Spider-Woman #5
Dennis Hopeless, Javier Rodriguez, Alvaro Lopez, Rachelle Rosenberg
Marvel $3.99
The Business. At the Bomb dot Tumblr dot com. Several profanities strung together, typed out with CAPS LOCK on.
Above is list of ways I would describe this issue of Spider-Woman. Marvel, feel free to us any and all of those for the trades pull quote, it’s cool, I grant you permission to do so. Also in case you can’t tell by now dear reader, I dug the hell out of this fifth issue of a series that has been excellent since this team was assembled.].
The last 3 issues of Spider-Woman were home to one of the DOPEST story arcs to grace a Marvel comic in some time (DIE HARD IN SPACE, BUT JOHN MCCLANE IS PREGANT!), and while issue 5 is a little more grounded, it’s an excellent celebration of Jessica Drew, who is now officially a single mother. While exploring this major change in Jessica’s life, creators Dennis Hopeless and Javier Rodriguez reunite Jess with her 
old supporting cast, and a few guest stars, including her ex who is my favorite Avenger. Oh and some villains from another Marvel book I adored show up for a brief cameo, making this comic the most on-brand Chris Troy comic of 2016 (so far).
Fan service aside, I REALLY enjoyed what the creative team does with Jessica in this issue. The first few pages give a Kill Your Boyfriend/Sex Criminals vibe via Jessica talking directly to the reader, until it’s revealed that she’s talking to a pair of friends and not us. While it’s not exactly the first book to use that narration trick, it’s an excellent way to let the reader’s into Jessica’s head, all while Rodriguez gets to use his artistic skills to once again convey motion.
My favorite scene in this book involves the entire creative team fully in sync, resulting in 3 pages that don’t use emojis & imagery oppose to dialogue to tell the story. Aside from the usual brilliance from Hopless and Rodriguez, Alvaro Lopez use of black inks to make some fantastic imagery. Playing off the strong preference of a dark color is colorist Rachelle Rosenberg, who uses flat yeah bright colors to counter the black. It’s an excellent example 
of how well this team works together to produce one of the best super hero books on the shelves.
I also love Jessica’s journey in this issue, and how she deals with the idea of being both a mother and super hero. Granted while it plays out as you would expect given this being a super hero book, the journey is so spot on, and really making Jessica read and feel like such a full and fleshed out character. It’s hard not to smile when reading those final pages, as the book ends on series of feel good moments.
Next month begins the Spider-Women crossover, which means I’m taking a break from the title until it’s over. I love the character, but I’m not about to add 2 more titles to my pull, especially when the usual art team is on a well-deserved break. That being said, this book was a phenomenal comic, and an excellent portrayal of the title character. Spider-Woman #5 is an excellent done of one which shows how talent this creative team is, and I cannot recommend it enough.
