Following on the heels of Dynamite Entertainment's The Shadow relaunch comes a brand new start for pulp hero The Spider. However, unlike The Shadow, this one is off to a pretty rocky start. The Spider doesn't do much to separate itself from the plethora of masked vigilante characters out there. Sure, many of them might have been influenced by The Spider, but he's late to the game now and this series needs to do something new. It updates the character to a modern era, but still feels stuck in the past in the worst possible ways, like you've read this issue a million times before.
It also doesn't help that the art feels incredibly stiff. Colton Worley uses a technique of simple, dark outlines filled in with detailed coloring and shading. It gives the effect that the pencils are just sitting on top of the colors and it looks weird. The faces of the characters look especially off. It's an odd choice for art since it's clear that from the first two pages that Worley can draw. Right now it just looks like he traces photos and then colors them in.
David Liss does a fine job with the script. Most of the characters are fine and the dialogue is good. The problem is, The Spider just isn't very interesting. As a character, he is kind of boring. He's a rich playboy that also works a consultant for the police and midnights as a superhero. He hates the crime and filth that have infected the city. That's it. There you go, that's The Spider. If we are going to keep with this series, we need more than that.
Benjamin is a writer and storyteller. He owns many leather-bound books and his office smells of rich mahogany. Follow Benjamin on Twitter, or find him on IGN.
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