Spider-Woman: Shifting Gears, Vol. 3: Scare Tactics

Spider-Woman: Shifting Gears

by Dennis Hopeless, Veronica Fish (Illustrator), Javier Rodriguez (Illustrator)

Collecting Spider-Woman (2015) #13-17.

Jessica Drew has tangled with some of the worst and toughest criminals the Marvel Universe has to offer — and she's even done it while learning to be a mom! But even the sleepless nights and exhausting responsibilities of motherhood couldn't have prepared her for her toughest challenge yet: the scare tactics of the Hobgoblin! And just who is lurking under the mask?! In the fight of her life, Jessica will be pushed to the absolute brink physically, mentally and emotionally as the Hobgoblin does the unthinkable! She's tangled with Tiger Shark, battled Blizzard and taken on a whole host of super villains in her time, but Spider-Woman has never known the world of pain a Goblin can bring! If Jessica has any hope of victory, it's going to take every last ounce of strength she has!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Fiction

121 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 13, 2017

About the author

Dennis "Hopeless" Hallum is an American comics writer from Kansas City, Missouri who has written for Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Boom! Studios, Arcana Studio, and Oni Press.

See also under Dennis Hallum

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the Marvel Comic books Spider-Woman season 5 #13-17. Single mother, private investigator and spider woman, Jessica Drew's soap opera style season five really works well, balancing single parenthood and crime fighting! Also my fave ever book by Dennis not so Hopeless. Tackling Hobgoblin and facing another Porcupine, Jessica is up against it! A nice read with a surprising twist in the end of this volume! 7 out of 12, firm Three Stars.

2017 read

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well written book which takes a look at different aspects of the superhero biz from the viewpoint of single mother Jessica Drew and her family. It's a happy and heart-warming tale in a time when comics heroes sometimes seem too overwhelmingly bleak and grim. (Yes, Dark Knight indeed.) In the first four chapters Jessica faces Hobgoblin in a fairly standard story of seeking justice but finds romance from an unexpected quarter, unexpected support from a former friend, and comes to some nice realizations about forgiveness, loyalty, and friendship. The final issue (why does Marvel always cancel their very best books? he asked rhetorically), guest stars many of the biggest names of the Marvel pantheon... at a party on Jessica's roof. I wasn't crazy about the art (especially the covers), which looks a little too smooth and rounded like a cartoon for my taste, but it does serve to help tell the story. Altogether, it's a fun story about friendship and family values and it's a great send-off for Hopeless' run on the title. Excelsior!

[Artemy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awww man, I can't believe they cancelled Spider-Woman! What a bummer! Well, at least it didn't get dragged through yet another godawful crossover event. Don't get me wrong, Civil War 2 tie-in volume was still really good, but who needs to see more great characters get involved in a Nazi Steve Rogers storyline? Certainly not me. Anyway, Dennis Hopeless has written a consistently awesome comic, and thanks to him Jessica Drew became one of my favorite Marvel characters. This volume was just as good as the previous three (not counting the Spider-Verse tie-in), combining fun superheroic adventures with some emotional stakes. And the last issue was pure gold, an excellent send-off to a remarkable series. It felt a bit abrupt, but then again, it always feels like that when a beloved series gets canned. All I have to say is, so long, Spider-Woman. You will be missed. And I am looking forward to whatever Dennis Hopeless has planned next.

[Wing Kee · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the hearts and all the feels.

World: Art is great, it's unique and really brings out the character and tone of this series. The sense of motion is actually quite good and the creativity of the splash pages is wonderful. The world building is solid and self contained. This is Jessica's little slice of the MU and it's a fun and full of character. The pieces that are used here are full circle since issue 1 and it's wonderful to see where this book ends.

Story: Just perfect! The tone, the pacing, the banter, the emotions the character work all hitting home runs making this a wonderful conclusion (too short) to a wonderful series. Yes Marvel is having problems with sales and they are cutting a lot of series and this is one of them and it breaks my heart that this is the case. If anyone actually picks this up they will be hooked simply because there is such wonderful character work here, full of heart and fun. Roger is great here and the hijinx that happen this arc is just...so good. Just read it!!!

Characters: Jessica is great, Hopeless has given her a unique personal voice that readers will adore and be hooked on. The cast of characters in her little slice of the MU is also wonderful. What can I say about Roger, he's awesome, no one saw this coming good for you Hopeless! The rest of the cast including the villains are so well done and fit perfectly with the tone of the book, it's just perfect.

I love this series, and it's so sad that it's over, this is a textbook example of how to create wonderful characters that readers will enjoy (Fraction Hawkeye and Latour Gwen come to mind for Marvel). I will miss this series so much. Booo Marvel!!

Onward to the next book!

[James DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now THAT is how you finish up a series.

Roger is just trying to do the right thing. He wants to stop being a criminal all together and goes to Hobgoblin to ask to be out of the gang. Of course things don't go that well and the Hob got new plans for him. Jess is also hunting down leads and being a badass P.I. while trying to figure out who might have killed someone she knows. This all comes to a ultimate, emotional, climax.

I love everything about this last volume. The art is good, the emotions are running high, and the last issue is near perfect. I love all the big moments, the big fights, the over the top world building, but when we sit down and get to have people just talk like people while being dressed up as superheroes and done right? It's the best. Heartfelt, touching, just amazing ending. A 5 out of 5.

[Marcelo Soares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quem me conhece fora do grupo dos quadrinhos e lê os meus posts no Facebook, ou, quem sabe, leu o meu livro, sabe que, se eu entendesse de relacionamentos, eu não contava as histórias que eu conto; ter isso em mente é muito importante para ler meu comentário sobre o capítulo final da Jessica Drew.
Já sabemos que a história termina por aqui, então tem aquele clima de encerramento, mas o grande momento da edição não é o acerto de contas do Porco-Espinho com seu passado criminoso; nem o acerto de contas da Jess com a Carol; nem o quebra-pau da Mulher-Aranha contra uma dúzia de vilões meia tigela; nem mesmo a pegação entre a Jessica e o Roger no meio de um ferro velho em chamas; tudo isso é fichinha perto do que acontece na última edição.
Na última edição, a Jessica resolve fazer uma festinha com os amigos para apresentar o novo namorado, Roger "Porco-Espinho", vilão recém reformado; o problema é que os amigos da Jess são, literalmente, super-heróis e pelo menos uma meia dúzia deles já limparam um beco sujo de Nova Iorque com a cara do namorado dela - herói contra vilão e aquela coisa toda. Claro que dá merda; porém a festa não descamba pra uma pancadaria sem sentido que vai mudar tudo de novo novamente pela primeira vez; começa com uma fofoquinha, um comentário maldoso, até que a Natasha Romanova, uma pessoa que esqueceu seu passado, resolve falar mal do Roger; é um perdedor, a Jess tá perdendo tempo, tinha que largar esse cara.
Amigos, a Jessica Drew põe a mão na cintura, enfia o dedo na cara da Natasha e; o que que tu tá pensando da vida, ô ex-espiã russa? E o teu namorado meio robô-assassino que matou o Kennedy é o quê? Eu vou tomar um Johnny Walker com Activia porque eu tô cagando e andando pra tua opinião, eu e o Roger somos felizes e isso é o que importa.
E isso é o que importa.
Um relacionamento deveria ser bom para as pessoas que estão no relacionamento, não para os outros, eu sou teu amigo independente de quem tu namora, se tu tá feliz, pra mim tá bom; e pouca coisa é mais gratificante do que ver a tua cara-metade te defendendo, dizendo que tu é importante, que tu faz parte da vida dela, até porque a vida não é mais dela, nem tua, é de vocês.
Mas, se eu entendesse de relacionamentos, eu não contava as histórias que eu conto.
E sim, mantenho a teoria de que a Marvel vai estragar tudo revelando que o guri, na verdade, é o clone da Jessica Drew e da Jean Grey do Universo Ultimate destinado a raptar a Força Fênix e navegar pela Teia destruindo todos os universos como o Arauto do Ultra-Galactus ou algo parecido.

[Marco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Supersweet series, totally recommended. :)

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really solid conclusion to this series. I wouldn't have minded more, but this wrapped things up pretty nicely. There was some good action, a bit of humor, and even a little romance. Fun artwork. When he was a villain, Roger had been franchising his Porcupine persona from Hobgoblin. Now that he's switched to the hero side, he goes to Hobgoblin to get out of his contract. Hobgoblin doesn't like that, and sends some villains to beat up Roger before blowing him up. Jess goes on the offensive, trying to investigate what happened. Just as she finds Hobgoblin and his goons, Roger shows up to help. It turns out, he used a MacGuffin to survive the explosion. (The explanation to get Roger out of being dead was a bit unbelievable, but I'll forgive it). They defeat Hobgoblin and get together, because it turns out Roger had a big crush on Jess. I think it speaks to the quality of the side characters in this series that this volume was half about Roger (and not half about the title Spider-Woman) and I didn't mind it.
I think overall, this Spider-Woman run could have been great, but it was marred by Marvel events, reboots, and crossovers. That makes it hard to recommend. I enjoyed this series, but it is hard to find all the different parts.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Read as single issues]
Yet another Marvel series gone too early. Jess and Porcupine team up to take down the Hobgoblin in this massively emotional end to the Spider-Woman ride with at least two gasp-inducing plot twists as this series comes to an end.

The Hobgoblin often gets overshadowed by his greener counterpart, but he's a perfect foil for the street level characters like Spider-Woman to deal with, and his ties to Porcupine's past makes him a fitting final villain. The heart and soul in these issues is evident on every page, and the final issue is especially wonderful as Jessica's story ends for now but she heads off onto a whole new adventure. I didn't like the idea of a pregnant superhero 29 issues ago, but somewhere along the way I really came around and that's the strength of Dennis Hopeless' storytelling.

Veronica Fish is less inventive in terms of layouts than Javier Rodriguez was, but she nails the action sequences and emotional beats just as strongly. Her Spider-Woman has a quiet strength to her, and she draws adorable babies to boot.

Bye for now, Jessica Drew. I hope we see you again soon.

[Greta Yeager · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off: WHY WOULD YOU CANCEL THIS?!! I can say without a doubt that this series deserves more than 17 issues, especially given how great the last few were. While I guess it wasn’t the worst place to end it, it also opened up so many possibilities for a continuation and - I just need more of these characters, okay? These last three issues had me constantly smiling, partly because of the humor, and also because this series was rivaling Super Sons for cutest comic ever (both of them are ending after a short run, so I guess the comic industry just hates happiness or something). Also: Marvel, you need to answer the really important questions here. How do you pronounce Gerry? Seriously, it’s been bothering me for the past two volumes.

[Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, this run is simply incredible. Unarguably top tier Marvel comics right here. Super fun, heartfelt, and wholesome.

Amazing writing; evolving Jessica Drew's character into a much richer and well-rounded character, and even more impressive is the development of a D-list villain into a character people will actually care about and care for. Seriously, Porcupine is awesome and I hope to see more of him.

Amazing art; with one of the most distinct visual languages since Aja's work on Hawkeye--even after Javier Rodriguez stopped working on the series--Veronica Fish took his torch and proudly carried it to the finish line.

This is up there as one of my favorite Marvel runs.

[bri 🧸 · Rating 5 out of 5]

that was the most domestic comic ive ever read and im simply a broken woman now

[Annye Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spider-woman’s book was canceled and I’m upset about it.

How many other superwomen have had their babies on the page. How many of them have raised that baby on the page as an active, present parent. How many superhero comics address the hardships of a working mother – and a single working mother at that.



And then you add in a dose of spectacular side characters. I can’t think of any other stories, comic or otherwise, where a working mother’s main babysitters are two male friends. That’s a premise that just begs to be told. And these are men, mind, who are skilled and enthusiastic caretakers. There’s very little bumbling or grumbling in this series.

I must address the ending of the Spider-Woman series as well. I am so glad this book ended not with a bang – a huge superhero fight – but instead with a serene, familial scene with the trio and their baby. This book was about family – unconventional family, yes, but that made it even better! – and ending the whole thing with a happy family scene was, for me, perfection.

[Scott Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only issue with this one is that Marvel seems to be in a hurry to end a number of the character driven second-tier books that I've loved so much since the universe re-emerged from Secret Wars.

[Jaye Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was soo sweet.

In this volume Jess still balances her work life with being a single mother. When something bad happens to her friend Roger, she goes against the Hobgoblin and his band of d-list villains.

It was such a classic kind of story. Friend who is possibly something more gets killed, superhero goes feral in getting to the bottom of it. The romance in this was just so SOFT though like I did want Jessica to be with Ben before but now I fully support her getting with the porcupine. The build up of their relationship really got me and overall they are adorable. I love the friendship between all three of them tbh. Jessica and Carol do patch things up but I guess I wanted them to talk more, especially after how dramatic their fight was.

I love the entire vibe of this volume, and this run in general. It sucks that this is the last one but I really enjoyed it! The art really adds to the tone for me: light and fun. The art is so colorful and feels cartoony but I love it. Sometimes you need a lighter comic.

All the random unknown villains led by the Hobgoblin who has a villain enterprise was weirdly funny to me. Also Hobgoblin is cool as shit like the actual pumpkin bombs?? Throw one at me thank you.

The last issue though was truly the best. Jessica throws a party and invites a bunch of superhero friends but then her son ends up having powers and crawling on the ceiling. The Incredibles walked so this could run.

[Kristian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got it right in the end

All right, it's probably not actually a five-star read, but I love the Jessica Drew Spider-Woman, and the first two volumes of this series were a major disappointment. I started this volume with a sense of obligation/dread, wondering how long I could continue what I consider SW's sitcom phase: she's a single mom! And a super-hero who's now a private investigator! And she's got a zany sidekick who dresses like a porcupine, who also teams up with a reporter for the low-down on the lowlifes! Yeah, and the tone just wasn't right, which cheapened the whole experience.

In "Scare Tactics," the writers finally hit their stride. The single mom thing no longer feels like a gimmick, but is a fact that has to be dealt with. The relationships between the characters deepen, while they retain the more charming parts of their personalities from the earlier volumes/issues; all of the characters grow, and they are forced to deal with "real" issues, rather than just this month's comically crazy mishap that will be resolved in 22 pages or so. The 4 issue story arc with Hobgoblin pits SW against a formidable villain for the first time in this series, and if she's going to win, she's going to need everyone's help - and she'll need to reconcile with best friend Carol Danvers.

Unfortunately, the end of the volume looks like an end for this incarnation of Jessica Drew. Hopefully she'll come back soon - with a writing team that picks up where this ends, rather than struggling to find yet another new voice for Spider-Woman.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hopeless ends this run really strongly...not with a big battle climax, but on character....and I would have never guessed I was going to come to care!

[Matthew Lagerloef · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I was sad to see it go, this series went out on a very high note. The characters come full circle, the stakes are high and the drama real (tell me your heart didn't drop during the rooftop part!), and there was a lot of payoff for anyone emotionally invested in this series. I went from not caring about to absolutely loving Jessica Drew, Roger, and Ben Urich. I love this series.

[Izza · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars | YAAAS, this was very satisfying. And it was really nice to have a Black Widow appearance even though I felt she was OOC. I'm really sad it was the last one though. WHY.

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roger and Jessica are the cutest.

[Tar Buendía · Rating 5 out of 5]

Precioso y perfecto. Estoy profundamente triste porque se haya terminado.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stupid amounts of fun, there better be more comics like this in my future. Hobgoblin, Roger *and* Carol as supporting players? Dayum

Love this.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful finish to a delightful run, this has the best relationship arc I’ve read in some time. This was a fantastic book with not a bad beat in the whole thing. I loved it.

[Bre · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS WAS SO GODDAMN CUTE IM CRYING IN UNICORNS AND BABIES.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who would have thought a romance between Spider-Woman and the Porcupine could be this cute or make this much sense?

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, man! I can't believe this series has ended! Love this one. It's the best of Marvel's current books and one I've added to my All Time Favorites shelf. Totally classic stuff. Perfection from start to finish.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHY DOES MARVEL KEEP CANCELLING MY FAVES

jess is so fun

i really hope she shows up in the captain marvel movie cos why would she not

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

There aren't enough stars for this final volume. So incredibly sad it's over. By far my favourite Marvel series and possibly my favourite comic series over all. Amazing story, incredible art, and great characters. Just perfect.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great end to a great series!

Sad that there's no more Jess, man.

But it was great! Every single issue with a steady quality of fun stories and great artwork.

Recommended to all Spider-fans!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

**I've read more than I've reviewed, so... knee-jerk reaction time!**

This book gave me equal amounts of emotion, comic book action, and warm fuzzies! When I closed it, I literally said, "I adored this book." 'Nuff said!