Writer: Cody Ziglar
Artist: Daniele Di Nicuolo
Colorist: Bryan Valenza
Letterer: Cory Petit
Cover Artists: Sara Pichelli & Federico Blee; Javier Garrón & Jesus Aburtov
Design: Jay Bowen
Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe & C B Cebulski
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 15, 2025
T’Challa gave Miles a key. Shuri gave him a heart-shaped herb. The divine panther at the soul tree gave Miles an invitation. But Miles’ vampirism brings Varnae’s spirit into Bast's domain. Worse, his connection to his god allows Kwaku Anansi to crash the party. While Bast seethes at these unwelcome guests, Anansi promises to heal Miles.
Bast calls Anansi a Trickster and trusts him like Thor trusts Loki. Can Anansi heal Miles? Or will Miles get trounced in a divine fight club, leaving Shift to assume Miles’ identity and become Brooklyn’s Spider-Man? Let's inscribe seals in a stone circle, leap into Miles Morales: Spider-Man #29, and find out!
Story
Humans love stories about the gods. The gods delight in tales of legendary heroes. Anansi controls the Web Of Life And Destiny. He watches his spider-heroes wage villains across the multiverse. So, Anansi offers to heal Miles in return for a great story.
Anansi may claim he is the Storyteller God. But in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #29, he severs Varnae’s spirit from Miles and puts it back into T’Challa. The Black Panther attacks Miles with knives and claws. In this realm of the Vodū, all Miles has is his fists. But Miles cannot damage T’Challa’s Vibranium suit.
Before they entered Bast’s realm, T’Challa urged Miles to be calm. Shuri warned Miles not to believe what he saw. Both prove easier said than done when Anansi ups the stakes. Forget a vampiric Black Panther. Miles has faced far worse. Those conflicts left Miles stressed and beset with panic attacks. Tiana Toomes convinced Miles to try journaling. Dr Kwan tried the talking cure. But those remedies tackled Miles’ fear of others attacking him or his family. When Varnae bit him, the first vampire inverted Miles' battle. Instead of fearing what others will do to him, Miles fears what he will do to them.
While Cody Ziglar pits Miles against villains from his past, Miles must face his most oppressive foe. It isn't vampires or supervillains. It is the one thing that can hold Miles back from becoming all he can be. In Miles Morales: Spider-Man #29, Miles must decide if he will accept Franklin D Roosevelt’s challenge to Americans (including Brooklynites) or remain in his Great Depression.
Art
While Daniele Di Nicuolo shows his eyes bulge, Miles leaps and avoids Black Panther’s claws. But Anansi displays no fright in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #29. Bast regards the fight with displeasure, but a smile dances across Anansi's face. The Storyteller is in his element, even hanging upside down like Spider-Man. But don't expect him to give Bast an affectionate kiss.
Amid the purple and pink air and the bluish-gray clouds, Bryan Valenza thwips green webs into Bast’s realm in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #29. The thick webs rise like the chords supporting Riley’s Sense Of Self in Inside Out 2. But they also twist and attack Miles. They hurl him through a realm filled with yellow-green wheels, twisted turquoise and purple-striped buildings, and orange worlds. While Miles fights for his future, Shift arrives "home" in his red hoodie. He enters the kitchen with the red dining table and chairs. Like Bast, Rio shines with purple. Unlike Bast, she may dole out an affectionate kiss.
Humans speak black uppercase letters into white balloons. Gods speak colored words into similarly bordered divine dialogue balloons. Other characters talk into gray or black balloons. Miles' thoughts appear as white letters in red narrative boxes. The delicate font grows bold for intonation, enlarges for volume, and rarely shrinks or sways. Cory Petit employs sound effects to spice up a fight in the spiritual realm and make Shift more endearing (if that’s even possible). Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Bast warned T’Challa that he would pay for letting Varnae slip into her realm. In Miles Morales: Spider-Man #29, the great spider-god Anansi offers Miles healing. The challenge the Trickster offers isn't what Miles thinks it is. And like the Black Panther, if Miles escapes Varnae’s influence, he must pay a price for such divine benevolence.
Rating 9.4/10
To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
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