The third and final volume of Dynamite’s ongoing title The Spider, finds our hero shunned by the city he has sworn to protect.  David Liss and Ivan Rodriguez finish off the adventures of Richard Wentworth by taking everything away from the man both personally and professionally so that he is left with nothing except his own dangerous thoughts.  Like the rest of Dynamite’s pulp line of titles, The Spider is a thrilling and suspenseful book and it is a shame that it must come to a halt with this volume, at least for now it seems.  The Spider has always been one of the best out of all the classic pulp heroes and it would be great to see the character continue in some form later on.

As it is, this volume depicts Richard Wentworth’s battle with The Fly.  The Fly is a sociopathic mad-man, not caring who or what he hurts or destroys and after setting his sights upon something he does not rest until he has accomplished his goal.  This time that goal just happens to be Wentworth and his alter-ego, The Spider.  Slowly but surely The Fly starts to take everything away from Wentworth including his company, his friends and even his city.  It is always fascinating to see the dismantling of a hero and Liss does it expertly, tearing our hero apart piece by piece.  While The Fly was a formidable villain for our hero, the city was as much against him and a villain in its own right.  It also made for an interesting contrast for as much as the metropolis was against him, including the cops, the people and even his friend Stanley, even at his lowest, he still went out every night to protect it.

Wentworth exhibits some great characterization throughout the book as he suffers these losses and we get to see it every step of the way as it happens.  To go from a respected man and a hero who was looked upon favourably to someone whose name is uttered in the same breath as an obscenity, it is not an easy thing for any person to accept. When an author is informed that his title is about to end and that the arc you are currently writing will most likely be your last, you would not expect a whole lot of character development, but Liss goes all out and really gives our hero some new dimensions.  Wentworth gets a taste of humility and vulnerability, not to mention a newfound sense of fortitude.  These aspects that are introduced to his character are also sharply contrasted to what is normally portrayed by The Spider, not to mention other pulp heroes such as strength, confidence, pride and so on.  It really adds a new dynamic to our hero that is most welcome.

The love triangle between Richard, Nita and Stanley continues to play a big part in the book and it is especially brought to the forefront as Richard spirals further and further downwards.  Stanley of course is the district attorney while Nita is a reporter.  Add to the fact that Richard is friends to both and in love with Nita and the relationships between them get more than complicated as the book goes on.  What is great to see after the two previous volumes is that Nita finally makes a choice, one she had been skirting around for quite some time, but now does so definitively.  Stanley and Nita are great supporting characters and having them play such an integral role in our hero’s life is something that is not done in many books to this extent.

Also included in the volume is The Spider Annual with a story by Shannon Eric Denton with art by Igor Vitorino.  It features The Spider going up against a band of assassins.  Said assassins were sent by a grieving father after our hero stopped a crime some eight months earlier of which the son was a part of.  As everyone knows, The Spider puts a stop to criminals with a finality of which there is no return.  It was a good, fun and fast-paced tale that is a prime example of how the vigilante works.

Dynamite has published a lot of comics featuring classic pulp characters becoming a leader in their resurgence the last number of years.  With this volume of The Spider it continues on.  With his unique costume and weaponry as well as his great supporting cast, The Spider stands shoulder to shoulder with the other greats of the era like The Shadow, The Green Hornet and more.  David Liss has had a great run on the character along with the various artists he has worked with and though it might have ended for now, it is well worth reading again in the absence of any new books being produced.  Seek out all three volumes for some great modern-day pulp fun and hopefully, The Spider will return to the stands soon.

4 out of 5