Cindy Moon has been stumbling a little bit lately. It might feel like things are under control, but she’s about to run into problems both in and out of the mask in Silk #3. Writer Maurene Goo continues an exemplary run with the character that is sharply rendered for the page by artist Takeshi Miyazawa. Goo’s framing of the story delivers traditional web-slinging plot points from interesting angles that feel refreshing as Miyazawa’s art continues to rise to the challenge of showing a rich, atmospheric New York for Moon to swing around in. Once again, Moon makes it through another very appealing issue. 

Cindy’s seeing a mental health professional. It’s a good idea that’s often overlooked by masked heroes. They need all the help they can get. She probably shouldn’t be telling him everything that she’s telling him, though. There’s a cat demon on the loose that she’s going to have to deal with under the mask, but there’s a lot more than that going on. A prominent figure who is possibly involved in sinister activity just might know a bit more about her than she’s comfortable with, and there’s a mysterious stranger who wants to talk to her in a very, very conspicuous place.

Goo takes traditional superhero tropes and plot points and skews them just enough to make them feel strikingly fresh. Secret identities and the occasional failure, along with problems in and out of work, have been around since Ditko’s days with Spider-Man. Still, Moon finds a way to frame it all that feels new in an appealingly contemporary earthbound fashion. Cindy’s confidence in the face of immense life-threatening pressure is admirable. Still, Goo’s real accomplishment here lies in rendering a character who is both powerful enough to handle herself AND slightly overconfident enough to seem compellingly vulnerable. 

Miyazawa’s New York is deeply immersive. Moon interviews a fabulously wealthy villain in her fabulously expensive place, and it FEELS palatial. A meeting with an ally on the waterfront features interesting characters around the edges taking note of Silk in full costume. Elsewhere she’s sharing an awkward bite with J. Jonah Jameson, and he’s living in an impressively lived-in-looking apartment. And Moon is at the center of it all, trying to deal with everything she’s trying to deal with...and Miyazawa manages an engagingly nuanced amount of emotion in her face. 

It’s a bit of a strange mix of things that are being brought to the page in the third issue of the series. It may be perfectly well-paced as a chapter of a larger story arc, with the physical action precariously placed at the beginning and end of the issue; there’s really no reason why issue three should feel anywhere near as balanced as it does. Goo and Miyazawa manage a very well-orchestrated series of moments in the course of the chapter. It’s all swinging together quite well as the series approaches its fourth issue.

Grade: A