“CLONE CONSPIRACY” TIE-IN! Even a super hero’s life can get boring. Double-check your gear. Patrol the city. Save the innocent. Report back to your boss, The Jackal. Wait, what? Why is Prowler working for The Jackal? What does the resurrected Madame Web have to do with him? And what has Prowler already done that may have compromised him?!I haven’t been paying much attention to the major crossover going through the Spider-Man books – hell, I haven’t paid much attention to Spider-Man since the latest first issue – but there was something about this book that looked intriguing to me, although I couldn’t pinpoint what that was even after reading the comic. Y’see, I realized half way through that I knew nothing about the Prowler from the 616 Marvel Universe, but did that stop me from enjoying the tie-in?

Hell no.

First thing’s first, this is a wonderfully illustrated comic. The artistic team of Javier Saltares and Jamal Campbell layout artist and artist respectively do what the Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t do enough during the ALCS, and knock it out of the park. There’s a wonderful quality to the colouring in this comic that feels very much like a classic painting in comic form, elevating the line work a step above what you’d usually see in comics.

While I understand the need to promote the series, billing it as a tie-in to the Clone Conspiracy arc may work against the overall success of the series as there’s really very little to tie it to the previously mentioned story besides the fact that The Jackal is here, and so are a whole bunch of clones – which is the perfect reason for the tie-in, eh? Of course, I could be off base here, and the Clone Conspiracy tie-in could very well pull in more readers than the comic would otherwise attract.

Which would be a good thing, because The Prowler #1 is a very well written comic that explores what a former villain turned hero would do with a second chance at life. Sean Ryan has a brilliant way of delving into the psyche of the cloned characters within the comic, giving the often used expendable narrative devices a real personality.

Do you need to read Clone Conspiracy to enjoy this? No. The Prowler #1 is a solid comic about a man finding his place in the world that happens to also be a tie-in. Whether you’re reading the Spider-Man story or not, this is worth a look.

Story: Sean Ryan Art: Jamal Campbell Layout Art: Javier Saltares
Story: 8 Art: 9.5 Overall: 8.75 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel Comics provided Graphic Policy a FREE copy for review