*Warning Spoilers Below*

Spider-Gwen #13 is nothing like what you would expect after the issues leading up to it. Jason Latour doesn’t try to fill in any of the blanks that we needed filled after the first 12 episodes in this issue of Spider-Gwen. We start out with a nice flashback giving us the rundown of the story so far and then heads straight into the meat of the story. We find Gwen and friends trick or treating and the teenagers not so inner

We start out with a nice flashback giving us the rundown of the story so far and then heads straight into the meat of the story.  We find Gwen and friends trick or treating and the teenagers not so inner monologue lets us know exactly where Gwen’s friends stand. Mary Jane is still certain that Gwen is Spider-Woman and that’s why her dad is in prison. The other girls in the group are not so sure about her theory and this issue kicks off with us wondering what they’re going to discover on this night out.

The girls, dressed as superheroes, set out on a trick or treat adventure hitting up some scary spots on their route.When the girls find themselves in a pretty sticky situation, complete with gravestones for Gwen’s Dad, Peter Parker, Harry Osbourne, Aunt Mae and Uncle Ben, they know something is not right . Mary Jane tries to get Gwen to use her powers to climb out of the hell hole they’re in and get help but, Gwen can’t even if she wanted to because she’s all out of juice.

The comic quickly evolves into all of Gwen’s worst nightmares and she comes face to face with herself. The rest of the girls are caught up in a rave from hell where dancing is the only way to stay alive and not have their souls eaten by the darkness that has them trapped. They finally realize that they’re not seeing what they think they’re seeing and someone or something is playing with their mind they decide to fight back. There’s an unmasking that leads to more unmasking that leads to more questions and then with the spirit of Ghost Rider channeled the girls break free.

This issue isn’t a continuation of the story or even some big baddies trying to get at Gwen, it’s a Halloween special. Nothing about this issue adds anything integral to the arc at hand. It’s only purpose is to provide a diversion from the seriousness of the current arc. Robbi Rodriguez‘s art work serves up some vintage 80’s horror comic book graphics complete with Rico Renzi giving us a muted color palette to seal the deal.

Overall, as a stand alone it’s a decent read but, if you’re reading through it trying to find out what’s coming next or to connect to what happened before you will find yourself disappointed. The issue isn’t a bad one, it’s just kind of out of place in the arc and that serves up some problems in the continuity. There are no long-term repercussions for Gwen, other than facing her fear and we are never really sure if any of this is actually happening or if this is just a dream.

With all the questions in my head from the previous episode, I was looking forward to having them answered and seeing how Gwen’s new alliances and foes worked out. I felt a bit cheated. That’s not to say this is a bad issue just to say that it would have been better as a one off or special edition so that the reader would know what they were getting into. It was more about Gwen’s friends and less about Gwen herself or the struggle that Spider-Gwen is dealing with outside of this issue.

Story: Jason Latour Art: Robbi Rodriguez Colorist: Rico Renzi
Story: 7.4 Art: 8.9 Overall:8 Recommendation: Read

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review