Spiderman Blue is a six issue limited series that ran from July 2002 to April 2003. It is written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim Sale, the duo has worked on other big name comic like Hulk Grey, Daredevil Yellow, Batman Hush and are mostly known for Batman The Long Halloween. Loeb has also worked on animated TV shows and movies like Superman/Batman: Public Enemies or the Spiderman TV shows.

This miniseries follows Peter Park on Valentines day. after he finds and out tape recording of himself a few years prior where he narrates the story of his first love, Gwen Stacy. Throughout the tape he goes through the events that lead to him being ready to spend his life with Gwen and eventually her death.This is a different approach to the witty neighbourhood Spiderman every comic fan has come to know and love. Although it does have it fun moments it more of a melancholic tone due to the topic it faces. It is a good refresher from storylines like Maximum Carnage or any other issue from The Amazing Spider Man. It is outstanding due to the fact that it touches very sentimental topics for Peter and is still able to add classic Spidey fun when appropriate. As seen in other titles such as Batman the Long Halloween or Daredevil Yellow this is one of Loebs signature abilities, to extract a more human side of heroes and it is one of the most appealing parts of this story.

Sale does a magnificent job at illustrating the tone of the story, through the beautiful  drawings Sale complements Loeb’s while adding some happiness or sadness that the dialogue does not convey. Unlike older stories like The Dark Knight Returns or The Killing Joke Spiderman Blue has a different style of illustrations that are more influenced by technology, it follows more of the current comic trends set by other stories like All Star Superman that employs a similar style. Although not my favorite art from comics it is by no means bad and goes perfectly with the story,

This is a story that caters both for the comic consumers and for beginners. It is a standalone story that you can completely enjoy with extremely little knowledge of the extensive Marvel Comics universe you can completely enjoy this story but if you are experienced in this area you will also enjoy it since it makes references to classic Spidey antagonists like Kraven ore Doc Octopus. Unlike other comic book stories like Civil War or Avengers vs X Men anyone that wants to randomly read a comic can read this one, it is not part of an overarching story or heavily influenced by a previous event. All information about the past is provided, you are only expected to know that Peter loved Gwen and that Gwen was killed, but after a few pages you catch on to that. This ability to gather the attentions of the new and old is also a huge plus for this comic since it give the opportunity for everyone to experience this great piece.

Spiderman Blue is a fresh look at one of Spider Man’s classic relationships that is accessible to everyone in the comic community. It employs not only one of the best writer-illustrator duos in the industry but puts them in charge of one of the best known franchises. It has great and emotional storytelling and has art that also holds up its side of the bargain. It is easily one of the top 10 comics I have ever read and I would rate it 5/5.