Spider-Girl #6 Review

 

Writer: Torunn Grønbekk

Artists: Diógenes Neves

Colorist: Java Tartaglia

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Designer: Stacie Zucker

Editors: Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Cover Artists: David Nakayama; Benjamin Su; Romy Jones

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 12, 2025

 

Makawalu Akana was living the high life. She fought alongside Spider-Man as the new City-Savers. (It's a working title.) While trying to deactivate the military drone the US military entrusted to Rand Enterprises, Maka prevented a spiky-haired weirdo from stealing Hijack’s memories. But when Maka peered into Hijack's mind and drew on his power, the Hawaiian girl couldn’t control it. Instead, Maka put New York through The Day The Earth Stood Still.

 

Everything is different now. Or at least, it could be. Rogue even invited her to join the X-Men. But Maka still isn't sure she has shaken off what Paper Doll did to her. And Maka’s behavior frightens her mother. So, Hali’a is taking Maka home. Farewell, New York. At least for now. How will Maka adjust to life in Hawaii? And will Dr Tramma follow her to Mānoa? Let’s thwick into Spider-Girl #6 and see, Brah!

 

Story

Despite her reservations, Maka enjoys her return to Oahu. After being cooped up in the room above the flower shop and listening to her aunt argue with her mom, Maka can chill with her dad. Noa encourages her to relax and immerse herself in nature. But since she gazed into Bailey Briggs' eyes, Maka senses the world around her more intensely.

 

In Spider-Girl #6, Maka’s enhanced senses help her realize that her father is in trouble. It's nothing that Noa acknowledges. But Maka hears neighbors gossiping. They wonder if Noa and Hali’a are having marital trouble. Maka also learns that he has trouble at work. Her friend, Ānela, shares what she has heard, prompting Maka to investigate her dad’s difficulties.

 

While she has returned home, Maka tells her friends that it’s not forever. She believes her future lies in New York. But Torunn Grønbekk’s story finds Maka in transition. The Hawaiian girl has lost her mother’s trust. Maka has disappointed her instructor at the best dojo in New York. And she is still new at being a hero.

 

As Maka investigates her father’s work problems, she struggles to decide who best to emulate. When they fought together to take down the flying tank, Spider-Girl looked to Spider-Man for inspiration. But cut off from everyone associated with her new hero life, Maka wavers between role models in Spider-Girl #6.

 

 

 

Art

As Maka snuggles against her father on the grassy rolling plains, Diógenes Neves reveals her affection when she gazes up at him. When they rise, her features burst with excitement as Noa picks up his briefcase. Men wave to Maka and her father as they cross the street. Maka sticks out her tongue at two women gossiping in a hammock. While a rainbow arcs above their home, her mother regards Maka with concern as they step onto the lanai. Ānela shows her happiness at reuniting with her friend. As Maka embraces her grandmother, the wooden hair sticks in her granny’s grey hair suggest a cultural link with Beba back in New York.

 

This haven of the natural world contrasts with ZZ Top's Concrete And Steel world of New York City. As Maka wears red and blue shirts, Java Tartaglia shows the women in her life wear purple and pink, evoking the bedspread in their room above Lokelani's flower shop. While his boss and his assistant wear black suits, Maka's father favors shirts with colorful flower prints. Maka may not have wanted to leave New York behind. But amid the verdant greenery, it's not long before a red-and-black figure slips through the trees in Spider-Girl #6.

 

Joe Caramagna shares Maka’s thoughts with red uppercase letters in white narrative boxes. The black, uppercase dialogue grows bold for intonation, swells for raised voices, and shrinks for lowered or distant voices. Words in white-and-yellow boxes portend danger, while animal noises, gunfire, and thwicking accompany the mysteries of Death in Paradise. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a review copy.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Maka's friend Beba loves nature and praises those who protect it. But when her father's colleague disappears, Maka suspects that his employer creates more than eco-friendly, self-sustaining fishponds in Spider-Girl #6.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.