Review: Spider-Woman #8 (LGY #103)

Jessica Drew’s mission to alienate everyone in search for a cure for herself, and for Gerry by proxy, continues as this issue sees her disavowed from her closet allies and into the welcoming arms of Octavia Vermis.

It seems that Octavia has the ability to help Jessica find a cure; of course nothing comes free of charge as Octavia requires Jessica’s help in beating up some Hydra agents which leads her all the way to Iron Man? After the Black Cat’s semi-recent break-in, you would have thought that Tony would have upgraded his security. I guess that isn’t the case.

I have been critical of writer Karla Pacheco’s work on this book. Some of that is due to my love of the previous run, some of that was the apparent jettisoning of Jessica’s family. Still, recent issues have rekindled my interest as we get to the meat and potatoes of Pacheco’s first arc. Pacheco has taken the unenviable task of trying to stitch together an origin that has had more retroactivity than possibly any other comic book character. Currently there are a number of writers who will pad out a plot with issues that seemingly go nowhere. With Pacheco, I am on on the fence a little bit as it did take some time to get here, but on the other hand, the fall out between Jessica and Carol and the subsequent team-up in this issue does serve to show how far Jessica’s grip on her life has slipped. The dialogue has the almost trademarked “Marvel funny” that seems so prevalent that somehow takes away the individuality of a character. Plot wise, things take a couple of turns before the climax gives us the hope that this arc is coming to a close. It will be interesting to see how things pan out.

As Pacheco looks to consolidate her writing, I am still not wholly sold on the art by Pere Pérez. There are some great pages; the opening page for starters and there are some keen action panels with the over the shoulder blade block an example. But there are also odd body perspectives and frumpy body lines and language. The saving grace is the detail that Pérez puts into the faces of the characters, especially important as Jessica has a number of emotional highs and lows throughout this whole series, not just in this issue. On a side note, I am quite open minded with the change of costume here, though someone will have to explain how Jessica is in her traditional (and better) costume over in Amazing Spider-Man. The only thing that does annoy me, is the bit that doesn’t cover her whole nose. Colors are provided, expertly, by Frank D’Armata who adds a level of darkness that feels inspired by Jessica’s journey. Finally, VC’s Travis Lanham completes the book with his usual flourish of clear and decisive fonts.

I don’t know what it is about the Spiders at the moment; a good well produced book with key story points can quickly lead into a mess of a plodding book. Eight issues in and I think that Spider-Woman is finally getting some traction as Pacheco’s plot moves towards the final act.

Writing – 3.5 Stars
Art – 3 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 3.5 Stars

Written by; Karla Pacheco
Art by; Pere Pérez
Colors by; Frank D’Armata
Letters by; VC’s Travis Lanham
Published by; Marvel Worldwide Inc.

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

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