In this week’s Wednesday Comics column, a new one-shot adventure with Bug Wars – The Spyder Wytch Special #1, a spooky new start from Spirit of Shadows #1, and more! Plus, The Prog Report!
Bug Wars – The Spyder Wytch Special #1
Writer: Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar
Artist: Baldemar Rivas, David Messina and Mahmud Asrar
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Becca Carey
Publisher: Image Comics
Review by Jared Bird
Bug Wars triumphantly returns with a massive, 64 page special covering three short stories all revolving around the mysterious and fascinating coven of the Spyder Wytches. One of the most interesting elements of the series is explored here in full-detail, and it’s one not to be missed for anyone who is a fan of the series.
The first story, Lair of the Fire Spiders, written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by Baldemar Rivas, is set three months after the climatic events of the first arc. Wysta the Spyder Wytch travels across the Yard in an attempt to earn her redemption, after being excommunicated for an act of forbidden passion. Sent to investigate a mysterious tree populated by strange, fire-blessed spiders, her ideals and motivations are challenged in a way so far unseen. Aaron’s storytelling here is top notch, creating an epic and exciting tale that is fueled by a profound sense of sadness and rage. It ventures into some dark places, even darker than I had expected this book to go, but it’s horrifying and shocking and utilised well. Rivas does a great job with the art here as well, maintaining the kinetic energy of the comic thus far but giving it his own flair.
The second story, The Long Way Back, is written by series artist Mahmud Asrar with artwork by David Messina. Set sometime before the main narrative begins, it follows a young Spyder on a quest to prove his mettle, who encounters Wysta in the prime of her time as part of the coven. It’s the shortest of the three narratives, but hardly the least impactful, serving as the most emotional and heartbreaking of the tales in this special. Asrar utilises this story to explore the bug-eat-bug nature of the world of the Yard, how merciless and cruel it can be, and how Wysta herself is no saint. She’s one of the best characters in the series, and it’s fantastic that the creative team lets her be multifaceted, nuanced and often as detestable as she is compelling. Messina does a great job with the artwork here, bringing a more detailed and realistic compliment to Asrar’s writing, allowing it to truly flourish.
The final story, The Webs of Fate, is crafted by the main creative team of the series, with Jason Aaron scripting and Mahmud Asrar illustrating. Serving as both a prequel and a tease of what’s to come in Book II of the series, it follows the Spyder Wytches as they attempt to kill series protagonist Slade Slaymaker during his sleep when he first moves into the new house. Crafted with the same pulse-pounding and spellbinding sense of spectacle as the main series, this huge battle plays with scale in such an interesting way, a testament to the talent of the creative team. It also gives a glimpse at the future of the series, why Slade is so important and what his eventual fate might be. It perfectly functions as something to get you excited for the rest of the series, and if this is your first issue of Bug Wars it helps entice you to check the rest out.
Overall, Bug Wars: The Spyder Wytch Special #1 is brilliant, a perfect example of inventive and exciting fantasy that combines rich and innovative worldbuilding with wonderfully compelling storytelling and all the best the aesthetics of sword-and-sorcery have to offer. Further exploring the Spyder Wytches is a brilliant move, as they remain one of the most fascinating aspects of the narrative, and they manage to make them more interesting without giving up too many secrets or spoiling the larger narrative too much. Great for pre-existing fans, a strong start for new readers, and one of the best issues of the year so far, Bug Wars is one to keep an eye on and check out as soon as you can.
Spirit of the Shadows
Writers: Daniel Ziegler and Nick Cagnetti
Artist: Nick Cagnetti
Publisher: Oni Press
Review by Zack Quaintance
I’ve been anticipating today’s release of Spirit of the Shadows since February of 2023. Of course, I didn’t know anything about the book then. All I knew was that I’d finished Nick Cagnetti’s break-out hit comic, Pink Lemonade, I loved it, and I was definitely going to read his next book.
That book is here now, and it sees Cagnetti teaming with writer Daniel Ziegler on an idea the two have been refining for years. The result is one of the most interesting comics of the young year. There’s so much to like about Spirit of the Shadows, but one thing I find absolutely fascinating is how the pristine, neon-drenched linework plays off the horror-laden subject matter to create a sort of morbid tension to the whole affair. I’ve never really read another comic that boldly plays with tones in this way. It makes Spirit of the Shadows both stand out and linger with you as a reader.
The book also reads as both familiar and surprising to those of us who follow Cagnetti’s work. Familiarly, it features the immaculate character designs that make it so easy to jump into one of his stories. The designs are interesting and varied throughout Spirit, from the protagonist, to the supporting cast, to an antagonist who reveals themselves toward the end of the first issue. Like the motorcycle-riding Pink Lemonade before him, the titular Spirit features just a perfect design, one that makes you want to know more about the character while also giving you an innate idea of what kind of story he will be starring in.
And it’s the details of that story that might surprise fans of Pink Lemonade, doing so with the interesting darkness of its themes and plot. Pink Lemonade had conflict, of course, but the lead character was so sunny and cheery that the tone of the book could perhaps best be described as super-powered optimism. Spirit of the Shadows is something darker, featuring as it does a tormented protagonist who is not only facing a terrifying plight, but is also learning that his own history might not be what it seems, and he might not be the type of person he hopes. To say more than that would be to risk entering into spoiler territory, but I think it’s safe to point out that this is a comic that on its first page gives its hero all he ever wanted…before a demon breaks through the ground on the final panel to literally pull him into hell (or a type of hell, anyway).
The book also just looks amazing. Spirit of the Shadows #1 features some of the best color work I’ve seen all year. As I mentioned briefly at the start, it’s bold and neon in dark places, actively working against typical depictions of dark realms but still feeling scary and sinister. Where the color shines most, however, is differentiating the past and flashbacks and unreality from the present day of the Spirit.
Overall, this is just a great-looking and interesting comic, one of the most memorable first issues I’ve read in years. Cagnetti and Ziegler clearly worked well together on scripting this one too, getting the precise dialogue just right and making sure the reader knows the stakes from page one — before putting their hero through an absolute ringer for the duration of this first issue. I can’t wait to see where the rest of this story is headed.
Malevolent #1
Written by Justin Jordan
Art by John Bivens
Colors by Felipe Sobreiro
Letters by CRANK!
Published by Image Comics
Review by Jordan Jennings
From the creative minds behind Spread and The Strange Talent of Luther Strode comes Malevolent #1. The issue quickly establishes a world where magic is real and due to an event known as the Breach, demons have entered into the real world. The issue follows a group of trainees for the MCR, a demon fighting SWAT team, sorta. While the concept of a supernatural procedural is not exactly a unique one, it is still ambitious and engaging.
Writer Justin Jordan handles the daunting task of organically building a world as well as one would want. Jordan swiftly puts the comic into action with just a few pages of set-up. Honestly, the brisk pacing is one of the strengths of the issue. There isn’t a single dull moment of exposition explaining all of the ward symbols but instead all of the exposition is peppered throughout the action sequence. The dialog was a bit dry at times and the characters are threadbare at this point. That said, as the series progresses these issues will likely be addressed. There’s only so many pages in a single issue and there’s a lot to manage for a new world.
The art by John Bivens is well executed. The standout art moment of the issue is easily the level of detail in the gore and viscera of the demons. The character design for Morgan the human-demon hybrid is another highlight of the book. She captures the otherworldly look that is between demon and human very well. Bivens illustrates her with an almost cartoon level of exaggeration and distortion. Overall, the character acting is solid but Morgan’s is top tier. The battle between Morgan and the issue’s demon really plays around with the graphic nature of a demon fight. Felipe Sobreiro’s colors complement the story perfectly. The contrast between Morgan’s off-white and pinks against demon’s black and yellow is eye popping.
Malevolent #1 is a solid first entry into a new series. The writing is efficient and the art is action packed all while being eye catching. The book has a manga-like feeling with its plot beats and the focus on a demon hybrid serving in a team of demon hunters. Yet it is done in a decidedly US comic style. For the fans of supernatural, this comic is well worth checking out. There is a lot of fun to be had here.
The Prog Report
2000AD 2467 (Rebellion): This week’s issue has some new beginnings to speak of, specifically Judge Dee and the Tharg’s 3riller … Money Shot: High Stakes. The Judge Dee story — which is from writer Ben Wheatley (the movie director), artist Simon Coleby, colorist Jack Davis, and letterer Simon Bowland — and it’s got a cult, a demon, and a subterranean setting. This first chapter was really all set-up with some establishing of what’s happening with our lead, but it was good set-up with a helpful bit of work establishing what’s happening with our lead. Money Shot: High Stakes, meanwhile, is from writer Kek-W, artist Rob Richardson, and letterer Rob Steen. I’m a big fan of these three-chapter stories, which usually get a bit far out with their concepts and, given their non-repeating structure, can surprise with how they end. This one starts out as a cop story set in a near-future West Ohio (I think…the scenery looks nothing like Ohio but that’s probably the intent), and then slowly turns into something different and surprising, from the art to the concept. I liked how rapidly it turned it’s own setup over, and I’m looking forward to what comes of it, as well as to writing about how it lands in this space in three weeks time. This week’s cover (above) is by Simon Davis. As always, you can pick up a digital copy of The Prog here. —Zack Quaintance
Column edited by Zack Quaintance.
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