For some people their world is literally falling to pieces but can our hero do anything to help them?  Should you even care?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

Police Commissioner Kirkpatrick lies dead. His wife grieves, and a twisted killer stalks the city. The Spider has inadvertently set into motion the chain of events that leads to his friend’s death, and now he’s out for bloody vengeance – Spider style! But will Richard Wentworth be able to resist the grieving window when she’s the woman he loves? It’s a game-changing issue of the neo-pulp sensation.

When you deal with a character that’s not quite as morally ambiguous as say The Punisher but not as straight and narrow as Batman you get an issue on occasion that challenges both them and their audience, just like this one.  And in the end the narrative pushes the protagonist into a darker place but the question regarding what the immediate aftermath might mean for this tale still lingers, even after you reach the final page.

This is easily one of the strongest stories David Liss has crafted for Richard Wentworth.  The script absolutely nails this tale from the subtle evolution of the continuing relationships to the slight unraveling of our heroes ability to keep his secret identity and his alter ego in check.  I especially enjoyed the inclusion of this demented but nonetheless intriguing villain, Lazarus.  If more criminals arrive that bring this level of quality to this saga then this will surely be a title to reckon with.

Ivan Rodriguez steps in for the series artist in this latest outing and he does a fine job filling the void.  The pencil strokes evoke a very different feel while maintaining just enough of the established tropes to do the accepted style some justice.  His sturdy visual sense allows him to effortlessly portray the pulp aspects of our hero quite well, but nothing really comes close to the artwork done by Colton Worley.

The Spider #7 is another extremely solid issue with some minor kinks in the overall package.  But nonetheless it easily earns a recommendation.

3.5/5