Spider-Woman Vol. 2: King In Black (Spider-Woman (2020-2022))

This team have gone balls to the wall in making Jessica Drew the bestest underdog hero ever, and they’ve personalised all the horrors Jess has to endure making the stakes higher than Mount Wundagore itself.And the book looks fantastic too. This is the most fun I think I have ever had reading a SpiderWoman book, and considering she’s my fave that is me giving my very highest of praise.If you want gnarly fun, sign up right now.

“Spider-Woman – King in Black” collects issues #6-10 of this (2020) series, with a volume 3 listed for January 22 by the same creative team.So, we’re in the middle of a desperate hunt for a cure to the previous volume’s revelation of a genetic flaw in the Drew family’s genes, the temporary fix drug is having unfortunate side-effects by making Jessica irritable, angry and aggressive, particularly to Carol Danvers, who is trying to help out by ferrying Jess around the galaxy in a hunt for the High Evolutionary – who worked with Jessica’s mother before working on himself - interrupted after the first issue by the “King in Black” event, which finds us in the second issue in the middle of events on Earth – I’m hoping there’s a bridging scene in the main event title, or at least in Captain Marvel’s own book.That second issue ends with Jess locked up ‘for her own good’ due to the effects of that drug she’s taking, before the villainess from the previous volume (I think it is), one Octavia shows up with an offer of help. Then we’re off again after the High Evolutionary, ending up in a secret base under a volcano – see previous volume for James Bond references – before we get to the end with even more action, revelations and excellent stuff. Even Jeff the Land Shark gets a look-in at the end.This is another excellently written and illustrated episode in this series, full of traditional but not overused ‘Marvel’ style.