As our hero slowly but surely continues his hunt for this latest antagonist, will his loved ones forever be caught in the midst of their crossfire?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

It’s the beginning of an epic showdown that will change The Spider forever! The Fly is the Spider’s most dangerous enemy – a wealthy madman with no goal but power – and no hesitation to kill. Richard Wentworth has sacrificed happiness in order to protect the city he loves, but is he prepared for the betrayals to come?

It’s been a very interesting run for this modern interpretation of a high stakes pulp hero.  Whether he’s dealing with a plague, his vile father or a maniacal madman who’s hellbent on ruling New York, Richard Wentworth has had some close calls in his brief history.

David Liss pens the script and the series scribe does an absolutely marvelous job bringing this confrontation to new heights as he allows the antagonist to evolve and become slightly more in tune with the hyper-real world surrounding him.  In the end what we get is some history, teases and ultimately a few revelations that make this latest outing an engrossing read.  There were however some problems with the dialogue as the text overburdened the panels with unnecessary exposition, in a way that felt like over compensation as words sullied an otherwise capable affair.

The art by Ivan Rodriguez continues to improve with each and every page. From the opening sequence, that quickly resolved last month’s cliffhanger, to this weeks massive pile of problems the illustrator is more than up to the challenge.  In particular I was impressed with his ability to create a visual interpretation of an action sequence and to be blunt I was in awe of the ending splash page. In short: I can’t wait to see the work he turns in next month for this already glistening franchise.

The Spider #13 may not be a groundbreaking piece of fiction by any stretch of the imagination, but it continues a competent yarn that builds up this property. Recommended.

4/5