The dire arc continues to build toward its climax, but should we still be rooting for this vigilante?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

Richard Wentworth may be down, but he’s not out… not when the city still needs the Spider. With his eye on both a ring of crooked cops and a deadly gang uptown, The Spider sets up a carefully orchestrated scheme to take out two birds with one stone. But when an honest cop comes along for the ride, he’s got to protect the life of an innocent while making sure the guilty suffer.

I’m not going to mince words here: it’s becoming more and more difficult to be in the corner of this pulp icon.  We’re witnessing the destruction of his world in ways that are sure to be disconcerting to long time fans.  And a lot of it’s due to his own inadequacies.

David Liss pens the script and the seasoned author does fine job working with these characters in a way that never hinders the forward momentum of the tale. Sure it can be said that there are some off moments here and there but the truth is that what we get is a sturdy release that’s going to please even if it does stumble along the way.  There were instances where I found it hard to muster support for Richard Wentworth and his never-ending crusade against crime, but thanks to the scribe, his voice kept me in it through the cliffhanger.

The art by Ivan Rodriguez is just as solid as the text.  He realizes both the zany and transparent aspects of these sordid festivities while maintaining enough innate realism to sell an audience on these outlandish occurrences.  I did find a few panels where the action felt a bit too static but for the most part these were few and far between.  Simply put: I got caught up in the strengths of the pretty pictures and avoied their minor faults.

The Spider #16 is leading all of us toward an end that is potent, tragic but also engaging.  Recommended.

3.5/5