The Spider #2
Written by David Liss
Art by Colton Worley
Letters by Simon Bowland
Covers by John Cassaday, Ron Lesser & Francesco Francavilla
The Spider created by Harry Steeger
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: June 6, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Going into The Spider #2 I was concerned about Dynamite’s decision to put a pulp hero in a modern day setting. After all, today’s audiences are NOT used to their heroes being non super-powered. And how would the mystery of the character play out in today’s world? With phones that can do literally almost anything except cook your meals, computers that can identify someone by a camera on a stoplight, and all the high tech gadgetry that goes along with that, is a guy with a hat and a gun really that big of a deal?

Thanks to writer David Liss, all my cares about the problems of updating the character and bringing him into modern were quickly thrown out the window. Not only does he manage to do the job successfully, he goes way above and beyond and creates a world that is part noir, part modern-day realism. He updates The Spider into a modern day avenger that can pull off anything that your “powerless” hero can. The action is almost on a Die Hard level, but the mystery and mood of the story are straight out of the 1930s. What I loved most about the story is how it took the 1930′s sensibility and mood and plopped it right into modern day, where Liss made it fit so naturally. And I gotta tell you, the last page shocker will have you counting down the days until the next issue.

Artist Colton Worley has as much to do with my enjoyment of this book as David Liss does. They really make a great TEAM. Worley’s rendition of modern day New York city is fantastic. It’s modern yet romantic. Hard, but yet mysterious. Real, but not too real. Also, he’s taken great risks with some of his page layouts and they totally pay off. This book is beautiful to look at and without his amazing art, wouldn’t be half as enjoyable. Worley is a man who can draw tense drama and full-out action and make them both look fantastic.

This book is one of my favorites being published today. Honestly. It’s a great crime drama/CSI type series, combined with an awesome straight-up superhero story. I no longer question Dynamite’s decision to set this book in modern day New York, in fact, I think this is where the character belongs. As charming a setting the book in the 1930s would have been, The Spider has found a new home where he fits in quite nicely. If you’re looking for a great read, you’ve found it.