Janine Godby’s world has been blown up several times in her life, but this time. she has a bag of super-powered masks and a chip on her shoulder. She’s on the run from the police, but there’s someone else after her too. Hallows’ Eve #1 kicks off the solo adventure of Janine in a fun and entertaining debut.

Hallows’ Eve #1 is an interesting comic in that it does a lot. While it’s a first issue, Janine’s story feels like a continuation of the recent “Beyond” storyline in Spider-Man and especially “Dark Web”. Though you don’t have to have read either, there’s absolutely moments where I wasn’t quite sure of motivations. But, writer Erica Schultz keeps the story focused and simple. Janine is trying to get money so she can disappear with her love Ben Reilly who currently is in jail in limbo. This isn’t some complicated motivation, it’s one we’ve seen many times before. Get a certain amount of money to set up a life and then get out.

Schultz does a good job with all of that focus, the bit of spiraling of Janine’s robbery, and just generally giving us a sense of her situation. The comic folds in the Beyond Corporation which feels a bit unnecessary and that’s the bit of the story where I didn’t know enough and some motivations were a bit weak. It adds in a factor of conflict but what’s presented more left me asking “why” and settling with “they’re evil” as the answer.

The art by Michael Dowling is solid. With color by Brian Reber and lettering by Joe Caramagna, the look of the comic just feels like it fits the character. Despite the weather warming up, the comic’s colors especially give it a cool Halloween vibe. It’s a bit darker and not as cheery as the Spider-Man titles but it still fits in with them quite well. There’s some solid dynamic panels as Janine uses her abilities in an attempt to rob a bank and other moments have an almost cinematic quality about them.

Overall, Hallows’ Eve #1 is a fun debut. I’ll admit I don’t know a ton about the character and what little I’ve read she was an interesting one but not necessarily a leading lady. However, this debut is proving me wrong in that. It swerves in interesting directions while at the same time staying focused. While it’s a continuation of what’s come before, it’s also focused on charting its own path. While it’s doing that, it also captures a lot of what makes Spider-Man great, “good” intentions that often spiral out of control. We get a twist on that here which should make for a very interesting direction for the character and series.

Story: Erica Schultz Art: Michael Dowling
Color: Brian Reber Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.15 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle