Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Spider-Woman #1

The long-promised Spider-Woman comic book has finally appeared, and it features the return of the team of Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev.

This is one dark comic (in topic as well as art) as Jessica Drew finds herself at a very low ebb indeed. During the Secret Invasion, her life was taken over by the Skrull Queen and the last image most people have of her is as a traitor.

So now that she's back on Earth, what is she going to do with her life? A possible answer appears in this issue, as she's offered a new (but grim) direction.

I should say that I think Bendis and Maleev make a good team and their work is outstanding - they seem to be in tune with each other.

But I've always felt that Maleev worked better in the real world than in the superhero playground. For example, the splash page on page two has Spider-Woman posed at a very odd angle.

But after reading this comic, I've changed my mind. Aside from that one page, Maleev's art is perfect for this bleak tale of (possible) redemption.

As for the story, it's a little too early to tell if that's going to work out, but Bendis has a good track record for such things, so I'll hang around for a while and see how it goes.

If you like dark stories with an edge, you'd be advised to give this one a try.

Grade: A-


(EDIT: I originally wrote that Bendis and Maleev had worked together on the Alias comic - quite wrong, as Scott points out in the comments, so I've corrected it. It was Michael Gaydos who drew Alias. Maleev worked on several other titles with Bendis, including an outstanding run on Daredevil. Mea Culpa!)

2 comments:

scott said...

I think your history is a little wrong on when these guys worked together. I think their 1st work with each other was Sam & Twitch. I think your thinking of Michael Gaydos who was the artist on Alias

Chuck said...

Ack! Scott, you're right! This is what I get for writing before checking my back issues (durn deadlines breathing down my neck). No excuses though - it was just an out-and-out mistake on my part. I'll correct my post - thanks for the catch!