My 250th review! And it is of a comic book about a spider-woman superhero. Good times.
Let's silk-swing right into 'Silk, Vol. 0: The Life and Times of Cindy Moon'!
I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I adore the main lead, who is the heart of everything in this whole volume, no question.
I'm glad to have read an excellent, human depiction of an Asian superheroine: Silk/Cindy Moon is flawed but is vigorously trying to do better. She strives towards her goal of finding her family, never giving up hope in the face of utter hopelessness. A competent journalist working for J. Jameson, and a rookie superhero, Cindy may seem isolated and cut-off socially. But she isn't really, as she learns to open up to people after a decade of living alone in a basement after her radioactive spider-bite at the age of 17. Ten years of her life - her time of youth - had been taken from her, supposedly for her own "protection". But since this is comic books we know there's fat chance of it being so simple.
Cindy Moon isn't some teenager in high school. She's an adult - a bright one - but she's been forcedly sheltered from the outside world and so is confused and still searching for her place in life. She has her silly moments, and her heartbreakingly tragic moments. Her physical and mental health are a constant focus in her story, with hints of PTSD. Just like Peter Parker, only Cindy's motivations and struggles are rooted in her finding out what happened to her missing family, instead of the cliché of learning to live with them while keeping her superhero life a secret (Silk having no parental guardian figures around gives the writer more creative freedom with both her and the story).
I loved the interactions between Silk and Spidey. These brief, occasional scenes add depth to their characters and their past together (he was the one who freed her from the basement in the first place), and they add layers to Silk's trust issues and identity crisis. When she says, "I'll always be grateful. Always. It's just... freedom is hard", I nearly cried, it was so sad.
Speaking of cameos, great appearance of the Fantastic Four in issue 4, BTW; out of nowhere as it might seem. Silk and the Human Torch are surprisingly cute together.
Also a shout-out to Cindy's female friends Lola and Rafferty for LBG representation. The couple don't show up much, unfortunately, but they're always there when Cindy needs them. And her relationship with the big Marvel boss himself Jameson is funny... and gradually it becomes a touching bond, like he is her surrogate father figure (Peter is more like her protective big brother).
I love the manga-inspired artwork for most of the issues. Adorable but intrinsically shadowy and expressive with human emotions - Silk/Cindy's inner and outer turmoil are marvellously captured in each panel. Not at all like the dark, gritty style I had expected/feared before reading.
The characters truly are the highlight of 'Silk, Vol. 0'. Silk is great. Though the story and villains do suffer a little as a result of great character building.
I admit to never having read any Spider-Man comics beforehand, despite me considering him to be my favourite male superhero from watching his movies and cartoons. His main hook of being relatable as well as witty, savvy and kind-hearted, and not being so much of a male-power-fantasy, worked for me. To me he’s a kid at heart, like many if not all comic book readers.
But my lack of knowledge of the Spider-verse from a comic standpoint probably kept me from totally immersing myself into the slow-moving plot, and from finding the villains interesting. Even Black Cat I barely cared about, as I'm not sure what her overall purpose is and what her presence amounts to. She's just there; half-heartedly as a female foe for Silk to fight.
I didn't mind the 'Secret Wars'-interfering cliffhanger, however. The ending managed to fuse a loving and touching closure - with ambiguity - alongside tragedy and defeat, in my opinion. It was satisfying, at least for Silk herself, in a way.
Major themes include family - there are flashbacks to Cindy's time with hers before they disappeared, potently fleshing her out - and moving on in life after the people of the past leave us; making way for people in the present. For a better tomorrow.
Disappointment and hope fight and then work side by side in 'Silk, Vol. 0', in a semi-realistic way (for a superhero comic at least). There are unanswered questions, but that's to be expected. I was too much into Silk, her thoughts and her emotional journey to care.
Also, "Pokémon dude". Heh heh, nice one.
Recommended. A high calibre for character-study comic volumes to reach.
Final Score: 4/5
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