Scarlet Spider 006

Writer - Chris Yost

Artist - Ryan Stegman

Colorist - Edgar Delgado

Letterer - Joe Caramangna/Ryan Stegman

I have been loving this series so far. Kaine has been a thoroughly enjoyable character that has very human struggles. He is a man that is good at his core but struggles with who he used to be and because of his past, he sees himself as a villain. But beyond that, what makes him interesting is that he wants to be good. 

This issue was really good. We got to see so much; how the city of Houston saw him, his internal conflict, his friends and some crazy fighting. I did not like a few things. They gave Kaine a tattoo. This is a problem for me for two reasons. One is that he is supposed to have durability enough where something like a tattoo needle would have no effect. He also has a healing factor, not on the order of Wolverine but over time, I would think his body would erase the tattoo, so getting one is pointless. Then there is the fact that the tattoo just looks ugly. I love tattoos but I think if you are going to get one, you might as well make it something that looks good and not like that ridiculous crap he put on his arm. This is just something that artists will have to deal with later. I hope they just phase it out like it never happened because it just looks terrible. 

Other than that, the issue was spectacular. I hope this issue is getting the number to support an ongoing series because this is one of the few titles Marvel is putting out that is worth buying. The art is enjoyable in a cartoony kind of way. I personally prefer a more serious or dark kind of art, especially for a series that deals with a protagonist like this but other than that, there is nothing wrong with this art at all. Stegman does a fine job and is consistent throughout his time on the series and it is appropriate during the light moments of the series such as his time with his friends, especially with Aracely. 

The fight with Ana was very well done. He is well beyond her in stats but he also does not have a spider sense like Spider-Man does and she seems to be the superior fighter. It also helps that she prepped the fight and had a few advantages. But both characters were treated with respect and I love that in a character fight. 

Overall this issue was a 4.4/5 for me. Loved it but it was not the best issue for the series to date. I am eager to see what happens in the next issue though with the reveal on the last page. This series is only 6 issues in so I seriously recommend picking it up. Doubly so if you are not interested in the AvX event that is going on right now with Marvel.