After being annoyed with the mere presence of Cindy Moon during the first few issues of
Spider-Woman (before I vowed to never pick up another issue until Greg Land was off the project, which yay, he totally is!), I wasn't necessarily as excited about
Silk as I could have been. I got that she was locked in a bunker for over 10 years, but that didn't excuse her rather stupid behavior - like running away from Jessica Drew like she had been taking lessons from Dawn Summers on how to get captured by bad guys when your feelings are hurt. I also got that superheroes don't just start off being awesome; they make mistakes, accidentally place their loved ones in danger, lose to a low-level bad guy or two. I actually appreciate that in comics. People are fallible; so should superheroes be. That didn't mean that I was going to like this Silk person.
Now, this issue wasn't perfect. There were a lot of things that made me cock my head like a confused puppy, but I'll get to those in a second. Because guess what. I actually really liked this issue. Stacey Lee's art is dynamic and fun, with a hint of old-school manga and anime* (think
Tezuka Osamu), and Ian Herring's color work is perfect. I especially liked the muted tones in the flashbacks, with only pops of bright color to bring attention to minute details. I also really felt like Robbie Thompson was helping me get to know Cindy Moon through her actions and inner monologues. Not knowing about Twitter and J.J. Jameson calling her Analog made me laugh pretty loudly, and I love the fact that she has no social filter. Her discomfort with the world outside her bunker is palpable, and I found myself feeling really sorry for her as she is trying to maneuver in a world she doesn't know or understand completely. The flashbacks to the time prior to her bunkering were touching, especially the page where she tells her mother that she hates her ... the last words she ever spoke to the woman who bore her. I know that's a big fear of mine, that I'll go to bed and wake up to find that my parents or sister or husband or friends have passed on and they might not have known that I love them deeply.
As far as what I didn't like, they're really more nitpicky things than anything else. First, Cindy's outfit in the flashbacks - remember, these were supposedly 13 years prior to the current story - was decidedly not what seventeen year olds wore. And I know that because I was 18 thirteen years ago; high-waisted shorts were
not something that any of my friends would wear and wouldn't actually come back remotely into style for another five years or so. Second, given the time span that Cindy was gone, she would be thirty at this point, and yet everyone, including the writer and artist, treat her like she is in her early twenties. I mean, yes, as a thirty-something who has discovered that arbitrary life milestones were created in a time that no longer applies, I know that there are more people in their late twenties and early thirties are living in kind of a weird arrested development, but still. Even J.J. Jameson asks her if she's a "naval-gazing, self-centered millennial." Technically, both Cindy and I are millennials, and maybe because she's been locked away for over a decade, she retains more youthful qualities that belie her true age, but for the most part, people associate "millennial" with people much younger. Third, perhaps it's explained in
Spider-Verse or
The Amazing Spider-Man, but I am wondering how in the hell she managed to get a job as a thirty-year-old without even a hint of a resume or proof of a college degree. Like I said, my criticisms are more about minor details that make me go, "Huh?" than anything else.
Overall, it's a strong opening issue, and I will definitely be returning next month to see who the creepy people observing Cindy in the bunker are. There are plenty of stories that can spring from this issue alone - the search for her family, dealing with modern life as an adult, overcoming guilt, first job woes, etc. A solid four out of five stars from me!
* Also, OMG, she actually looks Asian! This is a big deal to me, seeing as Greg Porn-Face Land drew her like she was just another white girl.
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