Review: Spider-Woman #9

This issue sees the ole switcheroo in places, as the real villain stands revealed and despite all the red herrings thrown in the way you may well note be that surprised.

Thanks to the help given by her arch nemesis Octavia Vermis, Jessica finally gets to have some face time with the High Evolutionary in an effort to find a cure that her newly discovered brother gave her.  And you thought your family gatherings were hard!  Jess now has to deal with not just Octavia, Octavia’s daughter, the High Evolutionary, but also a fair few clones of her mother, who you may remember, wanted Jess dead.

Karla Pacheco’s story has been picking up the pace over the last couple of months.  This issues is no different, with some excellent character pieces used to setup a dramatic final act.  The tone of the High Evolutionary is haughty as you expect a superior being to be, with probably the best dialogue being between Octavia and her daughter.  There are comedic moments thrown in via the army of Jess’s Moms and a scathing observation on todays fashion.  This then poses a recurring theme for Marvel’s female led books, that being that at times the lead can feel like a passenger in their own book.  Still, these are steps for Jess to take as she attempts to take her place in the Marvel Universe.

I am still not one hundred percent sold on Pere Pérez art. One minute it can be great, the first page for example, then it can totally off kilter, see the second page.  Throw in some panels where the characters appear small and lack definition and you may see my point.  Pérez does manage to show Jess in a spider mode, sitting on a wall and the final act looks good with larger panels to work with.    I quite enjoyed the clever covers, especially the painting in thew background, though I am a trifle worried where on of the Mom has her hand!  Frank D’Armata’s colors are suitably dark, which carries a nice foreboding vibe and reaches a vibrant conclusion.  Letters are provided by Vc’s Travis Lanham who continues to deliver a clever font, utilising different sizes to aid emphasis.

This series has been improving over time to the point where I have added it to my pull list.  With this book being the penultimate issue of this arc, it is going to be interesting to see what Pacheco has planned next for Jess.  But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet.

Writing -4 Stars
Art – 3 Stars
Colors – 4 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.