SILK #14
Written by Robbie Thompson
Art by Irene Strychalski and Ian Herring
Published by Marvel Comics
Release Date: November 16, 2016
Silk kicks off a new storyline, welcomes a new artist, and takes Cindy to a new city: San Francisco. Everything about this issue feels exciting and reinvigorated while maintaining the personality of each character. For the very first time since the debut volume of Silk launched, Cindy has her parents and her brother, Albert, back under the same roof as her. And it’s not in a flashback! Yes, the original driving plotline of this series — Cindy’s search for her family — has resolved.
But rather than suffering from sophomore slump, Silk takes everything we love about this series and gives it a fresh boost. Hector is Cindy’s ex-boyfriend who’s stuck in ghost form, but that doesn’t stop their relationship from being adorable and romantic. Lola and Rafferty, Cindy’s closest friends and coworkers, are here and appropriately concerned about how she’s adjusting to life with her family again.
Robbie Thompson doesn’t gloss over how loneliness feels even when you’re surrounded by loved ones. Cindy is used to doing everything on her own — after all, she lived in forced isolation for a decade. Now that her family is back, she’s overworking herself, and leaps at the chance to travel for work. I was pleasantly surprised by how much panel time Cindy and Hector’s relationship receives. He accompanies her on her first time flying in an airplane, and it’s one of the best examples of a scene where Cindy feels like a normal person, not a hero or public figure.
Irene Strychalski is the new artist on this series, and as Stacey Lee and Tana Ford have done, she brings Cindy to life. From the first page, Cindy, wearing high-waisted pants and ballet flats, feels like someone we could know in real life. Strychalski adds a number of tiny details, such as Cindy’s moon-shaped necklace pendant. Faces convey lots of emotion, like Cindy’s mom and Albert when they’re enjoying pizza.
It’s obvious Strychalski put a lot of thought into how she wanted to show the flow of the story. I like the natural movement from scene-establishing shots, like a cityscape view of the outside of the Moon family’s apartment building, to action in the present, like Cindy’s dad making breakfast. There’s even grease spots on the spatula he’s holding! I look forward to many more issues from Strychalski and Ian Herring.
There is so much to love about Silk, from strong friendships, to emotional family moments, to exciting investigations. Cindy has many supportive people in her life, but she’s still figuring out what to do next. We’ll be with her as she does.
The Verdict: 9.0/10
