It’s an exciting time to be a Miles Morales fan. He got a new costume in volume 6, Saladin Ahmed has been writing the character long enough to build a strong core of characters, and Miles is a bit grown up too. In the latest trade paperback out today, Miles realizes something he discovered in Amazing Spider-Man may connect to a villain from his past.
Miles Morales Vol. 7: Beyond opens with Miles and Ganke reading a cease and desist from Beyond Corp for using the name Spider-Man. It’s a way for Ahmed to catch us up on that drama as well as the fact that Peter Parker is not the main Spider-Man right now. You get just enough from what happened in Amazing Spider-Man #81 to carry the story forward on a bit of a reconnaissance mission. A device was found, but where will it lead? This opening is a bit long, especially if you’ve read Amazing Spider-Man #81 and already know what’s up, but it’s a refresher some readers might need.
Much of the opening issue involves Shift, Miles’s shapeshifting clone who now lives in the sewers. He’s an emotional character but one who means well and follows Miles’s lead. They team up to figure out what is going on at the location a monster controlling device came from. From a character perspective, Ahmed does well to explore this new dynamic while also revealing how Shift may need a bit more watching over than Miles’s usual team-up partners.
The first three issues in this trade paperback are drawn well by Michele Bandini. There’s a poster-worthy full-page splash of Shift and Miles clinging to a bus on their way to their mission location that’s to die for. Each issue seems to have a splashy moment like that, helping elevate the visuals. Action is dynamic and MIles’s new costume looks great too. It’s functional and a bit like a ninja’s garb thanks to how the mask pulls up on the face. Shift looks super cool too, as he’s bulky and hugely muscular in the arms and neck.
Lot’s of punching and kicking to be had.
Credit: Marvel
The second issue is a fight comic through and through. Set up as if going through trials, there are callbacks to the treatment of Miles and Shift in the past, but it’s mostly punching and kicking. Art is shared by pencilers Michele Bandini and Luigi Zagaria with colors by David Curiel. They get the size of Shift no matter the scene, which helps convey his pile-of-muscles physique. It’s hard to say which artist draws each page, which is a plus since it’s never a jarring switch.
Wrapping up this collection is Miles Morales: Spider-Man Annual. As you can see in the preview, Spider-Man and Amulet are going toe to toe with a giant cyclops. It’s a team-up issue featuring two characters Ahmed has written very well. It’s cool to see Amulet back, and Ahmed does well to feature his family and his uniqueness as a hero. He’s young like Miles Morales, but also just as heroic. The two are fighting a threat that can seriously use Amulet’s shielding power, but Ahmed also uses Amulet to give readers a full backstory of what is going on. You get two stories for the price of one here, and the story within the story is an interesting one.
Maresca draws a solid issue that’s very clean and cartoony. There’s a cel-shaded look to the lines that give the art a unique pop. The first panel featuring Spider-Man, for instance, has a thick white line around him that lifts him away from the backdrop. Maresca is backed up by color artist Fernando Sifuentes and letterer Cory Petit.
Miles Morales Vol. 7: Beyond packs a lot of punch. It plays into the multiversal origins of Miles in a clever way and seriously leans into them by the end of this volume. Throw in a great annual featuring Amulet and it’s another example of Ahmed’s fabulous work on the character.
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
You must be logged in to post a comment.