Jessica has started throwing up green acid. Now, whilst this may seem like a kind of thing a spider can do, it is in fact is a pretty bad sign. After a few tests it becomes apparent that a procedural shot was the culprit. With the motive “to save my child, I must make yours motherless at best or dead at worst” in play, it’s a wonder that Jess continues to trust the engineer of this nefarious plot.
“Engineering” or writing this series is Karla Pacheco who in one issue has gone from having Jess be motherly in actions taken, to being a victim because of being a mother. I had hoped that with Gerry being an oft mentioned, if not oft seen, member of the spider-verse that we had moved past this “baby at risk” stuff. Otherwise, every time Jess pulls on any of her spider suits, she will run that risk. Also, whilst I know this only the second issue, I had hoped for more down time with her family for Jess. Without Gerry and Roger to ground her, this turns into just another superhero battle for me. Pacheco does have Jess’s voice down well, even if Jess’s actions are a little baffling.
The art is supplied by Pere Peréz who has worked on a number of titles across the aisles, most notably for me, the Steph Brown Batgirl book! Here, panels feel cluttered in places, with heavy lines that take away from the form of Spider-Woman. Speaking of form, some of the poses that she ends up in are plain awful, out of perspective and lacking any real grace. Is this a nod to her illness? Well, truth be told, the poses don’t really improve once she gets “juiced”. Colors are provided by Frank D’Armata who doesn’t really have much of a hope, fighting as he is with heavy inks and odd poses. The new costume also doesn’t lend itself well to D’Armata; who ever thought it would be hard to color a black suit in shadows? VC’s Travis Lanham does his studio proud with another excellent lettering scheme, but who buys a book for the letterer? Finally, there are a raft of variant covers to chose from. For me the original suit featuring a non-existent Juggernaut clash by Mike Hawthorne and the Marvel Zombie one by Ben Oliver would be my choices.
Two issues in and a book that had so much promise, has turned into just another superhero fight book. Jess has been through the ringer medically more than once. It is like Marvel hang onto what they think are core pieces of the character, Jess equals illness, Carol Danvers equals body possession and ID issues, and cannot get out of their own way. With all the effort it took to tell a story of a pregnant super-heroine who finds love with a porcupine, I would like to see more of that rather than issues like this.
Writing – 3 Stars
Art – 3 Stars
Colors – 3 Stars
Overall – 3 Stars
Written by; Karla Pacheco
Art by; Pere Peréz
Colors by Frank D’Armata
Letters by; VC’s Travis Lanham
Covers by; Jung-Geun Yoon, Mike Hawthorne, Jenny Frisson & Ben Oliver
Published by; Marvel World Wide Inc.
Author Profile
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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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