Spider-Woman #14 // Review
Jessica’s family is messed up. She knows this. She doesn’t know the full extent of it. She doesn’t know that his company would hire someone to break into her apartment in midtown Manhattan and risk the life of her son to steal something from her. That’s not even the worst of it, as Jess will soon find out in Spider-Woman #14. Writer Karla Pacheco delivers another smartly witty chapter in the life of a mom/superhero who is having a great deal of difficulty dealing with her family. Artist Pere Pérez sharply composes some really remarkable layouts for another satisfying chapter in the life of Jessica Drew.
Jess just wants to know what happened. She’s visiting her brother at the offices of the pharmaceutical company he owns. She has questions. He has answers. The answers he gives are only going to upset her. He knows this. He’s prepared to deal with the fallout. What he’s NOT prepared for is her return a little later on when she comes back to take something from him. She’s not prepared to deal with his current girlfriend, who happens to have superpowers of her own. And then there’s a little surprise that her brother has for her when she has successfully navigated the rest of the danger at his office...
Pacheco’s sense of humor animates the issue beautifully. Honestly...though the plot IS interesting, there isn’t a whole lot in it that would be interesting in and of itself were it not for Pacheco’s humor. Plus, her insidiously brilliant way of making Jessica’s personality feel deeply, deeply endearing even as she’s beating the hell out of some security guard. It’s the little things that make for a fun experience. There are a few clever bits that lurk around the corners of the action and thoughtful dialogue. The opening splash page has Spider-Woman running from a shadowy figure over monolithic text that reads “AAWW CRAP.” Sound effects on Spider-Woman’s infiltration of her brother’s facility include “Sneeeak,” “Scooch,” “Crawl,” and “Pheromooones.” It’s fun.
Pérez rolls with the action in beautifully constructed architectural backgrounds that firmly ground the events of the issue in a very rigidly-defined office/lab complex somewhere in Manhattan. Clean lines and powerful emotions radiate around panels that are given depth by colorist Frank D’Armata. Angular arrays and long stacks of thin panels make the journey from one cover to the other a lot of fun. Through it all, Spider-Woman looks good...which is pretty remarkable given how much punishment she’s being given. The villains in the issue have a distinctive look about them that provides a really nice visual counterpoint to Jess’ heroism.
Pacheco has guided Jess through a really lovely run that continues this issue beautifully. There’s a solid sense of progression. She’s not just developing as a character...she’s also developing a deeper and deeper understanding of the complexity of her family and all of the problems that echo through a very, very messed-up interaction between people who don’t actually know each other all that well. It’s fascinating to follow from issue to issue..
