The Spider #7

Ok, so when I first saw that Colton Worley wasn't handling the art for this issue I was a little worried, but I figured it was probably just a fill-in - hell, it probably takes a while to produce the kind of amazing work he does. Then I saw the solicitations for January, February, and March and saw he wasn't coming back and I was worried again. You see, The Spider is consistently one of the comics I look forward to every month and Colton's spectacular art was a big reason for that. Naturally, I was a bit apprehensive to see someone else take the reins. After seeing just the first page, however, my worries disappeared.


David Liss continues to hand in top notch scripts and this may be his best yet. From the very first panels introducing the disgusting, perverted psychopath Lazarus, you can't help but be drawn into the story. In fact, Liss weaves his tale so expertly and has built up his characters so well, that there is hardly any Spider action this issue and it doesn't even matter. Well...ok there's still seven pages of the Spider, but you get the point. Big things happen for several main characters and the fallout is definitely going to be lasting a while.


Ivan Rodriguez is the new artist for the series and he's off to a great start. It's tough taking over for someone who's style is as singular as Colton's, but Ivan makes the transition painless.


This issue is the second in a series of stand alone stories that are going to continue until March, when The Spider's arch nemesis is set to be introduced. This is one of the best issues of a series that is doing nothing but get better every month and there is no better time than now to get started reading it.