Amazing Spider-Girl #0

Background

So you decide to pick up Amazing Spider-Girl #1. As you flip through the book you realize there is an awful lot of back story that doesn't make sense to you. In a panic, you realize that the previous Spider-Girl series ran for 100 issues and that there is a rich history with the character that you have missed out on. Despondent with the thought of tracking down 100 back issues?

Here's a better solution: pick up Amazing Spider-Girl #0 and catch up in no time!

Story 'The Amazing Spider-Girl'

"Dear Diary..."

We hear Spider-Girl's story from the words of May Parker herself (with a bit of an assist from Tom DeFalco, of course.) May starts at the beginning, telling the story of her father was the Amazing Spider-Man, how her powers manifested during a basketball game when she was a sophomore in high school, and generally what she went through in the first Spider-Girl book. May's narration is augmented with panels from the original stories, treating the reader to the art of Bill Sienkiewicz, Pat Olliffe, and others.

General Comments

This book is designed for readers who are completely new to the Spider-Girl universe. If you pick up ASG #0 because you're missing Spider-Girl #46 and hope to find out what happened, you're out of luck. (That was the first appearance of Felicity Hardy as the Scarlet Spider, for those of you keeping score at home.) The book is not that specific. For entirely new readers, however, ASG #0 serves as a good jumping off point: it provides enough history to get the new folks up to speed and does a good job of setting the tone of the book.

One opportunity this book did miss was to set up May's volunteer work at the St. Andrews Battered Women's Shelter. Sandra Heally is mentioned briefly, but the shelter itself is not. Surprising omission.

Overall Rating

If you have never read Spider-Girl before, pick up this book. Veteran readers might get a chuckle or two from "May's diary," but otherwise need not buy. Three webs.