Review: Spider-Woman #8

Previously in Spider-Woman #7 

What could drive a woman to fake her own kidnapping so she could threaten her spouse into committing crimes which funds her new life in hiding? A husband who’s not just a super villain, but an abusive one at that.

Jessica Drew has located the “kidnapped” wives, girlfriends, and children of criminals being blackmailed into committing crimes for fear their taken loved ones would be harmed. She tracked them down to Moon’s Hollow, NY, and discovered the victims aren’t victims at all, but women who have started over with their children and minus the no-good spouses.

The woman who came up with the idea, Cat, isn’t ready to see all of her hard work (and the women’s safe haven) taken away so she proceeds to beat the crap out of Jessica with a large construction vehicle.

As Jessica takes her beating, the other women look on, not so sure this is what they signed up for. When Jessica is finally able to stop Cat, she realizes the woman fought so hard because she’s terrified of going back to her old life and abusive husband. Jessica agrees to keep quiet about where they are, but they have to stop coercing their exes into stealing. Roger’s wife explains to him there are other ways to be abusive - it’s not all about hitting. She doesn’t like explaining to their little girl why Daddy keeps going to jail. He promises to straighten up.

Jessica realizes Ben Urich has slipped away and she races to his office, hoping to stop him from printing a story that would reveal where the women live. But Ben has no plans of running the story. He was moved by Jessica’s act of kindness after taking a 20-minute beating. He does still want to work with Jessica, though, and presents her with another file of someone who could use their help.

Overall Thoughts:

• This is easily my favorite comic book at the moment - and I read A LOT of comic books. I’m now a Dennis Hopeless fan for life. Between him, Joshua Williamson, and Brian K. Vaughan, it’s a good time to be a comic book fan.
• The writing is so good, and I’m not just talking about the story. The dialogue is perfect as well. Every word out of Jessica’s mouth feels authentic to the character.
• I’m looking forward to more of the Jessica-Ben pairing. Their banter is the best, and I love how they’re both driven by the desire to help people and making a small difference.
• I know it’s common for a new artist to come on board when there’s a new arc, but damn I don’t want to lose the team-up of Rodriquez, Lopez, and Vicente.