Spider-Woman #4

By Hopeless, Rodriguez, Lopez, and Rosenberg

Spider-Woman has continued to be one to the most colorful and adaptive comics currently in the Marvel lineup. Some may even say this comic is overlooked in the Marvel Universe, which is increasingly becoming more laden with strong female-driven books. We have followed Jessica Drew over the past year as she quit the Avengers, got a new uniform, teamed up with a reporter and a reformed bad guy (Ulrich and Porcupine), and is now pregnant.  All these changes are enough for anyone to handle, but on top if it Jessica is ready to pop. This story follows along an existing arc where a very pregnant Spider-Woman goes to visit an intergalactic maternity ward that was recommended by her best friend, Captain Marvel. Of course, things go south when a group of Skrull Rebels takes the ward hostage. This issue sees Jessica deal with labor pains while attempting to save the day, while also taking care of herself plus her unborn son.

Hopeless has really pushed Spider-Woman into breaking new ground again and again, taking her from an iconic comic character who was often over-sexualized on covers to a real character with depth and a sense of humor. She has become a relatable character that people of all ages and backgrounds can relate to because of Hopeless. He has taken this character seriously and given her real world situations to encounter and now we as a comic audience are taking her seriously too. This issue is no exception as Hopeless pulls out all the stops to show Jessica going through labor and delivery as only a superhero could. Jessica has a major development as she faces becoming a mother, the responsibility of being a superhero while also being the best mom possible. Hopeless also includes some really sweet exchanges between besties Captain Marvel and Spider-Woman that show how their relationship has grown and evolved as well.

The art in this book is astounding per usual. The team of Rodriguez, Lopez, and Rosenberg really bring this book to life. The book features a lot of fast-paced action sequences, followed by some great dialogue. The art keeps the pace when the action happens with lots of vibrant colors and the page layout gives the sense of constant movement. There is a genius page layout that features just boxes of Jessica’s face close up in different reaction shots that is brilliant storytelling with pictures. The best part of the book is probably the splash page of action toward the end where Spider-Woman does whatever a Spider can to save the day from the Skrull Rebels. The splash page is just all out action with gun shots, venom blasts, and biting all surrounded by ‘Ka-Toom’s and ‘Blast’s.

This issue was really special for all the fans of Spider-Woman out there. Everyone says people are never the same after having a baby and that has yet to be seen with Jessica, but it is still early. Jessica Drew just keeps getting better with each issue. We still do not know exactly where Hopeless is taking her next with introducing a Spider Baby into the Marvel Universe, but it is going to be exciting.