Ghost-Spider #5 // Review
Gwen Stacy is being trailed. She's a woman who regularly commutes between different parallel earths, so she's not going to be easy to track. Those who hunt her are going to have to come up with a cunning trap for her in Ghost-Spider #5. Writer Seanan McGuire gives a traditional Marvel web-slinger trope a bit of new life in with clever wit and strange idiosyncrasies that have been the hallmark of Gwen's life as captured by McGuire. Takeshi Miyazawa and Ig Guara handle the action of a very action-heavy issue with some sharply-angled visuals. The worlds in Gwen’s life collide in a fun installment.
Gwen might have finally swung into the right rhythm with her life. She might have actually managed to get back in synch with her band's schedule. She might be on top of her studies. Granted, she's having some trouble with looking after an informant who has suddenly found himself in the hospital. Still, things are about to get a lot more complicated for her as an obsessive green guy named The Jackal looks to spring a trap for her in an otherwise unassuming opportunity to aid someone who seems to be in trouble. Much to her surprise, Gwen is going to find out that the individual in trouble just might be her.
Throughout her time with. Gwen, McGuire has found some rather ingenious ways of telling old web-slinger stories in a fresh, new way. With this issue, she's settling for a minimum of innovation as a villain is on Gwen's trail laying a trap for her. The likes of which have lain for her male counterpart countless times. What makes McGuire's approach fresh and unique is the distinctive personality of Gwen, placed as it is in a very well-paced overall continuity. There's a great balance to McGuire's scripting that is considerably better than much of Spider-Man's in the past.
Miyazawa and Guara give Gwen her own sense of movement and motion. The clever angles seem quite natural. In a characteristically witty panel, Ghost-Spider is seen swinging away in the rearview mirror of a couple of villains staking her out. It's a simple moment in the middle of the page, but it fits perfectly into the flow of action of a story that's a lot of fun to follow without a whole lot of dead weight in between the panels. Miyazawa has been handling the action quite well...here, he gives Ghost-Spider a bit more emotion in her body language. With more action in the issue, he's allowed to provide her with a very poised physicality that lends a considerable amount of depth to the exploits.
After all the weird specifics of Gwen's life throughout the past several issues, it's nice to see McGuire and Miyazawa handling a more traditional spider-story. Gwen is looking good as the trap slowly snaps shut on her, and she struggles to find a way out. The series could launch in a number of different directions for her here. It'll be interesting to see what McGuire comes up in 2020.
