War Time Prowling — Reviewing ‘Miles Morales: Spider-Man’ #14

If a Gang War tearing New York City apart wasn’t enough, a reborn family squabble makes Spider-Man’s life even tougher. Especially since that squabble includes having to throw down against his Uncle Aaron, the vigilante, mercenary, and thief known as the Prowler.

It’s full steam ahead as Miles Morales: Spider-Man #14 continues the titles part in the Spider-Man gang event. It’s an emotionally charged action-packed issue from Cody Ziglar, Federico Vicentini, Bryan Valenza, and Cory Petit.

Trying to balance what has been built in a series alongside becoming a tie-in to a bigger event is no doubt truly tough. Yet, Ziglar should be one of the people running a masterclass on the topic. There is no denying that Miles Morales is smack dab in the middle of the big Spider-Man Gang War event. At the same time, every single beat has very much the same tone and focus that has been set up in the series for the twelve issues before its event entry.

It’s on record in various prior volume reviews that I’m very tired of Miles Morales’ plotlines that have him fighting his Uncle Aaron. We’ve seen it in various formats from comics to film to video games over and over again. All those words are being eaten right now though because I’m all-in this time. That should speak to how much faith I have in Ziglar that has been earned by how great a writer he has been. This is someone who truly understands the characters and how to make it work. There feels like depth and real reason behind this confrontation more than it just ‘been there, done that.’

All of this is wrapped up with more issues with the Cape Killers and Miles’ emotional state issues. Plenty of big-style comic action fights are bordered by deep emotional conversation. Nothing from the series is lost in the fray as the Gang War intensifies. Seeing the Enforcers pulled out and poked at but also made a threat again was a great call back and usage of characters. I just cannot stop gushing about this series as a whole.

That gushing continues to include the artwork because Vicentini and Valenza are just amazing here.

Vicentini’s work 100% captures what a Spider-Man book should feel like. Tons of frantic kinetic energy with panels being drawn at various angles, characters bouncing through the pages, and a big weight added to everything. New York, Brooklyn in particular here, feels alive in every single glimpse. A city full of people with big personalities that have a massive personality of its own.

All the variety of panel styles allow for that dynamic feeling. Squares, rectangles, and angled shapes that pile over or next to one another. Ordered but chaotic at the same time, again fitting of the frantic nature of the protagonist and the threat faced currently. Gutter space is used liberally to create both borders but also a framing effect that draws the eyes along.

Vibrant popping colors married to heavier shadowy ones fill the pages. Giving everything the bright feeling that superhero stories should have but keeping to the more grounded human aspect that brings us back time and time again. Switching of levels creates an accurate feeling of lighting effects or spaces as the pages move along. Interior vs exterior and also just different parts of the city feel lighter or darker depending on where the characters are and the light sources.

It’s not just one lighting through and through, because each space should feel different.

Matching the style of the frenzied emotional artwork takes the right letterer up for delivering that same style. Good thing Petit is on this book, who is just one of the best. Everything from the font styles to colors thrown into play or shifting bubbles all help with this. Just like the SFX which feels big and loud, or quiet, just as it should at any given moment. Each word that is uttered can be heard, rife with the right emotion or personality.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #14 is now available from Marvel Comics.