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Spider-Man's Tangled Web (Collected Editions) #1
Spider-Man's Tangled Web, Vol. 1
The neighborhood isn't so friendly anymore. Spider-Man has been operating in New York City for years; shunned or reviled, he has touched most of its eight million citizens. And each of them has a story.
It's an entirely different way at looking at Spider-Man, the way he operates and the world he lives in. Each story is by a different set of today's top comics creators, starting with "The Thousand," which introduces a new threat to Spider-Man courtesy of Garth Ennis (Punisher, Preacher, Hitman) and John McCrea (Hitman, Jenny Sparks, Hulk Smash!). What's it like to work for the Kingpin? It's answered in "Severance Package" from crime novelist Greg Rucka (Shooting at Midnight, Black Widow) and Edward Risso (100 Bullets). "Flowers for Rhino" is an offbeat look at one of Spider-Man's oldest foes, from Peter Milligan (X-Force, Shade the Changing Man) and Duncan Fegredo (Jay and Silent Bob).
144 pages, Paperback
First published November 19, 2001
2 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,608 books3,157 followersEnnis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
April 15, 2022
I love Garth Ennis so having him write three issues of Spider-Man is pretty damn awesome. This isn’t some masterpiece of superhero storytelling, and you can tell Ennis only did this so his buddy John McCrea could draw a Spidey story, but I still found it fun.
The Thousand is a pretty decent villain, and the art is really dope, with McCrea even getting to draw his own rendition of the Sinister Six. The other stories in here are fun as well, especially the one with Kingpin’s lackey, but man this was worth the purchase for Garth Ennis writing Spidey alone.
The Thousand is a pretty decent villain, and the art is really dope, with McCrea even getting to draw his own rendition of the Sinister Six. The other stories in here are fun as well, especially the one with Kingpin’s lackey, but man this was worth the purchase for Garth Ennis writing Spidey alone.
January 5, 2017
Man hard to judge this because it's three very different stories.
Garth Story covers the first three issues. It's about a 2.5/5. It's okay. The art is nice and fun but the actual story is just okay. It's about a bully who fucked with Peter and now is a Super Villain and it's creepy but not all that fun to read.
Then we have a Rhino story, which I'd give around a 3 out of 5. I've read better Rhino stories but this one is solid enough. Mostly seeing how Rhino can be human, and not wanting to be so stupid, gets smarter, falls in love, but then it all falls apart. It's decent, and fun read, but nothing more.
Greg's one shot is by far the best in this collection. I'd rate it a 5/5. After a fuck up one of Kingpin's men knows what has to be done. It's the story of what happens behind the scenes when Spider-man stops a plot. It's both sad and tense, and sums it up perfectly by the very end.
So just for Greg's story alone it's worth reading. THe rest are okay, one being fun, but you need to read Greg's one shot.
Garth Story covers the first three issues. It's about a 2.5/5. It's okay. The art is nice and fun but the actual story is just okay. It's about a bully who fucked with Peter and now is a Super Villain and it's creepy but not all that fun to read.
Then we have a Rhino story, which I'd give around a 3 out of 5. I've read better Rhino stories but this one is solid enough. Mostly seeing how Rhino can be human, and not wanting to be so stupid, gets smarter, falls in love, but then it all falls apart. It's decent, and fun read, but nothing more.
Greg's one shot is by far the best in this collection. I'd rate it a 5/5. After a fuck up one of Kingpin's men knows what has to be done. It's the story of what happens behind the scenes when Spider-man stops a plot. It's both sad and tense, and sums it up perfectly by the very end.
So just for Greg's story alone it's worth reading. THe rest are okay, one being fun, but you need to read Greg's one shot.
July 17, 2025
Tangled web is a collection of short stories by various artists, involving Spider Man or the characters that evolve around him.
This first volume starts rather well:
- The coming of the thousand (Ennis/McCrea): 3*
On a very basic basis (the it-should-have-been-me kind of revenge) Ennis writes what could have been a true horror story if not for John McCrea terrible cartoony drawings that just killed it all for me. Some editors just don't know their job. Some nice moments with Aunt May though.
- Severance package (Rucka/Risso): 4,5*
Where a middle man in the Kingpin's organisation has to face his responsibilities and the consequences of a botched-up job. Noir and icy cold with a performing Eduardo Risso
- Flowers for Rhino (Milligan/Fegredo): 4,5*
Variation on Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon, by Milligan and Fegredo. Milligan is overflowing with empathy for Rhino, whose rather pathetic life is profoundly changed after he becomes clever. Fun and full of emotion. Superb artwork by Fegredo.
This first volume starts rather well:
- The coming of the thousand (Ennis/McCrea): 3*
On a very basic basis (the it-should-have-been-me kind of revenge) Ennis writes what could have been a true horror story if not for John McCrea terrible cartoony drawings that just killed it all for me. Some editors just don't know their job. Some nice moments with Aunt May though.
- Severance package (Rucka/Risso): 4,5*
Where a middle man in the Kingpin's organisation has to face his responsibilities and the consequences of a botched-up job. Noir and icy cold with a performing Eduardo Risso
- Flowers for Rhino (Milligan/Fegredo): 4,5*
Variation on Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon, by Milligan and Fegredo. Milligan is overflowing with empathy for Rhino, whose rather pathetic life is profoundly changed after he becomes clever. Fun and full of emotion. Superb artwork by Fegredo.
May 4, 2018
This was okay...the flowers for Algernon tribute was interesting but the cartoony artwork was what really made me not like this as much.
April 30, 2014
Firstly, I'd like to thank Jeff for recommending me this book. It'd been something I've been aware of for a while, just never gotten around to reading it.
It's brilliant. This volume contains 3 story lines. The first is a rather dark tale by Garth Ennis and John McCrea, which is about a bull from Peter's high-school turned super villain in a very weird way. He's always had a hatred of Peter, and after baring witness to the spider-bite and his transformation into Spider-man, that hatred worsened. Now, he's out to get Peter. For Spider-man standards, this is a pretty dark story, but it still remembers that it is a Spider-man story, so doesn't cross any lines.
The second story is a 1 shot by crime fiction veterans Greg Rucka and Eduardo Risso. Greg Rucka isn't the kind of writer you'd associate with Spider-man, and he's clearly aware of this by not having Spider-man in his Spider-man story AT ALL. It's the story of one of Kingpin's henchmen who has messed up (Spider-man ruined his plan, off panel), so he has to go face his boss and ultimate punishment. It's a really good 1 shot story told through the eyes of a henchman.
The last is a two parter by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo about the Rhino wanting to become more smart and be taken seriously, but then realising he can only be truly happy being what he is. The Rhino is a hard character to do anything interesting with, but this is an interesting take on the character.
Each story is brilliantly written and all look amazing, whilst having varied art styles. This is a book worth seeking and reading.
It's brilliant. This volume contains 3 story lines. The first is a rather dark tale by Garth Ennis and John McCrea, which is about a bull from Peter's high-school turned super villain in a very weird way. He's always had a hatred of Peter, and after baring witness to the spider-bite and his transformation into Spider-man, that hatred worsened. Now, he's out to get Peter. For Spider-man standards, this is a pretty dark story, but it still remembers that it is a Spider-man story, so doesn't cross any lines.
The second story is a 1 shot by crime fiction veterans Greg Rucka and Eduardo Risso. Greg Rucka isn't the kind of writer you'd associate with Spider-man, and he's clearly aware of this by not having Spider-man in his Spider-man story AT ALL. It's the story of one of Kingpin's henchmen who has messed up (Spider-man ruined his plan, off panel), so he has to go face his boss and ultimate punishment. It's a really good 1 shot story told through the eyes of a henchman.
The last is a two parter by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo about the Rhino wanting to become more smart and be taken seriously, but then realising he can only be truly happy being what he is. The Rhino is a hard character to do anything interesting with, but this is an interesting take on the character.
Each story is brilliantly written and all look amazing, whilst having varied art styles. This is a book worth seeking and reading.
May 23, 2021
A collection of one-shots about people related to Spider-Man, each told by a different writer-artist team. The concept is really cool but the stories vary in quality, so 3/5 because it was really hard to rate.
1. The Thousand - Garth Ennis/John McCrea: the worst story of three contained in the volume. McCrea and Ennis are a mismatched pair, I don't think their respective styles fit each other. McCrea's art is airy, just clean lines and classic panel compositions. Really pretty. On the other hand, Ennis is a hot mess. I can't buy his story of this kid bullying Peter Parker in school and growing up with so much hate and so much info and just doing nothing about it. It was unispiring and frankly, a bit boring.
2. Severance Package - Greg Rucka/Eduardo Risso: absolute top quality Marvel story. Spider-Man has once more thwarted the Kingpin's operations and someone is going to pay for it. This was so good.
3. Flowers for Rhino - Peter Milligan/Duncan Fegredo: a good homage to Flowers for Algernon that turns Rhino into essentially Kingpin, but hey. Art was very early aughts, but nostalgia made me really like it.
1. The Thousand - Garth Ennis/John McCrea: the worst story of three contained in the volume. McCrea and Ennis are a mismatched pair, I don't think their respective styles fit each other. McCrea's art is airy, just clean lines and classic panel compositions. Really pretty. On the other hand, Ennis is a hot mess. I can't buy his story of this kid bullying Peter Parker in school and growing up with so much hate and so much info and just doing nothing about it. It was unispiring and frankly, a bit boring.
2. Severance Package - Greg Rucka/Eduardo Risso: absolute top quality Marvel story. Spider-Man has once more thwarted the Kingpin's operations and someone is going to pay for it. This was so good.
3. Flowers for Rhino - Peter Milligan/Duncan Fegredo: a good homage to Flowers for Algernon that turns Rhino into essentially Kingpin, but hey. Art was very early aughts, but nostalgia made me really like it.
December 20, 2020
These were all really cool and dark stories. I loved how standalone and distinct they were from each other in terms of story and art, there's some really good diversity here. Each creative team worked super well together and that strong unity definitely helped the stories. Overall they were a lot weirder (in a good way) than I expected them to be.
April 1, 2019
Tangled Web was a really good anthology type series that lived way too shortly.
So interesting to see creative teams that not normally work with Spider-Man related stuff, not that Spider-Man is too largely within any of these stories. McCrea art with Ennis story, Rucka story with Risso art and touching story by Milligan (the only in this collection with art I did not care).
Good times.
So interesting to see creative teams that not normally work with Spider-Man related stuff, not that Spider-Man is too largely within any of these stories. McCrea art with Ennis story, Rucka story with Risso art and touching story by Milligan (the only in this collection with art I did not care).
Good times.
August 13, 2024
Loved Rucka’s hard boiled one shot with Risso’s amazing art adding the much needed noir feel to it made the issue delicious. Milligan and Fegredo’s Rhino story also packs a punch in three issues. Honestly speaking Ennis’ story happens to be the weakest in this line up.. and that says a lot about the crazy quality of stories in this volume.
March 12, 2016
Greg Rucka's and Peter Milligan's stories are fantastic. Human emotion and depths and class. Then we have Garth Ennis' three-issue-arc about the Thousand. The introduction of a new supervillain really as a metaphor for championing the inner child against bullies. That one is quite creative but a bit too simple in terms of motivation. And I'm not sure why it took three issues to tell the story. But it's not like it was bad. Overall quite an enjoyable read. I had these comics back when they were released but I did an unfortunate weed-out of many of my issues a few years back. Luckily, as I was doing that, the comic companies saw the value of releasing things in trade paperback formats, which means everything I lost is actually still available at not-outlandish prices. The Tangled Web series didn't last very long, so it's only four TPBs and you have the whole thing.
November 26, 2010
I really like the Tangled Web stories, focussing more on the impact Peter has on those peripheral characters he comes into contact with. The first story somewhat ret-cons the whole mythology (in a minor way) and succeeds in being quite creepy with an amusing conclusion. It's the rhino stories though that really work well, adding some character and warmth to an often abused villain.
May 9, 2012
Three stories, where two of them are the best written Spider-Man stuff I've read: Severance Package and Flowers for Rhino.
June 30, 2012
Unmistakably the best series of Spider-Man comics ever written. Do not argue. This is not conjecture or opinion. It is solid fact.
June 18, 2016
Se volete leggere la mia recensione, cliccate qui! http://ascwblog.blogspot.it/2016/06/l...
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December 25, 2024I'm a big fan of anthology series so I was already an easy mark for Tangled Web, which showcases various stories among left-of-center characters tangentially related to Spider-Man. But what really makes this series special is that Axel Alonso, who had previously edited Vertigo at DC, brings an impressive group of Vertigo-style creators to work on these stories.
This first volume of Tangled Web opens with a rare Spider-Man story written by Garth Ennis, along with art by John McCrea. This story introduces a notoriously gross villain, the Thousand, with some light satire on the way. Body horror is relatively unexplored in Spider-Man comics and largely effective in this story. However, I feel like McCrea's cartoony style is mismatched with this project, which may have been better served by a style closer to Glenn Fabry's covers. The Thousand is an interesting story with genuinely touching moments between Peter and Aunt May, despite the questionable "bully who ate the spider that bit Peter" premise.
The second story is an excellent crime comic by Greg Rucka and Eduardo Risso. It's a morality tale about the pitfalls of a gangster lifestyle, as is common in the genre. Risso's Miller-esque art elevates this story with carefully composed panels and characters carved out of black.
The highlight of this collection is the final story, Flowers for Rhino. As the title suggests, this oddball riff on Flowers for Algernon features the Rhino, a typically one-note Spider-Man foe. Readers sympathize with Rhino as he transforms from absurdly stupid to absurdly intelligent thanks to an experimental procedure. Peter Milligan's wacky script is matched by Duncan Fregredo's art, which is somehow both precise and blunt with Kirby-like raw energy. Fregredo achieves this balance by using both pens and brushes in his finishes, marrying thick brushstrokes with delicate linework. This perfects suits a story with off-the-wall humor and surprisingly touching moments. Flowers for Rhino is a rare "best of" villian story that doesn't end with the villain killed off or rendered difficult for writers to use in future stories (such as by making him a hero by the end). This is a complete, self-contained statement about the Rhino, a character who rarely merits much attention.
This first collection of Tangled Web ultimately fulfills its mission as a more mature, low-continuity book in the Spider-Man line. Even if it isn't perfect, this is at least interesting enough for comic fans to check out.
This first volume of Tangled Web opens with a rare Spider-Man story written by Garth Ennis, along with art by John McCrea. This story introduces a notoriously gross villain, the Thousand, with some light satire on the way. Body horror is relatively unexplored in Spider-Man comics and largely effective in this story. However, I feel like McCrea's cartoony style is mismatched with this project, which may have been better served by a style closer to Glenn Fabry's covers. The Thousand is an interesting story with genuinely touching moments between Peter and Aunt May, despite the questionable "bully who ate the spider that bit Peter" premise.
The second story is an excellent crime comic by Greg Rucka and Eduardo Risso. It's a morality tale about the pitfalls of a gangster lifestyle, as is common in the genre. Risso's Miller-esque art elevates this story with carefully composed panels and characters carved out of black.
The highlight of this collection is the final story, Flowers for Rhino. As the title suggests, this oddball riff on Flowers for Algernon features the Rhino, a typically one-note Spider-Man foe. Readers sympathize with Rhino as he transforms from absurdly stupid to absurdly intelligent thanks to an experimental procedure. Peter Milligan's wacky script is matched by Duncan Fregredo's art, which is somehow both precise and blunt with Kirby-like raw energy. Fregredo achieves this balance by using both pens and brushes in his finishes, marrying thick brushstrokes with delicate linework. This perfects suits a story with off-the-wall humor and surprisingly touching moments. Flowers for Rhino is a rare "best of" villian story that doesn't end with the villain killed off or rendered difficult for writers to use in future stories (such as by making him a hero by the end). This is a complete, self-contained statement about the Rhino, a character who rarely merits much attention.
This first collection of Tangled Web ultimately fulfills its mission as a more mature, low-continuity book in the Spider-Man line. Even if it isn't perfect, this is at least interesting enough for comic fans to check out.
December 7, 2017
Disclaimer: Not a huge comic reader, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Anyway, this book is a collection of three short stories taking place around Spider-Man, either relating to himself and his actions or villains in his rogues gallery. While not really bad, I'd say that the stories are just okay, with only one of them really surprising me with the direction it went.
Long story short, I'd probably recommend reading it just once if you're a fan of Spider-Man and can find a cheap copy either online or at a library, though people less familiar with Spider-Man's corner of the Marvel universe will probably find the stories less interesting.
Anyway, this book is a collection of three short stories taking place around Spider-Man, either relating to himself and his actions or villains in his rogues gallery. While not really bad, I'd say that the stories are just okay, with only one of them really surprising me with the direction it went.
Long story short, I'd probably recommend reading it just once if you're a fan of Spider-Man and can find a cheap copy either online or at a library, though people less familiar with Spider-Man's corner of the Marvel universe will probably find the stories less interesting.
July 20, 2025
The best story here is easily Flowers for Rhino; a fun homage to Flowers for Algernon with my favourite art in the book.
The Thousand is interesting in that it is, to my knowledge, the only Spider-Man story Garth Ennis has written. It has an engaging horror bent, but McCrea’s art doesn’t quite fit the tone, and Ennis’s voice for Peter is a tad off.
Severance Package entirely wastes Greg Rucka on a Spider-Man-adjacent story. Risso’s illustration is really solid, at least.
Overall, a bit of a mixed bag.
The Thousand is interesting in that it is, to my knowledge, the only Spider-Man story Garth Ennis has written. It has an engaging horror bent, but McCrea’s art doesn’t quite fit the tone, and Ennis’s voice for Peter is a tad off.
Severance Package entirely wastes Greg Rucka on a Spider-Man-adjacent story. Risso’s illustration is really solid, at least.
Overall, a bit of a mixed bag.
August 7, 2024
Review for a different collected edition that includes (#1-3, #13-15) the 3 issue story The Thousand, plus The Bar With No Name, The Last Shoot and an incomplete (?) The Collaborator.
I really like the first one because it is horror. The Bar is so-so. The Last Shoot is well written and quite different from everything else. Collaborator feels incomplete.
Overall a mixed bag, probably not the best selection from the series.
I really like the first one because it is horror. The Bar is so-so. The Last Shoot is well written and quite different from everything else. Collaborator feels incomplete.
Overall a mixed bag, probably not the best selection from the series.
February 2, 2020
Druhé čtení po letech.
První a nejdelší příběh má zajímavej nápad (kterej Marvel později zrecykloval u Silk) + je to jedna z mála ennisovek u klasických supráků, tím pozitiva končí. Zpracování veskrz průměrné a McCrea se tu úplně nevytáhl.
Ruckova gangsterka paráda, stejně tak Flowers for Rhino.
Celkově 3,5*
První a nejdelší příběh má zajímavej nápad (kterej Marvel později zrecykloval u Silk) + je to jedna z mála ennisovek u klasických supráků, tím pozitiva končí. Zpracování veskrz průměrné a McCrea se tu úplně nevytáhl.
Ruckova gangsterka paráda, stejně tak Flowers for Rhino.
Celkově 3,5*
May 15, 2018
Garth Ennis's story 1/5
Rucka's story 4/5
Milligan's story 3/5
Rucka's story 4/5
Milligan's story 3/5
February 21, 2019
Three tales, all of them great.
October 15, 2020
the story arcs collected are very weird and different in terms of how good i think they are, but the standout arc is the 2 issue "flowers for rhino". it was really well done and actually touching
August 21, 2022
Très belle BD sur Rhino, un méchant iconique de Spider-Man
September 9, 2024
3.5/5.0
January 3, 2023
Tangled Web was an anthology series featuring short Spider-Man stories by top creators. The first volume had three such stories:
1) A three parter by Garth Ennis and John McCrea featuring a bully who observed Peter's transformation to Spider-Man and tried to duplicate it, turning himself into a parasitic spider swarm. He was obsessed with Spider-Man's life and attempted to take over his body. There were some nice moments with Peter and Aunt May, but othewise this wasn't great.
2) A one-shot by Greg Rucka and Eduardo Risso featuring one of Wilson Fisk's middle management who screwed up a job. Apparently when you work for Wilson Fisk, you die if Spider-Man screws up your plan. That being the case, I'm not totally sure why Wilson Fisk hasn't committed suicide by this point. Rucka wanted to make this a noir story about mafia honor, but all I could think of was how killing a loyal and competent lieutenant for a single mistake was bad management on Fisk's part.
3) Last was a two-part "Flowers for Algernon" homage by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo featuring the Rhino. It was probably the best of the bunch, but you'd really be better off just to read the real Flowers for Algernon.
If you're looking for great Spider-Man stories, look elsewhere. Honestly, Spider-Man's barely in this. For this volume, at least, the writers chose to write around Spider-Man and pursue their own interests while still receiving a Spider-Man paycheck, to the detriment of the readers. If this is the quality of the rest of the series, I can see why it was canned after less than 2 years. I would only recommend this volume to completist fans of the respective creators.
1) A three parter by Garth Ennis and John McCrea featuring a bully who observed Peter's transformation to Spider-Man and tried to duplicate it, turning himself into a parasitic spider swarm. He was obsessed with Spider-Man's life and attempted to take over his body. There were some nice moments with Peter and Aunt May, but othewise this wasn't great.
2) A one-shot by Greg Rucka and Eduardo Risso featuring one of Wilson Fisk's middle management who screwed up a job. Apparently when you work for Wilson Fisk, you die if Spider-Man screws up your plan. That being the case, I'm not totally sure why Wilson Fisk hasn't committed suicide by this point. Rucka wanted to make this a noir story about mafia honor, but all I could think of was how killing a loyal and competent lieutenant for a single mistake was bad management on Fisk's part.
3) Last was a two-part "Flowers for Algernon" homage by Peter Milligan and Duncan Fegredo featuring the Rhino. It was probably the best of the bunch, but you'd really be better off just to read the real Flowers for Algernon.
If you're looking for great Spider-Man stories, look elsewhere. Honestly, Spider-Man's barely in this. For this volume, at least, the writers chose to write around Spider-Man and pursue their own interests while still receiving a Spider-Man paycheck, to the detriment of the readers. If this is the quality of the rest of the series, I can see why it was canned after less than 2 years. I would only recommend this volume to completist fans of the respective creators.
February 7, 2014
This book collects the first six issues of the early 2000s Spider-man based series, though focusing mostly on secondary characters. It was an anthology series, so a mix of good and bad. This volumes leans darker, particularly in Garth Ennis' lead off story, "The Coming of the Thousand" which has Spider-man running into an old bully with a grunge who blames Spidey for ruining his life and has become well, something quite horrific.
Issue 4 is a noirish story called, "Severance Package" by Greg Rucka and it's the one least related to Spider-man as an experienced hood has failed the Kingpin for the last time and is resigned to his fate.
Issues 5 and 6 form the "Flowers for the Rhino" story in which the Rhino gets tired of his lot as Spider-man's stupidest foe and takes steps to become genius. It's a charmingly done tale that ask if intelligence can buy happiness. It's a good story though it's the weakest in the book, but it's the one that feels most like a proper Spider-man story.
The other four stories are well-written but they aren't terribly fun to read. They're certainly not what I expect from a Spidey book. They're grim and gritty. "Severence Package" could be in any superhero book. In the end, it becomes easy to see why Tangled Web failed: because it doesn't capture what Spidey readers wanted. And no matter how good the writing and art, if the book fails at the measure, it's not going to work.
Issue 4 is a noirish story called, "Severance Package" by Greg Rucka and it's the one least related to Spider-man as an experienced hood has failed the Kingpin for the last time and is resigned to his fate.
Issues 5 and 6 form the "Flowers for the Rhino" story in which the Rhino gets tired of his lot as Spider-man's stupidest foe and takes steps to become genius. It's a charmingly done tale that ask if intelligence can buy happiness. It's a good story though it's the weakest in the book, but it's the one that feels most like a proper Spider-man story.
The other four stories are well-written but they aren't terribly fun to read. They're certainly not what I expect from a Spidey book. They're grim and gritty. "Severence Package" could be in any superhero book. In the end, it becomes easy to see why Tangled Web failed: because it doesn't capture what Spidey readers wanted. And no matter how good the writing and art, if the book fails at the measure, it's not going to work.
October 10, 2015
So great! Stumbled upon this while checking out titles related to "Shadowland" on the Marvel Unlimited App. Love Marvel Unlimited, but that's another story...but part of why I love it is I would otherwise never have found "Spider-Man's Tangled Web." These are basically non-canon anthology stories, focusing on Spider-Man's enemies and how they relate to their world (and Spider-Man). Spidey is in this book, and he saves the day of course, but he also is seemingly as confused as you are by what these guys are up to--it's fun when the good guys are a little confused, not omniscient, and even a little skeptical or incredulous as to what they're up against. I don't even think Spider-Man was in issue 4, the "Severance Package" story. I read that it was nominated for an Eisner for Best Single Issue or something, and can see why. It was a Kingpin story, but you could have replaced Kingpin with any other mob villain from literature (already existing, or newly created), and the story still works. It's a great hard-boiled, underworld, this-is-how-the-sausage-gets-made-and-you-knew-that-all-along-from-the-moment-you-agreed-to-make-sausage-for-me story. I think there are about 28 issues in this series, I'm only through volume 1, but I'm already sad that it will be over soon! Loved this book.
December 15, 2015
de vez en vez a algún editor se le ocurre la brillante pero gastada idea de armarse una serie acerca de lo que ocurre no al centro de la vida de un superhéroe sino en la periferia de su universo. tangled web hacía eso con spider-man, y ya había leído (hace, en serio, unos diez años, ¡en una wizard!) que era maravillosa. hace poco me encontré los volúmenes 1 y 2 a un precio de risa loca (en serio, como a cincuenta pesos o algo así) y pus me los di. no decepciona: el primer trabajo, que firma garth ennis, es una buena historia antibullying (antes de que hacer historias antibullying se pusiera de moda) que inserta retroactivamente a un personaje en la cronología de spider-man. la segunda es un cuentazo que dibuja eduardo risso y que escribe greg rucka y que dibuja de un plumazo muy efectivo los alcances y métodos de kingpin (y que se emparenta gustosamente con el cine de mafiosos neoyorquino, un subgénero que aprecio). el último es quizá el mejor y es una tristérrima historia de rhino (flowers for rhino, se llama), quien decide volverse inteligente y descubre que (acaso irónicamente) esa no ha sido su mejor idea. gran cosa, pues. lástima que nomás duró 22 números.
February 27, 2016
I bought a few Tangled Web comics here and there when they first came out, mostly due to ECW's Raven having penned one of them, but I really liked the storylines, not really being about Spider-Man, but more about the people whose lives have been altered having known him. I wanted to get the earlier issues, but they had already jumped in price. Luckily years later I ended up finding the set of graphic novels. So far, having read one, I'm glad I went back. I loved the one-shot Severance Package by Rucka, and anything by Ennis is gold, but I thinkt he third arc, Flowers for Rhino was the best of the bunch. Can't wit to delve into #2.
January 2, 2016
All in all, I thought this was pretty good. The first story got rehashed as Silk and then again as Miss Arrow/Ero. It was better there. Here, it's too grotesque without any charm.
The Kingpin henchman story, I thought, was very good. It could have done more establishing that the protagonist is a lot like Peter Parker. But it tells a story that makes a tremendous amount of sense but is rarely shown.
The Flowers for Rhino story is cliche but a good time.
The Kingpin henchman story, I thought, was very good. It could have done more establishing that the protagonist is a lot like Peter Parker. But it tells a story that makes a tremendous amount of sense but is rarely shown.
The Flowers for Rhino story is cliche but a good time.
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