It’s been said again and again that Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev’s run on Daredevil may just be one of the best superhero stories ever told. Since ending their run, Bendis has gone on to shape the current state of the Marvel Universe with Secret Invasion, and now the duo have paired again to produce their long-discussed Spider-Woman series.
Also being released as a Marvel Motion Comic through iTunes, the series has its focus, however unfortunately, on the fallout from Secret Invasion, with Jessica Drew back on Earth after the Skrull Queen used her persona to spearhead the alien’s invasion of Earth. Down on her luck and completely miserable, Jessica is confronted with an opportunity from S.W.O.R.D. to work as their agent, hunting down the unwanted alien species living amongst them.
The premise is good enough, making use of Bendis’ own Secret Invasion as a starting point for what will hopefully become a long and healthy run on the book with strong characters and important plots. If you’ve watched the first issue of the Motion Comic, you’ll find nothing new here, as everything is exactly the same, from dialog to narration to Maleev’s panels. That’s not a bad thing, but if you spent $1.99 on the Motion Comic, there’s really no point to spend another $3.99 to have a physical copy of it.
I’ll be honest, it wasn’t the character of Jessica Drew that got me to pick up this book, it was solely the pairing of Bendis and Maleev. I followed New Avengers and Secret Invasion, so I’m certainly not unfamiliar, but the Spider-Woman I found here had the whine of a 14 year old girl whose boyfriend just dumped her (“Congratulations, Wolverine...you are no longer the most screwed-over human in the history of the entire world!!” Boo-hoo.), but perhaps that is the beginning point of an epic character progression. Most of this issue serves as expositional setup, showing the reader where the series is headed, but Bendis does deliver a nice little kick in the junk at the end to bring us all back next month.
Maleev’s portion of the book is as good as expected, with his trademark washed-out colors, sketchy inks and clean layouts. Though it’s a little jarring seeing his work colored in bright green and such, it suits the story and once Jessica arrives in a...seedier part of the world, it’s obvious that Maleev feels right at home providing a dank, underhanded world for her to hang around in.
Spider-Woman may not be an explosive debut for such a superstar creative team, but it certainly has the qualities to become one of the best books that Marvel puts out on a monthly basis. If you loved their run on Daredevil, you should have the faith to pick up Spider-Woman as well, even if you hated Secret Invasion and its fallout.
Check out CraveOnline’s preview of Spider-Woman #1!
