Spider-Woman #8 // Review
Jessica Drew is wanted by a very powerful person. The person in question happens to be Wilson Fisk. Wilson Fisk happens to be the mayor of New York. Things are getting very, very complicated for Jess in Spider-Woman #18. Writer Karla Pacheco hauls Jess into the path of the Kingpin with the aid of artist Pere Pérez and colroist Frank D’Armata. The showdown dampens Pacheco’s trademark humor, but the dramatic tension picks up the slack in an issue that advances the complexity of Jess’ life in an interesting direction. Pérez and D’Armata ratchet-up the tension admirably with the visuals.
Super-powered assassins Puff Adder and Coachwhip have been sent out to get Spider-Woman. They don’t stand a chance, of course, but they’re the least of Jess’ problems. A good friend of hers is in dire need of medical attention. Once she has dealt with that, she’s going to have to deal with the small matter of the large man who seems to want her dead. And if she’s able to deal with HIM, she’s going to have to deal with something that much more dangerous. Things were just settling in for Jess. Now she’s got a lot more to have to worry about.
Pacheco launches Jess right into the middle of the conflict early on in the issue. The speed with which she goes to work generates a very real sense of immediacy in the action. Though the issue is far from humorless, the very serious situation with the life of a friend brings Jess into a very tight focus on revenge, which gives the heroine a dramatic range. In the past few months, Jess had been allowed a variety of different emotional states. Now that she’s finally settled into a general sense of control of her life, Pacheco gives her a real challenge to throw herself at.
Once again, Pérez shows a really sharp sense of layout. The opening splash page isn’t quite as powerful as it has been in other recent issues of the series, but each page that follows amplifies the mood on the page with clever choices in panel composition. A chaotic combat at the opening of the chapter had panels crowding around the action. Confrontational drama is delivered with quick horizontal slices across the page. Heavier moments of ominous dramas are delivered in long, vertical panels. D’Armata’s colors provide action and drama alike with a rich emotional resonance.
Pacheco offers up a more serious turn of action for Jess and shows that she’s able to manage a more serious story. The light action-comedy mood that Pacheco had been delivering in recent months felt refreshing enough. Now Jess is treading in darker territory, and things can’t help but feel just a bit more ominous. The weight of the issue is not without its charm. The cast on Jess’ arm is a wry, little indicator of what a badass she is. There’s dark humor in having her rush headlong into danger with that ever-present cast...even showing up at a medical facility in disguise...but still wearing that cast. It’s clever humor.
