Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1 Review

 

Writer, Artist & Cover Artist: Yumeya

Translators: Motoko Tamamuro & Jonathan Clements

Letterers: Jessica Burton & Cale Ward

Publisher: Titan Manga

Price: $12.99

Release Date: January 14, 2025

 

Kyoto was the capital of Japan for a thousand years. Now, it is a tourist attraction. But the shrines and graveyards of the historic city still throb with life, if not the kind all visitors expect. How does Kyoto greet its visitors? And should you accept her offer to tour its ancient sites? Grab your guidebooks, leap into Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1, and find out!

 

Episode 1: The Hour Of The Ox: Story

Haruki Aono visits the Kifune Shrine. He live streams that visitors gain the power to curse others at the Hour Of The Ox. As he offers sacrifices with a leering smile, he promises to show his viewers something scary. Then, Kotone appears. As she offers to show him the heart of the ancient capital, viewers give him more positive feedback.

 

In this first story in Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1, Kotone gives Haruki what he requests. Her actions shock him. Yumeya delves into an ancient practice associated with Kifune. Like the Alfred Hitchcock movie Rear Window, it reminds readers of the cost of voyeurism.

 

Episode 1: The Hour Of The Ox: Art

Haruki carries his phone on a selfie stick. He brings tools like a shovel and hammer to frighten his viewers. While following the ancient rituals, his manners convey disrespect. So when Kotone clutches his shoulder, Haruki jumps.

 

The night darkens further when Kotone reveals The Shadow Side. Near trees covered in straw effigies, Haruki wonders if Kotone is seducing him when she leans closer. But after she whispers, she bites his ear. Then Kotone shows Haruki something his viewers will never forget.

 

Episode 2: Breaking Off: Story

Kagimoto cannot pay his rent. So he visits a shrine. He plans to use the offerings as seed money to win more. Then Kotone offers to give Kagimoto a tour. The Yasui Konpiragu is a break-off shrine. You write a wish, crawl through a hole, and leave your wish behind. Kagimoto writes that he wants to break off with the bailiffs pursuing him.

This second story in Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1 tackles our links with others. The Yasui Konpiragu shrine promises to help people break off old ties and establish new ones. But when people try to do the first but not the second, they distance themselves from other people and the gods who protect them.

 

Episode 2: Breaking Off: Art

Kotone holds Kagimoto's hand. When he squeezes through the hole, he lands on her. Kotone likes being close to him. As he leaves his note, hands reach through the wishes tacked to the shrine to clutch him. When Kagimoto later decides to sever all connections with others, a short string illustrates the inevitability of connections, whether or not they are the ones you choose.

 

Episode 3: The Riverbed Of Death: Story

Hina and her boyfriend visit a secluded cemetery. She longs for excitement. But when Hina lowers her top, he covers her up. He reminds her that Buddha is watching, then hurries to examine the grave markers. Yearning for the thrill of sex in this exotic place, Hina kicks over a memorial to insects.

 

Kotone offers to guide the couple around Nenbutsu-Ji. She shows them six Jizo statues that promise to cleanse sins. Hina does not believe in the gods and claims she has no sins. Then she remembers another time a yearning for gratification overrode her respect for others.

 

Episode 3: The Riverbed Of Death: Art

Kotone clings to her male visitor in this third story in Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1. Hina fumes as the tour guide attempts to rob her of her financial security. Her boyfriend kneels amid the graves of children as Hina remembers her sins. Then night falls, her boyfriend is gone, and two boys appear with Kotone. The boys rush toward Hina. Their faces glow with adoration. Hina wraps them in her arms. But like Hina, the boys want more than an embrace.

 

Episode 4: The Field Of Birds: Story

Hazuki is a model friend and guardian. She looks over her classmates as they visit Kiyomizu-dera. Yuka is intrigued by this aura of perfection. The outsider discovers that Hazuki is cruel to the girls in her inner circle. While Yuka films Hazuki wielding power over her schoolmates, Kotone watches her. When Hazui notices their interaction, Kotone tells them about the balcony they stand on.

Episode 4: The Field Of Birds: Art

In this final story in Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1, a white silhouette leaps off the balcony clutching an open umbrella. Unlike Mary Poppins, the Edo Period visitor made a wish and took an Indiana Jones-style leap of faith. Hazuki and her friends smile, except for Shiori, who they are hazing.

 

A shadow falls on Kotone as she smiles with the others. Corpses litter the ground below. Yuka drops the phone she secretly used to record Hazuki and her friends. Then, a transformation makes Hazuki emulate the weakness she disdained in Shiori.

 

Lettering

Black uppercase letters haunt dialogue and thought balloons of varying shapes and sizes. Dark revelations appear as giant white words in black balloons. Words also hover in panels. Screams rock fields with serrated edges. Translated sound effects help us hear screams and accompany scenes of body horror. Thanks to Titan Manga for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

The dead outnumber the living in Kyoto, and Kotone is our guide to their stories and lives. With a smile and perhaps a giggle, Kotone will lead you by the hand into forgotten history and traditions. Share your secrets, and she will reveal how this ancient city still speaks to people today in Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside, see my preview of Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1 earlier this week.

High On Life Vol 1 TP Review

 

Writer: Alec Robbins

Artist: Kit Wallis

Colorist: JP Jordan

Letterer: Dave Lentz

Cover Artist: Sean Monaghan

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $19.99

Release Date: January 15, 2025

 

The G3 Cartel, led by the merciless Garmantuous, devastated Gatlian civilization. After using biological warfare to transform most of the sentient guns into zombies, Garmantuous captured the survivors for medical experimentation. (Not content with that, he executed the Human rock band Radiohead. What a creep!) How have the Gatlians fared since the Human Bounty Hunter brought peace to the Gatlus? Let’s grab our friendly talking guns, leap into High On Life Vol 1 TP, and find out!

 

Story

Harper lost her family during the G3 attack on her planet. Thankfully, Colonel Smithon Wesson took her in. From his underground compound, Wesson led the Gatlian resistance, training the survivors of his talking gun species to combat the blobby invaders. Along with Professor Creed Turian, Colonel Smithon Wesson forged his ragtag group of survivors into an effective fighting force. But they didn’t kill Garmantuous and defeat the murderers. That honor fell to the Human Bounty Hunter and his band of talking guns.

 

In High On Life Vol 1 TP, Colonel Smithon Wesson burns with rage. Garmantuous took his wife and family. After love blossomed with his new partner, the leader of the cartel army took away Professor Turian. When the Human Bounty Hunter killed Garmantuous, he left Wesson with nothing to live for. Stripped of his purpose and the people he loved, Wesson vowed to kill the person who took away everything that he built his life around. Wesson would kill the Human Bounty Hunter. Heck, he would kill all Humans!

 

Unlike Colonel Smithon Wesson, Harper discovered a better way forward. She befriended the man who freed her planet from the invaders. Now, she travels the spaceways with her friends and rescues people from kidnappers like Vardagan. Harper found a new home with their friend Gene and a traumatized Gatlian war hero. And they have a place they enjoy going to when they want to share their tragic backstories. Unfortunately, they never order anything except water, which angers the waiter because they take up the booth for hours. But hey, you can’t please everybody, right?

 

Art

Kit Wallis fills High On Life Vol 1 TP with colorful characters. Aside from Harper and the Human Bounty Hunter's other talking guns, there is Creature. He gives birth to tiny monsters that scurry off and devour their enemies. Knifey is a talking knife who briefly wrests the story from Alec Robbins and makes it his own. Then there is the Human Bounty Hunter, who never speaks and hides his appearance behind a spacesuit and helmet. Is he the Karma Police, or just a Man Of War?

 

Into this lushly painted world walks Steve Buscemi. The Human actor becomes our viewpoint character as Harper travels to her home planet aboard the interstellar taxi service Haul & Otis. Steve bonds with his colorful companions amid the eye-catching backgrounds of JP Jordan. The actor who voiced Starscream in Transformers One learns how Professor Turian replaced Harper's equine mechanical walker with an Iron Man-like suit. 

 

Perhaps Steve is at his best when he remains with purple Gene and red Knifey to help his new friends evade Colonel Smithon Wesson. Unlike the red, blue, white, and silver Bounty Hunter and the yellow and red Creature with his tiny, toothy blue children, Harper and Colonel Smithon Wesson share the same skin color with the Human actor Vardagan stuffed in his burlap bag.

 

The dialogue proves as colorful as the characters in High On Life Vol 1 TP. Harper speaks with blue letters, Creature utters wobbly red dialogue, Humans and the three-eyed waiter speak black letters, and Colonel Wesson Smith speaks green. Dave Lentz uses a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters that enlarge, grow bold, and rarely shrink to convey the gripping drama and excitement of this down-to-Gatlus story. Sound effects help us hear gunfire, Creature giving birth, Harper hopping through a Targit store (They're like Earth Targets, only different), and Colonel Smithon Wesson squashing an enemy like Monty Python’s giant foot.

 

Final Thoughts

High On Life Vol 1 TP is about how grief and loss can transform us into monsters, and we can forge new lives through friendship. The story promises we can do extraordinary things if we believe in ourselves, whether relaxing at home, leaping through portals, fighting aliens on distant war planets, or hanging out with friends at the Space Applebee’s in Uptown Blim City.

 

Rating 9.5/10

 

To look inside see my preview of High On Life Vol 1 TP.

Rugrats Bestest Comics Book Two Review

 

Writers: Nicole Andelfinger, Daniel Kibblesmith, Cullen Crawford & Pranas T Naujokaitis

Artists: Esdras Cristobal, Sarah Web, Brittney Williams, Laura Langston, Ilaria Catalani, Kate Sherron & Maurizia Rubino

Colorists: Joana Lafuente, Fred C Stresing & Meg Casey

Letterers: Jim Campbell & Mike Fiorentino

Cover Artists: Jay Fosgitt & Eleonora Bruni

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $16.99

Release Date: December 25, 2024

 

When the electricity fizzles, Uncle Stu goes to investigate. Grandpa Pickles wants to distract the kids from the dead TV in the moonlit living room. But will Grandma let him regale them with his WWII adventures? Let's plug fresh fuses into our imaginations, leap into Rugrats Bestest Comics Book Two, and find out!

 

R Is For Reptar: Story

In 1942, Mr Pickles and his squad searched for a downed friendly. But what could take a bite out of an airplane's tail? Grandma objects to Grandpa scaring the children with tales of tanks and T-Rexes. Then, a distant crash frightens her. After Grandpa assures her that the children can entertain themselves for a few minutes, they leave to see how Uncle Stu is faring.

 

With the TV silent, the children hold forth on their favorite T-Rex. Reptar is a baby T-Rex investigating a cave with his friends before becoming a misunderstood monster living in the woods near a castle. Reptar ruins designer clothes and spills delicious lattes as the kaiju rampages through the city. R Is For Reptar helps the children confront their fears and imagine becoming heroes to protect others from danger.

 

R Is For Reptar: Art

Esdras Christobal gives animated TV appeal to this tale of Tropic Thunder. Sara Webb imbues Li’l Reptars with cute and cuddly art that creates classic adventure without the violence of Tarzan of the Apes. Brittney Williams and Joana Lafuente pay homage to classic superhero comics in Super Cynthia, as Angelica imagines her heroine can leap over Reptar in a single bound.

 

Laura Langston channels a Children’s Storybook vibe for Beauty And The Reptar as a princess ventures from her castle. She follows a map (and fearsome roaring) to prove no monsters inhabit her realm. Finally, in Tommy And Reptar, Ilaria Catalani, Fred C Stresing, and Meg Casey capture the frenetic energy of a Godzilla tale. Dr Tommy researches how to battle the rampaging Reptar before leaving his laboratory to save the city. The energy surging through this final tale in R Is For Reptar propels the reader onto the next story in Rugrats Bestest Comics Book Two.

 

C Is For Chanukah: Story

When the families rent a cabin in the woods, the kids watch Reptannukah 2: Robotar's Revenge. Then, as now, Syria and Israel are at odds. King Antiochus wants the Israelites to worship his gods. Judah Maccabee thinks his Temple should remain dedicated to Israel’s god. Daniel Kibblesmith and Cullen Crawford reinvent Reptar as the people's champion. As Chuckie wonders what the show has to do with a harmonica, Tommy puts his faith in Reptar. If the T-Rex is there, it must be important.

 

In C Is For Chanukah, the parents miss the meaning of the holidays. Some fear leaving the city, while others need a break from their stressful jobs. While bringing an inflatable T-Rex, the parents forget a menorah. So Uncle Boris guides them through the festival. Unfortunately, his memory is a DVD where the Bonus Features intermingle with the feature presentation. As the children learn about a harmonica and a golem, and Cynthia receives more presents than she can appreciate, their imaginations run wild.

 

C Is For Chanukah: Art

Kate Sherron packs this second story in Rugrats Bestest Comics Book Two with action. Her characters express anger, frustration, rage, fear, excitement, and hunger for adventure. She delivers loads of family fun inside the cabin and in the snow. As the children sled down slopes, trees and snowmen transform into monsters. Flashlights protect them during evening adventures inspired by Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones, and Frankenstein’s monster in Harmonica: the Festible Of Lights!

 

The Last Token: Story

When Drew and Stu take the kids to Wizard Rat, the adults complain that the pizza parlor and kids’ zone don't measure up to their memories. Chuckie loses games, so Tommy insists games are about having fun with your friends. Angelica disagrees. She wants to earn all the tickets to claim a glittering crown.

 

In Pranas T Naujokaitis' story, problems beset the workers when the kids run out of tokens. The dispensing machines refuse to cough up more. While Stu tinkers with the animatronic musicians in the dining area, the Rugrats take shelter as the older kids run riot. When Tommy finds a forgotten token, the kids shelter in a storeroom. Suzie recalls a game that dispenses tokens instead of tickets. The friends embark on a quest toward Mount Token in this final story of Rugrats Bestest Comics Book Two. Queen Angelica responds by rallying an army of Orcs to capture the token and gain her crown.

 

The Last Token: Art

Maurizia Rubino transforms Wizard Rat’s exterior into a castle. The miniature theme park boasts a gaming zone, a dining area with animatronic musicians, play tubes, a ball pit, laser tag, and an obstacle course. Queen Angelica sits on a throne and follows the children’s quest with binoculars. The Rugrats transform into a medieval knight, an axe-wielding dwarf, and a Princess Fiona-like goblin. While battling Queen Angelica's forces, they engage in sea battles, fend off zombies, and confront monsters.

 

The Rugrats momentarily leave their fantasy adventure to resume their journey amid a futuristic setting. But Angelica isn’t the only one they must battle in this epic adventure that forms the second half of Rugrats Bestest Comics Book Two. As the fellowship pushes on toward Mount Token, they face another nemesis. He doesn't care about getting tickets or winning prizes. He crouches, hisses, and springs into action when his precious token appears.

 

Lettering

Jim Campbell and Mike Fiorentino fill dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with uppercase and lowercase black letters. While font size and styles range through The Last Token, C Is For Chanukah, and the five stories in R Is For Reptar, sentences remain easy to read and follow. Words grow bold for inflection, swell for volume, and shrink for lowered voices. Sound effects help us hear T-Rex mayhem, children’s exhilaration, and the ambiance of Chuck E Cheese. (Oops! I mean Wizard Rat). Thanks to Boom! Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Rugrats Bestest Comics Book Two reminds adults what it's like to be young, warns against the perils of aging, and celebrates friendship, sharing, and imagination. The three (or seven) stories riff on myths, movies, TV shows, and literature to show how beliefs and traditions evolve while creating fun and compelling stories.

 

Rating 9/10

 

This review first appeared at Comic Book Dispatch.

Heat Seeker: Combustion #3 Preview

COVER A: Kendrick Lim

 Also available as COVER F: Kendrick Lim Foil Virgin Variant

 

Dr Bessemer Preiss commissioned Dahlia Racers to make his daughter disappear. Rosaline should have been safe in the convent in Montefiacco. Instead, a twisted trail brings her on a circuitous route back to Dahlia. But can the disappearing artist keep Rosaline safe? Ardia and Ace keep the pot boiling in Heat Seeker: Combustion #3!

Here's all the info from Titan Comics. And remember, while enormous fun, Heat Seeker: Combustion #3 is hot stuff, and for mature readers only! 

 

HEAT SEEKER: COMBUSTION - A GUN HONEY SERIES #3

Format: Comic book

Writer: Charles Ardai

Artist: Ace Continuado

Publisher: Hard Case Crime, Titan Comics imprint

FC, 32pp, $3.99, On sale: January 22, 2025

 

Perfect for fans of Gun Honey, pulp fiction and crime thrillers!

 

Starring the fiery ex-girlfriend of Gun Honey Joanna Tan – a master of disguise and deception!

 

A biological weapon that could kill millions… a scientists daughter who needs to disappear… and Heat Seeker Dahlia Racers is on the job! But can she beat a beautiful mercenary unable to feel heat, cold, fatigue, or pain.

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

 

Here are some more cover options:

 

COVER B: Jay Ferguson

 

COVER C: Ace Continuado

COVER D: Photo

COVER E: BRÄO

 

 

COVER G: Jay Ferguson Nude Variant

 

 

COVER J: Photo

COVER I: 1:10 Variant

 

Also available: COVER H: BRÄO Unique Variant

 

Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this preview with us!

Shadows Of Kyoto Vol 1 Preview

 

This is a mesmerizing graphic novel, and a stunning manga debut from Yumeya. Everyone travels to Kyoto for different reasons. But there are reasons why you should always respect others traditions, culture, and beliefs. 

In Yumeya's story, visitors who travel to the former Japanese capital for the wrong reasons discover that disrespect and avarice can be deadly. Check out the preview art for this mesmerizing volume, and circle back later this week for my review.

Here's all the info from Titan Manga:

SHADOWS OF KYOTO VOL. 1

Author/Illustrator: Yumeya

Publisher: Titan Manga (Titan Comics imprint)

SC, 176 pages, B&W, $12.99

ISBN: 9781787742673

On sale January 14, 2025

 

For fans of historical horror and real world ghost stories, comes this collection of chilling tales surrounding some of the most haunted sites in the Japanese city of Kyoto!

 

Kiyomizu-dera, Kifune Shrine, and Adashino Nenbutsu-ji — to most these places are merely tourist hotspots in the busy city of Kyoto… but each is hiding a dark history, tales of ghosts and bloodshed! In this volume come and hear the true stories of these haunted places, and the creatures that lurk just out of sight…

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 

Shadows of Kyoto Vol. 1 is on sale January 14, 2025 at bookstores, comic shops and digital.

 

Pre-order now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million and Forbidden Planet for UK. 

 

Thanks to Titan Manga for sharing this preview with us!

 

 

 

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #28 Review

 

Writer: Cody Ziglar

Artist: Daniele Di Nicuolo

Colorist: Bryan Valenza

Letterer: Cory Petit

Cover Artists: Federico Vicentini & Ceci De La Cruz; Iban Coello & Jesus Aburtov; Mirka Andolfo

Design: Jay Bowen

Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe & C B Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: January 1, 2025

 

While Miles’ new Vibranium costume keeps Varnae’s vampiric infection at bay, Black Panther wants to cure Spider-Man. So Wakanda's protector sneaks Miles into the nation that exiled him to meet his god. But will Bast help Miles as she did Black Panther? And in Miles’ absence, can Ganke ease Shift through his first day of school? Let's brew a pot of green tea, leap into Miles Morales: Spider-Man #28, and find out!

 

Story

Miles' life flashed before his eyes when a panther confronted him by the soul tree. Shuri assures him that the panther's retreat means Bast doesn’t seek Miles’ death. Still, Spider-Man needs Shuri's help to enter her god’s realm.

 

As Varnae once tried using Vibranium to attain godhood, the Black Panther feels duty-bound to cure Miles of the demon's infection. Black Panther wants to erase the first vampire's stain on Wakanda's legacy. But T’Challa takes such pride in his heritage that outsiders seem empty by comparison. While Miles values his roots, he and his friends groove more to the rhythms of contemporary life. But Miles isn't just a Puerto Rican Brooklynite. He has a heritage as Spider-Man. Sadly, Miles knows as much about that as he does about Doctor Strange’s Bleeker Street home.

 

Despite T’Challa, Shuri, and Miles’ ignorance, Bast gazes down from her realm and sees Miles’ links to other gods. Varnae’s original intrusion brought other gods to Bast’s home. In Miles Morales: Spider-Man #28, the Humans use the key they retrieved from N'Yobi (and Natima). Other gods see the open door and think, "I'd like to enter Bast's realm!"

 

Like any homeowner, Bast doesn't want someone else invading her home, dusting her bookshelves and rearranging the furniture. The Humans' blunder irritates Bast in Cody Ziglar’s story. Still, Bast needed another god's help to cure her champion. And she's not inclined to give Miles a purifying kiss.

 

 

 

Art

After Shuri makes her grand entrance, she sinks into her brother's arms. Then, the royal siblings regard the outsider. While the panther that read Miles' mind takes its place in the sinuous soul tree, Shuri hands Miles a small leaf. Then Daniele Di Nicuolo tunes us into life in Brooklyn in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #28. Ganke gives Shift a comradely nudge. But when his eyes bulge, Shift leaps into action.

 

A timelapse overhead shot framed by foliage reveals Shuri etching ancient symbols into the bluish-green grass. When Miles sits in his black, purple, and red costume, Bryan Valenza shows yellow, mauve, and purple smoke surrounding the supplicant. Then Miles floats in a cloudy, luminous realm in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #28. Gold shimmers around Bast's neck while red, green, and gold stream from her face. The ethereal ribbons may not entrap Spider-Man like the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak, but that doesn’t mean Miles is free to explore Bast’s realm.

 

Humans speak black uppercase letters into white balloons. Gods speak colored words into similarly bordered divine dialogue balloons. The delicate font emboldens for names and rarely shrinks. Cory Petit enhances the everyday dangers of living in Brooklyn and heralds Miles' ascension through Shuri's stargate to a higher level of existence. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a copy for review. 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Black Panther has brought Varnae’s stain into Bast's realm twice now. After being stripped of his throne and exiled from Wakanda, T’Challa worries about the consequences of helping Miles. But Brooklyn's Spider-Man faces mortal danger.

 

If Miles survives the divine testing and cleansing, he had better return home quickly. Shift is getting used to assuming his brother's identity. So, in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #28, Ganke takes Shift in hand. And like Rocket Raccoon, Ganke intends to talk with Shift about his (frickin') language.

 

Rating 9/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #9 Review

 

Writer: Stephanie Phillips

Artists: Paolo Villanelli

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Ariana Maher

Cover Artists: Mark Brooks; Mirka Andolfo; Zulema Scotto Lavina & Edgar Delgado

Design & Production: Carlos Lao

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Jordan D White & C B Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: January 1, 2025

 

Jessica Jones encouraged Gwen Stacy to pursue a relationship with the man she met at Bear Coffee. But Gwen doesn’t know that Fabian is the Black Tarantula. Still, when Mr Fear unleashes his latest concoction on New York City, Gwen’s symbiote suit can't filter out the toxin. When he saved her from Mr Fear, Gwen asked for his help. Is Gwen playing along with Black Tarantula until he leads her to Judge Barbour? And can she save the corrupt judge before Fabian's father and the citizens of New York deliver their verdict? Let's thwip into Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #9 and find out!

 

Story

Fabian wants to honor his father but knows Carlos La Muerto is not a good man. Still, his dad has tried to turn his life around. Mayor Cage's government needed the embezzled funds to treat the city's ills. Everyone in New York suffers from Judge Barbour's theft. So, Fabian helped his dad stoke people's distrust of government, not knowing that Mr Fear would capitalize on his actions.

 

While Gwen owns the title of Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #9, Fabian dominates Stephanie Phillips’ story. He carries her to an abandoned building where a nurse attends Gwen. Yet Fabian’s would-be lover is unaware of this. All the people she left behind on Earth-65 taunt and accuse Gwen. What made her so special that OB from the TVA brought her to Earth-616? Shouldn't Gwen have remained behind and helped her friends and her father fight to survive as her world died?

 

The younger Black Tarantula sees her suffering. Fabian sensed Gwen’s uneasiness each time he met her at Bear Coffee. He can't do anything about Gwen's longing for lost loved ones. But like Fitzwilliam Darcy, he feels he needs her to complete him. So, Fabian races outside to collect a sample of Mr Fear's toxin, hoping the nurse can synthesize an antidote. But this only amplifies his tenuous situation. Fabian works for his father despite disagreeing with his methods. Now, Mr Fear is building on Fabian’s actions. How different is he from Mr Fear? Is Fabian destined to become another villain like Mr Fear and his father?

 

 

 

Art

A black spider looms over the Spider-Men, Spider-Woman, Silk, and Jessica Jones. Her father and her bandmate from Earth-65 also hang in its web. Yet the spider's eyes glow pink, and a white cape covers its head. Spider-Woman becomes a silhouette before the spider's giant maw, reminding Gwen how often she relied on their support, only to drain their energies and demand more sacrifices and assistance.

 

Matt Milla lavishes a bright palette on Paolo Villanelli’s dramatic art in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #9. The traumatic memories jolt Spider-Gwen on her sickbed in an abandoned building. Dark boards cover the windows. Liv's green nurse’s uniform and the medical equipment’s green display enliven the dark and purple room. After facing off with his helper, Black Tarantula races out to find drones spewing green gas. Mr Fear’s gray costume is almost as dark as Fabian’s, underlying the commonality between their actions. And after an explosive encounter, Black Tarantula stands surrounded by a cloud of green.

 

Ariana Maher thwips uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons with long white arrows and places rouge words in white narrative boxes outlined with turquoise. Black Tarantula injects white words into black boxes while light-blue clouds invade Gwen's dreams. The text grows bold for intonation and enlarges for raised voices. The sounds of hissing gas, splintering wood, and fierce blows accompany a young man’s struggle to forge his destiny in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #9. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

A nursery rhyme about the fight to live a satisfying life interweaves with Gwen's fears of failing her friends and a would-be hero's desire to honor his father while doing the right thing in Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider #9. 

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.