Spider-Woman (2015) #14

Previously in Spider-Woman #13 

Grief is a son-of-a-bitch, and Dennis Hopeless perfectly captured that in this issue. I’m not sure of the stages of grief and their order. I think it goes something like The Part that Really Sucks, The Part that Sucks So Bad You Can’t Breathe, and then there’s The Part that Hurts So Bad You Want to Punch Things. Having lost someone I loved dearly just two years ago, I was surprised how much anger there is in grief. We know from watching Jessica deal with the loss of Bruce Banner that she goes into Hit Things Mode quite easily, and now is no different.

They’re still on the outs, but Jessica accept’s Carol offer to babysit so she can investigate Roger’s death. Her first stop is Moon’s Hollow, which… wasn’t good. Many issues ago I’d wondered about Roger’s relationship with his ex, Olivia, since he spent all of his time with Jessica either fighting crime or babysitting. I love that Hopeless checked in on this aspect of their relationship and showed that his absence wasn’t something Olivia was happy with.

Sure, she kicked him out, but that didn’t mean she wanted him spending all of his time helping Jessica raise her child when he has one of his own. Also, of course the woman he used to be in love with would pick up on his feelings for Jessica; feelings Jessica only finds out about when Olivia unleashes her own anger on her before kicking her out. Ben later confirms that Roger was indeed in love with her.

Now, fueled with guilt, anger, and a tip from Ben, Jessica is finally able to hit lots of people at the bar Roger went to before his death. Her real lead, though, comes when Carol reports someone wearing Roger’s costume is currently committing a crime. Say what now?