Spider-Women, Spider-Gwen, Silk, Spider-Woman

Spider-Women Alpha, Omega; Silk 7-8, Spider-Gwen 7-8, Spider-Woman 6-7

Conceptually, this is a neat little crossover.  The three Spider-Women have been regularly meeting up for brunch.  This time around, the Cindy Moon from Spider-Gwen’s Earth rears her villainous head, causing trouble for our heroes.  They all fight, the good gals win.

In execution, though, I wish the endeavor had a more detail-oriented editor.  There are far too many continuity errors and leaps in logic between issues that bugged the heck out of me.  Silk’s call to Jessica in Spider-Gwen 7 is completely different from the one in Silk 7. Silk 8 ends with good Cindy setting off to steal some equipment with Black Cat in the Avengers vault.  But when we next see her in the finale, she’s found some way to teleport back to her earth (even though she had no teleporter access), locate Super-Adaptoid armor, and get it back to Earth 616.  Where’d Black Cat go? So confused!

As bad as the story problems are, the art is even worse.  Vanesa Del Rey is abysmally horrible in the Alpha issue. I can see how it would be suitable for some other title, but it does not work on any level for this.  

Gaahh.  Those eyes!

Sure, they look like Pablo Picasso, but I wouldn't want him drawing Spider-Women either.

It was unfair of Marvel to mislead us with these covers.  (Stacey Lee)

Yasmine Putri.

That Bengal is able to submit work that’s even worse in Spider-Gwen boggles the mind.  At least Del Rey’s storytelling was clean. Bengal produces sequences where I could not tell what was going on.  The fight scene at the end of issue 8 confused the heck out of me. I think there was shrinking involved, but the angles and compositions he used made it hard to tell what was going on.  And then there’s this monstrosity:

WHAT IS GOING ON THERE IN THE LOWER LEFT CORNER???

Which isn’t to say there weren’t great stretches.  Seeing Joelle Jones on the Spider-Woman issues brightened my day.  There was even a housewife fight, which I chose to read as a homage to her work on Lady Killer.

Love the body language, that little sway as she jingles her keys.

Two parents who understand priorities.

And Nico Leon rocks the Omega issue of Spider-Women.  

It's SO perfect.

All in all, I’m looking forward to returning to our regularly scheduled Spider-Woman.  Just as soon as I make my next trip to the comic store to get the next trades.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Fine

Ending with some J Scott Campbell, who did a four-piece cover for this crossover.

Gratuitous MJ.