Kid Juggernaut #1 Review

 

Writer: Emily Kim

Artists: Minkyu Jung & Peter Nguyen

Colorist: Michael Wiggam

Letterer: Ariana Maher

Cover Artists: Woo-Chul Lee; Dike Ruan & Neeraj Menon

Special Thanks: Anthony Oliveira

Logo Design: Stacie Zucker

Production Design: Carlos Lao

Digital Production Team: Jasmine Alvarez, Annie Cheng & Tim Smith 3

Editors: Lindsey Cohick, Sarah Brunstad, Tom Brevoort & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $6.99

Release Date: April 30, 2025

 

Hellrune lacks a mentor and is still learning to wield her powers. While the orphan's magical birds transport Moon Squire, Liberty, and Cadet Marvel to a remote Norweigan island, they also bring Fantasma, Spider-Boy, Amaranth, Hulkette, Nightshade, Monte, Gold Tiger, Kid Juggernaut, and Deadpool Boy.

 

After banishing the Viking Zombies, Liberty invites the newcomers to join the New Champions team. Some of the surprise guests accept Liberty’s offer. Among those who decline, Kid Juggernaut expresses interest but explains that he is already on a team. Who is Kid Juggernaut? How did he come to wield Cyttorak’s powers? Let’s grab a coffee and donut, leap into Kid Juggernaut #1, and find out!

 

Story

Justin Jin grew up in Canada. He is an eighteen-year-old who rode a growth spurt into Vancouver’s Big And Tall clothing shops. Justin helps his mother run Vancity Buns when he’s not thrashing the competition at pickup basketball games. Despite his height, Justin is sensitive and insecure. Like many of us, he gets flustered when he meets someone he likes.

 

But Justin has more to worry about than dating in Kid Juggernaut #1. When his father dies, his mother visits the lawyer to sort out his father’s estate. But before his mom returns, Justin receives a package from Korea. After quitting Korean school, Justin can’t read his father’s Hangeul writing. Still, Justin opens the package.

 

In Emily Kim’s story, Justin has a lot to sort out. His father left home a long time ago and never returned. Aside from a few childhood memories, Justin feels no connection to his father. Because his father abandoned him, Justin knows little of his heritage. But when he opens a wooden container and touches the red amulet inside, Justin embarks on a journey of discovery about his family and where he belongs in Kid Juggernaut #1.

 

Art

Vertical panels dominate this six-part infinity comic converted into a printed double-length story. The scenes often flow horizontally like traditional comics as a man appeals to Cyttorak. Fires rage through and between panels as the cloaked sorcerer clutches his twisted, spiky staff. Justin’s mother, or Umma, interrupts his childhood memory of his father as he lays in bed near a basketball and a Dazzler poster.

 

After finding a photo that echoes his memories, Justin touches a red gem wire-wrapped with white and green tassels in Juggernaut #1. White and red energy arcs around his hand. The lightning casts waves of red force that swirl around him in the coffee shop lobby. Then Justin reaches out to steady himself and knocks a hole in the wall.

 

While Michael Wiggam paints Minkyu Jung & Peter Nguyen's art with a loaded palette, visions of Justin's grandfather receive additional texturing. The aged colors portray the Korean farmer's anger at his plight and his Olympian-like transformation after red energy swirls around him. Muted colors accompany Umma’s tale of her ex-husband's life. Beiges, browns, and reds dominate distressed panels that suggest brush marks and water absorption. 

 

Ariana Maher hurtles uppercase black letters into white and colored dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. The letters embolden for intonation and occasionally swell. Cyttorak utters a smaller, haunting font in crinkle-edged balloons. Sound effects help us hear baby Justin's wailing as his father misbehaves, Justin exploring his capabilities, and a familiar hero rushing to his aid as a red giant's laughter echoes through Kid Juggernaut #1. Thanks to Marvel Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

While Justin's grandfather and father chose their relationships with Cyttorak, the young Canadian baker stumbled into transformation. Once he receives the powers of the dark god, there's no backing out. All Justin can do is decide how to wield his new power.

 

Kid Juggernaut #1 speaks to how enriching embracing our heritage can be, how to tackle those who oppose us, and the need to follow our moral code rather than allowing anger, greed, or authority figures to dictate our actions.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

To look inside see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.

Spider-Society #4 Review

 

Writer: Alex Segura

Artist: Scott Godlewski

Colorist: Matt Milla

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Pete Woods, Dike Ruan & Mirka Andolfo

Designer: Carlos Lao

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 6, 2024

 

In another world, Gwen Stacy learned of her tragic fate. She didn't want to fall off a bridge and die, so she took Norman Osborn's serum and became the Green Goblin. Aunt May believed that her nephew invited tragedy by becoming Spider-Man. So, she became Madame Web to combat the spider menace. This Madame May ordered the Green Goblin and her Sinister Squadron to capture the spider-heroes of Earth-616 and Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man of 2099. But what does Madame May want? And can Araña and the Spider-Society free their friends and foil Aunt May’s sinister scheme? Let’s strap on our web shooters, thwip into Spider-Society #4, and see!

 

Story

Madame Web asked Miguel O’Hara to assemble a spider team to combat a threat to the Web Of Life And Destiny. But the evil Madame May captured them, forcing Araña to lead Miles Morales, Spider-Gwen, Weapon VIII, Web-Weaver, Spider-Punk, and an unknown Spider-Woman to the Sinister Squadron's headquarters. Araña and her team have shaken off everything Madame May has thrown at them. But when Spider-Punk attacks her in her stronghold, Peter Parker’s evil aunt extends an electrifying welcome. Araña has begun a relationship with Spider-Punk. Now, she hugs her unconscious boyfriend. Can Araña triumph over the woman who destroyed Madame Web’s headquarters, imprisoned her friends, and captured the Web Of Life And Destiny?

 

In Spider-Society #4, Madame May gloats. As she relates the hardships that transformed her, May reveals how she turned tragedy into triumph. Madame May took control of her future by spinning a web of lies and becoming a master manipulator. The people she targets are not the villains who imperil society but the spider heroes who endanger their loved ones. Like the Vulture, Madame May sees the spider-heroes as a sickness that twists good people into self-righteous vigilantes little better than the “evildoers” they fight. So, May plans to use the Web Of Life And Destiny to eradicate this spider infestation.

 

Araña’s team isn’t a well-oiled machine. They are new to working together. Yet they respect her despite previously leading them to defeat. In Alex Segura's story, the spider heroes dig deep one last time, knowing the results will be catastrophic if they fail. As Araña strategizes on the fly, she demonstrates what it means to be a hero by braving the brunt of the storm. But then, Araña knows that their lives, and perhaps the universe, hang in the balance in Spider-Society #4. 

 

 

 

Art

Before them, Madame Web, Miguel O'Hara, and Peter Parker hang from Aunt May's web. Behind them, Lady Octopus, Gwen Goblin, Hunter-Spider, and a six-armed Hulk await. Spider-Punk abandons the pack to attack Aunt May. She catches him by the neck, lifts him with one hand, and shoots electricity through his neck. As Spider-Punk lies at the foot of her stairs, green and muscular Travesty knocks out the spider-wolverine Weapon VIII while Lady Octopus lashes Spider-Gwen with her iron tentacles.

 

The Black Widow hood covering her eyes casts a gray pall over Aunt May's nose and chin as green-tinged memories fill the page beneath her. Heroes and villains battle amid green and blue backgrounds, while energy attacks fill pages with yellow and orange. As a red-haired hologram hovers above Miguel's blue-and-red glove, bats fill the blue evening sky, evoking the ravens that flocked around Gwen when an apocalypse struck Earth-65. Yet, throughout Spider-Society #4, a woman with a red-and-white suit and orange-yellow visors remains central in the fighting.

 

Amid Scott Godlewski’s Spiderific action scenes and Matt Milla’s vibrant panels, Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black letters into dialogue balloons and narrative boxes. The words grow bold for inflection, enlarge for raised voices, and rarely shrink. As Araña evades Madame May's energy blasts and trades blows with her nemesis, she pauses the fight when buzzing erupts from a concealed pocket. Then, Spider-Cat's meows prompt Araña to rejoin the battle and charge toward an explosive conclusion. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

It shouldn’t have come to this. Miguel O’Hara should have tackled Peter Parker’s evil aunt. But in Spider-Society #4, Araña forges a punk rock guitarist, a fashionista, a science experiment, a little-known Spider-Woman, and more of her arachnid allies into a Spiderific assault squad. As she puts their lives on the line to protect everything that matters, Araña gets help from seasoned veterans and those awaiting their chance to shine.

 

Rating 9.5/10

 

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