After six issues, a drawn-out and convoluted origin, supernatural and corporate conflicts, and two pencillers, what we're left with is a character that just doesn't make any sense. This seems like a character created by committee, with a number of different elements thrown in just because they seem cool. There's little logic in the way the main characters behave here, and more importantly, the writer hasn't given the readers a reason to care about what happens to them. The art is full energy, and the colors are vibrant. But the depiction of the main character is inconsistent, and the action in this issue's climactic scene is unclear.
Miguel visits with Anya's father to set her dad's mind at ease about her new after-school "job" with WebCorps. Anya's first assignment is to select a costume, and that proves to be one of the biggest headaches to come along since her life got so weird. And then, the call finally comes... the call to action. The Wasp Society is trying to create a new champion of its own, a counterpart to Arana, and the young heroine, Miguel and their backup crew rush to prevent the supernatural ritual that will empower the new agent of evil.
Brooks's linework is clearly meant to appeal to the manga audience, just as the empowered teenage girl who transforms into something almost alien is meant to do the same thing. He certainly brings energy and movement to the story, but there are aspects of the story that are distracting. Anya is depicted inconsistently; sometimes she looks like a young girl, and at others, a buxom, blossoming woman. Miguel's constant sporting of Matrix-esque apparel robs the character of credbility during the non-super scenes. The action in the latter part of the issue doesn't unfold clearly at all; the script really reveals what's happened (to a certain extent, but not completely).
The costume scene is a playful one, but it adds nothing to the story. In fact, it doesn't even make any sense. We've seen the main character's costume on the cover for four issues now, and she wore it in the desert when her powers kicked into gear. And the opening scene featuring Miguel's conversation with Anya's dad is completely illogical. Anya's father is an investigative reporter who accepts a mysterious stranger's word about his daughter's vague new job that spirits her away for entire weekends at a time? Avery fails in her attempt to keep Anya's super-heroic life from turning heads in her regular life.
Anya develops a grappling line to get around the city... but she has super-powers, including some form of flight (if I'm remembering the events of #5 right). She's encouraged to choose a costume when her spider-tattoo covers her in some kind of supernatural armor when she's in battle. We don't even know why Anya is determined to take on this new role; she's been given no motive. Another major problem with this story arc is how decompressed it is. Avery draws the origin story out way too long, and then crams an action scene at the end of this concluding issue that hints at the main conflict but fails to explore it in any depth. 2/10
