After some delays due to the pandemic, Silk once again got her very own series back in March. Written by Alyssa Wong with art by Takeshi Miyazawa, the new series mixes Silk’s superhero life with her day job as a reporter at J. Jonah Jameson’s media empire, Threats & Menaces. A new threat emerges that may be tied to a demonic underground.
This collection opens with Silk aka Cindy Moon taking out some burglars in a high-fashion department store. She makes short order of them and is soon reaping the benefits of crime-fighting first hand. From there, Maurene Goo quickly and efficiently introduces readers to Cindy’s home life, her job at Threats & Menaces working for J. Jonah Jameson, and the main conflict she’ll be working through in this story arc. From Cindy’s current relationship with her brother, some tough cookies to navigate at work, and the complexities of the bad guys she’s facing off with, Goo does a great job establishing everything quickly. You’re right there with Cindy whether you know the character or not.
Silk’s personality comes through loud and clear in this book, making it quite important to her identity and growth. From her banter in different circumstances and how Cindy may be a bit green in areas, she’s a fast thinker with good instincts. Wong captures her voice very well and the opening issue is a fantastic example of that.
“Demon Cat” is the scientific term, I’m sure.
Credit: Marvel
The overall plot of the book is wrapped in a mystery, supernatural weirdness, and some close ties to a key Spider-Man villain. I won’t spoil it here, but the children of this villain end up playing a part in the narrative that adds interesting new wrinkles to the Spider-Man mythos. That further gives the book a must-read feel.
Generally, the pace of the book can be quite slow, though. Cliffhangers can be too low-key to amp up the reader to keep reading. The fourth issue is also jam-packed with exposition and flashbacks, which ends up making the back half of the book a bit of a race to explain the classic villain’s ties to the main villain.
Art by Takeshi Miyazawa and colors by Ian Herring continue the trend Marvel has taken with Silk, as she’s rendered slightly cartoony, never hyper-realistic, and quite animated in her expressions. You might remember Miyazawa’s art from Ghost-Spider, so the agility of Silk is a given, and there’s a great sense of space in every scene and panel. From Silk tapping away at a keyboard, cutting to her screen, and then heading out from her cubicle, you get a sense of the space around her and how she’s actively living in each scene. The costume looks fabulous as well, and storytelling from panel to panel is strong. The point of view of each panel makes sense in a scene and tactfully navigates, making office scenes energetic and never stuffy.
This five-issue Silk series is quite good at characterizing Cindy Moon and implementing some world-building that ties into the Spider-Man mythos. It also looks sharp with visuals that suit the character. Alas, the story is paced a bit slowly with a plot that could use more, or maybe one less issue.
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