A Triumphant Return For Jessica Drew: ‘Spider-Woman #1’ Reviewed
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
Spider-Woman has taken a job protecting the sweet sixteen birthday part of the daughter of Michael Marchand. Jessica isn’t feeling well; her stomach is raging, she has a massive headache, and she’s angry. She has an opportunity to unleash this inner turmoil when a crew of mercenaries come to kidnap Marchand’s daughter–but can Spider-Woman stop herself from killing these men?
In the backup story, we learn how and why Jessica Drew switched to this new costume.
Spider-Woman #1 begins a new era for Jessica Drew, Avenger, superspy, and P.I. She’s begun to take on hero-for-hire type work and it’s not treating her well so far. She’s developed health problems and is barely able to contain a newfound rage.
This first issue has the action and humor one would hope to see from a Spider-Woman title. We get to watch Jessica pound her way through teams of armed henchmen while she lets off one-liners both internally and externally.
The action gets pretty over-the-top in this issue, but it’s welcome. We get to watch Jess bring down a helicopter with her own brute strength and beat the tar out of the mercenaries.
The ending to both the main story and the back-up are pretty darn foreboding. It looks like our beloved Jessica Drew is going to be in for some punishing times ahead.
Pere Pérez is the artist on the main story and it looks fantastic as a result. The action scenes are kinetic and cathartic, the detail work is top-notch, and the flow from panel-to-panel is satisfying. Frank D’Armata backs him up with a bright and appealing palette. Paulo Siqueira provides some stunning work for the back-up story with skillful inkwork from Oren Junior and coloring from D’Armata.
Spider-Woman #1 is a fast-paced and all-around charming opening issue for Jessica’s new solo series. We get to watch our hero beat on some mercenaries, try out a new suit, and destroy a helicopter. It’s funny, action-packed, and looks brilliant. This one easily gets a recommendation. Feel free to give it a read.
Spider-Woman #1 comes to us from writer Karla Pacheco, artists Pere Pérez and Paulo Siqueira with Oren Junior, color artist Frank D’Armata, letterer VC’s Travis Lanham, cover artist Junggeun Yoon, and variant cover artists Kaare Andrews; Artgerm; Chip Kidd; Junggeun Yoon; Carmine Infantino with Mark Morales and Morry Hollowell; J. Scott Campbell with Sabine Rich; Peach Momoko; Todd Nauck with Rachelle Rosenberg; Ron Lim with Israel Silva; Bruce Timm; and Mr. Garcin.
Final Score: 8.5/10
