Check out this issue for all your favorite Spider-Man moments like J Jonah Jameson back in the news game, quips galore, family drama, Black Cat, genetic alterations, and… Silk Sense?
Silk #1: Back in the Game
Writer: Robbie Thompson
Artist: Stacy Lee
Colorist: Ian Herring
Cover Artist: Dave Johnson
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Editors: Devin Lewis, Ellie Pyle & Nick Lowe
Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso
Finally:
After the events of Spider-Verse, Cindy Moon is operating in New York under the name Silk. Her first encounter with Dragon-Man goes poorly and Spider-Man saves her.
After 10 Years Earlier flashbacks to establish her family (mother, father, and younger brother) and the poor terms she ended her relationship with them on, we learn Cindy has taken a job at Fact Channel. She works under J Jonah Jameson, but she is using Fact Channel’s resources to hunt for her family. Jonah threatens to fire Cindy until she pitches Silk to him, an idea which he loves.
Cindy encounters Dragon-Man again but he escapes. Cindy realizes she is no longer comfortable with roommates and moves back into her bunker. Someone watches her in the bunker over a video feed, stating Cindy has returned home.
The issue ends with Dragon-Man reporting into Black Cat, who forces him to get genetic mutations to make him more of a threat against Silk.
Thoughts:
Have you watched The Spectacular Spider-Man? This feels like The Spectacular Silk, which is about as high a compliment I can give anything Spider-Man related. It also makes sense, seeing as how writer Robbie Thompson’s biggest work to date has been for the television series, Supernatural. It feels like classic Spider-Man, but with twists. Jonah is telling the news, but now he has a boss and he’s backing both Cindy Moon (who sees as old school because of her disdain for technology) and Silk (who he sees as an antagonist to Spider-Man). Black Cat is a criminal but in a much higher position in the crime world. There is quips everywhere but they lack the passion Peter throws into them (except when Peter himself shows up). And Johnny Storm is coming, so there’s that too.
But it’s also more than a Spider-Man imitation. Cindy Moon comes to life under Thompson’s pen. She’s very socially awkward in an abrasive, speaks before she thinks type of way. She struggles with being alone while furthering isolating herself. She has a wonderful relationship with her little brother and an awkward one with her parents. And she really struggles with being a superhero and its very obvious she plays at being Spider-Man without fully committing to it. I’m actually excited to see her move away from this imitation and move into her own as a superhero, as the seeds are already being sown here.
Not everything about the issue works though. I think first issues should be largely stand alone, but this is pretty much all setup and catching up new readers on who Silk is. There is also a flashback to an earlier love, that adds nothing to the story for we have no current love interest that he can be used as a foil against (Peter does not count). The romance flashback do seem to end on ominous tone though, as they enter a very familiar Science Exhibition. She also has eidetic memory which is nothing more than a plot device. Finally, she develops a dislike for noise right before the issue’s end, that conveniently pushes her back to the bunker. Little things like that drag down what is otherwise a really solid first issue.
I LOVE Stacy Lee’s art in this series. Its minimalist but that makes it kinetic. Its expressive, both when it comes to body language and facial expression. It’s also incredibly easy to follow everything going on in this series. The fight scenes are vibrant thanks to the wonderfully talented Ian Herring filling the backgrounds with solid colors that seem to reflect the emotion of the moment. He adds a faded blend to the flashbacks scenes that keeps you aware of where in time you are.
And Thompson’s script gives them tons to do, especially with Silk’s powers, which are all over the place after Spider-Verse. In the issue, she creates a web shield and web clothing while also using several of Peter’s classic powers. While these wonky powers could end up being something that gives her an out whenever she needs it, for now it is fun to see new uses of spider powers (although the clothing seems more like a symbiote power) and Lee delivers. Even just having the webs come out of her fingertips looks really cool.
Verdict: This was much better than I was expecting. It feels like old school Spider-Man in a modern world. A lot of interesting plot threads are set up and Cindy feels like a strong character worthy of her own Spider-title. It is a strength of Thompson’s script that he writes Silk as trying to be Spider-Man and failing, without it being a bad attempt at writing Spider-Man. Here’s hoping it continues to be strong.
Pros:
- Excellent use of Spider-Man’s corner of the 616
- Setup of interesting storylines
- Kinetic art
- Fun
- Funny
Cons:
- A bit too convenient
- All setup
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Is Slott writing this? Hmm. Nope. Then it may actually be worth reading.
I guess I am going to be the wet noodle. While I liked the story, I didn’t like the art. From the cover it looked like I was going to be getting a book that was more similar to the type of artwork I want in a comic book.
Instead, I got something that looks like it came out of a cartoon, which for me, detracted from the storytelling.
Sorry everyone, but I hope that what we got isn’t going to be the norm.
Now I kinda wish I picked this up… maybe they’ll have a copy left this week
I hope that the writers can make Silk a strong character in her own right, because her initial appearance wreaked, at least to me, of “Look! Spider-man for Girls!” And that is wrong on a lot of different levels.
I guess it will be a long time before we see Peter working for J.J.J. as in the classic stories. I’m still annoyed that Silk suggestion to Peter that he leave New York a while back. Certainly that character is different from the one that retreated to her bunker.
@9 – “So this is another lesson in how a good writer can sometimes redeem the work of a less-talented writer?”
While their previous appearances were not the work of a single writer, I never would have thought that a series consisting of Boomerang, Shocker, Speed Demon, the Beetle-with-boobs, and Overdrive, the very definition of C-to-D list villains, would turn out to be the best book Marvel was publishing while it was out. A great writer can make lemonade out of very unimpressive lemons.
I guess the idea of Robbie Thompson taking Silk and doing what Dan Slott should’ve done with her, treat her as a full-fledged character who actually acts like she should considering her circumstances instead of the plot-device Slott made her into, turned out to be accurate. Which is good, though I’ve had enough of Silk already that I’m not sure if I want to follow her series…but if the writing is solid, and with that Stacy Lee art, I might just change my mind.
I was really worried I was going to be alone in enjoying Silk, glad that is not the case.
And I can’t believe I missed the boyfriend connection, but it only makes the book more solid
@9-@11
Exactly, Slott used her as a plot device to make “his” stories work. Thompson looked at Cindy Moon if she was a character and then wrote his story and used the original basis and current stories to make this book work. Very sad, not Silk could work as a regular character. You know what they say, twice burned…
I actually enjoyed this issue. Just shows how bad Slott’s writing can be.
I know for a fact if Dan slott read these comments he probably would’ve killed the character in spider-verse.
So this is another lesson in how a good writer can sometimes redeem the work of a less-talented writer?
I’m very glad to hear that she seems more interesting and ‘real’ in this book, it was really weird that she spent all this time and never even tried to find out who she was/where her family was. ALSO, if 10 years ago she had a boyfriend, that makes her older than Peter, and he’s supposed to be young & hip… or something?
It seems like maybe I should just go back to read the old Cassandra Cain Batgirl series.
From all the reviews, this Silk seems 100 percent different from the one that was introduced. She’s defeated by her first villain and requires refuge in the bunker. In Spidey she seems like a veteran heroine and very outgoing.
As someone who has been pretty vocal in his criticisms towards Silk and very skeptical about her getting her own series, I have say that I was surprised to find this to be a decent first issue. Not exactly groundbreaking, but all-in-all, this was alright. Stacy Lee’s art is the best aspect about the comic (although I’m sure some will make comparisons to Babs Tarr’s work in Batgirl), and while Robbie Thompson still can’t escape the fact that Silk is pretty much a Spider-Man ersatz, he does give Cindy some much needed layers when comes to her trying to adjust to the world after being in isolation for ten years. The idea that she would ironically go back to the bunker because it’s not only “quiet” but that it’s her only refuge was a nice touch. And it really shows how a lot of the problems with Silk lies squarely at the feet of Dan Slott and his writing, and how another writer can take that same character and actually do some half-way decent with them.
I read through this in the store, and I thought from a story perspective this issue was actually good. I think my biggest struggle with this issue was that I just don’t like Silk as a character, but in time I might start to like this version of Silk.
@4 – I could be wrong, but I think Jason Latour created Spider-Gwen.
I read this issue and it wasn’t too bad at all. Here is the funny thing both Silk and Spider-Gwen were concepts that Slott came up with. However, he wanted to use Silk in his stories and let Gwen get introduced by a different writer. The different was Slott wanted to show how Cindy was SO GREAT! Then forced her down out throats. While Gwen actually had an introduction story and got everything done in a short back up story. In this first issue we get everything that Cindy needed from the start. Her history, how her powers really work, the introduction of her photographic memory while a bit of cop out explains how he did Peter’s moves so well. Yet, then has a problem fighting Dragonclaw here who might or might be her ex-boyfriend. Her also problems with tech is a nice feature and how she is going about trying to find out what happened with her parents. She could do a simple Google or now that she has her life established could simply go to the main hall database and find them much easier.
I get its more of a mystery of what happened with the Moon family after Cindy was put in the bunker. Not to mention now her having a problem dealing with society and runs to the bunker as her “panic room”. It shows a more flawed and relatable character verses: “She’s the best thing since slice bread.” that Dan Slott went with. Now, she can be a character but much like Jackpot and Alpha before her. She is a character that has gotten a lot of negative backlash and while a better writer is doing what is needed and should have done with the character in the first place. It’s too little, too late and let’s face it. With so many Marvel Titles doing Final Days with Secret Wars tie ins. If her book ends in August like the other books, I don’t think she’ll be coming back and if Slott does leave Spider-Man after Secret Wars is finished. I don’t think the next writer will want to use her either.
Despite the fact Spider-Verse is still taking place, this comic is released. The timing seems poor. It’s hard to buy into a universe when the timeline is off. I will not be reading this comic because Silk never appealed to me in the first place.
I guess you missed how her old boyfriend is ten years later the supervillain she was beating up.
I hate (have) to say it. This was a okay comic. Its sad that the guy who created Silk can’t make her work for sh&%, and just as sad that all of Peter’s supporting cast works well with Silk instead of…ya know…with Peter. But yeah, this comic is doing the stuff you thought you’d see at least touched on over in ASM where she has had the most exposure so far, including trying to find her family and figure out her life.
I get it if this was planned to be saved for her own book, but it really hurt Cindy to have her in as many issues of any given comic (Spider-Man, Spider-Verse tie-in comics, Spider-Woman) for months and not at least touch on it a little. But we’re getting it now.
So, good start. Can it undo the damage already done for Cindy? And with the Black Cat just around the corner (who has also been tarnished heavily), can Felicia be used to good effect?