Cloak and Dagger have a mixed history in the Marvel Universe. They’re fan favorite characters that end up getting lost in the mix at Marvel. They’ve been together, separated, and now for Spider-Island brought into the spotlight once again. Nick Spencer, creator of Morning Glories and other fine comics, can write a great tale. Emma Rios is an artist who can hold her own with her work on Osborn and other fine series. Both talents on the rise on one interesting project. So how do they fare in bringing this team back into the spotlight, while being in the midst of an event such as this? As you’ll soon find out, quite well actually.
The first few pages fill you in on the origin of Cloak and Dagger. Nick Spencer does a great job of letting you know what they’re about and how they got their powers. Emma Rios knocks your socks off with these scenes. She’s been impressing me over the past few months, but these pages are astonishing. She’s cutting loose on this, leading you into the story. The nicely paced early part of this shows Spencer having Cloak and Dagger re-establishing themselves on the super hero scene. They’ve rotated around between teams, now looking to get their own name out there again. Not as much Dagger but Cloak has a strong focus on this. I’m loving how Spencer is handling Cloak and Dagger, their interactions are wonderful. The Cloak and Dagger advertisement is perfect. Probably the most genuinely human that Cloak and Dagger have been recently.
What I like though is the separation of the two characters in their directions they want to take. Cloak is focusing more on building their hero business up, making things better for them in the long haul. Dagger on the other hand in the midst of their fight with the Spider-Man criminals, heads off to go to her college classes for the night. There’s a new flow to them and I like how Spencer is playing up those differences. Showing the profound similarities and differences in Cloak and Dagger. I’m going to be curious in seeing how the villain plays out for this series and just how Dagger plays out with this villain. The last page of this comic is haunting. Emma Rios left you quite nicely with this focused yet sad Dagger. Fit the mood perfectly.
For anyone who’s wondering about buying this series, the connection to Spider-Island is loose. Meaning if you’re following Spider-Island, awesome you’ll just have even more fun. If you just want to have fun reading a Cloak and Dagger story, jump in the pool, the water is fine. Nick Spencer did a great job of keeping this balanced. Emma Rios is doing some of the best work of her career in my opinion. More than a few of her pages caught my eye, after this series I can only imagine what Marvel has lined up for her. If the quality of the rest of the Tie-ins are on this level, Spider-Island is going to be a lot of fun. As you’re going through your comic shop, go take a read of Cloak and Dagger. You’ll be happy you did.
