Tangled Web

Tangled Web 4

Tangled Web was a Spider-Man anthology series.  It allowed writers to tell tales where Spider-Man played merely a tangential role.  Kind of like Gotham Central for Batman. I bought it sporadically, based on the creative team involved for each arc.  (I’m sad that I missed out on the Ennis/McCrea three-parter.)

Greg Rucka and Eduardo Risso produce a masterpiece in issue four.  The hook is simple: One of the Kingpin’s top lieutenants botches a weapons deal.  He knows that the punishment for this is death. He accepts it with equanimity, and walks to his execution with his back straight and his head held high.  He proves his loyalty to the end, and is rewarded with his family’s lives. It’s all very Godfather, where everything is strictly business.

The excellence is in the execution - The way the man meticulously showers, shaves, and dresses for his final night.  His calmness as his wife rages against the injustice. The way he tucks his children in for the last time. His reasoned discussion with his boss.  

All of this is equally visualized by Risso and Steve Buccellato on colors.  I especially lik his final walk to the Kingpin’s office. He’s so alone and dwarfed by his surroundings.  It reminds me a lot of Mr. Banks’ lonely walk at the end of Mary Poppins.

I'll use any excuse to show Mary Poppins here.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Really Good

Tangled Web 11, 21

The Darwyn Cooke issues.  Just about anything this man works on is magic.  (Twilight Children is the exception.) He’s as good of a writer as he is a penciller, and both of these one-shots are pure delights.  

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Good

Tangled Web 5-7, 12, 18

The rest of my Tangled Web issues aren’t good enough to keep.  Issues 5 and 6 places the Rhino in a Flowers for Algernon scenario.  I dislike the original story and I disliked this as well. It’s not the fault of the stories, I just find the whole premise depressing and horrible to contemplate from a “this is just about the meanest thing you can do to a person” standpoint.  It’s exactly why I find Alzheimer’s to be the worst disease in the world.

Though I did find this amusing.  (The chimp had the same intelligence-boosting procedure as the Rhino, and had become a classical music conductor.)

Issue 7 is the start of a Daredevil Born Again situation - A cab driver knows Spidey’s secret and is tempted to sell it for financial gain.  At least it’s not for another drug fix, it’s to pay for cancer treatment. But I didn’t care or stay around long enough to see how it ended.

Issue 12 is an interesting examination of how it sucks to be a D-list villain’s kid.  

I don’t know what the fuck Ted McKeever was thinking with issue 18.  Spellcheck? It’s so batshit crazy that on second thought, I need to keep it around.  I can’t forget about this issue.

We do, Spellcheck.  We do.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Fine (Cutting all but 18)