The Kravinoffs, Screwball, and a few random thugs are nothing compared to relearning how to keep a secret identity from your new roommate. How does Anya cope? Find out after the jump.
SPIDER-GIRL #4
Writer: Paul Tobin
Artist: Matthew Southworth with Paul Azaceta
Inker: Matthew Southworth with Paul Azaceta
Colorist: Chris Sotomayor with Andres Mossa
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Jelena Djurdjevic
Editor: Tom Brennan
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $2.99
Previously in Spider-Girl: After helping Spider-Man out with the resurrected Kraven and his daughter Anya Corazon has decided to accept the title Spider-Girl and roll with it. During a fight between the FF and the Red Hulk Gil Corazon, Anya’s father, dies trying to save a bystander. It turns out the mess was caused by a secret organization of army officials called Raven. Now she’s letting one of her friends move in with her, of course this friend doesn’t know she’s a superhero.
THUG, THUGS, VILLAIN, VILLAIN
We open with a training session amongst the two Kravinoffs when Kraven suggests they would be taking on the Spiders. Of course the daughter is over eager to get at Spider-Man, but Kraven wisely states that he beat her once and would do so again and sends her after the girl instead. The story moves on to Spider-Girl finding a random burglar who begs her not to take him in as he is only stealing to pay rent so his girlfriend won’t dump him.
Anya is coming home and we get to see the real conflict in her life, her new roommate is moving in, the one that doesn’t know she’s Spider-Girl. We get some insight into the fact that Anya doesn’t really have friends outside the super community anymore. What happened to her best friend, Lynn, from her original series? Anyhow, we cut to Ana Kravinoff as she assaults the station Spider-Girl took the burglar to to get information from him, though I’m really not sure what that information could entail. Spider-Girl next gets to blow off some steam on a random group of thugs, though one gets away with part of her bolo and is caught by Ana who is now actively following Spider-Girl.
Now, we get another outing of Screwball, who is fairly easily dispatched (remember she’s just a nut with a webcam). But when Anya gets home, her new roomie is watching Screwballs footage and Anya sees something in it. Spider-Girl then goes back out to get the clothes she stashed earlier, and who’s waiting there, Ana Kravinoff. Ana calls Spider-Girl sloppy when Spider-Girl reveals the trap she set after having seen Ana following her in Screwball’s video, the clothes had become bait.
I GUESS IT COULD BE WORSE
Seriously, the art in here had me stop reading for a bit and pick up a different book. There was a few times where we focused on a derp face. The general quality is lacking and the consistency is just not there. Maybe some people like this, but for my dollar I may drop because of the art.
BOTTOM LINE: MEH
If you happen to be a big fan of Anya you may want to pick this up, but even then the direction they’re taking and the idea behind everything just bothers me. I don’t know why they killed her father; she didn’t need more tragedy to drive her. I don’t know what happened to the rest of her supporting cast; but she does have friends. And if she doesn’t have any powers, then why is she running around as a Spider anyway, let alone as a hero. Anyhow, this earns a mere 2 of 5 stars, mostly because while I don’t like the direction the story is taking, the writing is still solid.
5 Comments
The thing that got me about this story was how instead of springing her trap and taking out the villain, she has to dialogue with the villain about how it’s a trap… kind of defeating the purpose of a trap. :) Still, I’ve been really enjoying this title so far.
I’m with you on the last paragraph. I just don’t see why I should be interested in “Batgirl” in a spider costume.
When I read #2, it felt like a bait-and-switch. I put the title on my pull list because #1 was a fun action-packed romp. Then #2 was all about her going to her father’s funeral. If Marvel wanted to go dark with her, they should have started the series that way.
I read through it and I just wondered what was going on with the art throughout this issue and the past few too. In some panels characters will be decently detailed, like when Rulk was in the book, and other times the same character will be almost a caricature of the previous picture. I like the character, and also didn’t see why they killed her father so quickly into the series. Also, I have no problem with her wanting to still do superheroics even if she’s powerless, she’s mentioned that she’s been trained on fighting and everything from some of the best heroes out there. My only issue is that without super strength and super reflexes and everything how is she actually swinging through the sky in those poses they keep drawing her in. I’m not too badly out of shape or anything but even if I was really fit and strong, that seems like it’d be very difficult to have the upper body strength to do all that.
I agree that the Ana becoming an antagonist for the new Spider Girl should be interesting. My main gripe with the story is that they made Alyosha Kravinoff go out like a bitch in a flashback by his little sister. WTF? Although Alyosha was not my favorite character, I think killing off like this was done in poor taste-plus, him begging for his life like a punk was so out of character for him.
I mean Alyosha was formidable enough to tangle with the likes of the Punisher, Calypso, the Fantastic Four, Venom, Tombstone, Kaine as well as Spiderman himself and this is how he goes out-begging for his life after getting stabbed? I hate when they make established characters get set up as plot devices to make a new character look good-this just made me care less for Ana herself as she is nothing more than a female version of Gabe Stacey. Nice going, Marvel, first Roderick Kingsley and now Alyosha Kravinoff, you really are turning into another DC Comics.