Tangled
Web #4: “Severance Package”Script: Greg Rucka
Pencils: Eduardo Risso
Inks: Steve Buccellato
Story: This issue takes a look into the world of the sumo-crimelord that is the kingpin. The issue shows how an underlord called Tom Cochrane deals with his inevitable death at the hands of the kingpin after spidey busts one of his operations. The issue shows the levels of commitment and respect the kingpin requires and the price for failure.
The Good: If you ask me what my favourite tangled web issue is it would be this one. This is the issue that really sticks out as showing what tangled web was designed for. The story is superb showing the seedy underbelly of New York as well as the loyalty the kingpin demands from his henchman. The art is top notch with vast areas of shading dominating each page and giving it such a dark tone that in places you fear to go on. Some of the best bits are the starting image with Cochrane’s wife biting her lip, its little details like this that make this issue the best thing to have come out of tangled web. If you buy one comic buy this one.
The Bad: I can only give it 5 stars.
Rating: Must have. 5 webheads out of 5.
Tangled
Web #3: “The Coming of the Thousand”
Script: Gary Ennis
Pencils: John McCrea
Inks: James Hodgkins
Story: concluding this first story
arch we see spidey tied to a chair with spiders climbing all over him and
trying to force there way in to his mouth only to be interrupted by peters
landlord who ends up being the next on the menu. This diversion gives
spidey enough time to recover his strength and to break free of the chair,
but to late because the thousand has all ready eaten the insides of the
landlord. The two go to battle once more with the bruised and battered
Parker teaching Carl some home truth’s while smashing the top off his
head to reveal a large spider sitting in the brain cavity. The battle
escalates in to Carl punching a mains connection and electrifying all the
spiders in side while sending his frying body off the edge of the sky
scraper to crash down below. But is it the end? One little spider emerging
from a drain muttering would beg to differ, until he’s squashed
underfoot.
My 2 cents: when its time for a baddy
to bite the dust there really is no better way than sending them hurling
of the edge of a building consumed in electrical flames. Need I say more?
Well okay then the fighting was great with all that green blood flying
about and the little bit at the end with the single spider was classic
spidey humour at its best. Even though the issue was mainly the fight
between spidey and the thousand there was still room for a little bit of
“aunt may feel-good bonding”. Ennis has really shown what tangled we
is here for and as a whole story arch this one was a classic.
Rating: Classic Spidey. 4 webheads out
of 5.
Tangled
Web #2: “The Coming of the Thousand”
Script: Gary Ennis
Pencils: John McCrea
Inks: James Hodgkins
Story: carrying on from the last issue
we see peter making a fool of himself at his girl friend Skye’s
modelling party and getting shouted at by Skye for his trouble. Afterwards
peter leaves the party early and heads home in the rain only to find Miss
Patton waiting on his door step crying. At this time he doesn’t know
that the thousand has possessed her so he lets her in only to have the
brains beaten out of him by the grotesquely mangled body of Miss Patton.
The fight finishes when she bites spidey and poisons him with a knock out
venom that send them both crashing to the floor only for spidey to awaken
tied to a chair with the thousand spiders swarming forth from Miss Patton’s
mouth.
My 2 cents: another good issue but the
style of the art didn’t really fit in with the story. The cartoony
nature made the parts where spidey was battling the thousand on the roof
tops look like a bad looney tunes episode. However the spiders swarming
out of the skin was genuinely frightening and the use of the old style art
for flash backs added volumes to the overall look. Yet again the story was
spot on, and nothing less than spidey deserved it was just a shame the art
didn’t really suit.
Rating: Average. 2 webheads out of 5.
Tangled
Web #1: “The Coming of the Thousand”
Script: Gary Ennis
Pencils: John McCrea
Inks: James Hodgkins
Story: This issue sees the
re-emergence of peters oldest foe, his high school bully Carl. But all is
not as it seems because it turns out Carl discovered Peter’s secret and
in an attempt to gain his own super powers he returned to the lab and ate
the spider. The spider destroyed his own body and turned him into the mass
of spiders known as the thousand. The story opens with Carl sitting in a
café watching spidey fight it out against the rhino. But things take a
darker turn when Jess Patton (who works at the bugle) becomes Carl’s
next victim and we find out the horrific powers that the spider granted
him.
My 2 cents: This was the story that
launched the tangled web title so you knew it was going to be special. In
my opinion it didn’t disappoint, straight away we had the introduction
of a character, whose life had been altered by spidey and was driven to
take what was his. On top of the great story we also got some good fight
scenes between spidey and rhino as well as some pretty gruesome images as
the thousand devoured Miss Patton. He art was top notch as usual and
although it wasn’t brimming with spidey humour it was still a big hit.
Rating: Great!!! 4 webheads out of 5.
