Just realized somebody forgot to review Silk #14. My apologies, loyal readers who commented on the last two Silk reviews, I feel pretty bad. This issue has yet another person using the Spider-Woman moniker while Silk gives herself a new identity… Silkworm. Yeah, nobody will make the connection. 

Silk #14: Running Away

Writer: Robbie Thompson

Artist: Irene Strychalski

Colorist: Ian Herring

Letterer: Travis Lanham

C. Artist: Helen Chen

Editors: Allison Stock & Devin Lewis & Nick Lowe

Editor-In-Chief: Axel Alonso

So Yeah, Life Is Finally Good: Life is going well for Cindy Moon. Her family is reunited, she has a non-coporal superhero boyfriend, and after a few months of breaking bad, Silk is back to full-time super-heroics. Despite this, Cindy can not shake the gloom that has defined her life for so long. When a job in San Francesco arises, Cindy jumps at it. She leaves her family a note, before skipping town with boyfriend, Hector in tow. When they arrive in San Francesco, they are joined by an ecstatic Jonah Jameson who Cindy expected to be in mourning over the recent loss of his father. Her assignment is to help Jonah report on a new company, New U, which is the reason for Jonah’s excitement. Cindy’s suspicions get the best of her and she drags Hector along as she tails Jonah. Their reconnaissance brings them to a New U facility, where the two split up. Cindy discovers Jonah’s dead wife, while Hector discovers a cloning lab. Hector sets off the alarms and the issue ends with Cindy being attacked by Mattie Franklin, the deceased Spider-Woman. 

So Why Do I Feel So Alone: Robbie Thompson has hit his stride in Silk, deftly balancing this issue’s multiple plot threads: Cindy’s continual self-isolation, the adjustment period of the Moon family, the sinister ongoings of Albert Moon Sr., Jonah and the mystery of New U, and a fun teacup between Cindy’s new persona, Silkworm, and Espectro. None of these overwhelm the other, Cindy never feels sidelined in her own book, and there is a strong blend of emotion and fun. Other supporting characters like Lola, Rafferty, and Doctor Sinclair appear briefly, which helps sell the idea that Cindy is running from those in her life once again. This makes Hector a welcome presence in the book; he knows how to make himself a constant in Cindy’s life without scaring her off. His lingering adds a sense of unease to the book, but also a lot of its charm. The scene where he gives Cindy her West Coast persona of Silkworm is one of the cutest moments to date in the series.

Irene Strychalski is a wonderful addition to Silk’s rotation of artists. She delivers creative panels and has a style more akin to Stacey Lee than Tana Ford. Her figures are clean cut, emotive, and her body posture says as much about the characters as Thompson’s wordy scripts do. My favourite trick of hers is how she draws Cindy’s webs. Her fingertips become thick and bulbous (much like a spider’s butt) and her webs seem almost gooey. I also love the Silkworm costume design, which actually distinguishes itself fairly well from Silk’s attire.

In my reviews of The Clone Conspiracy main title, I mention how colorist, Justin Ponsor seems to have a love affair with blue. Ian Herring adopts his colour palette whenever the issue crosses over into tie-in territory, but the other scenes have a warm bright palette that suits Strychalski’s art and the tone of Thompson’s script.

Verdict: The first issue is pretty light on its crossover status, instead opting to spend time in Cindy Moon’s current mindset before giving us a fun introduction to her new persona. This book looks like a cute romantic anime, which works well for this issue but has me curious how things will look once we get into the action. Regardless, the crossover kicks off on a strong note and has me excited for what is coming next.

Pros:

• Multiple plots handled well
• Irene Strychalski’s art

Cons:

• Doesn’t really feel like anything new

B+