Cindy Moon has had a tough road to go. No Spider-Man franchise character is going to reach the level of popularity of Peter Parker. But, Cindy has been left in the dust in comparison with other derivative characters like Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen. Marvel Comics had tried again and again to get fans interested in Silk but has not had much success up to this point.
So, here we are with Silk getting yet another title. You have to admire Marvel Comics’ tenacity in the face of little sales success. This time Marvel Comics is going to roll out a Silk mini-series rather than a new ongoing monthly title. This is definitely the smart route to take. Personally, I love mini-series. They usually give a writer some guardrails that keeps them from meandering around with slow or pointless plot lines. The short format of a mini-series helps writers to stay focused and deliver a tightly paced and plotted story. This is also a help for newer writers or writers who may be experienced as novelists or TV/movie writers but lack experience in comics.
The mini-series is also an effective tool to try and rehabilitate a character that has not had any success in an ongoing monthly title. Having a character sustain several failed ongoing monthly titles in a row can be fatal. Instead, a mini-series saves the character from further black marks if the mini-series does not sell well. A poorly selling mini-series does not get the same attention as a poorly selling and then canceled ongoing monthly title.
The creative team for this new Silk mini-series is Emily Kim and Ig Guara. Kim is a fine enough choice for this title. Kim does not have much experience writing comic books, but again, a mini-series is the perfect place for inexperienced comic book writers to cut their teeth.
I love the choice of Ig Guara. Guara is a talented Brazilian artist. There is no doubt that Guara will make sure that Silk is a nice-looking mini-series. Guara’s style of art should also be a good match for a fun superhero story.
I also like the fact that Marvel Comics is moving Cindy Moon to Los Angeles. Derivative characters often struggle to gain their own identities and can often be overshadowed by more established characters. Moving Cindy to her own unique location away from the other Sprier-Man characters is a smart move to allow her to blaze her own trail.
Rokk’s Excitement Level: 5 Night Girls out of 10. I have never been impressed with Silk’s character. Of course, I am always open to a writer being able to make Silk a compelling character. Having said that, I am probably going to pass on this title. I might check out the Silk mini-series when it comes out in trade format if enough people I respect tell me that this is a comic worth my time and money.
Rokk’s Prediction: Emily Kim has not written that many titles so the sample size is small. However, Kim has not had any sales success. Kim’s Tiger Division has been a total sales bomb as Tiger Division #3 barely made it into the Top 200 by taking the number 200 spot in January 2023. Don’t send me your hate mail. I personally like and enjoy Tiger Division. But, numbers don’t lie. So, I do not think that Kim herself will draw many readers to the title based on her name and reputation alone.
Silk #1 which began in December 2015 debuted at the number 33 spot and sold 57,140 units. Silk #2-19 averaged the number 102 spot in the sales rankings and sold an average of 24,163 units per issue. By the end, Silk #19 was down to 14,524 units.
Cindy got a second title and it debuted in November 2021. Coming off of the pandemic and the splitting of how comic books were distributed made it hard to find good numbers for this series.
Cindy for a third title that debuted in January 2022. Silk #1 debuted at the number 35 spot in the sales rankings. Silk #2-5 averaged the number 87 spot in the sales rankings.
In January 2023, the Top 5 selling female lead titles were Scarlet Witch #1 at the number 3 spot, Mary Jane & Black Cat #2 at the number 30 spot, Poison Ivy #8 at the number 48 spot, Wasp #1 at the number 65 spot, and Captain Marvel #45 at the number 91 spot.
There is no doubt that this new Silk mini-series is another trial balloon. Marvel Comics is going to see if there is enough interest out there for an ongoing Silk title. Personally, I do not think there is enough of an audience for that to happen.
I am going to predict that the new Silk #1 will debut in the Top 25. Then the Silk mini-series is going to average somewhere between the 75-100 range of the sales rankings. If Marvel Comics can get this Silk mini-series to sell in the Top 75 for the entire mini-series then that will be the best sales results that Silk has ever had. My guess is that Marvel Comics probably will not green-light a Silk ongoing monthly title unless the Silk mini-series finishes in the Top 50 for the entire mini-series.
Conclusion: I like that Marvel Comics is giving Silk a mini-series. Silk is definitely a character that has shown that she cannot support an ongoing monthly title. So, a mini-series offers Marvel Comics a chance to reward the small but loyal readership for this character. Personally? Unless enough people, whose opinions I trust, tell me that I need to read this comic I am going to have to pass on Silk’s new mini-series.
