Arachna 4: In The Web of Madness is a comic written by Martti Kauppinen & A. Khan with art by Carlos Granda and colors by Javi Laparra. The appearance of a new villain forces Jennie and Arachna to deal with their pasts. This is a superheroine science fiction supernatural comic with strong violence, various forms of sexiness, heavy psychological drama, and a cast made up primarily of women. The leading lady here is a woman with a split personality. Arachna is the heroine with a bit of a mean streak and snark who revels in violence. She has the ability to shoot webs from her fingertips. Jennie Janus is the shy, awkward college student who tries to avoid conflict but it keeps finding her. Though usually only one of these personalities controls the body at a time they are in constant communication with each other. Master Ji-Ho is a martial arts master who has helped Jennie/Arachna train and control herself. Meiko was formerly Arachna’s archenemy but now she’s reformed and she’s trying her hardest to prove that she’s changed. This story begins some time after the last issue and one of the first things we see is Meiko blindfolded and training with Master Ji-Ho. Meanwhile Arachna is trying on a new costume designed by Jennie that is sexier than her old one. She goes outside to test her new outfit just as a hulking man is wreaking havoc downtown. This takes place in New York City in a world where superpowered and unnatural creatures aren’t too far out of the ordinary. The violence here is hard-hitting and a bit bloody but there isn’t really any gore or gruesomeness. This moves at a somewhat slower-than-steady pace as there can be a lot to take in both visually and narratively. This has the tone of a superheroine movie mixed with a psychological thriller. Though there are a number of violently intense moments this is almost overwhelmingly focused on the drama. The dialogue is conversational both out loud with the other characters and internally between Jennie and Arachna. There aren’t any word-heavy pages here though a few do get close. This is a thrilling and riveting issue that gives us a terrifying look at the events and choices that made Arachna and Jennie who they are today. There is a bonus story called “Laundry Day” that shows how a superheroine fights crime without clothes.

            The art here is a drawn in a grittyish, almost 90’s/2000’s style with decent lighting and shading. Due to Arachna’s prominence on most pages the main colors here are black, red, and an electric blue; overall the palette is reasonably ranged and very realistic. This primarily takes place in buildings with very rare glimpses of natural scenery. There are three main locations here: Jennie’s apartment, Master Ji-Ho’s home, and the Blackthorn Sanitarium. The sanitarium has a number of areas from operating rooms to operating theaters. Backgrounds are more often than not showing the actual surroundings which can make the different scenes seem heavier. The expression level here is very high as these characters are constantly showing how they truly feel. Emotions are all over from the angry and aggressive to the sad and fearful with some rare happiness from both hero and villain. Faces here have a good amount of detail from the smile lines to the eyelashes with just about every single look coming across clearly. The violence here can be very rough and brutal with a bit of blood but no blood or gore. There are many action scenes and they tend to have a high panel count, a smooth unconfusing flow, and sometimes the panel layout/styling is unique. Arachna, Meiko, and most of the other women here wear tight and/or revealing clothing. There are numerous lewd and BDSM-style shots, angles, and moments here.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes, if this is up your alley.

“Would I like this?”

If you like science fiction supernatural stories that star two superheroines and feature strong violence, psychological drama, and BDSM-style eroticism then this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

R. Violence, blood, lewdness, nudity, sexual moments.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“I should start charging villains for these personal bondage sessions.”

 

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arachnacomic/arachna-4-in-the-web-of-madness/description

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 59

Violent Pages: 22, for 37% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 9, for 15% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 3

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 3

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 2

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 3

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”