We’re All A Little Mad — Reviewing ‘Miles Morales: Spider-Man’ #9

The best superhero stories are often the ones where we feel the heart and soul behind the costume and mask. Sure, the superhero action is sweet, but it’s the human emotional aspects that mostly keep us coming back for more. Miles Morales: Spider-Man is a series that understands this.

We pick up this issue in the aftermath of the first fight between Hobgoblin and the duo of Spider-Man and Starling. Beyond Corp is wrecked and they are all separated. Too bad for Spidey that his spider-sense is on the fritz in overdrive due to the massive amounts of recent trauma. Sure would be a bad time for the Hobgoblin to sneak up on him or something.

There is tons of solid action that feels naturally confined and claustrophobic in this ruined space. It’s been said again and again in these reviews and is still true, Federico Vicentini’s artwork is perfect for this character. Not only is it perfectly energetic, but it also has the right feeling that makes the various sequences come alive on the page. Spider-Man is a very fluid character in his movement and Vicentini understands and presents that.

Even in such a tight space, we get that movement in a way that is natural and fitting for the environment. Every single panel is also heavily filled with the emotions of the characters, easily seen through their masks. Allowing the masks to mold to faces in a way that they become a second emotion-capable face is one of my favorite things in superhero comics. We need that emotional connection to the characters and even though logically a mask would cover such things, artists got around that. Those that remember this fact about a character like Spider-Man are leagues ahead and deliver the best Spidey stories.

Vicentini is not alone this time, though. Federico Sabbatini pops in to help with the artwork. It’s heavily apparent which did which pages, there are highly noticeable differences in their style, yet it all flows immaculately. That’s because while their styles might differ a little bit, they are pulling from the same well when it comes to energy and emotions. All the same motion, enclosed feelings, and other elements seen in what Vicentini does are right there in Sabbatini’s pages as well.

A great example of pairing off the right artists to tackle issues together, in a way that makes sure the issue doesn’t miss a single beat.

Another thing they have in common is the fact that Bryan Valenza remains on board to bring the same colors to their work. What I love about the palette that Valenza has chosen for these books is that it feels very solid or real while also being fantastic at the same time. By that, I mean the setting around them has the more toned down, often darker, colors that make it feel like a true space. So that the superhero elements, costumes, and powers or such, are where the more vibrant bigger bolder colors are in play.

It’s a simple choice that pays off pretty huge. It allows the world to have that right-outside-the-window feel that Marvel is known for, but also be superheroic, as it should be. Putting the peanut butter and the chocolate together is a treat that is even better than the individual pieces. Now I kind of want some peanut butter chocolate treats.

If the past eight issues have proven one thing, it’s that Cody Ziglar gets Miles Morales. Truth be told, we didn’t need this series to know that just like we didn’t need this one to know that Ziglar is an amazing writer. Overall, it’s just been that reminder of how much the writer just gets it overall and should be writing all the stuff with Miles and beyond.

All the biff, pow, zoom style hero stories are fine and have their place in the genre. Give me a story where we get all that, but the hero is also a very relatable, vulnerable, human being, and I’ll gobble it up always. Before stories were all built to fit trades and be bite-sized deconstructions, they heavily had heart and character. Not that those other books didn’t have them. That’s not what I’m trying to say here.

What I am saying is that the old school focus on the character and building them a supporting cast and familiar sandbox to play in is a powerful thing. It’s a much-needed thing in these stories. Such a simple concept does much to hook the readers and keep them coming back. We fall in love with these characters. Personally, I love Spider-Man and X-Men. Not because they beat up bad guys, but because of the ‘soap opera’ of it all, that glimpse into the struggles, drama, romance, deep emotions, and the characters’ growth and development.

Ziglar fully gets that and knows how to deliver the best story and package possible in every issue.

Taking the words and the feelings and transcribing them to the page in a powerful way is still the domain of Cory Petit. Over the years of doing these reviews, the lettering aspect of comics is the top thing I’ve come to have a greater appreciation for. It’s not just putting the words on the page in bubbles and calling it a day as it’s made out to be.

Great letterers add so much nuance, emotion, energy, and personality to any words on the page. Be they dialogue or captions or the diegetic sound/SFX that makes comics so fun. Petit is one of those because anytime I see his name on the credits, I know that the lettering will be top-notch. It all flows through the pages organically and logically, never overwhelming or taking over. Allowing us to fully hear the voice of a character as it’s meant to be heard as we recreate them in our mind.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #9 is now available from Marvel Comics.