Gwen Stacy is having difficulty keeping it all together. While juggling a million things at once, she’s dropped her drumsticks. Mary Jane--lead singer of the band she’s in is quite upset with her. Things are about to get much worse for Stacy and MJ in the eighth issue of Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider. Witty, expressive and dramatic scripting by Seanan McGuire is given dynamic life by artist Takeshi Miyazawa. McGuire and Miazawa are getting along with Gwen quite swingingly in another quick, refreshing trip to the arachnid-end of the Marvel multiverse.

As the issue opens, Gwen is a little late for her date with Harry Osborn. It’s not exactly the dinner at a fancy restaurant they tried earlier...THIS date happens to involve sneaking around Oscorp and doing a little bit of investigating. As the mystery amplifies, so do tensions between Gwen and her symbiotic costume AND her bandmates. Convinced that she can keep on top of it all after an argument and a little bit of aggressive crime fighting, Gwen is off to an engagement with Mary Jane and the band that dangles precariously into danger. Things are only going to get more complicated for this particular web-slinger as momentum carries her into her ninth issue.

Web-slinging Marvel heroism has been around for decades. The idea for a genuinely witty web-slinging crimefighter had always been a really compelling one. Very few have managed the right alchemy between action, drama, and wit the way McGuire does. Arguably one of the most genuinely funny people to have tackled a spider-person, McGuire manages an adroit narrative rhythm and sharply-paced dialogue feel. In this particular issue, McGuire manages a very sophisticated mix of drama, action, and comedy as the darker side of Gwen’s wit slides over the edge. Looking to get out a little aggression over tensions with MJ, she loses control of herself and really lays into a couple of thieves. Humor, horror, action, and aggression are all brilliantly balanced.

Miyazawa’s ambitious perspective on Gwen’s life continues to find new and innovative ways of delivering the drama. Gwen’s first appearance in the issue is an excellent example of this. She’s clinging to the side of a building and looking down at Harry--a scene that could have been handled satisfactorily with a very straight-ahead execution, but Miyazawa finds a casually dizzy, little low-angle shot that amplifies the hero’s elegantly simple grace. With drama being carried to the page from sharp angles like this, the action can’t help but rush off the page. Miyazawa has a great deal of sensitivity for what the characters are going through in every panel...an empathy that echoes through every panel. There’s some stunning visual execution here.

Things have gotten really, really ugly for Gwen by issue’s end. She’s had everything so very close to being in balance, but now things have exploded, and things are getting worse. McGuire and Miyazawa have sculpted a gracefully nuanced descent into hell for the young heroine that continues to keep her story bracingly interesting.

Grade: A+