The Good

Spider-Woman’s been hitting the streets and trying to solve the mystery of just who’s blackmailing and ransoming super-villain families to force the villains into committing crimes...which doesn’t SOUND like much of a change, but it’s NOT committing crimes on THEIR terms! Dennis Hopeless wound up his “interesting idea with a twist” writing style and spun a tale that actually paints the street-level villains in a sympathetic light not seen since Matt Fraction’s darkly comedic run on PUNISHER. Jessica Drew plays possum for as long as she can, but when she makes her move, it’s absolutely fantastic and does a lot to remind the reader that she’s a woman of many talents. And then things get...weird. What Jessica Drew stumbles into boggles description, and Hopeless does a fantastic job of keeping things tense while also giving little releases of humor and even surrealism. There’s also plenty of catch-up on Ben Urich and Drew’s benefactor, and these scenes are a welcome break from the action and the strangeness as there’s a certain relatability between these two, as Ben draws from his countless years of experience dealing with the strange and superheroic to actually be a comforting force.

Javier Rodriguez goes all-out on the pencils this issue, particularly in one scene showing Spider-Woman escaping her captors, somehow achieving both panel pacing and the illusion of motion in one single panel, and he never ever lets before or after. There’s an effortless flow to the action AND the more mundane moments that allow very simple things to become exciting to watch, in addition to the larger set-pieces. Alvaro Lopez’s inks lend themselves well to the semi-old-school style of the book with lots of thick, defined outlines to emphasize little things like facial expressions and body language while Muntsa Vicente’s colors bring out the almost-too-bright bizarre turns the issue takes.

The Bad

There is an AWFUL lot packed into this one issue, and the breakneck pace doesn’t allow for much time to breathe or explain ANYthing. Part of this is obviously intentional, there’s a mystery at the heart of this that is genuinely intriguing but it feels like, despite the frantic pace, the answers are being doled out one tiny drop at a time.

The Verdict

A gorgeous book with a tremendous cliffhanger and a mystery that’s only getting weirder. This book’s officially on a roll. While the slow drip of answers may be a little infuriating, it hasn’t gotten to the point where it’s truly problematic as the characters are still well-written, the art is amazing, and, perhaps most importantly, the storyline still feels compelling. The answer to a mystery nobody cares about is irrelevant, so as long as it remains an answer worth seeking, a little patience may be called for. Hopeless hasn’t let down yet, and Rodriguez, Lopez and Muntsa Vicente are finding their voices more and more every issue.

Is this run worth picking up out of curiosity? Because I'm kinda weary after reading Avengers Undercover at the local Comic book shop I go to.

@morioh_jo98: Yeah.

@morioh_jo98: start from issue 5

Everything about this book improved exponentially after that tedious Spider-Verse arc. The art, the characters, the dialogue, the aesthetic, everything.

Also, and this may seem silly to only JUST NOW notice this, but it just occurred to me that we currently have two different Spider-Woman books by two different artists named Rodriguez. Imagine that.

I may be in the minority, but I like her new costume much more than the old one.

@morioh_jo98: let me put it like this, I'm a huge fan of Spider-Woman, have been for years. This includes her old outfit, I loved that she's an Avenger, I loved her solo adentures, heck even her bronze age stuff and I loved her adventures with other heros in the modern era (especially with Carol Danvers) yet after Spider-Woman #4 that all ended... and I should have hated what I got next but I loved it.

It's a good story, I may still really want her as an Avenger again (even more than I want her old outfit back) and secretly cheer every time her old outfit is in other series but I will not drop this series in protest. It's too well written and fun... and the art is just amazing.

@morioh_jo98: Avengers Undercover sucked...if you didn't read Arena first. Hopeless is a great writer, and now I get almost everything he puts out.

I picked up the previous issues as well as this one. In the last two, I thought it was good, but wasn't sure if it knew where it was going, or if it could sustain itself, or if it could create its own identity separate from the other Marvel "funny-ish" titles like Hawkeye, Superior Foes, or Secret Avengers.

So in other words the last two issues had potential, and I liked them, but wasn't head over heels about them.

This issue brought it all together. It got the tone right, the plot is crazy-pants fun and has lots of room to do interesting things with in the next few issues. I am now really looking forward to seeing what comes next.

The only minus to me was that some of the art was a little off. The proportions of some of the bodies were overly elongated and with weird torsos. Not a huge deal.

@morioh_jo98: Not really

Isn't Goldbug supposed to be dead? Is this a new one?

I can't believe how much better this book has gotten since it started. I loved her old costume, but now think the new one is a good fit for the direction this title has taken.

@maddpanda531: yeah, Punisher blew his brains out. but the Hobgoblin seems to have sold a bunch of costumed identities to rookie supervillains. might be a new occupant inside of the costume. come to think of it, he or she is wearing the Secret Wars costume. Goldbug was wearing his original suit when he was executed.

so glad that Spider-verse is over. this is the kind of Drew story that I want to read. I'm loving the significant-others-of-costumed-villains angle. this book is strangely simpatico with Nick Spencer's Ant-Man book; like I could imagine them crossing over w/o any change in tone.