COMIC REVIEWS!!!

This week Spider-Gwen takes on the Green Goblin, and the Suicide Squad deals with their newfound freedom! 

Spider-Gwen #6 (Marvel Comics)

Jason Latour and Robbi Rodriguez’ Spider-Gwen has been spinning its wheels since the new post-Secret Wars relaunch. What initially started as a great new alternate world and hero started to almost give off the vibe of missed potential. To be completely honest, I was close to dropping the series.

But then I read this issue.

Spider-Gwen #6 finds Gwen teaming up with her world’s Captain America to take on Harry Osborn, who has now injected himself with the same formula that turned Peter Parker into the Lizard. A former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who called himself “Green Goblin”, Osborn has been waiting for this moment to get revenge on Spider-Woman, who has long been falsely accused of being Peter’s killer. This all leads to a pretty satisfying conclusion, but it’s the character moments between Gwen and Harry that really stay with you.

Jason Latour’s script finally starts to flesh out Gwen and get into her psyche. She feels responsible for what happened to Peter, and it’s juxtaposed with Harry’s same feelings wonderfully. We see how both of these people deal with their grief in vastly different ways, and the final moment between Gwen and Harry is actually pretty heartfelt as well. Latour goes to great lengths to show how Peter Parker’s death has affected those closest to him, and it really works well.

Robbi Rodriguez has always been better at handling the more action heavy instances in Spider-Gwen, but he actually does a fantastic job of showcasing the quiet moments between our characters. Rodriguez depicts the pain and frustration on Gwen and Harry’s faces perfectly, and adds to Latour’s portrayal of the two characters.

If Spider-Gwen can deliver more issues like this, then we’re in good shape. The final moments with Gwen and her father, which has long been the main conflict of this series, are brought to a fitting end, just like Gwen’s feelings of sadness and grief over Peter. While Spider-Gwen could still fall into the trap of just showing us the “Gwenverse” versions of popular Marvel characters, this issue shows just what Latour and Rodriguez are capable of.

New Suicide Squad #18 (DC Comics)

The Suicide Squad is free from Amanda Waller’s control in Tim Seeley and Juan Ferrayra’s New Suicide Squad #18, but it doesn’t seem like they’re going to get to enjoy the newfound freedom for very long. Fresh off of faking their deaths in the previous issue, the team is soon recruited by the man who helped them escape, but what they don’t know is that he’s been working on a plan to get revenge on the Squad for one of their past missions.

Tim Seeley’s script is a lot of fun, and he really understands what makes the different Squad members tick. However, it’s clear that Seeley is really enjoying writing Harley Quinn, as her opening moment where she details how she set up their escape is easily the best part of the issue. Seeley does such a good job that I’m really hoping he takes over for the Harley Quinn ongoing that will debut after DC’s Rebirth.

Juan Ferrayra made a pretty big splash the past few years at Dark Horse, and while his art is a welcome change from the problems that plagued the past runs of New Suicide Squad, the coloring choice is a little strange. There seems to be either a new inking choice or new coloring technique being used here, and while it’s all right, it does affect some of Ferrayra’s art. Many times in this issue his characters look like lifeless doll versions of the Suicide Squad. It’s not a complete turn off, but it’s definitely noticeable from the previous issue.

New Suicide Squad #18 could’ve benefited from a little more time for our “heroes” to hang out, but at the same time, I like that Seeley and Ferrayra aren’t wasting time. After the past few runs on New Suicide Squad, it’s nice to have a team on the book that I’m actually looking forward to reading, and I really hope we see these two creators stick with the book into DC Rebirth.

Jonwahizzle is a comic book slinger for Jetpack Comics.  Find him on PSN (Jonwahizzle), follow him on twitter and check out his blog, The Collective: Examples of Nerdery for more!