By Lauren Barbour

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With Marvel’s recent acquisition of the rights to add Spider-Man into its cinematic universe, I thought I’d bring up another spidey event that’s just tying itself up in the comics – Spider-Verse. Or rather, three new series that have stemmed from it.

For those interested in the actual storyline, it features just about every spider-person that has ever appeared in the multiverse as they come under attack from the villain Morlun and his family. The storyline spans multiple series and, like I mentioned above, has even spawned a few, so my best advice if you want to read it would be to seek the advice of your friendly neighborhood comic store employee or look up a reading order checklist.

With that said, onto the recs.

1. Spider-Gwen

Yeah, you read that right. My absolute and by far most favorite thing to come out of Spider-Verse has to be Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman. The character first appeared in the “Edge of Spider-Verse” spin-off series, whose second issue featured a universe where it was Gwen Stacy and not Peter Parker who gained spidey powers and went on to become a superhero. Since then, she’s gained her own title series, which debuted just last month, where she finds herself having to deal with the aftermath of the Spider-Verse events. For someone who has never had much interaction with the Spider-Man series beyond the movies, Spider-Gwen has cemented my position as a Gwen Stacy fan.

2. Spider-Woman

Featuring Jessica Drew as Spider-Woman, it actually starts in the middle of the Spider-Verse arc, with Jessica tasked with protecting Cindy Moon, or Silk, who was bitten by the same spider and gained the same powers as Peter Parker. For anyone not interested in reading the entire storyline, I’d recommend picking up the series from issue five, which will have Jessica back in her own universe and rockin’ both a new outfit and a new perspective on life. After having to deal with so many cosmic events, both in Spider-Verse and as part of the Avengers, it seems she’s decided to take a break from the big time stuff and is taking a more “street-level” approach to crime, which is a shift I’m definitely interested in seeing play out.

3. Silk

From being locked in a bunker for ten years to tromping around the multiverse with Spider-Woman, Cindy Moon as Silk (mentioned above) certainly has the backstory of a superhero, which is exactly what she’s trying to be. Swinging around New York, it looks like Cindy will be balancing trying to form a future as a hero with her search for her family and her past from before her time in the bunker. Although I’ve only read the first issue so far, I’m already looking forward to the second, which will be released on March 18.

And that’s it for Spider-Verse. As far as Spider-Man goes, most people are familiar with Peter Parker and Miles Morales but I’d really encourage branching out and giving these other characters a try too. Happy reading.