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Spider-Man's Tangled Web (Collected Editions) #3
Spider-Man's Tangled Web, Vol. 3
Few kids can brag that their father has gone toe-to-toe with Spider-Man. Plus, at the Bar With No Name gather the super-powered beings who choose to walk on the wrong side of the law.
160 pages, Paperback
Published October 28, 2002
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49 people want to read
About the author
Zeb Wells
708 books72 followersZeb Wells is an American comic book writer known for his work at Marvel Comics, as well as his work on the animated TV series Robot Chicken.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 8, 2020
This collects five stories from the magazine that told stories that were peripheral to Spider-Man. Two of the stories concern the children of villains that Spidey faces and both are quite good. Heather is a young teen, a big Spider-Man fan, and coincidentally the daughter of The Stag Beetle. The other one features Frogman's offspring (get it?), a kind of dead-beat delinquent high school boy who'd doomed to follow his father's path. There's also a touching look at the wrestler who Peter faces when he first gets his powers and is looking to make some money. The best story in the book is really excellent, Double Shots, set in a bar where villains gather to relax and unwind. There are some really funny bits in it, and a very dark and chilling ending as counterpoint. The last story, featuring Tombstone, is of two-issue length and is a very poorly written and very poorly drawn unpleasant piece of nastiness that should be avoided. The art in the first four stories is quite good, particularly I Was a Teen-Age Frogman and Double Shots. Altogether Webheads will find it worth checking out, as long as you skip that last story.
July 10, 2017
Penultimate volume of this overall good series dealing with characters pertaining to Spidey's universe, our favorite webslinger being peripheral to the stories.
Here an average 3,5* rounded up.
- I was a teenage frogman (Wells/Fegredo): 4* or how does a teenager feels when his father is a bad guy dressed as frog. Fun and cool art.
- Double shots (Zimmerman/Phillips) : 3,5* Villains exchanging stories of the webcrawler in a bar. Well done, with an icy ending. Phillips does the job without overdoing himself.
- The last shoot(Azzarello-Levy/Camuncoli): 4,5* Camuncoli is correct but not amazing on a plot that is. Centered on a wrestler in love of his job who tries to find a way to save his gym and his crew. Great story, great last page.
- The collaborator (Pope) : 3* Average story of a teenager infatuated with Spidey who wants to know who's the latest villain in town and will regret her curiosity. Good art.
- Heartbreaker (Way/Fernandez): 2,5* A prison break type of story with a cold blooded and scheming Tombstone that could have been much much better without Way's crummy humour-the giant Aussie with an accent so thick even the other characters don't understand him, arf!- and Fernandez' caricatural pencils. Some might find it funny. I didn't.
Here an average 3,5* rounded up.
- I was a teenage frogman (Wells/Fegredo): 4* or how does a teenager feels when his father is a bad guy dressed as frog. Fun and cool art.
- Double shots (Zimmerman/Phillips) : 3,5* Villains exchanging stories of the webcrawler in a bar. Well done, with an icy ending. Phillips does the job without overdoing himself.
- The last shoot(Azzarello-Levy/Camuncoli): 4,5* Camuncoli is correct but not amazing on a plot that is. Centered on a wrestler in love of his job who tries to find a way to save his gym and his crew. Great story, great last page.
- The collaborator (Pope) : 3* Average story of a teenager infatuated with Spidey who wants to know who's the latest villain in town and will regret her curiosity. Good art.
- Heartbreaker (Way/Fernandez): 2,5* A prison break type of story with a cold blooded and scheming Tombstone that could have been much much better without Way's crummy humour-the giant Aussie with an accent so thick even the other characters don't understand him, arf!- and Fernandez' caricatural pencils. Some might find it funny. I didn't.
March 12, 2016
Zimmerman's story is by far the best in this volume. The others are all well told in the art throughout is excellent. The controversial Tombstone story does have a gang rape as retribution, and the killing of a redeemed criminal in order to make Tombstone seem more badass... plot elements that weakened an otherwise good story.
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December 28, 2024Tangled Web starts to run off the rails with this third collection of the anthology series.
To be clear, some of the stories are enjoyable. "I Was a Teenage Frog-Man" by writer Zeb Wells (his Marvel debut) and artist Duncan Fegredo is a fun story about a son reckoning with the fact that his father used to be the F-list villain Frog-Man. As expected from Wells, the script is hilarious with lots of frog puns, albeit a bit too wordy. Frog-Man (or Leapfrog) is a favorite niche character of mine, and this story captures the spirit of the character, even if it makes no sense in established continuity.
There are a few other solid stories in this collection. "The Last Shoot" by writers Brian Azzarello and Scott Levy and artist Giuseppe Camuncoli (another Marvel debut of a major creator) adds a compelling backstory to Peter's fight with wrestler Crusher Hogan in Amazing Fantasy #15. By its end, readers can't help but root for the flawed hero Hogan instead of Peter. "The Collaborator" by Paul Pope similarly pits readers against Spider-Man as a teenage girl obsessed with the hero must decide whether to help him capture her supervillain father. Pope's thick brushstrokes and stylized characters remind me of subsequent artists like Emma Rios and Daniel Warren-Johnson. While gorgeous to look at, this story could have benefited from another few pages or even another issue to fully deliver on its concept.
Unfortunately, those are not the only comics in the collection. "Double Shots" has ingredients that could make for a good story with Sean Phillips, an artist well-known for work on gritty crime comics, illustrating a bar full of costumed villains. However, a meandering, painfully unfunny script by Ron Zimmerman ruins the comic. Zimmerman seems to have written a screenplay of sorts full of Hollywood references but little respect for the visual aspect of the comics medium. Phillips does his best to translate the screenplay into compelling storytelling but just can't save it.
Even worse is "Heartbreaker," which follows crime boss Tombstone's antics in prison. Writer Daniel Way attempts Boondocks-style racial humor here, which falls flat on its face. The story assaults readers with a litany of racist and homophobic jokes. I know acceptable standards were different in 2002 but I don't think this comedy passed the smell test even then. Beyond offensive, the story is just plain dumb, as I've come to expect from Way. (This is his Marvel debut as well, a preamble to a career of poorly written comics.) Artist Leandro Fernández employs an exaggerated style to match the ridiculous script, but horrendous digital textures by colorist Steve Buccellato make even this aspect difficult to stomach. I've mostly found Buccellato's earlier work on this series serviceable, in line with digital coloring of the time, but his colors for this story are highly questionable.
So, this third volume of Tangled Web is a wash. I can easily recommend the first two collections but not so much this one. Hopefully the fourth and final batch of stories is better.
To be clear, some of the stories are enjoyable. "I Was a Teenage Frog-Man" by writer Zeb Wells (his Marvel debut) and artist Duncan Fegredo is a fun story about a son reckoning with the fact that his father used to be the F-list villain Frog-Man. As expected from Wells, the script is hilarious with lots of frog puns, albeit a bit too wordy. Frog-Man (or Leapfrog) is a favorite niche character of mine, and this story captures the spirit of the character, even if it makes no sense in established continuity.
There are a few other solid stories in this collection. "The Last Shoot" by writers Brian Azzarello and Scott Levy and artist Giuseppe Camuncoli (another Marvel debut of a major creator) adds a compelling backstory to Peter's fight with wrestler Crusher Hogan in Amazing Fantasy #15. By its end, readers can't help but root for the flawed hero Hogan instead of Peter. "The Collaborator" by Paul Pope similarly pits readers against Spider-Man as a teenage girl obsessed with the hero must decide whether to help him capture her supervillain father. Pope's thick brushstrokes and stylized characters remind me of subsequent artists like Emma Rios and Daniel Warren-Johnson. While gorgeous to look at, this story could have benefited from another few pages or even another issue to fully deliver on its concept.
Unfortunately, those are not the only comics in the collection. "Double Shots" has ingredients that could make for a good story with Sean Phillips, an artist well-known for work on gritty crime comics, illustrating a bar full of costumed villains. However, a meandering, painfully unfunny script by Ron Zimmerman ruins the comic. Zimmerman seems to have written a screenplay of sorts full of Hollywood references but little respect for the visual aspect of the comics medium. Phillips does his best to translate the screenplay into compelling storytelling but just can't save it.
Even worse is "Heartbreaker," which follows crime boss Tombstone's antics in prison. Writer Daniel Way attempts Boondocks-style racial humor here, which falls flat on its face. The story assaults readers with a litany of racist and homophobic jokes. I know acceptable standards were different in 2002 but I don't think this comedy passed the smell test even then. Beyond offensive, the story is just plain dumb, as I've come to expect from Way. (This is his Marvel debut as well, a preamble to a career of poorly written comics.) Artist Leandro Fernández employs an exaggerated style to match the ridiculous script, but horrendous digital textures by colorist Steve Buccellato make even this aspect difficult to stomach. I've mostly found Buccellato's earlier work on this series serviceable, in line with digital coloring of the time, but his colors for this story are highly questionable.
So, this third volume of Tangled Web is a wash. I can easily recommend the first two collections but not so much this one. Hopefully the fourth and final batch of stories is better.
April 16, 2023
A very mixed bag, like any anthology is always going to be, but I keep enjoying the slice of life stories set in the Spider-Man universe. Even when the stories are just not that good, it is always fascinating to me to explore more of a world where superheroes are common from a more grounded point of view. This volume of Tangled Web is the most uneven I have read so far, but the stellar story by Azzarello makes up for the bad ones.
I Was a Teenage Frogman - Zeb Wells / Duncan Fegredo
This was a lot more fun than I was expecting. We get the story of a teenager whose dad, the B-list villain Frogman, was incarcerated by Spider-Man after a failed robbery. His dad has just served his sentence and the news coverage is fodder for the high school bullies, so our hero sets out to improve the Frogman legacy. Really, really fun with art to match.
Double Shots - Ron Zimmerman / Sean Phillips
I like the set up - a bar where villains meet for drinks. This very niche clientele is bound to want to vent about their Spider-Man encounters somewhere, so why not over some bourbon? The whole comic is just a conversation between the Vulture, Kraven and a mystery man. I could not guess who the mystery man was until the very end, and the conversation was really well done. And it was fun identifying background characters like Matador or Stilt-Man. However, I just did not enjoy it at all - I get that they are supervillains complaining about their miserable existences, but the tone was too sour for me at the moment. Probably the issue lies with me and not the comic, though!
The Last Shoot - Brian Azzarello & Scott Levy / Giuseppe Camuncoli
Absolutely stellar issue. It focuses on Crusher Hogan, a wrestler trying to save his crew from bankruptcy. For it to hit properly, the ending relies on being familiar with Spider-Man origin story, but what an absolute masterpiece. Best out of the Tangled Web stories alongside Volume 1 Severance Package.
The Collaborator - Paul Pope
First of all, hats off to Lee Loughridge as a colourist because he is carrying this issue on his shoulders. Other than that, it is about a teenager obsessed with Spider-Man and her dad who hates him. It ends rather abruptly and I felt the story had no bite.
Heartbreaker - Daniel Way / Leandro Fernandez
Not my favourite comic pencilled by Leandro Fernandez, but still better art than writing. The story by Daniel Way is in theory a jail heist, which I should in theory love, but it was too cartoonish and coarse. I have read some Deadpool written by Way and I just can't stand his humour. I could have lived without gang rape retribution and gay stereotyping in jail as well.
I Was a Teenage Frogman - Zeb Wells / Duncan Fegredo
This was a lot more fun than I was expecting. We get the story of a teenager whose dad, the B-list villain Frogman, was incarcerated by Spider-Man after a failed robbery. His dad has just served his sentence and the news coverage is fodder for the high school bullies, so our hero sets out to improve the Frogman legacy. Really, really fun with art to match.
Double Shots - Ron Zimmerman / Sean Phillips
I like the set up - a bar where villains meet for drinks. This very niche clientele is bound to want to vent about their Spider-Man encounters somewhere, so why not over some bourbon? The whole comic is just a conversation between the Vulture, Kraven and a mystery man. I could not guess who the mystery man was until the very end, and the conversation was really well done. And it was fun identifying background characters like Matador or Stilt-Man. However, I just did not enjoy it at all - I get that they are supervillains complaining about their miserable existences, but the tone was too sour for me at the moment. Probably the issue lies with me and not the comic, though!
The Last Shoot - Brian Azzarello & Scott Levy / Giuseppe Camuncoli
Absolutely stellar issue. It focuses on Crusher Hogan, a wrestler trying to save his crew from bankruptcy. For it to hit properly, the ending relies on being familiar with Spider-Man origin story, but what an absolute masterpiece. Best out of the Tangled Web stories alongside Volume 1 Severance Package.
The Collaborator - Paul Pope
First of all, hats off to Lee Loughridge as a colourist because he is carrying this issue on his shoulders. Other than that, it is about a teenager obsessed with Spider-Man and her dad who hates him. It ends rather abruptly and I felt the story had no bite.
Heartbreaker - Daniel Way / Leandro Fernandez
Not my favourite comic pencilled by Leandro Fernandez, but still better art than writing. The story by Daniel Way is in theory a jail heist, which I should in theory love, but it was too cartoonish and coarse. I have read some Deadpool written by Way and I just can't stand his humour. I could have lived without gang rape retribution and gay stereotyping in jail as well.
October 15, 2023
Collecting five stories which feature Spider-Man's world but aren't necessarily about the Wall Crawler. Here we see a teenager dealing with being the son of the C-list villain Leapfrog, a group of villains meet in a bar to recount their clashes with Spider-Man, Crusher Hogan plans a new wrestling gimmick to save the business he works for, a teenage girl discovers her father is a supervillain and Tombstone climbs the pecking order in a vicious prison.
This book overall feels a step-up from Vol. 2, with each of the stories feeling more poignant and well put-together.
The highlight here was definitely 'Double Shots' by Ron Zimmerman, wherein Kraven the Hunter (Junior), the Vulture and a third villain (who I won't spoil for you) meet in a bar frequented by B- and C-list villains. It was interesting to see these supervillains in an oddly casual setting, even if it did remind me a little too much of HISHE's Villain Pub. The reveal of the third villain and how he's on a totally different level of vendetta with Spider-Man, not to mention the shock on the faces of all the villains present, was very well done.
The downside to the book was 'Heartbreaker', featuring Tombstone. The core story of a villain brought low by his physical health and having to claw his way back up the ladder of underworld respect was actually pretty good. However, for some reason the writer (Daniel Way) decides to include a whole heap of potentially offensive language and imagery. If you're black, gay or (weirdly) Australian be prepared to not be happy with how people like you are represented (I'm none of those things and I was still uncomfortable).
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
This book overall feels a step-up from Vol. 2, with each of the stories feeling more poignant and well put-together.
The highlight here was definitely 'Double Shots' by Ron Zimmerman, wherein Kraven the Hunter (Junior), the Vulture and a third villain (who I won't spoil for you) meet in a bar frequented by B- and C-list villains. It was interesting to see these supervillains in an oddly casual setting, even if it did remind me a little too much of HISHE's Villain Pub. The reveal of the third villain and how he's on a totally different level of vendetta with Spider-Man, not to mention the shock on the faces of all the villains present, was very well done.
The downside to the book was 'Heartbreaker', featuring Tombstone. The core story of a villain brought low by his physical health and having to claw his way back up the ladder of underworld respect was actually pretty good. However, for some reason the writer (Daniel Way) decides to include a whole heap of potentially offensive language and imagery. If you're black, gay or (weirdly) Australian be prepared to not be happy with how people like you are represented (I'm none of those things and I was still uncomfortable).
* More reviews here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.page *
March 22, 2022
This was doing so well until the final Tombstone story which manages to queasily combine casual homophobia, a vague sense that everyone involved has watched a couple of episodes of Oz when drunk or sleepy and some of the worst art I have seen since the nineties. Just shocking. The other stories are really great and lovely, nicely sketched low key tales of Spidey’s web. But the Tombstone story is a complete clunker. Genuinely terrible
September 13, 2024
This one has some real cool stories. A lot has been written abt I was a Teenage Frogman but my fav in this lot was Azzarello’s The Last Shoot. Double Shot by Zimmerman has its Tarantino-esque smart talk and a twisted end.. but I liked the melancholy of Paul Pope’s The Collaborators more. I personally didn’t like Heartbreaker though.
June 3, 2019
I really did enjoy this Tangled Web series. So not surprise that I did enjoy this Vol. 3 also. Such fun to read stories that feature familiar villains of Spider-Man and not so much of Spider-Man. After all, supporting cast is what make Spider-Man so cool. Good fun. Not perfect but really good fun.
June 17, 2020
I would have given this a fourth star if not for Daniel Way's immensely cringy prison story.
The rest of the book is well worth a read.
The rest of the book is well worth a read.
August 2, 2025
The last story is insultingly bad. The other stories have their moments.
April 8, 2017
In my search for more graphic novels to read I found this, not entirely sure what it was. I love all things Spidey though so picked it up and it turns out it is a collection of short stories about the peripheral characters in Spidey's world.
I was a Teenage Frogman by Zeb Wells: A story about the son of a rubbish supervillain suffering due to his father's actions. In some ways it had quite a Spider-Man feel, linking to Peter Parker being bullied at high school but it didn't work well. Perhaps if it had been the son of a serious villain it would have been better.
Double Shots by Ron Zimmerman: The best of the bunch, this sees the Vulture, Kraven the Hunter and a mysterious stranger meeting in a bar and moaning about how miserable Spider-Man (or "him" as they simply call him) has made their lives. Funny and a great pay-off when the mysterious stranger is revealed.
The Last Shoot by Brian Azzarello & Scott Levy: The untold story in the Spider-Man universe that no-one was asking for, the story of the wrestler Peter Parker fought shortly after gaining spider-powers. It's actually an OK story but not particularly inspiring.
The Collaborator by Paul Pope: A pointless story about a young girl who is obsessed with Spider-Man but whose Dad is a wannabe super-villain. I could see this actually working as a proper story-line in the main comic but as a short story it doesn't go anywhere.
Heartbreaker by Daniel Way: A double-length story about Tombstone being sent to prison after being caught due to a heart-attack. In prison he must defend his life and his honour. It's a decent story which is let down by some really awful moments that just shouldn't be a in Spider-Man comic. Close to being really good but not quite.
An OK collection and it definitely makes me want to read some more Tangled Web in the future.
I was a Teenage Frogman by Zeb Wells: A story about the son of a rubbish supervillain suffering due to his father's actions. In some ways it had quite a Spider-Man feel, linking to Peter Parker being bullied at high school but it didn't work well. Perhaps if it had been the son of a serious villain it would have been better.
Double Shots by Ron Zimmerman: The best of the bunch, this sees the Vulture, Kraven the Hunter and a mysterious stranger meeting in a bar and moaning about how miserable Spider-Man (or "him" as they simply call him) has made their lives. Funny and a great pay-off when the mysterious stranger is revealed.
The Last Shoot by Brian Azzarello & Scott Levy: The untold story in the Spider-Man universe that no-one was asking for, the story of the wrestler Peter Parker fought shortly after gaining spider-powers. It's actually an OK story but not particularly inspiring.
The Collaborator by Paul Pope: A pointless story about a young girl who is obsessed with Spider-Man but whose Dad is a wannabe super-villain. I could see this actually working as a proper story-line in the main comic but as a short story it doesn't go anywhere.
Heartbreaker by Daniel Way: A double-length story about Tombstone being sent to prison after being caught due to a heart-attack. In prison he must defend his life and his honour. It's a decent story which is let down by some really awful moments that just shouldn't be a in Spider-Man comic. Close to being really good but not quite.
An OK collection and it definitely makes me want to read some more Tangled Web in the future.
February 8, 2016
Do I like Spider-man? Yes, I have since I was a kid. Do I like stories about the people in the Spider-man world? Yes.
Tangled Web was a great series when it came out. It had Indy creators and up and comers. You never really knew what you might get when you bought the series. This volume of stories is no different. You've got a frog man story, a Crusher Hogan story, a bar story, a super Spidy fan story, and a tombstone story. The writers and artist are great.
My favorite comic out if the bunch was Paul Pope's The Collaborator. He's art is amazing like always. The story is one of a 13 year-old girl that loves spider-man. Unfortunately her dad hates spider-man. Pope's art sings of the page. It's just beautiful. I do love Pope's art.
The other stories are fun too. The art is great in all of them. If you like the spider-man mythology and love learning about side characters this is perfect for you. This series is still one of my favorites to read. I'm so happy I picked this trade up when I saw it.
Tangled Web was a great series when it came out. It had Indy creators and up and comers. You never really knew what you might get when you bought the series. This volume of stories is no different. You've got a frog man story, a Crusher Hogan story, a bar story, a super Spidy fan story, and a tombstone story. The writers and artist are great.
My favorite comic out if the bunch was Paul Pope's The Collaborator. He's art is amazing like always. The story is one of a 13 year-old girl that loves spider-man. Unfortunately her dad hates spider-man. Pope's art sings of the page. It's just beautiful. I do love Pope's art.
The other stories are fun too. The art is great in all of them. If you like the spider-man mythology and love learning about side characters this is perfect for you. This series is still one of my favorites to read. I'm so happy I picked this trade up when I saw it.
May 6, 2008
This is the only volume of this series that I have read and I received a copy as a door prize at Free Comic Book Day 2008 from Comic Quest in Evansville, IN.
The premise seems to play out in this collection, though not so much that I wouldn't want to try at least one more collection to see what some other voices can bring to it. The premise is a little like Gotham Central, since it deals with the peripheral characters of certain legendary super heroes. All of the characters in this collection were funny and had at least a two-dimensional characterization. Of special note is the characterization of the Vulture, which I found hilarious.
I read it with my son and he liked it too. The Tombstone story was the last and I think it ran too long but was still enjoyable. The best story was the Double Shots, which captured a good cross-section of the Spider-Man Rogue's Gallery.
The premise seems to play out in this collection, though not so much that I wouldn't want to try at least one more collection to see what some other voices can bring to it. The premise is a little like Gotham Central, since it deals with the peripheral characters of certain legendary super heroes. All of the characters in this collection were funny and had at least a two-dimensional characterization. Of special note is the characterization of the Vulture, which I found hilarious.
I read it with my son and he liked it too. The Tombstone story was the last and I think it ran too long but was still enjoyable. The best story was the Double Shots, which captured a good cross-section of the Spider-Man Rogue's Gallery.
March 20, 2016
This book contains the first Tangled Web comic I ever bought, which then led to me trying to get all the back issues. The Last Shoot is still an amazing tale, and of course written by Scott 'Raven' Levy from ECW/WCW/WWF fame. This is a solid book of tales, with even less Spider-Man then the last two collections. Love the themes of the stories and how Spider-Man is the reason for the stories, but he isn't really needed. Great to see Tombstone again, and in such a great tale as well. One more collection to go, and luckily I pretty much forget all the tales in it. Tangled Web is great!
March 2, 2015
Při utrpení mladého žabáka, při téměř až noirovém zápasení v ringu a při brilantní konverzačce na pořádném záporáckém drinku jsem měl pocit, že Tangled Web konečně plní svůj účel. Ukazuje pavoučí svět z druhé (třetí, čtvrté...) strany patřičně efektně a není tak jenom slepou uličkou. Bohužel spoustu kladných bodů ubírá zbytečně roztahaná vězeňská anabáze s Tombstonem. Nejlepší volume, ale kvůli pachuti v závěru pořád tak trochu zklamání.
October 11, 2013
A very cool volume of stories from Spiderman's universe. With names like Zebs Wells, Brian Azzarello and Paul Pope, I had to buy this volume. It was well written, fun and the art was fantastic. A cool volume
May 3, 2011
There were some really great stories in here, but points are deducted for the terrible gay-panic subplot in the Tombstone story. Disappointing.
July 28, 2011
the gang rape in the prison really wasn't worthy of being in a spiderman comic, something i'd expect from a small press or underground comic.
July 15, 2013
3/5 of the stories were any good. Mostly it was the awful artwork and meh scripting on the last two that cost the book an extra star.
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