Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black #1 gets Marvel's next big event rolling with a prequel series that brings a huge cast of disparate characters together, but makes the set-up intriguing enough that it's hard not to get sucked into the fun. Read Full Review

If you aren't super current on Marvel comics, this might be a little hard to fully follow and appreciate, but it's engaging enough that you catch up fast and the chaos level is just enough to make you want to come back for more. Read Full Review

Symbiote Spider-Man's foray into the King In Black event arrives as an archetypal example of the consciously retro work these creators have put into their previous SSM series. Technically skilled and unabashed about its throwback nature, this comic is a litmus test for reader taste. If you prefer 15-year-old Marvel comics to the publisher's contemporary offerings, this may be a delight. If you think the company's evolved in positive ways since then, though, you're probably better off skipping this one. Read Full Review

It is fine. It has a lot of character who you wouldn't expect to appear in the same comic. But somehow David makes it work.

I guess I should've expected these characters from... You know, the cover, but for some reason I didn't. This was fun. I really couldn't stand Greg Land's art at some points (the fuck was that child?) so that was a bummer. It seems like somehow whatever Knull does in King in Black reverberates through time? Not sure how that works, but I guess we'll see. Peter not knowing his symbiote is a sentient living being has already stretched credulity in the previous miniseries, but now he's presumably going to fight against the God of the thing he's wearing, so that might break the illusion completely. Again, we'll see.

I don't really understand this "King in black" stuff since I'm not following any other part of it. The story's not bad though. I doubt It will be as good as the first Symbiote Spider-Man mini, but it does seem better than the last one.
Smythe is a villain I forget easily, but wouldn't mind seeing again in modern Spidey, as Spider slayer stories are usually pretty interesting. Too bad there weren't any in this issue or his appearance would've had more meaning.
After the disappointment of the last Symbiote mini-series I don't know if I'll follow any more after this one. We have 4 issues to go, so we'll see what happens and if I'll consider any more Symbiote era mini-series or just quit after this one.

Peter fights against a shadow-force (Knull, duh) possessing his old foe Alistair Smythe. He gets the Black Knight to assist, at random, and space cutaways show us we can expect Kang and Rocket Raccoon (?!) and maybe Uatu to tie in later on. It's a fair premise, but the storytelling so far inspires little confidence. The script is slow and indulgent. And the art? Some artists struggle with drawing space battles or magic powers or scary monsters. Greg Land? He meets his Waterloo trying to leap more prosaic hurdles. Like drawing a child that looks human, or convincing readers that his Alistair Smythe is a whole different person rather than "Peter Parker + wig and goatee."

Not only was this rather boring, but it became readily apparent that the title should have been anything other than "Spider-Man". I'm not sure if one single instance occurred where Peter Parker himself was the victor. He was upstaged by everyone around him, essentially becoming the butt of everyone's joke. Yes, there was teamwork. However, if Peter wasn't in the comic, I am not sure if the outcome would have been any different. Captain Marvel saved the day, three times. I guess I missed the memo about Carol Danvers being replaced? Not that I care. I find Captain Marvel, in any iteration, to be rather intolerable.
This was neither terrible or great....it was simply something to read. Ultimately a waste of time. I hear great things about Peter David but I guess I am going to have to buy something else. more

I’m just really not into this style of writing, and a lot of the art looked... bad. I didn’t particularly enjoy this.