I know Ellis is blacklisted now for his own crimes, but there's no escaping the man always had something to say.

I was reading these volumes for quite a while, then just couldn't find a few of the latter ones. I've completed the collection now, so I'm working my way through Spider Jerusalem's later adventures. And, as my first foray back into this world, this volume kind of slapped me around.

There were far less shenanigans in this one, and far more serious thought thrown down. We're introduced to the dirty underside of both Spider's world and, in reflection, our own. And it's ugly.

Darick Robertson's art is simply perfect, yet again.

The funny thing is, in the intervening years between the first six volumes and this one, I've come to be good friends with a real-life Spider Jerusalem. It just makes me appreciate these pages even more. ( )

The volume was excellent, but it was "Business" and "There is a Reason" that stole the show. Those stories broke my heart and opened my eyes to the problems in society. ( )

Five stars for the story about the children alone.

Seriously, I'm going to be thinking about that one for some time. The things we are most reluctant to discuss and acknowledge are often the very things we need to discuss and acknowledge. ( )

The social justice aspects of this volume make it somewhat different from any that has come before - this is not to say that the previous volumes haven't done similar things, haven't shown Spider's kind heart, but this was different no matter how you dice it. There was anger here, an anger that comes from frustration - and it's not just Spider's, but (I think) Ellis' too. We know the showdown with the President is coming, but hopefully there remain moments like this, where Spider does good for society in more subtle ways as well.

Review forthcoming at RB: http://wp.me/pGVzJ-Mt ( )

New to me from here on out. Still cuddly. ( )