Don’t adjust your set: Silk is indeed launching a new #1 this week just two months after the last miniseries ended and was released in trade. It’s been less than a year since Silk #1 came out, but so it goes for a series like this. With Takeshi Miyazawa returning on art, this new series thankfully feels like a natural progression for the last series rather than an overhauled new take.
Leading the charge on this new series is writer Emily Kim, who does some heavy lifting to establish the villain of the story. Don’t expect spoilers in this review aside from what is in the preview, but know care and attention to a new mystical threat is established early.
Kim’s handling of Cindy Moon’s voice is clear with various modern character elements at work, like Cindy’s inability to understand technology. Thrown into the mix early is a Justin Bieber-looking influencer who adds a pop-culture element to the story. All the staples established in the last arc are established here, including J. Jonah Jameson’s role in Cindy’s life, her roommate brother, and her psychologist. For all intents and purposes, this story changes little from the last arc.
Cool pose!
Credit: Marvel
Since the book does do so much recapping and changes very little, it doesn’t feel like this series needed to be branded #1. If you read the last arc you’ll find a few pages rather unnecessary and it’s frankly hard to believe new readers would jump on now if they didn’t a year ago. With precious pages spent on reminding us about Cindy’s life, and time spent to set up the villain, there isn’t a ton for Cindy to do in this issue. That said, if you’re going in blind, this issue has everything you need.
Miyazawa’s pencils are better than ever. He puts Silk in tasteful and cool-looking poses. The full page splash in the preview is proof of that. Her street clothes persona is as tough and determined as ever too. There’s a great one-page montage that does a lot of the recapping with few words.
Ariana Maher’s letters continue to impress here too. Subtle choices are made, like lettering looking smaller when there are characters off-panel whispering, for instance. Balloon placement is key as well, making conversations flow with good pace and pop.
Silk #1 is a good start to a new story if you’re new to Cindy Moon’s adventures. If you’re familiar it’s a bit slow as it catches us up on details we already knew with nothing new to change the character. It makes the #1 branding a bit confusing, but as a fan of Silk, I’ll take what I can get.
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