Spider-Man's Tangled Web, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Garth Ennis (Author), John McCrea (Author), Peter Milligan (Author), Greg Rucka (Author), Duncan Fegredo (Author), Eduardo Risso (Author)

Book Description

Series: Spider-Man's Tangled Web | Publication Date: January 1, 2002

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).

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Comics (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785108033
• ISBN-13: 978-0785108030
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.5 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,470,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great creators bring a fresh look at Spider-Man's world, December 1, 2001

By 

Dino (Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spider-Man's Tangled Web, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

Marvel Comics have been resurrecting the sales and popularity of their flagship character, Spider-Man, in the past year. It seems so obvious, but a big part of the character's resurgence has been due to the quality of writers and artists employed on the various monthly books. Tangled Web falls outside the "ongoing continuity" of the two main "core" titles, Amazing Spider-Man and Peter Parker, telling self-contained stories that focus on Spider-Man's world, as opposed to the lead character himself. The first volume of Tangled Web stories make up this book and within the pages you'll find the single best comic book produced this year. That story is the one-issue "Severance Package", a tale of the New York underworld. The Kingpin of Crime summons one of his hitmen, who has failed to carry out an order due to Spider-Man's interference. This story is the essence of Tangled Web: the people on the edges of the Spider-Man story, some never seen before, others (such as the Rhino, featured in the third story in this collection) who have been, at best, second-rate supporting characters, but in these stories become interesting characters in their own right. Fans of crime fiction should buy this book - it ranks alongside other current gritty mainstream comics such as Powers and 100 Bullets.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great, except for the first story, July 28, 2002

By 

TheIntruder - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spider-Man's Tangled Web, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

I would have given this book at least four stars if it didn't include Garth Ennis's three-part story The Thousand. It introduced a really silly villain who was supposed to bully Peter Parker as a kid. I hate it when characters who are supposedly part of the backstory come out of nowhere and I hate it even more when they are just silly. He had no motivation for wanting to kill Spiderman and take his place. The plot was just lame, which is a shame because Garth Ennis is one of the greatest comic writers ever. Having said that, John McCrea's art is brilliant! He uses a different style that I have never seen him use before. It relies less on shading and more on simple linework and colouring effects.
Thankfully, it gets much better from here on. Greg Rucka of Detective Comics fame offers the best story of the collection with the simple yet effective Kingpin story Severence package. Its offers an interesting insight into the way the Kingpin runs his organisation and has one of the best portrayals of the character ever.
Flowers for Rhino, based on the brilliant short story Flowers for Algernon, is one of the few instances that the Rhino is portrayed as a character you can feel for. Its a love story, believe it or not, in which the Rhino gains intelligence.
This book collects the first few stories from Marvel's Tangled Web series, which is one of the best Spider-man books in a long time. The still going on and the stories are still excellent so you might want to search for individual issues if they are not reprinted in trade paperback form.

4.0 out of 5 stars Spidey through the eyes of his supporting cast!, January 26, 2010

By 

GWB (TEXAS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spider-Man's Tangled Web, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

I've read a lot of Spiderman stories. These are pretty good. A set of 3 tales told outside of Spidey's point of view.

3 stories... pretty great, but nothing spectacular! The Thousand is one of the better ones and I got a kick out of Rhinoplasty. Good stuff. Buy if you like Spiderman!