Can The Spider rise to the challenge and defeat Anput before the city is completely lost?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

Anput has New York City and the Spider at her mercy, but she’s not done yet. As she unveils her final plot, Wentworth must pay an extraordinarily high price for justice and his life will change forever. Friends will fall and foes will risk everything to escape the clutches of the Spider! From the corridors of power to the skies above the city, it’s the thrilling, pulptastic conclusion to the first arc!

The zombie-terror brought on New York by the evil Anput reaches its end in this climactic issue.  The Spider has gone through hell to try and stop her, and in this solid jaunt the pulp hero goes the extra mile, in an effort to earn the best possible outcome for himself and the people he cares about.

David Liss delivers a sturdy script that brings this arc to a decent close, but it ultimately glosses over some of the most interesting parts as it races toward its final page.  Strong characterization leads to a rather compelling tale as our hero faces some demons in the last hours of this proverbial plauge.  But to be honest and to somewhat harp on the point, I feel like there could have been more done with two key moments that more or less were given the shaft in favor of a feverish pace as the author sprinted to the finish.

Colton Worley once again does a superb job with the art.  The series artist yields panels that look photo realistic while maintaining just enough fantastical elements to keep the story in its proper context.  Overall this series is a fun adventure, but the panels on display here beg for the script to match the quality of these rather intricate yet realized designs.

The Spider #5 offers a good ending while yielding a solid read with some truthfully stellar art.  Recommended.

3.5/5