Spider-Boy #14 Review

 

Writers: Dan Slott

Artists: Paco Medina & Humberto Ramos

Colorist: Erick Arciniega

Letterer: Joe Caramagna

Cover Artists: Paco Medina & Edgar Delgado; Rose Besch; Doaly; Natacha Bustos

Designer: Adam Del Re

Editors: MR Daniel, Kaeden McGahey, Kaitlyn Lindtvedt, Tom Groneman, Ellie Pyle, Nick Lowe & CB Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $4.99

Release Date: December 25, 2024

 

Tabitha Briggs grudgingly let her son continue his superhero ways. Then, Daredevil abducted Spider-Boy to nab Bailey’s Hellfire Club trophy from his secret stash atop his news-making nemesis. When Daredevil subsequently lost the Golden Fang to Bullseye and Spider-Girl, the Man Without Fear forced Bailey to break international law by stowing away on Madripoor Air flight 359. The red-and-blue pillars of virtue furthered their crime spree by stealing an airport taxi, ambushing Enormo and Hulkette, and using their newly stolen Golden Fang to enter a contest against experienced fighters.

 

Can Spider-Boy help Daredevil win The Dragon’s Challenge? And with a mentor like Daredevil, will Tabitha Briggs ever let Bailey don his costume again? Let's buy front-row tickets, thwip into Spider-Boy #14, and find out!

 

Story

Mist, the Demon's Breath of the Gaping Maw, knows that Daredevil and Spider-Boy followed Bullseye and Spider-Girl's example and entered the contest with a stolen Golden Fang. But the Gaping Maw is an amoral assassin order founded on brutally and efficiently dispatching their targets. So, when Enormo and Hulkette bust into their headquarters and demand fairness, Mist sends Enormo packing.

 

The clan leader promises Hulkette her revenge if she waits until Daredevil and Spider-Boy lose. That may not prove difficult, as Spider-Boy shrinks from hurting his opponent in the first round. But that’s not a weakness Spider-Girl shows in Spider-Boy #14. Instead, the Hawaiian cliff diving champion, Maka Akana, happily disfigures her opponent for life.

 

 

 

Daredevil hasn’t told Spider-Boy what they are fighting for. But while he insists that Bullseye must not win the prize, Spider-Girl's mentor claims that victory will give him power over the entire world. Spider-Boy isn’t happy with Daredevil for stringing him along and getting him into hot water with his mom. But while both apprentices fight for their masters in Dan Slott’s story, Spider-Girl likes her mentor because he enables her to destroy her opponents.

 

As the Web Of Life And Destiny stretches across the multiverse, memories help people adhere to their proper place and time. Spider-Man sacrificed his memories of an alternate life with Uncle Ben to help Bailey stick in people’s minds. Spider-Girl’s mutant gene helps her copy other people's memories. When Maka stares into her opponent's eyes, she "remembers" how they mastered their abilities. Win or lose, Spider-Girl will leave Madripoor with more skills in Spider-Boy #14. But because she steals their memories instead of creating her own, Maka quickly tires of her accomplishments and seeks another easy victory. 

 

 

 

Art

While Gaping Maw soldiers wear Pandemic masks bearing a dragon design, the Mist’s mask reveals her mouth but obscures her face. Horns rise above her head, symbolizing her power. Paco Medina and Humberto Ramos show Bailey sitting in readiness while Daredevil hunches forward in need of rejuvenation. But that doesn't happen as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen and the Spider of PS 19 in the East Village draw the first fight with a luchador and a monkey. The wrestler wears gold to signal his respect for the Gaping Max. The monkey fighting Spider-Boy may be as ill-tempered as Captain Barbossa's pal. Still, Spider-Girl and Hulkette demonstrate the same horror of Bailey's monstering out that prompted The Daily Bugle to label Spider-Boy “The Monster Among Us.”

 

Characters shine as they fight for ultimate power against muted colors in Spider-Boy #14. Erick Arciniega adorns the Gaping Maw headquarters in green, gold, brown, and beige. Bailey leaps above brown and gold rooftops as a ship anchors in Madripoor’s green and gray harbor. Pink and red enliven an outdoor munchfest when Bailey dines beneath yellow paper lanterns. He remembers fighting an opponent clothed in black, white, and yellow. Then, green-skinned Hulkette, adorned in her pink vest and purple shoes, returns him to the contest, where red X’s and color photographs signal that the second-round battles have begun.

 

As Erick Arciniega lavishes an appealing palette on Paco Medina and Humberto Ramos' likable characters, Joe Caramagna thwips uppercase black lettering into white dialogue balloons. Words shrink for lowered voices, embolden for intonation, and swell for volume. Sound effects help us hear Enormo get his comeuppance, La Mota screech, Spider-Girl making Bullseye smile, and Daredevil mentally scarring his apprentice. Mahalo to Marvel Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

While stealing distorted memories of her opponents, absorbing their thoughts and emotions unbalances Spider-Girl. The Hawaiian mutant has only met one person she couldn’t look in the eye and inhabit their mind. So, she finds another way to destroy Bailey in Spider-Boy #14.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

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

 

 

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #23 Review

 

Writer: Cody Ziglar

Artist: Federico Vicentini

Colorist: Bryan Valenza

Letterer: Cory Petit

Cover Artists: Federico Vicentini & Neeraj Menon; Karen S Darboe & Jesus Aburtov; Doaly

Design: Jay Bowen

Editors: Kaeden McGahey, Tom Groneman, Nick Lowe & C B Cebulski

Publisher: Marvel

Price: $3.99

Release Date: August 14, 2024

 

Blade transformed Miles into a vampire. The skies cleared after Miles helped Bloodline banish the ancient vampire possessing her father. But when Blood Hunt ended, Miles remained a vampire. Can Miles protect Brooklyn and keep his blood lust in check? Let's grab our venom swords, leap into Miles Morales: Spider-Man #23, and find out!

 

Story

The gods may no longer rule the world from Mount Olympus, but Zip Zephyr wants to change that. At least, he yearns to be feared. The demigod traces his ancestry to Boreas and uses his windbag like a leaf blower to sweep mortals from his path. When Miles tackled Zip Zephyr before, he had Ms Marvel and Shift beside him. He lacks confidence as he tangles with the demigod alone, and it shows.

 

Miles isn’t happy with how he reacts to threats. But then, he’s not thrilled to still be a vampire. So he heads to Misty Knight's garage and dials Doc Sasquatch's office on his holo-phone. Instead of speaking with Dr Kwan, the jolly green psychotherapist takes his call. Unfortunately, Doc Sasquatch can only theorize how the vampiric blood interacts with Miles' spidey powers.

 

Rabble nearly destroyed Miles’ family and left him traumatized. After Blood Hunt, Miles must cope with his thirst for blood and vampiric appearance. Miles' mask doesn't get torn in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #23, but his actions frighten others. He feels isolated and fears rejection.

 

Tiana Toomes' upbringing could have turned her into a villain like Rabble. She once fought alongside the Vulture as Starling. Miles helped her walk a better path. She found ways to cope with her anger and grief. After Rabble's assault, Tiana encouraged Miles to seek counseling and take up journaling. She cannot allay Miles' concerns, but he can share his problems with her, and she should understand what he’s going through.

 

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #23 sets up Cody Ziglar’s Birds Of A Feather story. After teaming up with Shift, Ms Marvel, and his uncle Aaron, and then with Bloodline and Hightail, Ziglar’s story promises to shake up things again with an all-new team-up. But then, as a hero imbued with spidey powers, venom blasts, and now vampirism, Miles Morales is an all-new, all-different Spider-Man.

 

 

 

Art

Federico Vicentini follows one page of Tiana living and patrolling alone with another showing Miles' brightening her everyday activities and superhero career. As Zip Zephyr towers over an armored truck, the security guards cower amid broken concrete. Wind flips the heavy vehicle through the air while Miles' thwips and blows send the demigod reeling. Silhouettes and shadows enhance the colored art as Zip crashes into the destroyed street. Amid the rising dust, a venom blast electrifies a double-page confrontation.

 

Doc Sasquatch hovers amid a pillar of blue light. Doc's green skin and hair shine beneath his office's overhead lights when the transmission ends. Darkforce portals no longer obliterate the sun’s rays, but as daylight ebbs, Bryan Valenza casts yellow, purple, pink, and orange into the sky. Light and shadow streak diagonally through an alley assault while bits of yellow drift through the darkness surrounding Tiana's apartment.

 

Cory Petit thwips black uppercase letters into white dialogue balloons. He shares Miles' thoughts as white letters in red narrative boxes and Tiana's as scarlet words in yellow boxes. The delicate font rarely shrinks and emboldens for inflection. Zip Zephyr announces his name with giant yellow and blue letters, while the demigod employs a font devoid of curves. Colorful, transparent, energizing sound effects enhance every thwip, punch, blast, crash, and whoosh in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #23. Thanks to Marvel for providing a copy for review.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

While introducing Shift to his family broadened Miles’ world, vampirism reduces him to the insecure and hurting Spider-Man. Miles looks to others for support in Miles Morales: Spider-Man #23. How long until Dr Strange’s magic wears off and Miles preys on those under his protection?

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

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