It’s Good… With Some Flaws

Written By: Maurene Goo
Art By: Takeshi Miyazawa
Colors By: Ian Herring
Letters By: VC’s Ariana Maher
Cover Art By: Stonehouse
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 31, 2021

Cindy Moon aka Silk is starting her new job as cub reporter for Threats & Menaces, J. Jonah Jameson’s website. During her first assignment, Cindy concludes what appears to be a gangland killing turns out to be more than meets the eye. Once the story goes live, J. Jonah catches heat from unsavory thugs who want the story eliminated and Silk’s job responsibilities get a lot bigger.

Was It Good?

As the heading states, it’s good but it has flaws.

The Good Parts? Cindy Moon feels like a real, fleshed out character. The prologue sequence also shows she’s vulnerable to temptations and imperfect just like everyone else. Cindy is a relatable character with the spunky reporter spirit so endearing in other characters ala Lois Lane.

The setup is clean and clear. The gangland murder Cindy investigates is clearly not typical, and the perpetrator (hinted at the end) is intriguing in an unnatural way.

The Bad Parts? J. Jonah Jameson is not himself in this. He’s a big character with a big, bombastic personality, but here, he’s quiet and almost reserved. If you’ve had any prior exposure to J. Jonah, this feels like a completely different person.

The art is not great. Lettering is good. Coloring is good. Pencils/Inks are smudgy, out of focus, and look rushed. It appears the artist tries to force focus on the main character speaking or taking action in the panel by removing detail from the faces or scenery surrounding that character. In effect, directing focus by lowering resolution. That tactic doesn’t land well, and the panels look either rushed or unfinished, making for a sub-par result.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

We open with a two masked robbers burglarizing a fashion/jewelry boutique. Silk arrives to make quick work of the criminals with a (too?) heavy dose of quippy, millennial banter. As a token of appreciation for not damaging any of the high-end merchandise, the store owner offers to give Silk a reward. She initially refuses but eventually agrees to accept a gift of some high-end fashion.

What’s interesting about this moment is not the crime-fighting but the moral dilemma over taking a “reward” that doesn’t get explored much in comics these days. There’s a careful line between accepting a “thank you” gift and expecting a reward. So far, Cindy is on the right side of that line but it will be interesting to see if she’s tested further.

Cindy’s off to start her new job as a reporter for Threats & Menaces, J. Jonah Jameson’s online news site. She does her best to fit in on the first day, and honestly, she seems to be taking her role of journalist more seriously than the vet reporters. Her work ethic draws both good and bad reactions from the staff. Good from J. Jonah who like the old-school reporter vibe, bad from Norah Winters who co-runs the site with J. Jonah.

Cindy is taken out on her first story with a colleague, Derick, on a hot tip about a gang murder. When they arrive, the killings are not typical (claw marks, loose fur), and they write up what they discover.

Later, after the story is published, J. Jonah is accosted on the subway by a couple of toughs who threaten him to take the story down. Stubborn J. Jonah refuses, and Silk, who noticed the toughs following him when he left the office, knocks them out before J. Jonah gets hurt.

Without giving away the ending, Silk gets a second job, the killer is monstrous and surprisingly polite, and one name is taken off the list.

Final Thoughts:

Silk #1 is an excellent start and setup for a relatable character. Despite voice problems for J. Jonah and substandard art, there’s enough here to want to know more.

7/10