Tears man, so many damn tears.

The most carismatic interpretation of Gwen Stacy.

Jeff and Tim deliver on already known levels. The Story feels just right especially the amount respect for the original work from the 60s. I never really was invested in the death of Gwen Stacy as more recent comic book fan, nevertheless do I feel the impact of that event presented in a modern story telling way.
Was absolute worth it finally reading.

I've read this book a few times now in the past decade or so, and while I think it does a lot of things well, the holes in the story get harder to look past.

First things first, the Tim Sale art is impeccable and among the best work he's done in his illustrious career. You can actually see the little influences from Ditko and Romita in his poses and design choices and I think it makes Sale's work all the better for it. The Vulture fight in particular is fun, kinetic and the snowy background really brings the skirmish to life. And when Sale gets to draw either of Peter's love interests, he knocks it out of the park. His interpretations of Mary Jane and Gwen, usually in contrast to one another, are the highlight of the story and effectively portray the conflict at the heart of the book.

Unfortunately, I don't think Loeb's writing is really up to the standard Sale sets. Loeb does an effective job portraying the early days of Spider-Man in a canonically accurate way but I actually see this as a bit of a missed opportunity. For a story about the initial days of Peter and Gwen's relationship, we see surprisingly little actual development on that front. The story really never tells us why Gwen and Peter are perfect for one another, nor does it ever really make time for quieter moments between the two.

Loeb has always been a writer that leans heavily on feeling over details, and I think he steers a little too far in that direction on this one. The book is worth the price of admission for the Sale art alone, but otherwise I don't think it compares favorably to some of this creative team's other, better works.