This title really struggles. The story and questionable action stuff would be easier to forgive if the voice worked, but Jess herself and the dialogue in a broader sense are all off. This is not working.

This one issue was more fun, and worked better, than all the Gang War issues combined.

Finally, it felt that Jessica’s voice worked, and worked well. I’ll never be a fan of the decision to make the one woman saying “No!”, a mother, and could care less if the next time we see Gerry he is found dead behind a dumpster, but I actually empathised with Jessica for the first time. How much of that is connected to Bailey’s sadness I don’t know, but it actually turned out to be an inspired team-up, and one I wouldn’t mind seeing again.

I might have rated this issue higher but think that the editorial team are letting Steve Foxe down. Jessica’s eyes should be green, her powers bio-electric. Whoever is responsible for the lack of detail checking, and launching Jess yet again in the middle of an event that didn’t serve her well, needs to have a word with themselves.

Overall, I am glad to see the writing pick-up but worry that the damage has already happened to potential sales. I hope not, based on the promise of this one issue, but then again one swallow does not make a summer. Let’s see where we go from here. more

A step up the last few issues!

What is happening? I've usually liked Foxe's work in the past and this run started out at least functional. This feels so weird with Madame Web just coming out. Do writers just hate Spider-Wom(e)n? There are some decent story beats happening here, but the level of bonkers stupidity is just egregious. We have to suspend disbelief for comics, but everything about this issue breaks immersion. What did I just read? At least I can't criticize the pacing; they packed a lot of antics into one issue. more

More comics produced for an audience that doesn't exist, written by an author who doesn't know the characters they've been hired to write and doesn't bother to do any research on them. Cutsie wootsie humor where the dog is the best thing in the book. Did the writer just say to the artist "Draw fighting in this panel. No, I don't know what kind of fighting just make the comic people do the fighting thing". That's how bad the action panels we get are. What do marvel and dc think we want? It seems they hear "More YA writers! You know, with the dyed hair that's shaved on the sides please! More cats and dogs and pizza and funnies and blah blah blah". Dear God. more

I think this had the potential to be better, but I thought it was still fairly good for what it was. I am interested in the story between Jessica and Gerry, and I thought the way this ended between them, for now, was good and leaves the door open for my exploration later on.

Steve Foxe’s initial arc for Jess has had its ups and downs. It’s been good when Jess has been kicking butt, but has struggled when her entire personality is confined to her being an emotional mother. I don’t like that she is reduced to a blubbering female who is only defined by her motherhood.

With Gang War wrapping up, I’m willing to give this run a few more issues to move onto bigger and better storylines for Jess, but the rope is short. more

Well, that was just weird. Instead of Gang War they should have called it Jessica Drew and the Case of the Over-Complicated Info-Dumps.

I mean props where they’re due, Jess being called out for being a poor mother isn’t undeserved, and her cleverly getting Carol not to follow Gerry by demanding her attention showed Jess still occasionally has the smarts.

Sadly, overall���the plotting made little sense, beyond setting up the obvious, and mundane, ending. Jess came over as histrionic rather than emotionally believable, mostly because the script bent over backwards to justify her feelings that it had to be Hydra, instead of allowing her to solve the mystery, and uncover the truth organically. Ultimately, it all felt hollow and trite, like painting by numbers.

Honestly, this mini-series has generally ended up being quite hokey. Roger had already been replaced by Lindsay at the time of the End of the Spider-Verse story, so why was he suddenly back on the scene unannounced? Is Marvel scared of a potentially queer relationship or simply terrified by continuity? Also, even if Roger didn’t know Gerry, or why he himself was there, why would he leave a cot-bound child alone? Bonkers.

I guess the denouement goes some way towards providing a half-way reasonable reason for why she suddenly decided, with no prior inclination, to become a mother, in that it was ill conceived, but honestly it felt that way at the time. I’d always thought Hydra had pulled a deeply hidden trigger as it never truly felt honest to Jess to suddenly have a kid out of the blue. Speaking of blue, Jess’ eyes should be green, and her powers bio-electric. It’s like Marvel literally don’t care any longer.

Still, at least Gang War is over. I’m happy to forgive and forget so long as the writing turns the corner it needs to. I’m less convinced than I was at the start of the run, but fingers crossed…I really don’t want to have to abandon another Jess series, but this has not been that fulfilling so far. When, even though the pacing works, the most exciting moment in Jessica’s solo comic is Julia setting up Carol’s return, something has gone horribly wrong. Shame, as I liked the mostly serious approach.
more

Fuck the reviewer GhostDemon

If Steve Foxe ever writes a Diamondback solo it will likely be top notch, every one of that character’s scenes shine. I am enjoying the straightforward tone of the book, and the artist and colourist are doing consistent work.

Okay so we didn’t have to wait until the final issue for the info-dump, but getting it here, as she is already in the process of being saved, completely destroys any sense that she was ever in danger, and positions us away from any immediate, visceral involvement with her story. Discovering her powers were fried as she fell would have covered that better.

Why would Jess think Julia, or her powers, creepy? It seems the most closed minded, petty take, especially as she’d previously accompanied Magnus across the Astral Planes, and worked with the previous Madame Web to help Mattie Franklin. It devalues her. People used to call Jess herself creepy, you think she’d be a bit more empathetic.

Unless, that’s supposed to explain why Jess didn’t approach Julia before, in which case, rude. Jessica’s argument that only Hydra could have organised things is too pat, any number of malevolent forces could have done the same. I guess I should be happy that we didn’t have to wait until the final issue for that info-dump but it wasn’t elegant.

As for the reveal, it was too obvious to be shocking, it simply went exactly as expected, which was disappointing. The info-dump came too late. Instead we got heavy-handed clues, delivered in a clunky manner, that meant there was no chance for it to build and become horrifyingly inevitable.

It’s such a shame. I love the clean, real world elements of this book, the approach is great. However, Jessica’s monologue voice has slipped back into the same wonky poetry-slam pattern as the first issue. The second issue was better. I think because there’s a lot of tell don’t show. For instance, at one point Julia says Jess is no longer on her own, and I thought we were about to get a sassy three page team-up, instead Julia sidled quietly off page, leaving Jess to assume the Basil Exposition role as she steals aboard the ship, and a bit of momentum got lost. However, in general, the pacing is better in this issue than its predecessor.

I don’t know. This certainly isn’t bad by any means, but I want it to soar. Hopeless pretty much muffed up the four part Spider-Verse book that preceded his straight run, and then turned things around. Not in a way I liked, but the difference was palpable, so maybe Foxe can do the same going forward. I think I’m finding niggles because it has so much promise as a fresh take on Jess. The last time I enjoyed a portrayal of her unreservedly was in ‘Secret Avengers’ by Kot and Walsh, so I remain hopeful.

In the meantime, I’m hoping this book ends big. Another bombshell? I’d like to think so.

One final thing. Jess and her son appear to be using the fear element of their Pheromone powers within fights, presumably, as some form of Martial Arts “Kihap”. If that is the case, it’s a brilliant idea.

more

Okay, I’m struggling a bit here.

Jess is my fave, and I don’t think she’s always been well served. I hated the Hopeless run, and whilst I mostly enjoyed the Pacheco run it didn’t hold the same excitement on a second read. I’m a fan since the original days and here, we’re getting something that feels like it could deliver something special but is, imo, let down by missteps.

I loved seeing Jess going Old Skool, actually conducting an investigation and going under cover, but it was all for naught when an accomplished spy unwittingly tripped a sensor. It made her look duff. I could accept that the trauma of her kid going missing had made her sloppy but there was nothing in the script to suggest that. Also I had secretly believed that Jess somehow used her bio-electric (not kinetic) powers as a form of stealth, so that’s on me. Boo, though. At another point Jess calls Logan “surly” when I would argue understandably pissed off. Jess has always been the outlier voice seeing others with empathy, so her response seemed weird. Plus, if you’re going to complain that family chit-chat is ruining the urgency of your mission, then why devise a plan that involves waiting until the next day and hiding in a toilet, when your own gliding powers and super hearing will get the job done far more quickly?

In general I did feel that Jessica’s voice was clearer in this issue, less flouncy and more to the point. The art is mostly great too, capturing the dynamics of the fight with the Hydra goons, and some great “camera” angles.

Yet, still, I’m not really feeling Jess’s mission. I think it’s because I don’t understand how she feels about it, or why she has focused on Hydra. If only she knows her son has gone, Carol seemingly providing confirmation that there is something stranger than a mere kidnapping, then why isn’t she questioning the mystics? I feel that there is a clue we haven’t been given and I’m hoping (we’re half way through here) that it’s not a complete info dump at the end of this limited series. What power do Hydra have to alter the memories of anyone that might remember Gerry? If they don’t, why isn’t Jess looking elsewhere? There’s too many questions surrounding Jess’s actions because she isn’t giving us squat. Like in issue one, outside the club she derides the bad men for being bad, nothing about her fears for the kid if Hydra have him. In the club she tells Diamondback that Hydra are especially nasty terrorists and yet says nothing about her son which was her reason for being there. She doesn’t seem to be very focused. Again, I could accept that, if it were presented that way. I get that we have to await the outcome of the mystery but presenting us with Jessica’s internal conflict doesn’t preclude that.

The only new information we got in this issue is that Typhon are in cahoots with Hydra and Diamondback. It felt like we could have had something richer or more compelling. I’m of a mind that the clunky hints about Green Mamba better be red herrings because they’re so on the nose, but at the moment the journey is what concerns me. In her book I am able to understand the motivations of Diamondback but left uncertain of what is truly motivating Jessica.

I know I have been a bit negative but I want this book to succeed. I genuinely believe we could end up with a smart and involving portrayal of Jess and it’s looking promising, but we’re not quite there. It will be interesting to see what we get once the crossover event is done with but this has some ambition that it just needs to fulfil a bit more.







more

That’s more like it.

This issue had a really compelling emotional core that resonated within the plot, and the story was strong. The way it ends make me feel as if that may be it for now, perhaps a break, but despite my previous concerns I l’m definitely keeping it in my pull list.

I don’t think I ever reviewed an issue of the Moon Knight run that preceded this but it was likely my favourite comic. Dependable, rich, and involving.

Vengeance issue one takes time to look at the supporting cast and prepares us for a shake up for the titular character. It works well and provides a nice emotional connection that will no doubt be tested over the coming months.

Disclaimer: I only read this issue because a YouTube buddy wanted me to review it with him. We covered issue #1 and that was enough for me.

This is not a comic book. I don't know WHAT it is to be honest. It was a chore to get to the end. I think it's 20 pages but it felt like 50. There might be some semblance of a story in this issue but I couldn't find it.

The character voice for Yelena is Florence Pugh from the Black Widow movie. Only sometimes it isn't. It changes throughout the issue. Yelena is a trained assassin and would not come across as a village simpleton. She should be highly intelligent. In this book she isn't.

The other characters have the same voice. It's difficult to know who is talking.

The focus of this issue is on finding a job with a good dental plan. While shopping at a farmer's market. I'm not being sarcastic, it really is. Oh, and revealing to anyone who might be near you that you are a SECRET assassin.

Apologies for the rant--a rare one from me--but I wanted to give a few reasons as to WHY this is a bloody awful comic book. I could've just written the word "terrible" and left it at that. I probably should've. more

This issue isn't complete garbage, but it's close. The art is horrible and I don't really understand the whole web of life thing. It doesn't make a bit of sense. I never like the whole arc of her having a child and I assume one of the writers retconned it and now Foxe is addressing it. Captain Marvel doesn't even belong is this book, just like Jessica didn't need to pop up in every single Captain Marvel issue. They should just do a team-up book already, since that's pretty much how these two characters operate. Captain Marvel's new costume is horrendous. It needs to go away quickly. She looks like a baton twirler in a high school band. The only tie-in to Gang War is the last page. I won't be continuing this title, which is unfortunate since I like Jessica. Like Wonder Woman, I wish they could find a writer that understood the character.

My Comic Review Channel - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoGZC9FKDGg more

Less of a tie-in to the Gang War event as the other two tie-ins this week, Steve Foxe’s story focuses more on Jessica Drew’s lingering storyline around her missing child (lots of similarity to Mystique’s story) and her own personal vendetta against Diamondback. Something felt very off about Foxe’s writing for Jessica, perhaps I’ve just reached my fill of Marvel moms running around crying for their children. It reduces these characters to grieving mothers and limits them from any further layers of complexity. Let’s hope Foxe can get a better grasp on Jessica’s voice give his lead on her ongoing series after this event ends. #JusticeforJessica more

Okay, this is a mostly good.

The tone, the pacing, and the look of the book are all very welcome. It feels streamlined, and grownup, and there is a refreshing lack of wackiness. Although her venom blasts are listed as bio-kinetic not bio-electric so I don’t know what that’s about.

The plot is slim, but effective, and by the end of the book enough pieces are already in play for the story to progress and gain momentum.

As for the central mystery, it works! Although, in truth, I’m more concerned about the disappearance of Lindsay McCabe. I never liked the decision to make Jess a Mom. Her stance against motherhood was powerful, and unique, and played to her status as an outlier. Still, here we are, and whilst it’s not the most original story, I appreciate how it is being handled here.

My one real quibble is with Jessica’s voice. The scenes with Armadillo and Spider-Man were spot on, but Carol’s visit and the nightclub scene, didn’t match. The dialogue between Carol and Jess felt like it belonged in another book, it felt campy, and tonally misplaced. Similarly, Jess calling bad guys a “waste of air” and “slimy” felt redundant, it seemed too florid, and diluted the tension. It’s odd, because Foxe is nailing all the voices in Dark X-Men. I wonder if he’s doing too much in service to previous runs rather than shutting them out and fully committing to his own thing?

However, minor gripes aside, it’s a solid start. It’s nice to see a more serious approach to Jess. more

Innuendos from the first issue take a backseat for full-on NSFW sexual fantasies in this second issue from Steve Orlando and Giopota. Underneath all the gratuitousness, there’s a fascinating story shouting to get more attention. Orlando’s plot appears to be playing second-fiddle similar to how he’s handling Astonishing Iceman with his work on Marvel. The awkward time-jump happens in the blink of an eye and we completely blow past how John and Malcom helped established a new Oasis in a new timeline. I’ll never stop appreciating how unabashedly queer Orlando’s stories are, but characters often come across as one-dimensional vehicles for “shock” moments that do a disservice to any long-term growth. As a gay man, I wish there was a better balance here to keep readers coming back for something other than it’s a sex-positive queer comic. more

Fire and Ice Smallville is better than this. 😆 Just kidding. Anyway, same feel as all the rest of this style. May as well say Charlie Jane Anders wrote it. WTF? There is no story or worthwhile content here. Its just dialogue that reads like tweets or something or written by an AI program. One thousand opinions before she dies that mean nothing! Loaded baked potatoes??? Again, WTF? Lets make sure we get cute slobbery dogs in there too, thats a must for this kind of book. The sad part is this had potential if it didnt have the same old tropes writers like this tend to use.
The art is wonderful though. Thats my review. Thats all. I guess I'm just another miserable old man yelling at those damn kids skateboarding on the sidewalk. Well...if they still do that.

This is written for a certain type of audience that just isn't there, or at least isn't going to buy the book. The big two have been trying this for YEARS now & its a proven money loser. Most who want this kind of drivel (sorry to insult people who enjoyed this but that's what it is to me) will just read it online for free. It will bring no new money to Marvel & will simply be a drain on their company. This type of content may do better as an online exclusive but since their online presence is virtually nill screw it I guess. Ignore your audience who buys floppies & keeps telling you what they want and your audience who may spend a little for online cutsy wootsy "funny"...woke? stuff. more

I’m not certain.

The concept is fresh and has potential, but the plotting, and repetitive sexual shenanigans, made me feel as though I had read the same issue twice.

The ending certainly moved things along, and I’m interested to see how the story progresses, but I’m also checking out where the exits are located just in case.

Fun but inessential. Wasn’t sorry I gave it a go, but there also wasn’t quite enough to make me consider picking up issue two.

Sad to see this run end, but it has been gradually losing momentum for a while. The return of Veranke should have been finger-bitingly tense but turned out to be a comedic damp squib.

The Hopeless run backed Jess into such a dead end, sexist, and unfulfilling storyline, and with such a formulaic consciously wacky tone, that the character ended up bogged down and felt like she’d been replaced by a far less interesting alternate. This book spent a lot of time and effort trying to free her from that restricted viewpoint but suffered because of it, meaning it was never completely its own thing. It’s especially disappointing as when this book fired on all cylinders it soared, but when it took too many pointers from the previous run it crashed and burned.

Hopefully when Spider-Woman returns Marvel will try to find a tone that suits the identity of the character, the thing that makes her unique, rather than the generic mildly wacky, mildly amusing, template that they seem to overlay onto so many of their female characters. Pacheco and Perez were talented enough to paper over a lot of the cracks but I am getting bored by the formulaic approach that Marvel seems to insist upon. more

Gah, my previous review was way too long.

I didn’t like it, at all.

This was a tough read. It was so dense, and involved so much protracted scene setting that it was a bit of a slog. Still, by the end, the story does finally prove to be promising.

It’s nice that there seemed to be something of a unifying theme regarding the dangers of tech but it felt repetitive and frankly not that believable. Why would someone with new tech that effectively delegates mundane tasks be presenting it to at-risks teens? How would that help that demographic? Surely the target audience would be billionaires?

Similarly when talking to Walt, who openly admits his knowledge is limited, Carol allows him to persuade her that she witnessed an optical illusion. It makes little sense.

However, I think the writer has a flair for writing Carol, and that could be the saving grace for this book, especially as the story only really kicks in at the end.

Sadly the writing for Spider-Woman is on a par for how Marvel have been treating her of late. She was an adept Spy, trained fighter, and a Private Investigator. Nowadays she’s little more than a whiny, petulant, Americanised woman-child who makes gratingly bad jokes, and is contractually obliged to allude to her absentee son so that we don’t forget she’s living the dream that “All Moms are Superheroes.” How the mighty have fallen. I expected better from Nocenti considering her previous work on Jessica’s initial run, so I am inclined to think this is an editorial choice.

I might give it another issue to see if it gains momentum, because there is a small core of promise here, but can’t see me staying on board if I keep getting thrown out of the story by the stuff that rankles.
more

What the hell was this supposed to be? The final issue and all Kelly could up with was a party and a whole bunch of dialogue of characters telling Carol how great she is. Come on, give me a break. An over-sized 30-page book with absolutely zero action. I'll repeat my other reviews by saying she should have been off this book 20 issues ago. She's had nothing new to say about the character for some time. The book has been wallowing in her feminism, rah-rah girl power group for some time. This was never meant to be a team book, but it became one. Now I heard that she is taking over Birds of Prey- I wonder why? I just hope they just don't sit there and talk about their feeling and tell each other how great they all are. I'm going to try it, but if it's more of same then I'm going to pass. more

I expected to like this book, It had great world building, looked fantastic, and had an interesting premise.

Sadly a couple of things nixed it for me.

The book is heavily filtered through the male gaze. Yes, some of that is incumbent within the plot, and yes, some of it does get addressed to a degree, but it never manages to pull away from that. It felt more like it was trying to have its cake and eat it too whilst becoming deeply mired in what it purportedly questions.

The other disappointment was the ending, it just did not land for me, especially the cheesy dialogue. It felt so goofball and off-kilter it wasn’t even worth a groan. Like it retrospectively tarnished the good.



more