Marvel universe). While she enrolls, starts attending classes, meets new friends, and gets adjusted to studying in the 616 universe, a villain with connections to Gwen Stacy is trailing her.

Most of this volume deals with university life, and there is only a bit of action at the end, so this wasn't the most exciting read. The art is quite nice, though.
Profile Image for James.
James
2,366 reviews55 followers
January 31, 2020
3.5 stars. This was pretty good. Had the whole “day in the life” vibe that the beginning of the last volume had, just not as boring. Definitely had more pep in this one. Gwen is now enrolled in E.S.U. In the 616 while still being Ghost Spider in her Earth 65. Someone in the 616 sends someone to spy on her at college. They find out she travels dimensions, goes after and the drama unfolds there. Pretty fun read and I’ll most likely check out the next volume.
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Dimitrios
2,877 reviews
August 25, 2020
The premise is interesting...going to college in an alternate reality. But it is also doesn't make sense. And after a while, the continued back and forth between two realities muddles the story in both. Some really great moments. But the story for this arc dragged. Some things just straight up don't work. Like MJs band practice demands even after coming across a dead body (really?...is she a sociopath?). And Gwen scuttling between dimensions for college...and MJs band practice. It's not a good enough reason to build the tension the story is going for. Not sure I'll continue this.
Profile Image for Nicholas Whyte.
Nicholas Whyte
4,734 reviews182 followers
July 22, 2021
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3719366.html

I have not always got on with McGuire's work before, but I did enjoy this, a Buffy-esque story of teen superhero Spider-Gwen trying to keep a handle on both her crime-fighting life and her college education - in a parallel Earth, of course - which being hunted by a Baddie. Laugh-out-loud funny in places.
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Clara
1,206 reviews93 followers
June 5, 2023
A volume good enough that I was considering picking up the sequel, but apparently it doesn't actually continue this story. Bizarre. Not that I was super eager for more of the Jackal specifically.

CW: stalking, genre-typical violence/injuries, hospitalization
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RG
3,092 reviews
March 3, 2020
Dont think this character is for me
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Exceptionally Grace Reads
75 reviews
September 26, 2023
I loved this Spider-Gwen or Ghost Spider comic! It was so much fun and filled with action! I loved all the characters and seeing her world! ☺️ I definitely wasn't expecting the villain to be so creepy😳 I will say it's kinda upsetting that Miles is on the cover but not in the story as this was one of the main reasons I decided to read this one! 😫 I'm looking forward to reading the next comic soon!
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Kristenelle
237 reviews29 followers
July 9, 2021
I'm not really a comic book person and only read this because it is nominated for the best graphic story Hugo award this year. And it was totally meh. It is exactly as advertised. A trite superhero story full of action, quips, and sexist drawings. I'm not sure what sets this one a part as especially deserving of a Hugo nomination. Maybe I'd get it if I was more familiar with the genre.

Sexual violence? No? There is an abduction that seems to be maybe sexually motivated? Other content warnings? Just normal superhero stuff.
Profile Image for Memphis Evans.
Memphis Evans
158 reviews3 followers
September 22, 2020
R e a l l y s l o w w i t h o u t m u c h o f a s t o r y.

The art is pretty great; colorful, angular, and exciting like I've come to expect from this title, but golly nothing happens. She goes back and forth between Earths 65 and 616, starts college, and Miles Warrens on both earths are bad, creepy, and doing crimes. This 5 issue arc is very static. This could have been 1 or 2 good issues.
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Bryn A.
89 reviews
November 18, 2021
There’s a reason I don’t read Marvel/DC superhero comics—there’s so much backstory, there’s no comfortable entry point. I guess I followed this well enough, but I could definitely tell there were multiple points where I was missing something. Not to mention the captions that specifically noted callbacks to other issues.

Anyway, I wanted to like this more than I did. But I think I just wanted more of Into the Spider-Verse Gwen.
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FrontalNerdaty
358 reviews6 followers
October 12, 2022
This series, despite being a new number 1, picks off directly where the last series left off… Marvel’s odd inability to let a series run past 12 issues is quite tedious.
That said this collection is more consistent than the previous and Gwen finally feels like she’s not just going through the motions. The five issues lead on well from each other and not everything wraps up by the end of the first arc.

3/5
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Megan Danvers
140 reviews2 followers
February 10, 2021
It was good. I liked the pacing and the two Warrens thing. I did think the Man-Wolf part of the story fell to the wayside but it was a good story in general. I did think 616 Warren was a creep and aside from wondering how Bodega Bandit is faring and what happened to his hamster I think it was an overall good comic.
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Vince
357 reviews2 followers
February 5, 2021
(3.5/5) There's a ton to like here, I LOVE the way Seanan McGuire writes Gwen. The new status quo is fun, I'm excited to see universe hopping shenanigans, however the plot for this story arc wraps up FAST. I was a little put off by it, it feels like it had another issue of plot that just got squeezed out to make it fit into 5 issues. Oh well, hopefully I'll get to volume 2 sooner than later.
Profile Image for Sarah Sammis.
Sarah Sammis
7,316 reviews219 followers
March 22, 2020
Ghost-Spider, Volume 1: Dog Days Are Over by Seanan McGuire is the start of Gwen's college career on the Earth where Peter Parker is alive and working as a T.A. She can travel to this world with a pendant and her blood.

So with two New Yorks, there's a Fringe vibe. It's fun to see how Gwen's Earth differs from Peter's. Peter's seems to be closer to ours, save for all the superheroes. Gwen repeated notes how odd she finds it that people there "don't look up" when she's swinging. New Yorkers there have gotten completely blasé in the presence of superheroes.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2020/comm...
Profile Image for Brandon.
Brandon
1,966 reviews30 followers
May 7, 2021
Gwen Stacy can't go to college on Earth-65 because everyone knows her identity and won't let her be herself... so why not go to a new dimension where no one knows who she is? Here's the fabulous Gwen Stacy, Ghost-Spider, drummer and superhero and college student of Earth-616! Now she has a secret identity, an education to commit to, and... some new enemies that have a serious vendetta against Gwen Stacys everywhere. Twice the Earths means twice the enemies, and she's taking on so much. It's a fun series! Some neat action! Gwen is a fun character and I like watching her use her suit to creep around much like a "ghost". She's still quick with the snappy banter, like Spider-Man is, but she seems more jokey in her personal life than in battle.

I like this little distinction that Gwen doesn't have an "Uncle Ben". Yes, she lost her Peter Parker in her origin, but she's more stressed by the danger she puts her current friends in, and other more recent losses, compared to obsessing over the one inciting incident of her origin story. Her Peter was also a peer, not a father-figure, so she's not constantly obsessing over the need to live up to his expectations or going over what he taught him or anything. Instead she's mourning people like Billy, from the recent Spider-Geddon event, she's worried about her bandmates and how her superhero life has hurt them.
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Doreen
2,559 reviews66 followers
October 27, 2021
10/26/2021 3.5 stars rounded up. Fun superheroics from Spider Gwen! I mean, Ghost-Spider! Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.

10/27/2021 with inks by Ig Guara, colors by Ian Herring, letters by Clayton Cowles and covers by Jorge Molina.

My first introduction to Spider Gwen or, as she prefers to be known, Ghost-Spider, was through the excellent Into The Spiderverse animated movie that introduced many of us to all the different Spider-people of the multiverse. I knew she had a solo book, but I hadn't had time to take a look until this volume was nominated for the Hugo for Best Graphic Story.

Combining issues 1-5 of the ongoing series, Dog Days Are Over follows the Gwen Stacey of Earth-65 as, tired of her notoriety, she decides to enroll at Empire State University in Earth-616, where Peter Parker is a teaching assistant. He proves more than helpful in getting her into school and into the right classes, as well as providing her with solutions for her slight suit problem (also, kale chips are delicious, you weirdos!)

At first, Gwen is happy to be your semi-typical college student, even if things in this dimension are just ever so slightly off from her own. It's just a relief to be able to focus on her studies here in relative anonymity, before poking a hole back into her own dimension to patrol the streets and make it to band practice on time, no matter MJ's huffiness.

Things get complicated when Man-Wolf is released from prison back on Earth-65 and Miles Warren hatches a plan to get rid of the Ghost-Spider for good. But the Miles Warren on Earth-616 has other plans when he lays eyes on Gwen Stacey once more. As dimensions collide, will Gwen be able to juggle her responsibilities in both and keep safe the ones she loves?

I really enjoyed being able to catch up on all the goings-on with Gwen and her dad and the MJs (and Peter!) in this fun and beautifully illustrated trade paperback. I genuinely could not tell the difference between Takeshi Miyazawa and Rosi Kampe's work on a casual look-through, which really helped make for a seamless read. This is no doubt in large part due to Mr Guara's inks, which tie the art together nicely. I loved how college-appropriate everyone was, too, and I've long been a fan of Gwen-65's awesome costume and clothes.

I do think the book would have benefited from slightly better pacing, tho. I wanted to see more of Benji, and the ending, while satisfying, felt too rushed. I think this story arc overall would have felt more fleshed out if it had been given one more issue to tell its tale. Like, what exactly was Benji's deal? And while I'm sure Miles-616's obsession with Gwen is explained in an earlier book, it would have been nice if that reason had been mentioned even in passing. This was above average for a Marvel book, but it felt like there were too many gaps in the story told here to be more than passable entertainment for the new reader, especially for a book that touts itself as a first volume. Like, we don't need primers on Peter Parker or Doc Connors to enjoy the story, but exploring the motivations of the Big Bad beyond "ew, what a creep" would be germane. This book has charm in loads but could definitely use a little more story.

Ghost-Spider Vol. 1: Dog Days Are Over by Seanan McGuire, Takeshi Miyazawa & Rosi Kämpe was published February 18 2020 by Marvel and is available from all good booksellers, including
Bookshop!
Profile Image for Alex Sarll.
Alex Sarll
5,945 reviews243 followers
Read
May 17, 2021
The Gwen Stacy of Earth-65, formerly known (to us at least) as Spider-Gwen, no longer has a secret identity in her home universe, so has decided instead to attend college in the main Marvel Earth, 616. Specifically Peter Parker's alma mater and employer, Empire State University. Which turns out to be surprisingly simple: "E.S.U. has been the home of many super-powered individuals over the years. New York City has been home to even more. Tony Stark established a scholarship program for aliens, dimensional travelers, clones, independent machine intelligences and other students outside the norm some time ago. You absolutely qualify." Granted, there are some strings attached ("We'll have to ask that you not open any dimensional portals on campus"), but what a refreshing contrast to a certain other recent Marvel story which, while admittedly set on an Earth less used to this sort of thing, still suggested they had somehow failed to sort out a way for the banking system to cope with a superhero weirdness affecting literally half of the entire population of the world. Anyway. It is a little bit of a shame to be seeing less of the corrupt and lurid Earth-65, but then this run had never given it quite the same teeth-jarring day-glo energy as the original Spider-Gwen series anyway, so it's not the sacrifice it might have been. Similarly, despite occasionally reminding us that Gwen's costume is made out of spiders, for the most part this isn't about emphasising that creepiness: it's a comic doing that classic Marvel thing of a young person trying to juggle study, family, friends and superheroics, and Gwen here is certainly more likeable than some of the leads on whom the formula has been run in the past, definitely including Earth-616's Peter Parker (who guests here, now the square old adult by comparison). Added into that, the wrinkles which come from parallel worlds – and I love that as against the usual fate-of-dimensions angle, Gwen is more concerned with the real big questions, like is it OK to take DVDs between parallels, and will media studies be confusing when she knows Victoria Mars rather than Veronica? Interesting point of comparison here, of course, with some other Seanan McGuire work, her Wayward Children novels, a very different project but still one about world-lost girls and the educational establishments they need. Even the villain, who would very much not have been my first choice after overexposure in recent years (let alone when the multiverse means we get two of the bastard), fits the set-up pretty well. And I do get a nostalgic shiver when a villain's disguise consists solely of translating their surname.
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Norman Cook
1,457 reviews13 followers
April 21, 2021
2021 Hugo Award finalist - Best Graphic Story

This is a perfectly fine superhero adventure, but it doesn't rise to the level of award winner. Although it's labeled as Volume 1, readers should be aware that comic book publishers, especially Marvel, like to renumber their series starting with #1, presumably because they think comic book readers are too stupid to realize it's just a continuation of previous stories and will buy anything labeled #1. So this is at least Volume 3 of the Spider-Gwen/Ghost-Spider continuity. Nevertheless, enough hints are given as to what's gone before that new readers probably won't be too lost, unless they are completely ignorant of 60 years of Spider-Man continuity, in which case they will probably stop reading after the first few pages anyway. Ghost-Spider is apparently stuck fighting the same old villains Spider-Man fought way back in the day. The only real twist is that there are two alternate universes that these characters travel back and forth from/to, so some of the details are slightly different. Of course, being a continuing series, this volume ends on a cliffhanger that who knows when, if ever, will be resolved.

My question is why the Hugo Award voters chose this superhero adventure over much better superhero material such as Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang or Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin (or even Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing), or more SFF material such as Undiscovered Country, Vol. 1: Destiny by Scott Snyder and Charles Soule or Ice Cream Man, Vol. 5: Other Confections by W. Maxwell Prince. My guess is that the Seanan McGuire Chowder and Marching Society will nominate anything by her, no matter what its quality. McGuire is a fine mid-list writer who occasionally rises to award-level consideration, but this is not one of those.
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Jenevieve
937 reviews13 followers
January 5, 2021
Review first published on My Blog.

Gwyn Stacy, the Spider-Woman of Universe 65, has been outed in her own universe which makes leading anything resembling a normal life impossible. She just wants to go to school and get an education without the hassle so decides to jump over to the regular Marvel universe, 616, and go to school at Empire State University with the help of Peter Parker. So during the day, Gwyn can be found in U-616's ESU doing the school thing but then she returns home to U-65 for homework, band practice, and crime fighting. Unfortunately, jumping between dimensions has the additional problem of having two versions of Miles Warren after her. The one from her home dimension wants to take her out and the one from U-616 seems to have the hots for the Gwyn Stacy of his universe who is no longer and is willing to transfer his affections to this new one. Neither seems to be ideal for Gwyn's plans.

As stated before, I have only recently started reading Marvel comics and even then tend to limit to characters I'm interested in by authors I like. I just don't have the time or brain power to deal with the constant reboots and artwork/story lines that don't work for me so I tend to not know a lot of the backstories or previous information. This means that I'm kind of lost on what is up with either version of Miles Warren in this collection. There is enough filled in that I have an idea but not much more than that. Also not really sure what is up with Jameson and the Man-Wolf. Again, there was enough that I could figure out basic motivations but there is obviously a lot that I am missing. It made certain things less clear so this was less enjoyable than the last couple of volumes I read. I think a little less time spent on setting up the cross-dimensional stuff and a little more on understanding these villains motivations would have helped tremendously.
Profile Image for Andria Kennedy.
Andria Kennedy
256 reviews
January 11, 2021
I have to start with a quick side note that there's nothing more confusing than realizing Volume 1 of Ghost-Spider picked up where Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider Volume 2 left off. Seriously people - make it easy for readers to figure out the order of these things (especially when they have to order their comics online since the local store refuses to stock them).
Moving on. You know how you can feel a storm building in the air - one that promises a lot of destruction? That's how this volume felt. After the previous trauma in Gwen's past, this was the happy interlude the collaborators decided she'd earned. And while I'm all for giving the poor girl a break, it felt like everything went TOO smoothly. Even with the blips and complications, nothing went horribly wrong. Your suspicion built higher and higher on every page, waiting for the axe to fall. Which, honestly, is the fault of the writers - they've established a wretched standard, at this point. And then you make readers sit and wait for the next volume? Diabolical - but well-played.
Nick
3,035 reviews10 followers
June 16, 2021
I admit that I was very much not a fan of the original Spider-Gwen concept. With Seanan McGuire writing the new version, though, I thought I'd give it a try. I was pleased with this volume, and plan to pick up the next one.
The parts that I enjoyed were the various aspects of the parallel worlds, including the fact that folks on the "regular" Earth 616 were so used to that kind of thing that there's a scholarship program which includes interdimensional students. The alternate versions of certain characters were also interesting. Even the alternate TV show, like "Victoria Mars" gave the differences a certain reality.
Sadly, I am very much not a fan of one of the villains in this story, because I really disliked the original stories involving him.
I did enjoy the writing of the characters, and the interactions between this version of Gwen and the regular version of Peter. I also hadn't thought about how Gwen's costume actually works until now, and I must say...eeewww!
I'm somewhat tempted to go back and read the earlier stories, just to figure out the back-story of her "nemesis." A low-level repeat criminal with a pet hamster just seemed too interesting to miss out on.
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Lavender Threads
94 reviews2 followers
Shelved as 'pass'
May 30, 2021
This book is an example of why I can't, with mainstream superhero comics. It's billed as volume 1 so you think you can start there, but you open the book and the inside cover space is devoted to explaining that you should start 11 volumes back. That would work out to over 50 single issues probably, and ... no.

I did give it a try but less than ten panels in there was a note from the editor that I should check out the last issue in the 11th volume (I'm guesstimating) to see a referenced event and I lost my will to continue.

I did like some of the pictures of variant covers, especially the one of Gwen and Mary Jane sitting on spiderwebbing and eating ice cream.

This probably could be used as an entry point, but im one of those weirdos who likes to start at the beginning, and that's too much beginning for me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews

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