In the "kinden" section (and also in the Art section) there's a new piece by David Mumford showing the Spider-kinden in their glory, and this will soon be complemented by a piece of original fiction that follows one such devious individual on a journey through the war-torn Commonweal. Spider-kinden don't make much of a showing in Empire in Black and Gold, where the action is more dominated by the Wasp- and Beetle-kinden, and of course by Tisamon. However, expect to learn a lot more about them when Dragonfly Falling hits the shelves.

I shouldn't need to sing the praises of David Mumford, whose art speaks for him, but, as a professional graphic artist looking to make his mark in the comics industry, I should note that he has what appears to be one of the singular great advantages an artist can possess:

A name beginning with 'M'.

Need I elaborate? Frank Miller, Pat Mills, Alam Moore, Grant Morrison, Mike Mignola… I swear it's like a closed shop out there…