Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22 Review

 

Writer: Cody Ziglar

Artist: Brent Peeples & Daniel Picciotto

Colorist: Bryan Valenza

Letterer: Cory Petit

Cover Artists: Federico Vicentini & Neeraj Menon; Rose Besch; Ron Lim & Israel Silva

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 3, 2024

 

Miles fought at Blade's side. They teamed up with Bloodline to trap the energy vampire R’ym’r with an ancient seal. Now, Blade fights for the vampires, his daughter has vanished, and R’ym’r’s followers have freed their lord. Miles fights R’ym’r alongside Hightail, his former enemy on Agent Gao’s Cape Killers squad. Can Miles and Hightail prevent R’ym’r’s followers from overtaking Brooklyn? Let's grab our venom swords, leap into Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22, and find out!

 

Story

R’ym’r once converted Hightail to his cause. Blade turned Miles into his minion. Now, both are free from their vampire masters' control. Yet they are changed, and the anger at being violated still burns.

 

In Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22, R’ym’r returns from his imprisonment. Hightail insists she’s nobody’s pawn. She’s happy to prove that by working out her aggression on her former lord. Miles fights alongside her. Hurting R’ym’r and his minions brings satisfaction. But the energy vampire’s followers released him at a power plant. Every moment he stands before them, R’ym’r absorbs the plant’s energy.

 

 

 

When Bloodline learned that Blade was behind this Darkforce invasion, she dropped out of sight to process the revelation. But Bloodline isn't content to sit on the sidelines for long. Like Miles, she won't rest when danger, particularly the undead, threatens her fellow Humans. So, in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22, Bloodline returns to aid her friend. Hightail doesn't want to be with either one. Like Rabble, her past has turned her against Humanity. Miles' joke about her nationality isn't a turn-on. Yet when Bloodline arrives, Hightail fights beside her. Thankfully, Bloodline has a plan. It requires all their strengths, but it could imprison R’ym’r again.

 

Cody Ziglar's story hums with the drama and humor that arises from our differences and shows how we can work with others who don't share our values. Miles struggles to accept Bloodline's cold, logical view on how to combat her father. Yet, he's willing to compromise and commit to actions he may later regret to defeat the evil threatening not just his beloved borough or all of New York City but the entire world.

 

 

Art

Smoke rises as smiling R’ym’r displays his six-pack abs. His face reflects off Hightail’s shades as one of her knives thuds into his rippled forehead. Miles and Hightail charge when vampires attack. But R’ym’r’s forces soon force them to fight back-to-back. Brent Peeples and Daniel Picciotto highlight Hightail's flight with three full-page panels and one double-page spread. They also work across the pages when Hightail displays her celerity. Hightail, Miles, and Bloodline look good together as a team. Intriguingly, R’my’r may have wings, but he charges his enemies or swoops close to the ground, while vampires without wings bound and fly.

 

Bryan Valenza casts vivid heroes against beige and brown vampires in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22. Orange and yellow frequently replace the gray smoke and gray-blue sky. Miles’ sword glows yellow-white, while Hightail’s lime green armor shines. But no one outshines the sword-wielding, high-kicking Bloodline with her vibrant pink hair. Crimson spurts and flies. A wave of Dracula's gray hand opens a swirling orange portal. A multiple exposure shot shows Hightail’s suit shift from yellow to lemon-lime to green as she completes a circuit of her enemies.

 

Cory Petit thwips the black uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons. The delicate font rarely shrinks and emboldens for inflection. R’ym’r’s dialogue hovers in cloud balloons, while an exchange in Spanish resides within < and >. Colorful sound effects help us hear knives thud, bones break, and Miles’ sword cutting off a fresh link of vampire sausage. And no, John Cougar Mellencamp fans, R’ym’r doesn’t say, “It hurts so good.” Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

Final Thoughts

Blade’s plan to empower vampires demonstrates the divisions in the bloodsucking community. Blade, Dracula, and R’ym’r may despise each other, yet it takes a woman who despises Miles and a vampire hunter who despises Dracula to banish R’ym’r back to his prison dimension in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #22.

 

Rating 8.8/10

 

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

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #21 Review

 

Writer: Cody Ziglar

Artist: Brent Peeples & Daniel Picciotto

Colorist: Bryan Valenza

Letterer: Cory Petit

Cover Artists: Federico Vicentini & Matt Milla; Skottie Young

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: June 12, 2024

 

Miles is no stranger to trauma. He has leaned on his ladylove Tiana, taken up journalling, and sought counseling. Yet he’s also survived repeated attacks from Rabble and the Cape Killers, rejoiced in Kamala Khan's return, and brought his clone brother Shift into the Morales family. How will Miles react to a role model's betrayal? Is he strong enough to shrug it off and fight the vampires attacking New York City? Let's grab our venom-sabers, leap into Miles Morales: Spider-Man #21, and find out!

 

Story

Blade and the Structure have launched a massive attack on our world. The Daywalker introduced Miles to the legions of the undead, while Dracula sought to protect Brielle (Bloodline) from her father. But no one likes the bearer of bad news. When Dracula tells Brielle what her dad's been up to, she runs away. After the superhero community helps him escape Blade's control in Blood Hunt #3, Miles follows Brielle to help her cope. But Brielle wants alone time, and Miles wants to protect his family and neighbors, so he thwips off to Brooklyn.

 

Miles counts Misty Knight as his mentor and her partner Colleen Wing as his sword master. Blade is another role model. In Miles Morales: Spider-Man #21, Miles relives their last conversation before Blade bit him. Blade's plan is abhorrent to Miles. Worse, his role model violated his trust. As with other forms of harassment and abuse, Blade's act was all about power. "I made you, which means I control you," he tells Miles. The superhero community granted Miles a reprieve but not a return to Humanity. Weakened and reeling, Miles receives help from a longtime foe.

 

Hightail was already his enemy when Miles fought vampires alongside Blade and Bloodline. R’ym’r's conversion poured fuel on Hightail's ire. Like Miles, the speedster escaped the vampire's dominance. Still, her connection to R’ym’r remains. With their world cast in perpetual twilight, Miles and Hightail join forces in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #21. Part of Miles’ appeal is how he respects those who don’t necessarily deserve it, including former foes like Hightail. But it's also interesting how Blade's actions ripple through the undead community, awakening allies and foes alike. Blade has made all the living his enemies. Yet many undead are not his friends. As for Miles, when Blood Hunt is over, he’ll have plenty to write about in his vampire diaries.

 

 

Art

Power surges around Dracula as if increasing the density of the air. Burning fires fill the air with plumes of smoke. The Darkforce energy obliterating the sun hangs in the air and suffuses rooftops. Brent Peeples & Daniel Picciotto fill the streets with lethal vampires, once again terrorizing New Yorkers after the Gang War's end. A mother clutches her child to her chest in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #21. Tears stream down her face as vampires chase her. Miles leaps through a full-page panel to kick a vampire's head. As Miles wades into the scrum, claws slash through his mask. Miles can drive her undead pursuers away with blows and venom blasts. But unlike Mr Spock, his exposed pointed ear hastens her flight.

 

As Miles tumbles off a rooftop water tower in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #21, Miles remembers spearing a vampire atop another roof. The yellow energy arcs and branches amid gray smoke. Orange backgrounds reveal the venom-blasts' intensity. Bryan Valenza makes Hightail shine in her reflective lemon-lime metallic suit. The glowing white lines adorning her shoulders, torso, and thighs suggest a recent escape from ENCOM's Tron program. Yet the shadow of red-eyed R’ym’r hovers above her, surrounded by orange light and black crosshatching.

 

Cory Petit thwips the black uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons and white letters into color narrative boxes. A blue siren wails over the vampire-filled streets as New York burns, while a red Thwack connects with a vampire that evokes a notorious gangster. Immense transparent letters, outlined in white, welcome the return of another powerful enemy to our planet. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

Final Thoughts

Haunted by his role model's betrayal and reeling from barely controlled vampirism, Miles and his fastest frenemy seek out an occult ceremony in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #21.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

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