Review: Spider-Woman #1
For a while now, Jessica Drew has been a running guest star in a number of books. Whether it’s Captain Marvel or Strikeforce, Jessica Drew has kind of been seen and not really heard, at least since her book got a cancelled…..again. Like her best friend, Carol Danvers, Jess has had a fair view shots at carrying her own book. The questions are therefore, how is this series different from the previous one and will it last?
Despite hanging out with Marvel’s version of Justice League Dark, in Strikeforce, Jess is broke. With a house husband and a baby to look after, the bills keep piling up. Not wanting to get back in the P.I. line of work (she obviously doesn’t want to get confused with the other private eyeing Jessica), she takes on a protection job. Not wanting to dishonour her original threads and hero status, Jess take a “back in black” approach. From there, things get a little bit out whack as said threat of a kidnapping creates a different type of party crashers and before you can say “boy, am I sick of seeing a Deadpool”, Jess is back doing what she does best; fighting the bad guys with one quip at a time. The second half of the book goes some way to explain the how Jess got her new threads, whilst also sowing the seeds for future story lines.
Both stories are written by Karla Pacheco who on twitter, promised fireworks. Granted there are fireworks, especially in the first part, but is that enough?. I liked the fact that Pacheco incorporated Roger and Gerry in the second story at least hinting that there is a continuation from the Hopeless run. Whilst there is an explanation why the change to black, there is not one given for the return to the original, and my preferred, outfit. As with Carol, there is a level of humour to be expected with Jess. This could come across as an imitation, although to be honest, I am not sure its an imitation of Carol, rather a trend in Marvel comics as a whole. With Jess having something of a more mature outlook and demeanour, there is an unfortunate large amount of #**!!# to distract the eye in the first story. The second story is a little more pedestrian than the first, though both have virtue in the re-introduction of Spider-Woman.
The first story features art by Pere Pérez, who art kind of matches the current idea of female anatomy, minus some of the details around the faces. Regardless, there is a level of dynamism throughout the action pieces. I just wish there was more consistency; there are some great panels on show. The second story, drawn by Paulo Siqueira, is much more in keeping with my expectations for the character. So, I like cheesecake art! Siquerira covers these elements of the character very well, with the help of inker Oren Junior. Colorist Frank D’Armata provides a mixed bag, the first half appears blurred in places, whereas the second story works better. Maybe the cleaner lines help. With VC’s Travis Lanham being credited once, I am assuming that he provides the letters for the whole issue, which he does well. Being a Marvel first issue, there are more than few variant covers to find; my personal choice is the Artgerm one at the top of this review.
I have been a Spider-Woman fan since her very first series. Sure not every reiteration has worked, but Marvel have been going great guns with their female led books. As I have been looking forward to this book, I really wanted to love it, This is the first issue, meaning that it is no means the finished article. It will be interesting to see if the book finds it feet as Jess’s best friend Captain Marvel did.
Writing – 4 Stars
Art (P̩rez) Р3.5 Stars
Art (Sigueira) – 4 Stars
Colros – 4 Stars
Overall – 3.75 Stars
Written by; Karla Pacheco
Art by; Pere Pérez & Paulo Siqueira with Oren Junior
Colors by; Frank D’Armata
Letters by; VC’s Travis Lanham
Published by; Marvel Worldwide
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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