Ghost-Spider #4: Pretend to be Nice

Gwen’s feeling a bit alone and abandoned. Benji has stood her up, Kosei is another no-show, and now Gwen is starting to question herself and a bit of her worth (in a sense). So, what does a superhero who is down in the dumps? They fight crime, that’s what they do!  Well, here is where things get a bit “sticky”. The Jackal witnesses Gwen returning to Earth-616 which leads to some problems even as she successfully defuses a hostage situation back home. At times this issue tends to have some confusing points with not only bouncing between dimensions but keeping up with the two different Miles Warrens that occupy them, but it doesn’t take away too much from the story. The creepy thing about dealing two Warrens is the fact that we now have two creepy dudes following Gwen that have turned into dimensional stage 5 clingers.

This is where McGuire does a great job of balancing Warren’s Jekyll & Hyde routine, which adds just enough “pepper to the soup” to make it interesting.  Once again, McGuire takes the traditional Spider-Man formula and amplifies it into a world of complexity. Her storytelling continues to not only pay homage to decades of great web-slinging storytelling but solidifies her seat at the table.

Takeshi Miyazawa’s art has been pretty good not only at helping the story move along but adding his own touch to Gwen but not straying too far from Robbi Rodriguez’s original vision. The differences in styles do stand out but make no mistake about Miyazawa’s art on these panels, he knows how to do justice to Gwen and her world.