SILK #1

Capsule Review

I gave the new Amazing Spider-Man poor marks because so much of what made Peter Parker into Peter Parker had gone missing. I think I found those missing elements — they’re at the core of Silk. This spider-hero is a penniless young person making their way in the big city with a low-paying media job, covering up her core insecurities by quipping with the villains, and facing family issues that would challenge someone several years her senior. Sound familiar? I’m still not sold on the need for multiple spider-characters, but I liked Cindy Moon well enough. The credits page slug told me she was bitten by the same radioactive spider that nailed Peter Parker (hey, it’s comics), and that she was raised in a sealed bunker, which sounded interesting but didn’t really pay off in this issue. Her powers are broadly similar to Spidey’s. There’s also some espionage and double-crossing stuff going on that adds a dollop of intrigue. The tone and pace were similar to Spider-Gwen, but with less teen angst, and because we aren’t literally going over the same ground as classic Spider-Man stories, Silk’s running battle with a Green Goblin cult felt fresher. Writer Robbie Thompson’s script was breezy and fast-moving. I wish colorist Ian Herring had used the same rich palette on display in Silk’s back-up story from Amazing Spider-Man #1. This particular outing didn’t look as warm, failing to round the rougher edges off of Stacey Lee’s art (which shows a little manga influence, for better or worse). It all holds together. Entertaining book.

Approachability For New Readers

Slightly better than the other rebooted spider-books, which is to say not very good. But captions from Cindy’s point of view pull us into the character, and we get to discover the world through her eyes, which helps a bit with onboarding. Would be nice to have had more whys and hows about Cindy’s early life in a “hermetically sealed bunker,” but I’m willing to be patient.

Read #2?

Yes.

Sales Rank

#33 November

Read more about Spider-Man at Longbox Graveyard

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• Spider-Man Covers Gallery
• Spider-Man!
• Spectacular Spider-Foes Gallery
• Top Ten Loves of Peter Parker Part 1 and Part 2
• Spider-Man’s Bottom Ten Bronze Age Bums
• Steve Ditko’s Spider-Faces
• Face-to-Face With … The Lizard!
• Spider-Man Gallery
• Best Frenemies Forever
• Top Ten Spider-Man Battles Part 1 and Part 2

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